How life got both pricier and cheaper this year; young conservatives want to change the GOP; David Sedaris reads 'Santaland Diaries'

Plus, will the real inventor of tikka masala please stand up? [View this email online]( [NPR]( by Suzanne Nuyen You count on this newsletter to keep you well-informed and well-connected. We are asking for your help this month. You keep the facts flowing. You bring more stories to more ears. You make a real difference with a year-end contribution to independent, trustworthy media. [Donate today](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Good morning. Godspeed to anyone traveling for the holidays this weekend. [Thousands of flights have already been canceled or delayed]( nationwide as extreme cold temps hit most of the U.S. Here's what we're following today. --------------------------------------------------------------- 🥇 First up [The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection is expected to release its final report Thursday. The committee on Monday referred former President Donald Trump for four criminal charges.]( Pool/Getty Images The Jan 6. Committee has released its full report, nearly two decades after the insurrection at the Capitol. The panel recommended Donald Trump be [prosecuted by the DOJ on four charges](. You can read the report [here](. Are you tired of hearing about inflation yet? It seems it's all we could talk about this year. But while life got more expensive in many ways, it wasn't all bad. Take a look at this year's [highest high prices and lowest low prices](. Young conservatives are using the midterm elections as a warning to the Republican party: [The political power of the youth vote can't be ignored](. They're demanding change from the party to get youth on board after a majority of Millennial and Gen Z voters turned out for Democrats last month. 🎧 [Listen to their vision for the GOP](. The threat of a "tripledemic" of flu, RSV and COVID has prompted the government to release hoards of stockpiled Tamiflu to states in dire need of more flu medicine. Launched in 1999, the Strategic National Stockpile [squirrels away huge quantities of medicin]( and medical supplies in case a mass outbreak or other health crisis occurs. It's been a hell of a year for the tech industry. From Facebook's troubled pivot to the metaverse to [Twitter's management chaos]( to industry-wide layoffs, social media companies have had a rocky 2022 ➡️ Are you in a job or industry that's at risk of being cut? Do you have questions or concerns about how to prepare for the possibility of a layoff and a looming recession? [NPR wants to hear from you](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- 📷 Picture show [Children pose for photos in front of a Christmas tree and other holiday decorations in a metro station in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Dec. 11.]( Natalie Keyssar for NPR The massive square in Kharkiv, Ukraine, is silent and empty this holiday season, with no trees or ice rinks in sight. Instead, children have found another way to celebrate amid the Russian invasion. A metro station that became a bomb shelter is [now a Christmas village]( where kids can drop off letters to Grandfather Frost --------------------------------------------------------------- 🎧 Today’s listen [David Sedaris recounts tales from his time as a department store elf in Santaland Diaries.]( Carol Yepes/Getty Images Years before humorist David Sedaris became a celebrated writer, he did a short stint as a Christmas elf at a Macy's department store in New York. He wrote about his less-than-merry experience in the Santaland Diaries. 🎧 [Listen to him read from the book]( and then 🎧 [listen to how this tradition started at NPR]( in 1992, or [read the story](. --------------------------------------------------------------- It all comes down to you Your financial support is the NPR Network's greatest strength. You keep the facts flowing. You bring more stories to more ears. You make a real difference when you contribute to independent, trustworthy media. [Please donate today](. --------------------------------------------------------------- 🎥 Weekend picks [Critic Justin Chang's picks for the best movies of 2022 include (clockwise, from top left): The Eternal Daughter, Crimes of the Future, EO, Tár, Decision to Leave and No Bears.]( A24, Neon, Festival de Cannes, Focus Features, MUBI, TIFF Check out what [our critics]( are watching, reading and listening to this weekend: - Movies: Critic Justin Chang walks us through his [11 favorite movies of 2022](. Check them out, and use [Life Kit's guide]( to deepen your watching pleasure. - TV: In [Kindred]( a young Black woman suddenly finds herself transported onto a Maryland plantation in 1815. It's the first on-screen adaptation of any work by the great science fiction writer Octavia Butler. - Books: Susan Kuklin's [Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out]( is banned from school library shelves in 11 school districts in the U.S. She talks about the importance of telling stories that help people understand transgender kids. - Music: These picks came straight from you. Here's the [best music of 2022]( chosen by NPR listeners. 🛑 Before you go [Ahmed Aslam Ali, the owner of the Shish Mahal restaurant in Glasgow, is pictured with a plate of Chicken Tikka Masala in his restaurant, on July 29, 2009.]( Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images - Ali Ahmed Aslam, a Pakistani immigrant in Glasgow, claimed he invented chicken tikka masala with some spices and a can of tomato soup. His death has [revived a long debate]( about who really can lay claim to the food. - Fox News star Sean Hannity admitted under oath that he [never believed the lie]( that Trump was cheated of victory in the 2020 presidential election by a voting tech company. - A Chick-fil-A in North Carolina has been fined $6,450 for [paying workers with meals instead of money]( and violating child labor laws. - Digital privacy experts are skeptical of proposed TikTok bans, saying they are [more about geopolitical tension]( than the social media app's privacy concerns. --------------------------------------------------------------- Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. [Find a Station]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can [sign up here](. Looking for more great content? [Check out all of our newsletter offerings]( — including Music, Politics, Health and more! 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