Top Items:

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.
Discussion:
Raw Story, Mediaite, NPR, The Guardian, The Hill, Orange County Register, Washington Times, Bangor Daily News and The Post Millennial
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Senate Democrats embrace hardball on government shutdown — Senate Democrats left a private meeting Wednesday saying there aren't enough votes to advance the short-term funding bill that passed the House on Tuesday. — Why it matters: This raises the chances of a government shutdown this weekend.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, New York Times, The Hill and Washington Post

Trump and Musk are building a new spoils system — A basic democratic norm is that laws are implemented as they are written. Another norm is that the implementation of the law be even-handed, applied equally to all groups. The idea that some groups would become less eligible for public support …

Senate Democrats Balk At GOP Funding Bill As Government Shutdown Nears
Discussion:
The Hill, Scripps News, Lawyers, Guns & Money, PoliticusUSA, Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, Breitbart, IJR, Bloomberg, Townhall, Daily Kos, CBS News, New York Daily News, Reuters, WisPolitics, Politico, NPR, CNN, The Daily Signal, GovExec.com, Talking Points Memo, USA Today and Deadline
Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Government Shutdown Looms With Senate Democrats Opposing 6-Month Funding Bill
Government Shutdown Looms With Senate Democrats Opposing 6-Month Funding Bill
Mike Lillis / The Hill:
Democrats are heading to GOP districts for town halls: 'We're filling a void'
The Hill:
Senate Democrats insist on voting on 30-day government funding bill
Senate Democrats insist on voting on 30-day government funding bill
Discussion:
Roll Call, Washington Examiner, WBUR, E&E News, CBS News, Politico and The Daily Signal
Washington Post:
Democrats divided on whether to shut down government or vote with GOP
Democrats divided on whether to shut down government or vote with GOP
Discussion:
Axios, The Hill, NBC News, Deseret News, Punchbowl News, Politico, Competitive Enterprise …, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Blaze Media, Scripps News and Ace of Spades HQ
Politico:
Senate Democrats take stock of their shutdown pickle
Senate Democrats take stock of their shutdown pickle
Discussion:
Washington Post, GovExec.com, The Hill, Washington Times, Forbes, God's Spies, Joy's House, Bloomberg, HotAir, CNN, New Republic, Fox News, Blaze Media, Voice of America and Washington Examiner
Catie Edmondson / New York Times:
Republicans Quietly Move to Relinquish Power to Undo Trump's Tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China
Republicans Quietly Move to Relinquish Power to Undo Trump's Tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China
Jude Joffe-Block / NPR:
A Republican-backed bill would upend voter registration. Here are 8 things to know
A Republican-backed bill would upend voter registration. Here are 8 things to know
Discussion:
Votebeat, The Texas Tribune and The Federalist
Felice Belman / New York Times:
Senator Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire Democrat, Won't Run Again in 2026
Senator Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire Democrat, Won't Run Again in 2026

Social Security scraps far-reaching cuts to phone services after Post report — The agency will move ahead with a much narrower change eliminating direct deposit changes by phone amid DOGE fraud concerns. — just now — The Social Security Administration late Wednesday abandoned plans …
Discussion:
The Hill, PolitiFact, MSNBC, Forbes, New Republic, Raw Story and ABC News
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Eli Hager / ProPublica:
“The President Wanted It and I Did It”: Recording Reveals Head of Social Security's Thoughts on DOGE and Trump — ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published. — Since the arrival of a team …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast and The Independent

Effort to deport Columbia student rests solely on Rubio determination — A government document that details the civil charges against Mahmoud Khalil does not include written evidence from immigration officers. — NEW YORK — A determination by Secretary of State Marco Rubio is so far …
Discussion:
Mother Jones, The Hill, Christian Science Monitor, Jacobin and Fox News
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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 …
Discussion:
New York Daily News, The Hill, Associated Press, Axios and Chicago Tribune
New York Times:
Columbia Activist Has Not Been Allowed to Speak Privately With Lawyers
Columbia Activist Has Not Been Allowed to Speak Privately With Lawyers
Discussion:
CNN, Reuters, Algemeiner.com, CBS News, The City, Axios, NPR, Global News, Al Jazeera, Scripps News, Fox News, Associated Press, The Forward, The Independent, Washington Examiner, New York Daily News and The Hill

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, TechCrunch and New York Post
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Claire Brown / New York Times:
E.P.A. Cancels Climate Grants, Intensifying Battle Over $20 Billion
E.P.A. Cancels Climate Grants, Intensifying Battle Over $20 Billion
Discussion:
Associated Press, Ars Technica, Grist and Politico

New CNN poll: Americans are negative on Trump's handling of economy — Americans are not impressed with President Donald Trump's stewardship of the economy, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS, putting him underwater on the nation's top issue even as he sees ratings among the best …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Hill, Washington Post, Vanity Fair, Plain Dealer, Forbes, Raw Story, Axios, Mediaite, Breitbart, WTOP News, masslive.com, Billboard, MM Press and New Republic
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Americans sour on Trump's handling of economy, poll finds
Discussion:
Vox, Business Insider, Washington Times, Democrats and Raw Story

Why I Left the Washington Post — Owner Jeff Bezos wants to transform the Opinions section of the paper, where I worked for forty years. After the publisher killed my column disagreeing with that move—it appears here in full—I decided to quit. — I walked into the Washington Post building …
Discussion:
Fox News, The Wrap, The Independent and Nieman Lab, 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.

RFK Jr.: It Would Be Better if ‘Everybody Got Measles’ — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared to suggest getting measles is the best defense against the disease, as a Texas outbreak spreads across the U.S. More than 220 people in the state have been diagnosed …
Discussion:
The Guardian, The Boston Globe, The Hill, The Bulwark, Washington Post, Raw Story, eutoday.net and Bloomberg
RELATED:

Texas measles outbreak grows, while New York and California report new cases
Discussion:
STAT, CNN, Fox News, Health Department, ABC News, UPI and Associated Press
Nathaniel Weixel / The Hill:
Murray says CDC nominee believes ‘lie’ on vaccine-autism link
Murray says CDC nominee believes ‘lie’ on vaccine-autism link
Discussion:
STAT, Florida Politics and Forbes
US EPA:
EPA Launches Biggest Deregulatory Action in U.S. History — Administrator Zeldin Announces 31 Historic Actions to Power the Great American Comeback — WASHINGTON - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the agency will undertake 31 historic actions …
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Lee Zeldin / Wall Street Journal:
EPA Ends the ‘Green New Deal’
EPA Ends the ‘Green New Deal’
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Washington Free Beacon, Breitbart, Townhall and CBS News

EU retaliates against Trump's trade moves and hits beef, whiskey, motorcycles with targeted tariffs — The European Union on Wednesday announced retaliatory trade action with new duties on U.S. industrial and farm products, responding within hours to the Trump administration's increase …
Discussion:
Reuters, CBS News, The Guardian, Associated Press, NBC News, Axios, European Commission, Washington Post, 6abc, Marketplace, USA Today, Politico, New York Times, Crikey, Wall Street Journal, New Jersey Online, Daily Caller News Foundation, Forbes, Breitbart, One America News Network, World News, The Hill, Washington Times, The Independent, 19FortyFive, NewsNation, Scripps News, Washington Examiner, Fox Business, The Daily Wire, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Crooks and Liars, eutoday.net, E&E News, WTOP News, Foreign Policy, RTÉ, Bloomberg, New Republic, CNBC, The Kyiv Independent and Twin Cities

District Court Rules Trump Violated Constitution by Usurping Congress's Spending Power — On Monday, US District Judge Amir Ali ruled against the Trump Administration in an important case involving control over the spending power. The court held the administration could not withhold payment …
Discussion:
E&E News

‘I feel utter anger’: From Canada to Europe, a movement to boycott US goods is spreading — Tesla sales are falling and apps and online groups are springing up to help consumers choose non-US items — The renowned German classical violinist Christian Tetzlaff was blunt in explaining …

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, Reuters and Informed Comment

Rahm Emanuel Is Gearing Up to Run for President — The former Chicago mayor is already on the hustings, finding new ways to attack Trumpism from the center. — Rahm Wants to Run. — Yes, that Rahm. And, yes, for that office — the presidency. — “I've only been back two months …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, RedState, The Independent, Mediaite, Mock Paper Scissors, The National Pulse, The Post Millennial and IJR

Donald Trump Bought a $90,000 Tesla With 37 Recall Notices Against It — Here's hoping Elon Musk won't have to personally fix President Trump's new EV anytime soon. — In remarkable scenes outside the White House, the President of the United States has just gone and paid the better part …
Discussion:
Deseret News

Is Trump Taking a ‘Liquidationist’ Approach to the Economy? — The administration's view that damaging the economy now could help it later comes with little upside for investors — During President Trump's first term, stocks rode high on the belief that he would always pull back on policies that led to a selloff.

Yale Suspends Scholar After A.I.-Powered News Site Accuses Her of Terrorist Link — The deputy director of a liberal project at Yale Law School was put on leave over allegations that she is linked to Samidoun, a group the U.S. government has said funds terrorists.

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:
NPR, CNN, Politico, The Hill, Raw Story, New York Times, USA Today, Associated Press, Fox News, Talking Points Memo, Forbes and Reuters

The 200+ Sites an ICE Surveillance Contractor is Monitoring — A contractor for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and many other U.S. government agencies has developed a tool that lets analysts more easily pull a target individual's publicly available data from a wide array of sites …

White House reporter asks Irish PM why he ‘let’ Rosie O'Donnell move to his country — A reporter covering the Wednesday White House meeting between President Trump and Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin asked the prime minister why he allowed American comedian Rosie O'Donnell to move to the country.
Discussion:
Politico, Washington Examiner, USA Today, Breitbart, Fox News, Associated Press, Scripps News, TMZ.com, One America News Network, New York Daily News, Page Six, IJR, Los Angeles Times, New Jersey Online, RedState, Washington Times, Plain Dealer, PinkNews, New York Post, Whiskey Riff, Deadline, The Independent, Vanity Fair, New York Times, RTÉ, Reuters, Mediaite, Twitchy, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, them., Louder With Crowder, CBS News, Rolling Stone, The Gateway Pundit, Fox Business, Voice of America, Chicago Tribune, The Hollywood Reporter and Global News, more at Mediagazer »

'I think he's serious': Bannon won't rule out presidential run in 2028 — He was floated as a potential candidate by activists at CPAC. — Steve Bannon isn't taking 2028 off the table. — In an profanity-laced interview on Wednesday with POLITICO, the MAGA firebrand repeatedly refused …

Trump calls Schumer a ‘Palestinian’ while defending GOP spending bill, egg prices and tariff policy — The comment came during a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin as Republicans try to get a government spending bill enacted before funding runs out on Friday evening.
Discussion:
Reuters, Politico, The Guardian, Washington Examiner, Fox News, RedState, Townhall, New York Post, The Independent, Raw Story, Blaze Media, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Mediaite and The Forward

Judge appears likely to grant request to reinstate thousands of fired probationary workers — “Move fast, fine. Break things? If that involves breaking the law, then that becomes problematic,” U.S. District Judge James Bredar said at the hearing. — BALTIMORE — A federal judge …
Discussion:
USA Today, Federal News Network, Raw Story, Reuters and Forbes

CEOs Don't Plan to Openly Question Trump. Ask Again If the Market Crashes 20%. — Behind closed doors, business leaders air plenty of concerns about the administration and its policies — WASHINGTON—How business leaders talk about the Trump administration in private has been markedly different …
Discussion:
Fortune