U.S. Strikes ISIS In Nigeria, The Year In Congress, Holiday Spending

The US says its military struck Islamic State militants in Northwestern Nigeria. The president says the strikes on Christmas day were aimed at stopping the killing of Christians, and this is just the beginning. Why is the president focused on Nigeria? I'm Leila Fauldin, and this is Up First from NPR News. When speaker Mike Johnson convened congress in January, he made a bold declaration. Working together, we have the potential to be one of the most consequential congresses in the history of this great nation. Twelve months later, has congress lived up to that potential? And holiday spending broke records this year in The US. It honestly blew my mind that sales just exceeded all my expectations. With polls reporting people feeling glum about the economy, what's driving spending? Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day. This message comes from Monarch. Take control of holiday spending with Monarch, the personal finance tool that brings your entire financial life together in one dashboard. Get a full year for half off with promo code winter at monarch.com. Understand where your money has been and where it's heading in 2026 and beyond with their latest AI features built on the collective wisdom of certified financial planners and financial advisors. Get 50% off with code winter at monarch.com. On the season finale of Books We've Loved, we're hanging out with four friends looking for love in all the wrong places. We are revisiting Terry McMillan's Waiting to Exhale with Britney Loos from It's Been a Minute. Find all episodes of books we've loved on NPR's Book of the Day podcast feed on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Fall in love with new music every Friday at All Songs Considered. That's NPR's music recommendation podcast. Fridays are where we spend our whole show sharing all the greatest new releases of the week. Make the hunt for new music a part of your life again. Tap into new music Friday from All Songs Considered, available wherever you get your podcasts. On Christmas day, the president announced the US military struck ISIS militants in Nigeria. The attacks come a month after president Trump threatened on social media to go into Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, quote, guns a blazing, unless it did more to protect Christians who he continually asserts are being targeted and slaughtered. Nigerian authorities say allegations of Christian genocide are unfounded and that a mishmash of violent armed groups across the country kill as many Muslims as Christians in the country. Joining us now from Nigeria is NPR Africa correspondent Emmanuel Akinwatu. Good morning. Good morning, Leila. Emmanuel, this feels like these strikes kinda came out of nowhere. What can you tell us about about them? Well, in a post on Truth Social, president Trump said he ordered, quote, a deadly strike against ISIS terrorist scum in Northwest Nigeria who have been targeting and viciously killing primarily innocent Christians. And he said …