INTERVIEW — NEWT GINGRICH — former Speaker of the House, former presidential candidate and author of new fiction book, a DC thriller, titled “Duplicity”

• Congress may bar funding to bring Syrian refugees into U.S. (USA Today) — WASHINGTON — Congressional Republicans moved Monday to try to block funding for President Obama’s plan to bring more than 10,000 Syrian refugees into the U.S., reflecting growing concerns by lawmakers that those refugees could include Islamic State terrorists.       At least one of the terrorists who attacked Paris on Friday reportedly entered Europe through Greece amid a group of Syrian refugees, sparking calls from congressional leaders to rethink the administration’s $1.2 billion refugee resettlement plan. Obama has called for the U.S. to resettle at least 10,000 Syrian refugees during the 2016 fiscal year, which began Oct. 1. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., the chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest, sent a letter Monday to the Senate Appropriations Committee requesting that any upcoming spending bills require congressional approval for the president’s refugee plan and for the funds to carry it out.
• Obama, Congress heading for budget showdown over Syrian refugees. (Reuters) — Congress is expected to pass a sweeping “omnibus” spending bill by Dec. 11 to keep federal agencies running next year. Any language to derail Obama’s refugee plan would be opposed by the White House, sparking a potential showdown over how to keep the government open.