AP News in Brief at 11:04 p.m. EST

Congress clears temporary spending bill to avert shutdown

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican-led Congress narrowly passed a temporary spending bill Thursday to avert a government shutdown, doing the bare minimum in a sprint toward the holidays and punting disputes on immigration, health care and the budget to next year.

The measure passed the House on a 231-188 vote over Democratic opposition and then cleared the Senate, 66-32, with Democrats from Republican-leaning states providing many of the key votes. President Donald Trump is expected to sign the measure.

The stopgap legislation would keep the government from closing down at midnight Friday. It has traversed a tortured path, encountering resistance from the GOP’s most ardent allies of the military, as well as opposition from Democrats who demanded but were denied a vote on giving immigrants brought to the country as children and in the country illegally an opportunity to become citizens.

The wrap-up measure allows Republicans controlling Washington to savour their win on this week’s $1.5 trillion tax package — even as they kick a full lineup of leftover work into the new year. Congress will return in January facing enormous challenges on immigration, the federal budget, health care and national security along with legislation to increase the government’s authority to borrow money.

Each of those items is sure to test the unity that Republicans are enjoying now.

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UN denounces US recognition of Jerusalem as Israeli capital

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly Thursday to denounce President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, largely ignoring Trump’s threats to cut off aid to any country that went against him.

The nonbinding resolution declaring U.S. action on Jerusalem “null and void” was approved 128-9 — a victory for the Palestinians, but not as big as they predicted. Amid Washington’s threats, 35 of the 193 U.N. member nations abstained and 21 were absent.

The resolution reaffirmed what has been the United Nations’ stand on the divided holy city since 1967: that Jerusalem’s final status must be decided in direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

The Trump administration made it clear the vote would have no effect on its plan to move the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said afterward that he completely rejects the “preposterous” resolution.

Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour called the vote a victory not only for the Palestinians but for the United Nations and international law, saying U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley “failed miserably” in persuading only seven countries aside from the U.S. and Israel to vote against the resolution.

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10 Things to Know for Friday

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Friday:

1. UN DENOUNCES TRUMP’S MIDEAST MOVE

The U.N. General Assembly votes overwhelmingly to condemn the president’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

2. HOUSE, SENATE KEEP GOVERNMENT UP AND RUNNING

The Republican-led Congress narrowly passes a temporary spending bill to avert a government shutdown while punting disputes on immigration, health care and the budget to next year.

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Pence to Afghan president: US is ‘here to see this through’

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Vice-President Mike Pence told Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on a secret visit to Afghanistan on Thursday that the U.S. is “here to see this through” as they discussed a newly announced U.S. strategy to break the stalemate in America’s longest war and consulted on upcoming parliamentary elections.

Pence’s surprise pre-Christmas visit was the first to the war-torn country by either Trump or the vice-president, and it came as the Trump administration charts a pathway for ending the 16-year war in Afghanistan.

“We’re here to see this through,” Pence told Ghani and Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah at the presidential palace in Kabul, arriving after a helicopter ride through smoky, dark skies surrounding Afghanistan’s capital.

Later, at a rally-style event at Bagram Air Base, Pence told hundreds of U.S. troops: “I believe victory is closer than ever before.”

“It’s because of all of you that we’re safe. It’s because of you that we’re free. It’s because of you that freedom has a future in Afghanistan and America and all across the wider world,” Pence said, his voice raspy from a cold.

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Catalan separatists regain majority in regional election

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Catalonia’s secessionist parties won enough votes Thursday to regain a slim majority in the regional parliament and give new momentum to their political struggle for independence from Spain.

It was hardly an emphatic victory, however, as the separatists lost support compared to the previous vote in 2015, and a pro-unity party for the first time became biggest single bloc in the Catalan parliament.

The result left more questions than answers about what’s next for Catalonia, where a long-standing push for independence escalated to a full-on clash with the Spanish government two months ago.

It was also a blow to Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who as a result of the separatists’ defiance ousted the Catalan Cabinet and called the early election hoping to keep them out of power.

Instead, the election’s outcome favoured fugitive former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont, who campaigned from Belgium where he is evading a Spanish judicial probe into the attempt to split from Spain. The investigation could lead to charges of rebellion and sedition that carry penalties of decades in prison.

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GOP set to move on from Russia in 2018; Democrats keep focus

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans and Democrats are scrambling in the final days of 2017 to establish an enduring narrative on multiple Russia investigations and the integrity of the investigators, a partisan messaging battle that has intensified as special counsel Robert Mueller has appeared to focus more intently on President Donald Trump and his inner circle.

Congressional Republicans who have put up with almost a year’s worth of speculation and investigations into Trump’s ties to Russia are hoping to move on from that topic in 2018, renewing focus on Democrat Hillary Clinton and stepping up criticism of Mueller. Democrats remain focused on Trump and are pushing to keep congressional investigations on Russia going for months to come.

On Thursday, Republicans brought the topic back to Clinton as two committees began conducting interviews in a new investigation of the FBI and its 2016 inquiry into Clinton’s email server. The House Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform committees spent hours behind closed doors with Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, who was involved in that probe. It was the second time this week McCabe has met with lawmakers behind closed doors as Republicans charge that there is anti-Trump bias within the ranks of the bureau.

Democrats are accusing the GOP of diversionary tactics and say their criticism could embolden Trump to take steps to fire Mueller.

“This is a fight for the soul of our democracy,” said Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the oversight panel, on Thursday. “Nothing less.”

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‘Obamacare’ surprise: Strong showing as nearly 9M sign up

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a remarkably strong show of consumer demand, nearly 9 million people signed up for “Obamacare” next year, as government numbers out Thursday proved predictions of its collapse wrong yet again.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said more than 8.8 million people have signed up in the 39 states served by the federal HealthCare.gov website.

That compares to 9.2 million last year in the same states — or 96 per cent of the previous total.

The level exceeds what experts thought was possible after another year of political battles over the Affordable Care Act, not to mention market problems like rising premiums and insurer exits. On top of that, the Trump administration cut enrolment season in half, slashed the ad budget, terminated major payments to insurers, and scaled back grants for consumer counsellors.

“This level of enrolment is truly remarkable, especially given the headwinds faced by the program,” said Larry Levitt of the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation.

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Miss America Organization loses TV partner over emails

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Dick Clark Productions says it has cut ties with the Miss America Organization over internal emails by pageant senior leadership that ridiculed past winners’ appearance, intelligence and sex lives.

The Huffington Post reported Thursday that the Miss America Organization’s CEO, Sam Haskell, exchanged emails with a writer for the televised pageant and others that included harsh and sometimes vulgar comments about past winners.

Dick Clark Productions, which produces the nationally televised pageant broadcasts, tells The Associated Press that it has cut ties with the pageant over the emails, calling them “appalling.”

Among the comments included in the report was a reference to former Miss Americas using a vulgar term for female genitalia that Haskell indicated he found to be amusing. Others speculated about how many men one particular former Miss America had had sex with. That same former title holder, Mallory Hagan, also was ridiculed over a bathing suit photo in which she appeared to have gained weight from when she competed in and won the pageant.

The emails have cost the pageant its television production partner, and raised questions about the future of the nationally televised broadcast from Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall the week after Labor Day each year.

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Got a toy that can spy? Here’s how to know and what to do

NEW YORK (AP) — The toys your kids unwrap this Christmas could invite hackers into your home.

That Grinch-like warning comes from the FBI, which said earlier this year that toys connected to the internet could be a target for crooks who may listen in on conversations or use them to steal a child’s personal information.

The bureau did not name any specific toys or brands, but it said any internet-connected toys with microphones, cameras or location tracking may put a child’s privacy or safety at risk. That could be a talking doll or a tablet designed for kids. And because some of the toys are being rushed to be made and sold, the FBI said security safeguards might be overlooked.

Security experts said the only way to prevent a hack is to not keep the toy. But if you decide to let a kid play with it, there are ways to reduce the risks. Below, some tips:

RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH

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APNewsBreak: 298 die in rail crashes system could’ve stopped

Nearly 300 people have died in train crashes that could have been prevented if railroads across the U.S. implemented critical speed-control technology that federal safety investigators have been pushing for close to five decades, according to rail crash data obtained by The Associated Press.

But despite overwhelming evidence it could save lives, Congress extended the deadlines for railroads to implement so-called positive train control for years.

All the while, new high-speed train routes continue to spring into operation without the technology, including the new route involved in Monday’s Amtrak crash south of Seattle that killed three people and one in Florida that’s expected to start service in the coming weeks.

Data that the National Transportation Safety Board provided to AP on Wednesday shows the crashes that the agency says could have been prevented by positive train control have led to 298 deaths, 6,763 injuries and nearly $385 million in property damage.

The records list crashes from 1969 through May 2015 — when an Amtrak train derailed in Philadelphia, killing eight people — and do not include Monday’s wreck outside of Seattle, which experts say likely could have been prevented by the technology.