10 things you need to know today: December 24, 2018

1. Trump removes Mattis 2 months early in response to rebuke

President Trump said Sunday that he would replace Defense Secretary James Mattis by Jan. 1, two months earlier than previously announced. After Mattis said last week he would be stepping down, Trump at first praised him for serving "with distinction." A Trump aide said, however, that the president became furious as he realized how forcefully Mattis had rebuked him in his letter of resignation for what Mattis described as Trump's rejection of U.S. allies and failure to confront authoritarian foes. Trump said via Twitter that Mattis deputy Patrick Shanahan would step in as acting defense secretary. Shanahan is a former Boeing executive who has told Trump he is right to complain about the cost of defense systems.

The New York Times

2. Mulvaney says it's 'very possible' shutdown will continue into 2019

Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said Sunday that it's "very possible" that the partial government shutdown that started over the weekend could last into the new year. "The ball is in the Senate's court," said Mulvaney, who also serves as White House budget director. President Trump has vowed to veto any stopgap spending bill that does not include the $5.7 billion he wants to help build his promised border wall. Senate Democrats have offered just $1.3 billion for border security. Mulvaney said the Trump administration had sent Congress a counteroffer somewhere between the two numbers. The shutdown is expected to last at least through most of this week, because the House and the Senate have adjourned, and Monday and Tuesday — Christmas Eve and Christmas Day — are federal holidays.

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The Associated Press

3. Tsunami death toll rises to 280 in Indonesia

The death toll from the tsunami that hit Indonesia over the weekend climbed to more than 280 on Monday, with hundreds more injured and dozens still missing. Rescuers rushed to search for survivors, using heavy machinery and their bare hands to sift through the rubble of destroyed homes and businesses. The Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra were hit with the wall of water essentially without warning after the Anak Krakatau volcano erupted. The archipelago in the Pacific "Ring of Fire" has suffered its deadliest year of natural disasters in more than a decade. Earthquakes leveled parts of the tourist island of Lombok in July and August. In September, a double quake-and-tsunami killed more than 2,000 people on Sulawesi Island.

Reuters The Washington Post

4. Turkey masses troops near Syrian town

Turkey reportedly has started massing troops near a northern Syrian town held by U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led forces close to the border between the two countries. The Turkish IHA news agency reported that a Turkish commando convoy had entered Syria overnight. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 50 vehicles crossed into Syria with soldiers and equipment headed for Manbij, where U.S. troops have been based. The buildup is occurring days after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his military would delay a planned offensive in eastern Syria following President Trump's decision last week to withdraw the 2,000 U.S. troops deployed in Syria. Trump tweeted on Sunday that he and Erdogan had a "long and productive" call — their second in 10 days — in which they discussed "the slow and highly coordinated" pullout of U.S. forces.

The Associated Press

5. Ginsburg resumes work while recovering from cancer surgery

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has resumed work even as she continues recuperating from cancer surgery, a spokeswoman for the court, Kathy Arberg, said Sunday. Doctors on Friday removed two malignant growths in Ginsburg's left lung. Ginsburg is still recovering in New York at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and no information was immediately available on when she will return home. Ginsburg, 85, has been treated for cancer twice before, and last month she cracked three ribs in a fall at the court. Despite her health problems, she has never missed oral arguments. The court next meets in two weeks.

The Associated Press

6. Top aide says Trump knows he can't fire Fed chief

White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney said on Sunday that Trump knows he "doesn't have the ability" to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, even though the president has harshly criticized Powell and the Fed for continuing to raise interest rates. Trump has blamed the rate hikes for falling stock prices and signs of slowing economic growth. In a Sunday interview on This Week, Mulvaney told ABC News' chief White House correspondent, Jonathan Karl, that he had spoken with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and that Mnuchin had told him Trump would not try to get rid of Powell. Several media outlets reported last week that Trump was considering firing Powell.

ABC News

7. Roberts pauses contempt order in mystery case linked to Mueller inquiry

Chief Justice John Roberts on Sunday paused a contempt order against an unnamed, foreign government-owned company in a mysterious case believed to be related to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election meddling and possible collusion by President Trump's campaign associates. The order puts a D.C. federal judge's contempt citation on hold while the Supreme Court decides whether to intervene in the case. The company is appealing the federal appeals court order to comply with a subpoena, although the case remains sealed so no details about the company or its country of origin have been released.

CNN

8. SpaceX launches Air Force's most powerful GPS satellite ever

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Sunday, sending the U.S. Air Force's most powerful GPS satellite ever built into orbit. The satellite, the first of 10 satellites in the $5.8 billion next-generation GPS III program, is nicknamed Vespucci after 15th-century Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci, who calculated Earth's circumference to within 48 miles. Heather Wilson, secretary of the Air Force, said it is three times more accurate than previous GPS versions. "Every inch is a matter of importance when you're in the battlefield," said Col. Steve Whitney, head of the Air Force's Global Positioning Systems Directorate. Sunday's launch was SpaceX's record 21st launch of the year.

Florida Today The Associated Press

9. U.S. stocks struggle to rebound from huge losses

U.S. stock-index futures turned positive late Sunday, then fell again early Monday as they struggled to bounce back after last week's disastrous plunge. Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq-100 futures were all up by about 0.6 percent overnight before dropping as the opening bell neared. The Dow lost 6.8 percent last week, its worst week since October 2008 in the financial crisis. The S&P 500 lost 7 percent last week. It is now down 17.8 percent since a record set earlier this year. The Nasdaq Composite is down 22 percent from its record, set in August. Analysts say the Federal Reserve's decision last week to raise interest rates and aim for more hikes next year fueled the stock turmoil. Bond and equity markets will have a short trading day on Monday, Christmas Eve, then close on Christmas.

CNBC MarketWatch

10. Aquaman leads pre-Christmas weekend box office

Aquaman, starring Jason Momoa and directed by James Wan, led the domestic box office over the busy pre-Christmas weekend, bringing in about $70 million, beating the $65 million forecast, according to Sunday studio estimates. The DC Comics superhero movie, which cost $200 million to make, has already grossed more than $400 million overseas in three weeks. Another big new release, Mary Poppins Returns, brought in $22.2 million over the weekend, and $31 million since it opened on Wednesday. The film, starring Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda, did not do quite as well as expected, but still narrowly beat out Transformers prequel Bumblebee, opening with $21 million.

The Associated Press