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All the news stories mentioned in today's episode are listed with links below, so you can spend as much -- or as little -- time as you want perusing the latest happenings...

(Scroll down to read more about our 'Thing to Know' Thursday topic and guest)

Pelosi Nomination: Democrats voted Rep. Nancy Pelosi as the nominee for House Speaker. If she gets enough votes again in January, it'll be her second turn with that top job. She already became the first woman to be House Speaker.
Read more: NYT, The Washington Post, The Hill

Stopping Saudi Support: Senators from both parties came together last night to push back against Saudi Arabia, even though the Trump administration is not happy about it. The Senate moved a measure forward that would end U.S. involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen. More debate is expected next week.
Read more: NBC News, BBC, The Washington Post

Government Shutdown?: President Trump said he's willing to have the government shutdown if Congress doesn't fund a border wall. Trump says he's "firm" on getting $5 billion. Some Democrats say not gonna happen. Non-essential government agencies will shutdown if a spending package isn't passed before Dec. 8th. Stay tuned.
Read more: Politico, FOX News, USA Today

Christmas Tree Lightings: President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump took part in the 96th National Christmas Tree lighting outside the White House. New York City's mayor flipped the switch for The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree.
Read more: Nat'l Christmas Tree Lighting CBS News // Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting NBC NY, AP

Christmas Tree Shortage: You may not have as many options for the 'perfect' Christmas tree this year. The Pacific NW Christmas Tree Association says there's a shortage that will be felt around the country. The 2008 recession is to blame since farmers didn't plant as many trees that year, and it takes about a decade for a tree to grow.
Read more: Christmas Tree Shortage KATU

Sports Betting: It's a first for a major U.S. sports league. The NBA made a deal to distribute real-time NBA data and official stats for in-game betting. Remember: the U.S. Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that states are allowed to have legal sports betting if they want.
Read more:AP, ESPN

Amazon + Blockchain: Amazon is getting into blockchain (the same tech that supports cryptocurrencies). Amazon will have two new services. One of them allows other companies using Amazon Web Services to set up a blockchain network with "a few clicks." 
Read more:TechCrunch, CNBC

Alexa + Big Mouth Billy Bass: The "Big Mouth Bill Bass" (talking fish on the wall) now works with Amazon's voice assistant, Alexa. It'll even move its mouth to match what Alexa is saying. 
Read more: Business Insider

Handmaid's Tale Sequel: The author of the 1985 novel that inspired the Emmy-winning TV series says she's coming out with a sequel in September 2019. It'll be called The Testaments.
Read more: Twitter, NBC News

Most Popular Baby Names: BabyCenter came out with its annual list. Here are the top three for each gender:
Girls: Sophia, Olivia and Emma
Boys: Jackson, Liam and Noah
Read more: BabyCenter(top 100 lists), USA Today

THING TO KNOW THURSDAY:

Cryptocurrency & Blockchain

Learn more:

Adventures in Crypto, TechCrunch (Walmart’s use), CNN (Ohio’s use), CNBC (7 expert opinions), Seeking Alpha, Bloomberg

Today’s guest: