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US life expectancy falls to its lowest level since 1996,

plus Chinese air travel takes off as pandemic controls ease,

and will recap yesterday's visit to Washington by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelinsky.

There was certainly a tone of celebration almost in what Ukraine has managed to achieve,

but definitely an appreciation of the price of Ukraine's pay and the chances that I have.

It's Thursday, December 22, I'm Luke Vargas with The Wall Street Journal,

and here's the AM edition of What's News.

The top headlines and business stories moving your world today.

In omnibus, Spending Bill has been held up in the US Congress.

Lawmakers said the hold up in negotiations centered on Republican efforts to get an amendment vote on Title 42,

the pandemic era health measure allowing migrants to be expelled back to Mexico after crossing the US border illegally.

Senate Democrats hoped to break the impasse this morning.

Lawmakers have just days to go to pass the spending bill,

as a weekend deadline nears to fund the government and avert a partial government shutdown.

US life expectancy fell again last year to its lowest level since 1996,

according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That data showed that COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death for a second consecutive year in 2021,

while a rising number of drug overdose deaths, which have risen fivefold over the past two decades,

also dragged down life expectancy at birth, which now stands at 76.4 years.

...