End to Government Shutdown in Sight After Senators Make Funding Deal

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End to Government Shutdown in Sight After Senators Make Funding Deal

(Thérèse Boudreaux, The Center Square)   U.S. senators finally broke the government funding impasse Sunday night, voting 60-40 to advance a bill ending the government shutdown.

The Senate must hold a final vote on the legislation and then the House must approve the legislation before the government reopens.

After Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., kept lawmakers in session over the weekend, Republicans approached Democrats with a final offer: in exchange for support to reopen the government, they would guarantee a vote on the expiring Obamacare subsidies and also reverse some of the Trump administration’s mass layoffs.

Those two concessions were as far as Republican leaders were willing to go to end the ongoing shutdown, which has lasted a record-long 40 days as Democrats held out over health care policy demands.

Sens. John Fetterman, D-Pa.; Angus King, I-Maine; and Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev.; had already voted with Republicans to reopen the government for the past few weeks.

Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.; Maggie Hassan, D-N.H.; Tim Kaine, D-Va.; Jacky Rosen, D-Nev.; and Dick Durbin, D-Ill; joined them Sunday night, breaking the filibuster.

“This bill is not perfect, but it takes important steps to reduce their shutdown’s hurt,” Durbin said. “Now that Democrats secured these wins, it’s time for Leader Thune to keep his promise to schedule a vote on the ACA tax credits in December and we will see to it that he makes good on his word for the millions of Americans worried they won’t be able to afford health care in January.”

The Senate Appropriations Committee released an updated Continuing Resolution on Sunday night, which outlines the details of Republicans’ offer.

The new CR will extend government funding to Jan. 30, which will reopen the government, avoid the risk of lawmakers ramming through a bloated omnibus in December, and give Congress enough time to finish the normal-order appropriations process.

Republicans also paired the CR with the Senate-passed minibus, which will knock out three of the 12 appropriations bills that provide fiscal year 2026 funding for federal agencies.

The minibus funds Military Construction and Veterans Affairs; the Food and Drug Administration, Agriculture department, and rural development; and the Legislative Branch.

Crucially, the deal also includes a promise that lawmakers will vote on extending the sunsetting enhanced Obamacare Premium Tax Credit. Senate Democrats had voted 14 consecutive times against reopening the government since Sept. 30 over demands that a funding deal also extend the subsidies.

A mere vote on the subsidies does not necessarily guarantee an extension, however. So Republican leaders have sweetened the deal by vowing to reverse some of the Trump administration’s legally dubious Reduction-in-Force (RIF) actions, where it laid off thousands of furloughed federal workers during the shutdown. The funding deal will also prevent the administration from conducting RIFs as long as the CR remains in effect.

“After 40 days as a consistent voice against shutting our government down, I voted YES for the 15th time to REOPEN,” Fetterman posted on X. “I’m sorry to our military, SNAP recipients, gov workers, and Capitol Police who haven’t been paid in weeks. It should’ve never come to this. This was a failure.”

Trump Pardons 77 People Linked to 2020 Presidential Election Challenge

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Trump Pardons 77 People Linked to 2020 Presidential Election Challenge

(Sarah Roderick-Fitch, The Center Square) President Donald Trump issued a proclamation providing pardons for a slew of people accused of trying to overturn the 2020 presidential elections, including Rudy Giuliani and Mark Meadows.

The proclamation claims it “ends a grave national injustice perpetrated upon the American people” following the 2020 election, in which former President Joe Biden ousted Trump.

The president’s pardon grants “full, complete, and unconditional pardons to all United State citizens for conduct relating to the advice, creation, organization, execution, submission, support, voting, activities, participation in, advocacy for or of any slate or proposed slate of Presidential electors, whether or not recognized by and State or State official, in connection with the 2020 Presidential Election, as well for any conduct relating to their efforts to expose voting fraud and vulnerabilities” as part of the election.

The pardon, signed Friday, names 77 people, including Giuliani, Meadows, John Eastman and Sidney Powell. Trump notes that the pardon doesn’t include himself.

Meadows served as the president’s chief of staff during his first administration, while Powell and Eastman served as attorneys for Trump.

To be sure, none of the those pardoned have been charged with federal crimes; however, some have faced charges in states such as Georgia, Wisconsin, Nevada, and Arizona. The pardon doesn’t protect people charged with crimes in those states.

Ed Martin, the U.S. Pardon Attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, made the announcement Monday morning.

Martin posted on his personal X account, “No MAGA left behind.”

In a separate post, he explained the reasoning behind the pardons, saying the Biden administration had targeted the people.

“A very little bit behind the curtain: When I began as U.S. Pardon Attorney, POTUS encouraged us to look at two categories of Americans especially: First, those who needed and deserved clemency, especially long serving inmates who are ready to be released. Second, he wanted us to look at those people who had been targeted by the Biden administration. The targeted is a huge group of Americans,” Martin posted on X. “We’ve been working hard to find them and one group that jumped up right away is the [2020] alternate electors and their affiliates who were targeted by Jack Smith and others. Gen. Bondi and DAG Blanche pushed us to do it right and fast. There are many more Americans who Biden targeted. And we’re working to help them.”

On the evening of Trump’s second inauguration in January, the president pardoned about 1,500 individuals accused of being involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riots.

Trump Demands Air Traffic Controllers Return to Work

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Trump Demands Air Traffic Controllers Return to Work

(Sarah Roderick-Fitch, The Center Square)  After a reduction of 10% of flights in and out of the nation’s top airports, causing major travel disruptions, President Donald Trump is calling for air traffic controllers to get back to work.

Trump is demanding that air traffic controllers return to work, just as the federal government is poised to reopen following a historic forty-plus-day shutdown.

The president is threatening to “substantially” dock pay for any air traffic controllers who don’t return to work, while recommending that those who worked throughout the shutdown receive a $10,000 bonus for “distinguished service to our Country,” calling them “great patriots.”

“For those that did nothing but complain, and took time off, even though everyone knew they would be paid, IN FULL, shortly into the future, I am NOT HAPPY WITH YOU. You didn’t step up to help the U.S.A. against the FAKE DEMOCRAT ATTACK that was only meant to hurt our Country. You will have a negative mark, at least in my mind, against your record,” Trump posted to his Truth Social account.

The president added that if any plan on quitting “in the near future,” to “not hesitate to do so, with NO payment or severance of any kind!”

He continued by saying that anyone who plans to quit will be “quickly replaced by true Patriots” as the Federal Aviation Administration plans to replace its aging air traffic control software.

“Again, to our great American Patriots, GOD BLESS YOU – I won’t be able to send your money fast enough! To all others, REPORT TO WORK IMMEDIATELY,” the president concluded.

Thousands of flights across the country were either delayed or cancelled as a result of the longest government shutdown in history, with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announcing last week that the FAA would reduce flights by 10% at leading airports, adding that the number could increase to as high as 20% if the government fails to reopen.

However, there appears to be light at the end of the tunnel on Monday morning, as the Senate reached an agreement to reopen the government. House Speaker Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., then urgently called House members back to Washington, D.C., to vote on the measure in an effort to expedite the reopening.

Hamas Hands Over Body of IDF Soldier Killed in 2014 as Israel Continues Attacks in Gaza

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Hamas Hands Over Body of IDF Soldier Killed in 2014 as Israel Continues Attacks in Gaza

(Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com) Hamas on Sunday handed over the remains of Hadar Goldin, an IDF officer who was killed in the 2014 Gaza war, as the Israeli military continued strikes on Gaza despite the ceasefire deal.

Hamas’s military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, said Goldin’s body, which had been in Gaza for more than 10 years, was found in a tunnel in Rafah, southern Gaza, along with the remains of six of its fighters. Later in the day, Israel confirmed through forensic testing that it received Golin’s remains.

The Times of Israel reported that on Saturday, Hamas members and Red Cross workers entered the Jenina neighborhood of Rafah, which is located on the Israeli-occupied side of the “yellow line,” to locate Goldin’s remains.

There are an estimated 150 Palestinian militants trapped on the Israeli side of the yellow line near Rafah, and according to Israeli media, Israel conditioned any deal on their movement on the release of Goldin’s body. The White House has reportedly been pushing for Israel to grant the militant safe passage to the Hamas-controlled part of Gaza.

The al-Qassam Brigades has said its fighters trapped in the area won’t “surrender” to Israel and called on “mediators” to find a solution.

Hamas has also continued to work to recover the remains of Israeli captives who were brought into Gaza during the October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. So far, 24 out of the 28 hostage bodies have been sent to Israel through the Red Cross, meaning four are left. Israel has returned the bodies of 15 Palestinians for each Israeli body.

Also on Sunday, an Israeli airstrike near Khan Younis in southern Gaza killed at least one Palestinian, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA. Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Sunday that since the truce deal went into effect on October 10, Israeli forces have killed 241 Palestinians and injured 619.

This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com. 

Russia Says It’s Considering Venezuela’s Requests for Assistance Amid US Military Buildup in the Caribbean

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Russia Says It’s Considering Venezuela’s Requests for Assistance Amid US Military Buildup in the Caribbean

(Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com) Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday that Moscow was prepared to “respond appropriately” to Venezuela’s request for military assistance amid a US military buildup in the Caribbean, Newsweek has reported.

Zakharova also responded to reports that the US had drawn up different options for attacking Venezuela and warned against any escalation. “It’s clear that what a number of American observers, experts, and figures in various structures are saying is that this kind of direct aggression will worsen the situation rather than resolve the issues that have every potential to be resolved legally and diplomatically within the legal framework,” she said, according to Russia’s TASS news agency.

Alexei Zhuravlev, a senior lawmaker in Russia’s State Duma, said last week that Moscow had recently delivered air defense systems to Venezuela, including the Pantsir-S1, a system Caracas was not previously known to have. Zhuravlev said Moscow could also be open to sending Venezuela ballistic missiles.

According to a report from The Washington Post, the US believes that Venezuela has recently asked Russia for assistance in restoring Russian-made Sukhoi Su-30MK2 fighter jets, overhauling engines and radar systems, and also requested 14 sets of what are believed to be Russian-made missiles.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whom the US is looking to remove from power, said last month that his forces have 5,000 Russian-made Igla-S missiles, a portable air defense system, and that they were deployed in “key air defense positions.” The Venezuelan leader has also said that a pro-government militia that has millions of members is also ready to fight if the US attacks.

According to The New York Times, potential US plans for starting a war with Venezuela include bombing military targets, sending a special operations force to kill or capture Maduro, or sending a much larger force to seize airfields and oil infrastructure in the country. Any one of the options risks a full-blown war with Venezuela, or if the US is successful in taking out Maduro and decapitating his government, it could plunge the country into chaos.

Trump administration officials downplayed the idea of attacking Venezuela ahead of a Senate vote on a War Powers Resolution that would have blocked President Trump from launching a war with the country without congressional authorization, an effort that failed. But the US military buildup in the region continues, and the US military has continued its bombing campaign against small boats that it claims are running drugs.

This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com. 

Russia Says It Hasn’t Received Clarification from US on Trump’s Nuclear Testing Comments

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Russia Says It Hasn’t Received Clarification from US on Trump’s Nuclear Testing Comments

(Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Saturday that Moscow still hasn’t received clarification from the US on President Trump’s order for the US military to begin testing nuclear weapons.

“So far, Moscow has not received any explanations on what President Trump meant when he announced the resumption of nuclear tests,” Lavrov said, according to Russia’s TASS news agency.

It was unclear from Trump’s order, which he delivered in a post on Truth Social, if he meant testing nuclear-capable weapons or restarting tests that involved detonating nuclear warheads, something the US, Russia, and every other nuclear-armed power except for North Korea hasn’t done since the 1990s.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said a few days after Trump’s post that nuclear explosions were not on the table, at least for now, but this has not been conveyed to Moscow, based on comments from Russian officials.

“It is unclear whether it was a question of testing nuclear weapons carriers, of conducting so-called subcritical tests. Or maybe Donald Trump really talked about Washington’s intention to resume full-scale nuclear tests,” Lavrov said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said on Sunday that Russia needs “clarification” on what Trump meant. In response to Trump’s comments, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his top officials to submit proposals on the possibility of resuming “full-scale” nuclear weapons tests.

“As for the instruction of President Vladimir Putin at the meeting of the Security Council on November 5, it was accepted for execution and is in the works. The public will be informed about the results,” Lavrov said in reference to Putin’s order.

At the Security Council meeting, Putin said that Russia would maintain its moratorium on testing nuclear weapons in line with the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), but that Moscow would respond if the US or any other party conducts such tests. The US is a signatory to the CTBT but has never ratified it. Russia did ratify the treaty in 2000 but withdrew the ratification in 2023, saying it was “mirroring” the US position.

This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com.

US-Led ‘Coordination Center’ Replaces Israel as ‘Overseer’ of Gaza Aid Deliveries

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US-Led ‘Coordination Center’ Replaces Israel as ‘Overseer’ of Gaza Aid Deliveries

(Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com) The US military-led Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) that was recently established in southern Israel has replaced Israel as the “overseer” of Gaza aid deliveries, The Washington Post reported on Friday.

Since the ceasefire deal was supposed to be implemented on October 10, Israel has violated it by continuing to restrict aid deliveries entering Gaza. “Israel is blocking the Trump plan’s humanitarian clauses,” Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, told the Post.

Egeland said it was “very good news” that the US is more engaged in aid deliveries, though it remains unclear whether the restrictions will be lifted. “Our appeal is make the plan a reality,” he said. “Of course, the credibility of the United States is at stake here.”

One of the biggest impediments to aid deliveries is that Israel has only allowed trucks to enter Gaza through two border crossings, with most deliveries going through the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza. “We need full access. We need everything to be moving fast. We are in a race against time. The winter months are coming. People are still suffering from hunger, and the needs are overwhelming,” Abeer Etefa, a spokeswoman for the UN’s World Food Program, said last week.

There have been no direct aid deliveries to northern Gaza, where people need food the most, and, according to the Post report, many of the trucks allowed to enter Gaza carry commercial goods that few Palestinians can afford to purchase.

The Post report said the responsibility for Gaza aid was being shifted to the CMCC from the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), a unit of the Israeli Defense Ministry that oversees Israeli-occupied and controlled territory.

In response to the report, COGAT characterized the shift differently, saying the “Americans will be integrated into the formulation and implementation of coordination, supervision, and control mechanisms in the context of humanitarian aid, in full cooperation with the Israeli security services.”

An unnamed Israeli official said that the “Americans will take the lead in engaging with the international community on humanitarian matters. … It should be emphasized that this does not constitute a transfer of authority or responsibility from COGAT to the Americans.”

While the US leads the CMCC, where about 200 US troops have been deployed, the Post report said more than 40 other countries and organizations are also involved. The CMCC is also supposed to oversee an international force that may be deployed to Gaza under the ceasefire deal, but it remains unclear whether it will come together, as countries willing to participate want more clarity about exactly what their troops will be doing.

In the meantime, Israeli troops continue to occupy more than 50% of Gaza’s territory and continue to carry out attacks against Palestinians. Since the ceasefire went into effect on October 10, at least 241 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com. 

U.S. Attorney Pirro Clarifies Whether D.C. Mayor Bowser Is Under Federal Investigation

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U.S. Attorney Pirro Clarifies Whether D.C. Mayor Bowser Is Under Federal Investigation

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said Friday that D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is not the subject of a criminal investigation for a foreign trip, despite prior reports suggesting otherwise. 

“Mayor Bowser is not under investigation, nor is she the target of any investigation,” Pirro said, responding to claims tied to Bowser’s December 2023 trip to Qatar. 

The trip, which involved Bowser and four staffers attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference in April 2023, has drawn scrutiny over record-keeping and funding disclosures. 

Initially, Bowser said the D.C. Chamber of Commerce covered the trip, though the organization later denied the claim. She then pointed to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, before reporting confirmed that Qatar funded part of the visit. 

The New York Times reported Thursday that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C. was looking into potential violations of bribery or campaign finance laws, citing “people familiar with the inquiry.” 

Follow-up reporting by the leftist Washington Post noted that the probe was in its early stages and led by an FBI agent later fired for his role in the lawfare against President Donald Trump. 

In remarks to the media, Bowser said she was unaware of a criminal investigation. 

“I have checked with our lawyers. We have a regular kind of chain of who talks to who, and we have not been contacted — not related to me or to anybody else, as I’m aware, and I have no explanation from federal officials about what happened,” she said. 

Bowser’s office defended the Qatar trip as part of economic development work. 

“DC representatives regularly travel to promote Washington as a destination for investment and growth,” the office said. “This regular work has helped bring investment, infrastructure, new business, new grocery stores, growth, and jobs to the District. In some cases, economic development funds are used for the business travel; in other cases, the host or organizer covers the expenses. All proper paperwork for this standard donation is on file.” 

 

Judges Shield Radical Activist Who Doxxed Stephen Miller and His Kids

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Judges Shield Radical Activist Who Doxxed Stephen Miller and His Kids

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Two judges and a Virginia prosecutor are actively derailing the Justice Department’s investigation into a radical activist accused of doxxing former Trump adviser Stephen Miller and his young family. 

U.S. Magistrate Judge Lindsey Vaala twice denied the FBI’s petition for a search warrant targeting the smartphone of 66-year-old suspect Barbara Wien, who allegedly distributed leaflets exposing Miller’s home address. 

One of the leaflets read, “NO NAZIS IN NOVA,” and featured Miller’s face in a red circle with a cross through it, as reported first by Axios.

The incident occurred on Sept. 11, one day after Charlie Kirk was senselessly killed in what prosecutors have exposed as a politically motivated act. 

Surveillance footage from the Secret Service reportedly captured Wien walking by Miller’s home, locking eyes with Miller’s wife, Katie, and making an “I’m watching you” gesture. 

This threat prompted the White House to move the Miller family to a military facility to protect them. 

Local police arrested Wien, suspecting she had violated state and federal laws against doxxing. The FBI and state prosecutors launched separate investigations. 

Police seized Wien’s phone on Oct. 1 — the same day she was interviewed by the FBI. Federal agents said she misled investigators, prompting them to seek a search warrant for her device. 

Judge Vaala—a donor to both former presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama—denied the request, which could have led to evidence of the alleged lies to investigators, particularly on whether Wien was part of a group that threatened the Millers’ safety. 

The Millers then took the matters to the Virginia State Police, which successfully petitioned local Judge Judith Wheat for a warrant. 

However, the FBI’s involvement enraged Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, Arlington’s Democrat prosecutor, who sided with Wien’s defense attorneys and asked Wheat to limit the search warrant and block the FBI from accessing the data. 

Dehghani-Tafti’s actions were extraordinary, Republican prosecutors said as search warrants are routine in early criminal probes. Tellingly, Dehghani-Tafti has a documented history of hostility toward Miller on social media and even followed one of Wien’s activist groups, ANUF. 

A senior administration official condemned the interference, telling Axios: “The position of the judge and the justice system in Northern Virginia is, Stephen Miller deserves this, so it shouldn’t be investigated. This is just about gathering evidence to see if there should be an arrest. And the judges are blocking it.” 

The White House echoed the concern, saying: “A lot of administration officials feel it’s a problem that you have to live in Virginia or D.C. or Maryland. But the criminal justice system will not protect you and your family.” 

Wien’s defense argued her actions were lawful and part of her work in “peace studies.” 

The case remains with the FBI and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, who is set to leave office in January 2026 after the election of Jay Jones, the embattled Democrat who once fantasized about killing his political opponents. 

 

Michelle Obama Complains White House Glam Squad Wasn’t a ‘Luxury’

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Michelle Obama Complains White House Glam Squad Wasn’t a ‘Luxury’

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Former First Lady Michelle Obama has once again complained about her time in the White House, this time griping that being pampered by a personal glam team wasn’t a “luxury.” 

Speaking Thursday on the Jamie Kern Lima Show, Obama said she was nearly forced to hire a team of stylists and makeup artists because of her tight schedule and because clothes did not fit her unusually “long” frame. 

“I know that having a glam team—a trifecta—it feels like a luxury, but it was a time necessity,” Obama said. “There’s absolutely no way that I would be able to do my hair and makeup and have clothes ready that fit.” 

Obama made the remarks while promoting her new book, The Look, which chronicles her outfits since she emerged on the national stage alongside her husband, former President Barack Obama, in 2008. 

She even suggested that one of her biggest struggles while at the White House was finding clothes “off the rack” that fit. 

“Where is the woman that can live off the rack?” she asked. “Because it’s not just finding the right outfit, but my arms are long. My legs are long. There’s nothing on the rack that I could wear. Everything has to be altered. Everything has to fit just so. If you’re bending over to hug a child, your shirt can’t raise up because that could be the story.”

Obama’s latest remarks are part of her long pattern of resentment toward her years in the White House, often framed around personal grievances and identity politics. 

She has previously complained about being “misunderstood” and labeled an “angry black woman,” and even said it was a “relief” to leave the White House in 2017. 

In her new book, Obama claimed she and her family “couldn’t afford any missteps,” adding that as a black woman, “I was under a particularly white hot glare.” 

In a separate interview on ABC News’s 20/20, she argued that when she and her husband entered the White House, “we didn’t get the grace that I think some other families have gotten.” 

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