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House Democratic leaders let loose on Pete Hegseth on Wednesday, hammering the Defense secretary over new directives to the nation’s generals urging an end to “woke” policies at the Pentagon and a return to “male standards” on the battlefield.  Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) characterized Hegseth’s speech, delivered Tuesday at the Quantico Marine base in Northern…
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New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo used artificial intelligence (AI) to depict himself driving the subway, working as a stagehand and standing on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in his first advertisement of the general election.  “I’m Andrew Cuomo, and I could pretend to do a lot of jobs,” Cuomo…
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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt will brief reporters Wednesday afternoon, just hours after the government shutdown went into effect. Senators on both sides of the aisle have failed to come to an agreement on a stopgap funding plan. Republicans pushed forward a “clean” plan last month without input from Democrats, who argued that any…
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There’s a sad irony in watching the federal government come to a grinding halt — not because of some unresolvable crisis, but because our politics have turned into a circus. Earlier this month, a shutdown wasn’t inevitable. But President Trump practically locked the door and threw away the key Monday night when he shared an…
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Nearly 80 years after her father helped form the Committee for the First Amendment during the McCarthy era, Jane Fonda is relaunching the group, saying artists must “speak out before it’s too late.” More than 600 entertainment industry figures — including Barbra Streisand, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Whoopi Goldberg, Spike Lee, Natalie Portman, Sean Penn and Pedro…
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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) blamed House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Wednesday for the government shutdown but added that he needs to be part of any negotiations to continue funding the government. “The American people know the Republicans have the presidency, they have the Senate, they have the House, and the blame will…
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Interest in the Democratic presidential race intensifies as President Trump’s presidential approval rating sinks. His general presidential approval is now 11 points underwater in a new national survey of registered voters for The New York Times. His performance rating is also net-negative in every issue area, except for crime.  California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) had…
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The Turning Point USA college tour returned to Utah on Tuesday for its largest stop since the assassination of co-founder Charlie Kirk in September.  The event, hosted at Utah State University in Logan, was just two hours away from the site of where Kirk was shot in Orem. But a large crowd rallied behind MAGA ideals…
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Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) expressed concern Tuesday that President Trump’s warning about a “war from within” could serve as a pretext for calling off the 2028 election. In an interview on “The Jim Acosta Show,” the New York Democrat called Trump’s speech to military leaders at Quantico, Va., Tuesday “really dangerous,” pointing to the president’s…
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The deployment of 200 Oregon National Guard troops to Portland will cost the federal government at least $3.8 million, according to a state official.  “200 service members for 80 days is roughly $3.8 million. Just in pay and allowances, and then there are other logistics costs, that we are still working through, support agreements, for…
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Republican leaders in Congress on Wednesday dug in on pressuring Democrats to vote for a “clean” GOP-crafted stopgap to reopen the government, signaling the Senate will hold repeated votes on the bill if necessary. The top GOP leaders from both chambers appeared on the Capitol’s west terrace Wednesday morning in a rare press conference setting…
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President Trump signed an executive order bolstering U.S. protections for Qatar in the wake of an Israeli strike there that killed six people. The executive order states the United States “shall regard any armed attack on the territory, sovereignty, or critical infrastructure of the State of Qatar as a threat to the peace and security…
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The Trump administration announced Wednesday it was pausing federal funding for infrastructure projects in New York City, citing concerns about diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought posted on social platform X that roughly $18 billion in funding for the city has been “put on hold to…
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Hundreds of thousands of federal workers found themselves furloughed or working without pay when they woke up Wednesday morning, after government funding lapsed overnight. The government shutdown marks the first time since January 2019 that lawmakers failed to strike a deal to keep federal agencies open. The previous shutdown, during President Trump’s first term, lasted…
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The Supreme Court said Wednesday it will hear oral arguments over President Trump’s effort to fire Federal Reserve board of governors member Lisa Cook in January, enabling her to stay in her role for months as the justices punt a decision.   The terse order, which came without any noted dissents, tables Trump’s request to…
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President Donald Trump’s unprecedented attempt to fire a Fed board governor grinds to a halt for now.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) mocked President Trump’s recent comments about walking up the stairs at the United Nations (UN), calling him a “very weak man” as government funding lapsed overnight. “THE TRUMP SHUTDOWN IS HERE! HEALTH CARE FOR BABIES, MOMS & GRANDMAS HELD HOSTAGE BY A VERY WEAK MAN WHO CAN’T EVEN DO STAIRS.…
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A Trump-appointed U.S. attorney for Nevada was disqualified from four criminal cases by a federal judge on Tuesday after not being officially nominated for confirmation by the Senate. Sigal Chattah, who served as the acting U.S. attorney for Nevada, was directed to relinquish control over prosecutions by U.S. District Judge David G. Campbell.  Campbell said…
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Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) slammed President Trump‘s suggestion on Tuesday that the military use some of the country’s “dangerous cities as training grounds.” CNN anchor Boris Sanchez asked Gallego, a former Marine, if there was anything that could prevent Trump from making this suggestion a reality. “Look, the president’s an idiot,” Gallego replied. Trump “doesn’t…
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Late night comedians Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert on Tuesday shared stories of being pulled off the air, temporarily for Kimmel and permanently for Colbert starting next year. During an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” Colbert explained how he learned his show was being canceled by Paramount, CBS’ parent company, a move that was celebrated…
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House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) suggested Tuesday that Democrats would move to impeach President Trump again if they regain the House majority in the 2026 midterm elections. “We’re going to win the midterms. Absolutely,” he told Fox News’s Laura Ingraham. “We’re going to have a big victory. And I think we can expand that majority…
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The Trump administration is brazenly flouting ethics guidelines as it tries to pin the shutdown on the Democratic Party.

Essential federal employees will continue to perform work for the government during a shutdown with each agency carving out its own intricacies regarding adjusted operations. The U.S. Postal Service (USPS), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers and service members will perform daily duties as will air traffic controllers and border protection workers. Here’s what…
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Plunged into a government shutdown, the U.S. is confronting a fresh cycle of uncertainty after Trump and Congress failed to strike an agreement to keep government programs and services running by Wednesday’s deadline.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said “Trump 2028” hats suddenly appeared on the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office during President Trump’s meeting earlier this week with the top four congressional leaders. Trump released photographs on Truth Social of the leaders sitting around the desk, with the hats in front of them. Jeffries told…
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