Bowing to Trump's threats of a government shutdown if his wall isn't funded, the House passes a stopgap measure that includes $5 billion for the wall. Right now the House bill is at the Senate, where it's expected to fail, triggering a government shutdown.
Trump stuns the rest of the government by declaring victory over ISIS and ordering a complete withdrawal from Syria. 1/17 Such a move offers “a prime opportunity” for the Islamic State, Iran, and Russia. 2/17 “Donald is right.” Putin backs Trump in somewhat intimate terms during a press
In a bipartisan vote of 87-12, the Senate passed landmark criminal justice legislation, already endorsed by Trump, that will reform “three strikes” sentences, mandatory minimums, and early release options. 1/18 Michael Flynn’s sentencing has been postponed after yesterday’s hearing went into unanticipated territory, in which the
A new report finds Russian disinformation teams targeting Robert Mueller with sweeping campaigns to discredit the special counsel’s investigation. 1/20 One tactic employed by the Kremlin-backed Internet Research Agency: an anti-masturbation hotline. 2/20 Russian meddling found big wins on Instagram, with more than twice the
The White House defends the Border Patrol in the exhaustion and dehydration death of a seven-year-old Guatemalan girl, placing blame on the child's father. 1/24 Related: “US Border Patrol systematically destroyed water supplies left for migrants in desert.” 2/24 At the current pace, the
The Senate votes 56 to 41 to revoke—symbolically, mostly—American military support for Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen. 1/21 The United States suffered 94 school shooting incidents in 2018, a near 60% increase on the previous high set in 2006. 2/21 Meanwhile, US death row
Michael Cohen is sentenced to three years in prison for his role in committing crimes at Trump’s direction and on Trump’s behalf. 1/23 Law experts say a tabloid publisher’s admission yesterday that it paid off Playboy model Karen McDougal in order to influence the election is
During an impromptu debate in the White House, Trump interrupts Nancy Pelosi 15 times (and still leaves angry over losing). 1/22 Meanwhile Vice President Pence said nothing, prompting the best jokes. 2/22 A new category of falsehood—“the Bottomless Pinocchio”—is created to accommodate Trump’s compulsive lying.
Responding to the yellow vest protests, Macron promises a minimum wage increase and other concessions, but many protestors view his speech as a charade. 1/23 Ending days of assurance that a Brexit vote would happen today, Theresa May calls off the vote, and will try and negotiate a new
Yesterday’s filings in the Russia investigation show that Trump directed Cohen to break campaign finance laws by making hush payments to Stormy Daniels and others, and that Mueller’s office has evidence Manafort lied when he said he didn’t facilitate connections between Russia and the Trump campaign. 1/
