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Chuck Schumer says Senate Democrats won't provide votes to pass GOP funding bill as shutdown draws near — After meeting with his conference, the Senate minority leader said “Republicans do not have the votes” to advance the House-approved measure, which requires 60 to pass.
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New York Times, The Hill, Politico, UPI, Townhall, The Guardian, Washington Post, God's Spies, Raw Story, HotAir, New Republic, Blaze Media, NPR, Off Message, Axios, CNN, Voice of America, Orange County Register, Washington Times, Bangor Daily News, Fox News, The Daily Signal, Washington Examiner and The Post Millennial
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'They're Totally Screwed': White House Taunts Democrats on Shutdown
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The Bulwark, Fox News, The Hill, Axios, Washington Times, Washington Post, Forbes, Associated Press, Townhall, Bloomberg, GovExec.com, The Guardian, HotAir, Punchbowl News and Ace of Spades HQ


Senate Democrats embrace hardball on government shutdown
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Fox News, HuffPost, NBC News, The Hill, The Message Box, E&E News, Washington Post, Daily Mail, American Greatness, PoliticusUSA, Deseret News, Breitbart, Washington Examiner, New York Times, Bloomberg, IJR, Reuters, Politico, MM Press, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Signal, GovExec.com and Deadline


Trump Vows 200% Tariff on EU Wine, Escalating Trade Tensions — President Donald Trump threatened to enact a 200% tariff on European wine, champagne and other alcoholic beverages, the latest escalation in a brewing trade war between the US and the EU. — The president in a social media post …
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Trump threatens 200% tariff on European wine and champagne — Washington — President Trump on Thursday threatened to impose tariffs on wines, champagnes and other alcoholic products imported to the U.S. from France and other European countries in response to raised tariffs the European Union placed on American whiskey.
Discussion:
The Hill, CNN, Politico and The Guardian

Jamie Dimon changes tune on tariffs: ‘Uncertainty is not a good thing’
Discussion:
Fortune, Semafor, New Republic and Washington Times


Robert Morris, Texas megachurch pastor and former Trump adviser, indicted for child sex crimes — Morris is a former spiritual adviser to President Donald Trump, and Gateway — one of the nation's largest megachurches — has been particularly active in Dallas-area GOP politics.
Discussion:
Oklahoma Attorney General and Raw Story
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Russia says it does not want a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine — Putin's foreign policy adviser says Moscow wants long-term settlement taking its interests into account — Russia does not want a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine and is pushing for a long-term peace settlement that will take into account …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, NOTUS and The Kyiv Independent
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Putin Aide Rejects Plan for Ukraine Cease-Fire
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Axios, World News, Reuters, RTÉ and Washington Examiner

Putin orders swift expulsion of Ukrainian forces before peace talks
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The Hill, Bloomberg, Washington Examiner, The Moscow Times, RTÉ, UPI, Al Jazeera, Reuters, New York Times, The Kyiv Independent, The War Zone, El País and Israpundit


Pete Buttigieg, a Possible 2028 Contender, Won't Run for Senate in Michigan — The former transportation secretary, who moved to Michigan from Indiana in 2022, had been seen as the most prominent potential candidate in next year's marquee contest. — Pete Buttigieg, the former transportation secretary …
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Buttigieg gives the clearest signal yet that he's eyeing a presidential run in 2028
Discussion:
New York Post, Twitchy and The Gateway Pundit


Trump's FBI Moves to Criminally Charge Major Climate Groups — The FBI is moving to criminalize groups like Habitat for Humanity for receiving grants from the Environmental Protection Agency under the Biden administration. — Citibank revealed in a court filing Wednesday that it was told …
Discussion:
New York Times, Ars Technica, TechCrunch and New York Post


U.S. citizen child recovering from brain cancer deported to Mexico with undocumented parents — The Texas family was on their way to an emergency medical checkup, they said, when they were detained at an immigration checkpoint. — A family that was deported to Mexico hopes they can find …


Tim Walz to launch national tour of town halls in Republican House districts — Tim Walz is headed back out on the road - this time, for a tour of House districts represented by Republicans who have stopped holding in-person town halls amid the raucous receptions some of their colleagues have gotten across the country.
Discussion:
The Hill, The Verge, Daily Mail and Twitchy


DOGE Makes Its Latest Errors Harder to Find — Elon Musk's group obscured the details of some new claims on its website, despite promises of transparency. But The Times was still able to detect another batch of mistakes. — Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency …


ICE Returns All Migrants From Guantánamo to Stateside Facilities — A court filing described strip searches and the use of restraint chairs on some of the 290 migrants the Trump administration has cycled through the base. — The Trump administration has abruptly cleared out a second group …
Discussion:
Voice of America, Washington Post, RTÉ, Reuters and Informed Comment


NH's new ID requirements send some would-be voters home to grab passports, birth certificates — It took three trips, but Brooke Yonge was finally able to cast her ballot. — On her first trip to the Derry polls Tuesday morning, Yonge didn't bring proof of her U.S. citizenship …


E.P.A. Targets Dozens of Environmental Rules as It Reframes Its Purpose — Lee Zeldin, the E.P.A. administrator, said the agency's mission was to make it cheaper to buy cars, heat homes and run businesses. — In a barrage of pronouncements on Wednesday the Trump administration …
Discussion:
InsideEVs, Chicago Sun Times, CBS News, Al Jazeera, Semafor and USA Today
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EPA administrator announces huge rollback of environmental regulations
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US EPA, The Guardian, E&E News, NPR, Reuters, UPI, Raw Story, Inside Climate News, Reason, Scripps News, The Hill, The Washington Free Beacon, Washington Examiner, Climate Depot, The Gateway Pundit and CBS News


Judge orders DOGE and Elon Musk to turn over documents, answer written questions — The demands for information are designed to clarify the “parameters of DOGE's and Musk's authority.” — A federal judge has ordered that Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency turn …
Discussion:
Fox News, American Doom and Business Insider


Trump's Big Bet: Americans Will Tolerate Economic Downturn to Restore Manufacturing — The president offers many reasons for imposing tariffs, including revenue, leverage over competitors and job creation. But history suggests a more complex history. — President Trump's simultaneous trade wars …
Discussion:
Public Notice, Washington Post, 19FortyFive, Washington Examiner and Yahoo Finance


Fox's Laura Ingraham Advises Viewers to ‘Ignore’ Tumbling Stock Market Because Trump ‘Is Good for Business’ — Fox News host Laura Ingraham advised her viewers to “ignore” the tumbling stock market and “sky is falling reports in the regime press,” Wednesday, because President Donald Trump is “good for business.”
Discussion:
The Independent, HuffPost, Raw Story and Fox News


Elon Musk Looks Desperate — How to lose $148 billion in less than two months — For years, Donald Trump's critics have accused him of behaving like a crooked used-car salesman. Yesterday afternoon, he did it for real on the White House South Lawn. — Squinting in the sun with Elon Musk …
Discussion:
New York Daily News, Daily Mail, Los Angeles Times, Raw Story, Global News, Vanity Fair and Deseret News
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Vandalize Tesla property and the White House will prosecute you as a domestic terrorist, Trump pledges
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Breitbart, Twitchy, Daily Mail, HuffPost, RedState, TheTruthAboutCars, Business Insider, Reason, The Present Age, El País, The Post Millennial, USA Today, The Daily Wire, Townhall, Crooks and Liars, Mashable, Grabien, The Guardian, NPR, TechCrunch, Reuters, Washington Times, The Hill, The Gateway Pundit, CNN, Raw Story, NBC News, UPI, The Independent, Patterico's Pontifications and PoliticusUSA


Judge says Trump penalties on law firm send ‘chills down my spine’ — The Trump administration was ordered to halt, at least temporarily, parts of its executive order punishing the law firm Perkins Coie. — A D.C. federal judge on Wednesday ordered the Trump administration …
Discussion:
Law Dork, Reuters, CNN, Raw Story, The Hill, Blaze Media, Politico, Forbes, USA Today, Associated Press, Fox News, NPR and Talking Points Memo
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Trump's Revenge on Law Firms Seen as Undermining Justice System
Discussion:
Law and Chaos, New York Post, CBS News, Axios, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, Associated Press, ABC News, Wall Street Journal, Reuters and Above the Law


At Columbia, Tension Over Gaza Protests Hits Breaking Point Under Trump — There were protests, arrests, the departure of the school's president. Then, a new administration arrived in Washington. — Days after immigration officers arrested a prominent pro-Palestinian campus activist …


Trump Officials Are ‘Pretending’ a Judge Didn't Bar His Anti-Diversity Orders — A judge blocked the administration from forcing organizations to accept anti-diversity contract terms. Trump officials haven't let them know … Trump's Justice Department decided the fairly broad injunction only covered certain agencies.
Discussion:
New York Times


‘I just call Elon.’ To avoid DOGE cuts, lawmakers just need the right connections and an ‘R’ after their names — WASHINGTON — At Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, there is no official help line for members of Congress to call with questions about how the billionaire's far-reaching effort …


Is the US headed for a recession? — Donald Trump has a gift for inheriting valuable things. And the economy of January 2025 was no exception. — When the president took office, stock values were hitting record highs, unemployment was hovering near historic lows, and consumer confidence was stable.
Discussion:
Reuters, The Independent, CBS News, WTOP News and Semafor


Experts give Kennedy low marks as measles outbreak tests him — A worsening measles outbreak in West Texas has spread to two other states, providing Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. his first real test of responding to a major public health incident.


Who's in Elon's ear — and DMs — Musk's most trusted advisers remain a tight-knit group of executives who have followed him from his companies but lack political experience. — Unlike traditional Washington power players, Elon Musk doesn't have a deep bench of policy wonks …
Discussion:
Poynter, more at Mediagazer »


In reversal, NPR permits anchor to attend Pride event — The Scoop — National Public Radio dissuaded one of its most visible gay employees from attending a corporate LGBTQ Pride event, as the Trump administration and congressional Republicans put pressure on the public broadcaster.
Discussion:
Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »


Testimony Reveals Doors Would Not Open on Cybertruck That Caught Fire in Piedmont, Killing Three — The Highway Patrol's investigation into a November Cybertruck crash in Piedmont where three college kids died is finding two very Tesla problems: the vehicle immediately caught fire, and its doors would not open.
Discussion:
New York Post, Breakfast At Ralf's and Mercury News

Former US Ambassador to Japan Michael Armacost dies at 87 — Former US Ambassador to Japan Michael Armacost has died at the age of 87. He was known as “Mr. Gaiatsu,” or “Mr. Foreign Pressure,” for pushing Japan to dispatch its Self-Defense Forces during the 1991 Gulf War.

Belgian police raid Huawei offices as new corruption scandal rocks EU Parliament — BRUSSELS — Belgian police raided more than 20 addresses in the early hours of Thursday, including Chinese technology giant Huawei's Brussels offices, as part of a corruption probe impacting the European Parliament.
Discussion:
Reuters, UPI, WTOP News and Follow the Money


Trump's economic troubles put Republicans on the defensive — The administration is in the awkward position of explaining why Trump's election didn't lead to the promised economic boost. — WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's full-speed-ahead approach to making radical change has forced …
Discussion:
CNN, Washington Post and Los Angeles Times