Good morning and welcome to Kid News. I'm Tori. It's Thursday January 3rd, 2019.

And we begin with the Girl Scout cookie selling season now officially underway,

led by its first new release in two years.

It's a salty sweet creation called caramel chocolate chip and it's gluten free.

All the classics will also be available including thin mints,

Samoors, and Samoas.

On the off chance you don't see a scout in a green vest outside your local supermarket,

you can download the official CookieFinder app to locate an in-person seller near you.

Every January through April, the Girl Scouts sell about 200 million boxes of cookies to earn

about $800 million, money that the organization uses to fund travel,

outdoor adventures, and STEM programs.

In political news, the U.S. Congress begins its new term today with Democrats now in control of the House and the Republicans with a slightly larger majority in the Senate.

The first order of business is to try to end the current government shutdown, which is now

in its 13th day.

President Trump met with leaders of both parties yesterday, but according to those who attended,

no progress was made.

The President has reportedly invited

lawmakers back tomorrow to try again. We're down to one, just one college football

game. Mondays repeat national championship between

number one Alabama and number two Clemson but what went down before one of the

New Year's Day Bowl games is all anyone can talk about right now.

Someone at the Sugar Bowl thought it was a great idea

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