Inside Gaza, mourners held funerals for 19 people, 12 of them children, killed in Israeli strikes. Source

Five people are dead and more than 200 injured after a car drove into a crowded Christmas market near Berlin, Germany. Investigators are looking into the past of the Saudi Arabian doctor who they say drove into the crowd at speed. Source

Luigi Mangione, now held in a New York City lock-up, could face the death penalty if convicted of the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. The killing is sparking new concerns about violent extremism bubbling across the country. Source

Isaac Klapper was 10 years old when he started having episodes of what doctors initially thought was a movement disorder. Source

50 years ago, “The Godfather Part II” was playing in theaters nationwide. The film catapulted Lee Strasberg, whose namesake form of acting preparation was used by some of the film’s leads, to stardom. Dozens of the entertainment industry’s biggest stars have trained at his institute, learning the techniques of method acting. Michelle Miller went behind the scenes to learn more about “The Method Man.” Source

The New York City Ballet has been performing “The Nutcracker” for decades. Each year, young dancers make their mark on the ballet. Source

The stampede occurred in the early morning at a church in Nigeria, prompting evacuations at the church. Source

A North Texas drone company unofficially set a new Guinness World Record by using thousands of drones to create a stunning holiday light show in the sky. Meanwhile, a third-grader in Arizona is a hero after saving a friend from choking in the school cafeteria. All that and all that matters in today’s Eye Opener. Source

A government shutdown was averted at the eleventh hour. Congress approved a hastily revised short-term government funding bill after a previous attempt failed to pass the House this week. The earlier bill was upended by President-elect Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk. The new bill funds federal operations and disaster aid, but does not address Trump’s demands to raise or abolish the debt ceiling. President Biden is expected to sign the bill today. Source

President-elect Donald Trump made the promise of mass deportations a pillar of his re-election bid. He’s pledged to deport millions of immigrants — including some who are living in the United States legally. In Springfield, Ohio, the city whose Haitian immigrant community became the epicenter of hateful rhetoric and misinformation during the campaign, many fear what this could mean for them. Source