Top Items:
Jordain Carney / Politico:
Thune warns Democrats about Russ Vought: 'We don't control what he's going to do' — Senate Majority Leader John Thune isn't endorsing the slash-and-burn campaign White House budget director Russ Vought has planned for the federal government during the pending shutdown.
Discussion:
Axios, CNN, Associated Press, The Hill, New York Sun, New Jersey Online, Fox News, CBS News, Deseret News, Townhall, Daily Kos, Newsweek, Washington Examiner, Semafor, New Republic and Raw Story
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Washington Post:
Senior government officials privately warn against firings during shutdown — The Trump administration has telegraphed that mass firings are coming, but officials have cautioned that such moves could violate appropriations law. — Senior federal officials have quietly counseled several agencies …
Discussion:
The Hill, Breitbart, Dogwood, Associated Press, Raw Story, Daily Mail and NewsMax.com
NBC News:
Early polls show Trump and GOP taking more blame than Democrats for shutdown — The national surveys taken in the final days of September and the first day of the shutdown find that voters are more inclined to blame Trump and his party. But many are uncertain.
Discussion:
The Hill, Politico, Claytoonz, ACA Signups, Newsbusters, New York Sun, Washington Post, Truthout, Raw Story, The Independent, PoliticusUSA, Mediaite, Newsweek, al.com, HuffPost, Roll Call and Fox News
Washington Post:
We asked 1,000 Americans who they blame for the shutdown — Here's what they said. — Just now — How concerned are Americans about the partial shutdown of the federal government and whom do they blame for causing it? The Washington Post texted a nationally representative sample of 1,010 people on Wednesday to ask.
Discussion:
The Hill, The Bulwark, NBC News, New York Times, Washington Examiner, Mother Jones, CNN, Roll Call, Semafor, The Guardian, New Jersey Online, New Republic, Daily Mail, Raw Story, Blaze Media and Mediaite
Jordain Carney / Politico:
Weekend votes ‘unlikely,’ Thune says, meaning shutdown could push into next week
Discussion:
Punchbowl News, UPI, New Jersey Globe and NewsMax.com
Meredith Lee Hill / Politico:
Mike Johnson: Republicans ‘have nothing to negotiate’ on shutdown
Mike Johnson: Republicans ‘have nothing to negotiate’ on shutdown
Discussion:
The Hill, New York Post, Washington Examiner, Washington Times, The Daily Signal, Fox News and Associated Press
Malcolm Ferguson / New Republic:
Karoline Leavitt Says It's OK to Target Americans Repped by Democrats
Karoline Leavitt Says It's OK to Target Americans Repped by Democrats
Discussion:
Politico, CNBC, Townhall, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, al.com, Newsweek, The National Pulse, The Daily Signal, Mediaite, Blaze Media, The Daily Caller, Fox News, E&E News and Talking Points Memo
The Guardian:
US government shutdown: Donald Trump promises firings and cuts to ‘Democrats’ favorite projects' if shutdown continues - live
US government shutdown: Donald Trump promises firings and cuts to ‘Democrats’ favorite projects' if shutdown continues - live
Discussion:
Reuters, Fox News, Associated Press, Meidas+, OutsideTheBeltway, The Hill, The Gateway Pundit and Mock Paper Scissors
Gregory Svirnovskiy / Politico:
Top Oversight Dem calls for investigation over White House shutdown messaging
Top Oversight Dem calls for investigation over White House shutdown messaging
New York Times:
Trump ‘Determined’ the U.S. Is Now in a War With Drug Cartels, Congress Is Told — A notice calls the people the U.S. military recently killed on suspicion of drug smuggling in the Caribbean Sea “unlawful combatants.” — President Trump has decided that the United States is engaged in a formal …
Discussion:
The Hill, The Guardian, Washington Post, New Republic, Press Watch, The National Pulse, Reuters, Salon, El País, Raw Story, New York Post, Mediaite, NewsMax.com and The Independent
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Wall Street Journal:
Lawmakers From Both Sides Pressed Pentagon on Legal Basis for Cartel Boat Strikes — Defense Department general counsel faced questions from Republicans and Democrats in a closed-door briefing — Senators on both sides of the aisle pressed the Pentagon's top lawyer in a closed-door meeting …
Discussion:
The Intercept
Nick Turse / The Intercept:
Trump Declares He Can Wage Secret Wars Against Anyone He Calls an Enemy
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money
Cindy Hernandez / Chicago Sun Times:
Massive immigration raid on Chicago apartment building leaves residents reeling: ‘I feel defeated’ — Dan Jones was jolted awake around 1 a.m. Tuesday to the sound of federal agents trying to break through his apartment door. They couldn't get past his double lock, so he went back to bed.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Salon, WBEZ Chicago, Balls and Strikes, Block Club Chicago, New Republic and Raw Story
NBC News:
Education Department employees surprised to find their email automatically changed to blame Democrats for shutdown — Five furloughed employees told NBC News they had put up nonpartisan out-of-office messages, only to see they were changed — without their permission — to partisan ones.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, New York Magazine, RedState, New Republic, The Guardian and MSNBC
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Wired:
Government Workers Say Their Out-of-Office Replies Were Forcibly Changed to Blame Democrats for Shutdown
Discussion:
New York Times and New Republic
Congressman Jamie Raskin:
Raskin Statement on Trump Administration's Use of Federal Departments and Agencies for Propaganda Purposes; Possible Violations of the Hatch Act
Raskin Statement on Trump Administration's Use of Federal Departments and Agencies for Propaganda Purposes; Possible Violations of the Hatch Act
Discussion:
NewsMax.com, Washington Examiner, The Hill, Public Citizen and WTOP News
Associated Press:
Trump administration cuts nearly $8B in clean energy projects in blue states — The Trump administration is cancelling $7.6 billion in grants that supported hundreds of clean energy projects in 16 states, all of which voted for Democrat Kamala Harris in last year's presidential election.
RELATED:
Energy.gov:
Energy Department Announces Termination of 223 Projects, Saving Over $7.5 Billion
Discussion:
CNBC, Scripps News, Fox Business, Heatmap News, New York Times, NewsMax.com, pv magazine USA, E&E News and Daily Caller News Foundation
Politico:
Damage from Trump's $8B energy hit list would spill into GOP districts
Damage from Trump's $8B energy hit list would spill into GOP districts
Discussion:
Bloomberg
Michael Copley / NPR:
The Energy Department canceled billions in funding. Democrats say it's retribution
The Energy Department canceled billions in funding. Democrats say it's retribution
Discussion:
NOTUS, New Republic, HotAir, TechCrunch, Heatmap News, The Guardian, Quartz, ABC News and Axios, more at Mediagazer »
Alexandra Steigrad / New York Post:
Bari Weiss to lead CBS News as part of major Paramount Skydance shakeup: sources — Paramount Skydance is poised to name Bari Weiss as editor in chief of CBS News in the coming days — giving the hard-charging journalist unusual clout to revamp the struggling network as it also acquires …
Discussion:
The Left Hook with Wajahat Ali, HotAir, The Wrap and NewsMax.com, more at Mediagazer »
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Sarah Rumpf / Mediaite:
Paramount Officially Acquiring The Free Press and Making Bari Weiss CBS News Editor in Chief: Report — Paramount Skydance will be officially acquiring The Free Press and hiring its founder Bari Weiss as editor in chief of its CBS News division, with the deal to be announced this coming Monday …
Discussion:
Fox News
Emma Bubola / New York Times:
‘A Crazy Moment’: Shock and Terror Spreads in Manchester Synagogue's Community — Many Orthodox Jews who live in the area reacted with horror to an attack that killed two people and seriously injured three on Yom Kippur, Judaism's holiest day. — Observant Jews generally do not use …
RELATED:
Chris Mason / BBC:
Two dead in Manchester synagogue attack, with suspect also believed to have been killed - police
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, NBC News, The Guardian, New York Times, New York Post, Reuters, Telegraph, Financial Times, Metro.co.uk, GB News, Bloomberg, Daily Mail, Channel2 NOW, The Sun, Breitbart, The Free Press, The Western Journal, Washington Examiner, France 24, Associated Press, The Daily Caller, UPI, Al Jazeera, The Washington Free Beacon, New York Sun, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Fox News, Chicago Tribune, Times Now, The Daily Register, Politico and Semafor
Meredith Lee Hill / Politico:
Trump making plans to send billions in cash bailouts to farmers with taxpayer money … Trump officials are still working on estimates of how big the first tranche of aid will be, according to the three people, who were granted anonymity to share private details.
Discussion:
Axios, NewsMax.com and Newsweek
RELATED:
S.V. Date / HuffPost:
Trump Quietly Grants Defense Guarantee To Autocracy That Gave Him A Luxury Jet — Maybe Ukraine should have just given him a gold-plated 747. — WASHINGTON - Just months after soliciting and receiving a $400 million luxury airliner for himself from Qatar, President Donald Trump …
Discussion:
The Post Millennial, Truthout, Israpundit and New York Times
RELATED:
Steve Benen / MSNBC:
Trump offers Qatar, which gave him a fancy plane, a NATO-like security guarantee
Trump offers Qatar, which gave him a fancy plane, a NATO-like security guarantee
Discussion:
Foreign Policy, Roll Call, Political Wire and CNN
Anthony Clark / The Last Campaign:
EXCLUSIVE: NARA Ousts Eisenhower Library Director Over Proposed Trump Gift to King Charles — James Byron, Special Assistant to Acting Archivist Marco Rubio at the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, this week forced Dr. Todd Arrington, director of the federal Dwight D. Eisenhower …
Discussion:
CBS News, New York Times and The Independent
Bolts:
Your Cheat Sheet to the 2025 General Elections — Four contests have come to largely define the 2025 elections: the elections to lead New Jersey, Virginia, and New York City, plus California's redistricting measure. But there's so much else on the ballot.
Discussion:
Fox News
Brendan Cole / Newsweek:
Mike Johnson's Response to Being Told Trump is ‘Unhinged’ Takes Off Online — A clip has gone viral of Democratic Representative Madeleine Dean telling House Speaker Mike Johnson that President Donald Trump's address to military top brass showed the U.S. president was “unhinged.”
Discussion:
Mediaite, Straight Arrow News, Raw Story, The Independent, The Gateway Pundit, New Jersey Online, The Hill, CNN and IJR
Associated Press:
Man pleads guilty to throwing Molotov cocktail at deputies during LA immigration protest — A 23-year-old man has pleaded guilty to throwing a Molotov cocktail at Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies during protests against immigration raids across the region last spring.
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, Washington Examiner and Daily Caller News Foundation
Lee Moran / HuffPost:
Corey Lewandowski Drops Menacing ICE Threat Over Bad Bunny's Super Bowl Show — The Department of Homeland Security adviser also joined in with MAGA outrage over the Puerto Rican superstar's halftime gig. — Department of Homeland Security adviser Corey Lewandowski on Wednesday fumed …
Discussion:
Breitbart, The Hill, One America News Network, TMZ.com, The A.V. Club, The National Pulse, New York Post, The Daily Signal, Washington Times, Axios, MSNBC, Columbian, American Thinker, Claytoonz, El País, Harper's BAZAAR, The Daily Caller, Blaze Media, Raw Story, New Jersey Online, New Republic, The Independent, The Wrap and Straight Arrow News
John Gramlich / Pew Research Center:
Americans increasingly see legal sports betting as a bad thing for society and sports — Public awareness of legal sports betting has grown in recent years - and so has the perception that it is a bad thing for society and sports, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.
Anthony Salvanto / CBS News:
CBS News poll finds negativity on economy, job market and concerns about AI's impact — Pessimism about the U.S. economy and its direction continues this month — negative ratings have persisted for years — along with net-negative ratings for the U.S. job market, specifically.
Discussion:
Futurism
Matt McGrath / BBC:
Pope Leo condemns climate change critics — Pope Leo XIV has hit out at those who minimise the “increasingly evident” impact of rising temperatures in his first major statement on climate change. — Reiterating the words of his predecessor Pope Francis, the new pontiff lambasted critics who …
Discussion:
Associated Press, New York Times and vaticannews.va
Paul Krugman:
An Autocracy of Dunces — How stone-faced generals, Wall Street pushback, and a government shutdown may save America's quickly declining democracy — If America still had a fully functioning democracy, Donald Trump's speech Tuesday to the assembled generals would have ended his presidency.

