Government shutdown set to begin overnight as Congress hits impasse  —  The Senate is expected to vote Tuesday on extending government funding.  If the measure fails, a shutdown would start early Wednesday.  —  just now  —  The federal government is on track to shut down just after midnight Wednesday …

‘Could have been an email’: Officials balk at Hegseth's generals meeting … Defense officials, in the Pentagon and at bases around the world, spent much of Tuesday trying to make sense of the last-minute gathering at the Quantico base in Virginia.  Hegseth called out “fat generals,” and …

White House withdraws Trump's controversial nominee to lead BLS after ousting predecessor over jobs data  —  The White House has sent paperwork to the Senate to withdraw the nomination of E.J. Antoni as head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, three sources told CNN.

Pfizer's Drug Price Cuts Yield Three-Year Trump Tariff Reprieve  —  Pfizer Inc. secured a reprieve from President Donald Trump's long-threatened tariffs on the pharmaceutical industry Tuesday by agreeing to slash some of its drug prices by up to 85% and selling directly to the American public …

Judge excoriates Trump in blistering decision calling efforts to deport pro-Palestinian academics illegal … The ruling is the long-awaited result of a lawsuit brought by university professors who say the Trump administration is illegally chilling free speech by targeting prominent pro …

Republicans refuse to swear in newly elected Democrat, delaying success of Epstein petition  —  Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Republican leaders refused requests from Democrats to swear in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) on Tuesday, saying she will be sworn in when the House returns to regular session.

ICE agents assault amNewYork reporter at Federal Plaza immigration court; another journalist seriously injured after shove  —  ICE agents assaulted amNewYork's own Dean Moses, and allegedly attacked another journalist, on Tuesday morning as they were documenting the ongoing arrests …

Trump says deal reached to end feud with Harvard … The deal could include Harvard paying $500 million, operating trade schools, teaching artificial intelligence and other unspecified actions: “And then their sins are forgiven,” Trump said.  —  A Harvard University spokesperson did not respond to an immediate request for comment.

“It's a war from within.”  —  If you were expecting Triumph of the Will, you were disappointed because what you got instead was fat, disoriented Elvis stumbling through his set.  Except that it wasn't funny.  It was dangerous.  —  I promise you that the flag officers in attendance were more alarmed than amused.

National parks will remain mostly open in shutdown … The Trump administration will keep most national parks open to the public if the government shuts down Wednesday, according to two people briefed on the plan.  —  With congressional leaders still gridlocked on a deal to fund …

Pope Leo XIV Wades Into Durbin Debate  —  The number of bishops who have condemned Cardinal Cupich's decision to honor Durbin with a ‘lifetime achievement award’ has risen to 10, including two bishops emeritus.  —  Pope Leo XIV responded to controversy over the Chicago cardinal's plans …

You don't have to swallow frogs  —  Klein and Coates show that if you don't know what your core beliefs are, you're going to get played.  —  Over the weekend, an interview circulated in which New York Times columnist and podcaster Ezra Klein talked to Ta-Nehisi Coates, author of Between the World and Me, among other essays and books.

ICE to Buy Tool that Tracks Locations of Hundreds of Millions of Phones Every Day  —  Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has bought access to a surveillance tool that is updated every day with billions of pieces of location data from hundreds of millions of mobile phones, according to ICE documents reviewed by 404 Media.

The Mainstream Media Is Catastrophically Failing To Meet The Moment  —  Earlier today we wrote about Trump's extraordinary admission that he was basing military deployment decisions on old Fox News footage and lies from his advisors.  But there's an even more damning story here …