A federal government shutdown was mostly averted, and a federal judge denied a temporary restraining order in a North Carolina Supreme Court ballot dispute. President Biden commuted the sentences of 37 federal death row inmates in a breaking news update. Senator Ted Budd was named vice chair of the Senate GOP’s campaign arm. Lieutenant Governor Robinson responded to CNN’s arguments for dismissing his defamation lawsuit, while Andy Ellen from the North Carolina Retail Merchants Association discussed 2024 holiday spending trends.