The shutdown entered its 14th day as the Senate returned from its recess, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson refused to recall lawmakers to Washington and President Donald Trump’s budget director vowed to continue laying off federal workers.
Democrats have focused on preventing Affordable Care Act subsidies from expiring for millions of Americans who buy insurance on Obamacare exchanges. Without this government support, costs across the healthcare system are expected to skyrocket. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said he “will not negotiate” unless Democrats first agree to reopen the government, thereby losing their leverage over a deal.
The latest:
The Speaker of the House of Representatives is rallying global support to nominate Trump for the next Nobel Peace Prize
Mike Johnson says he and the speaker of Israel’s Knesset are launching a project to mobilize world leaders to support Trump’s nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize next year.
Conservatives applauded Trump’s efforts to broker a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas and said he deserved the annual award.
“Under his leadership, we are witnessing the beginning of a new golden age, not just for America, but for the entire free world,” the Louisiana Republican said at a news conference.
ICE uses full-body restraints during deportations, raising concerns about inhumane treatment
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have used a full-body restraint device called WRAP during deportations. The Associated Press spoke with several people who said they were put into the device after they had already been handcuffed.
The manufacturer says the device is intended for violent individuals, but inmates claim it is used to intimidate or punish.
ICE’s employ of WRAP has continued despite security concerns raised two years ago by a surveillance arm of its parent agency, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
A DHS spokesperson says ICE’s application of the restrictions is “fully consistent with applicable legal standards.”
▶ Read more from the AP investigation into ICE’s employ of full-body restraint systems
Trump’s ‘gigantic bill’ helps pay Coast Guard salaries during decommissioning
The administration has begun using funds from Trump’s tax breaks and budget legislation to address priorities during the shutdown – in this case, ensuring the Coast Guard doesn’t go without paychecks.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement that “the brave men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard will not miss a paycheck this week thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill.”
Trump had already ordered the Defense Department to ensure military personnel were paid. The Pentagon said it would do this with $8 billion in unused research and development funds.
The bill includes more than $300 billion in fresh funding for the military, as well as DHS and Trump’s mass deportation plan.
The White House budget office was preparing for a long standoff
The office, led by Budget Director Russ Vought, also said in a social media post that it would continue to implement workforce reduction plans to lay off federal employees.
The post said the office would “pay the troops, pay the law enforcement, continue to operate and maintain the RIFs.”
Many in Washington fear a prolonged battle over government funding. The shutdown is already in its second week.
A Pennsylvania man pleads guilty to arson at the governor’s mansion while Shapiro’s family slept
A man who scaled an iron security fence, evaded police and used beer bottles filled with gasoline to set fire to the occupied Pennsylvania governor’s mansion pleaded guilty Tuesday to attempted murder.
Cody Balmer, 38, was sentenced to 25 to 50 years in prison after also pleading guilty to terrorism, 22 counts of arson, aggravated arson, burglary, aggravated assault on Gov. Josh Shapiro and 21 counts of reckless endangerment and loitering in the April 13 attack that caused millions of dollars in damage to the state’s brick building.
Shapiro and his family were awakened and evacuated hours after celebrating the Jewish holiday of Passover. Balmer told police after he turned himself in that he had planned to hit Shapiro with a sledgehammer, according to court documents.
▶ Read more about the attack on the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion
The Supreme Court rejects Jones’ appeal of the $1.4 billion Sandy Hook verdict
The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an appeal from conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, leaving in place the $1.4 billion verdict against him for his description of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting as a hoax orchestrated by crisis actors.
The Infowars host had argued that a judge wrongly found him liable for defamation and infliction of emotional distress without conducting a trial on the merits of allegations made by relatives of the victims of the shooting that killed 20 first-graders and six educators in Newtown, Connecticut.
The justices did not comment on their order, which they issued without even asking the families of Sandy Hook victims to respond to Jones’ appeal.
▶ Read more about Jones’ rejection by the Supreme Court
Barack Obama appears in an ad urging California voters to oppose Trump
Barack Obama enters the battle for control of the U.S. House of Representatives with a 30-second ad urging California voters to approve a ballot proposal that could add up to five Democratic House seats from California.
“The Republicans want to steal enough seats in Congress to rig the next election and wield unchecked power for two more years,” Obama says, looking directly into the camera. “They can stop the Republicans.”
Proposition 50 aims to offset Trump’s moves in Texas and elsewhere to gain more Republican seats in the 2026 midterm elections. Voting is ongoing and ends November 4th. Republicans hold a 219-213 majority in the House of Representatives, with three seats vacant.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has portrayed the election as a referendum on all things Trump, who is unpopular in liberal-leaning California outside of his conservative base. Republicans call it a Democratic power grab that would override an independent commission appointed by voters.
News outlets are at risk of toppling the Pentagon for refusing to sign off on the defense secretary’s preclearance rules
Major news organizations say they will not sign a Defense Department document on fresh press rules, making it likely that the Trump administration will expel its reporters from the Pentagon.
Pete Hegseth responded to her refusal by adding a hand-waving emoji
The fresh rules ban journalists from unaccompanied access to much of the Pentagon and say Hegseth can deny press access to reporters who ask someone in the Defense Department for classified or other information that he has not authorized to be made public.
The New York Times, The Associated Press, conservative television network Newsmax, The Washington Post, The Atlantic and Reuters and other media outlets say the policy threatens to penalize routine news gathering protected by the First Amendment.
▶ Read more about the Pentagon and the media
Trump complains that the photo of him in Time magazine is “the worst ever.”
The president posted a lament on social media early Tuesday morning about a signature issue: his hair.
Trump has long been known for his flowing blonde hair, but in the latest issue of Time acknowledging his ceasefire agreement in Gaza, he feels his locks are missing.
“They made my hair ‘disappear’ and then there was something floating on my head that looked like a floating crown, but an extremely small one. Really weird!” wrote the president.
The president also complained that the shot was taken face up, revealing more of his neck and chin than he apparently liked.
“This is a super bad image and deserves to be highlighted,” he wrote. “What are they doing and why?”
FACT FOCUS: Trump now says he has ended eight wars. His numbers don’t add up
As Israel and Hamas exchanged hostages and prisoners on Monday in a first step toward peace, Trump addressed Israel’s parliament and claimed he had ended his eighth war. “Yesterday I said seven, but now I can say eight,” he told the Knesset.
“After so many years of ceaseless war and endless danger, today the sky is calm. The guns are silent. The sirens are silent. And the sun rises on a holy land where peace finally reigns,” Trump said.
But Trump’s claim is exaggerated. Here’s a closer look.
Gaza ceasefire plan is fraught with questions about what comes next
The coming weeks, months and years will require more than just rebuilding after the devastation that reduced gigantic swaths of the Gaza Strip to rubble. Important details of the peace plan may remain unclear.
Detailed details need to be negotiated to advance the plan and prevent fighting from resuming. The road to long-term peace, stability and eventual reconstruction will be a long and very steep road.
