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In the news today: The longest government shutdown in U.S. history ends after 43 days; a House committee released 23,000 documents related to Jefferey Epstein on Wednesday; and California revokes 17,000 commercial driver’s licenses given to immigrants. Also, Starbucks workers kick off a 65-store U.S. strike. |
As Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., left, and House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., applaud, President Donald Trump signs the funding bill to reopen the government, in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) |
President Trump signs government funding bill, ending shutdown after a record 43-day disruption |
Donald Trump signed a government funding bill Wednesday night, ending a shutdown that caused financial stress for federal workers who went without paychecks, stranded scores of travelers at airports and generated long lines at some food banks. Read more. |
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The Republican president blamed the situation on Democrats and suggested voters shouldn’t reward the party during next year’s midterm elections. “So I just want to tell the American people, you should not forget this,” Trump said. “When we come up to midterms and other things, don’t forget what they’ve done to our country.”
Democrats wanted to extend an enhanced tax credit expiring at the end of the year that lowers the cost of health coverage obtained through Affordable Care Act marketplaces. But Republicans said that was a separate policy fight to be held at another time. They promised to hold a vote by mid-December to extend the health care subsidies, but there is no guarantee of success.
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The compromise funds three annual spending bills and extends the rest of government funding through Jan. 30. The bill includes a reversal of the firing of federal workers by the Trump administration since the shutdown began. It also protects federal workers against further layoffs through January and guarantees they are paid once the shutdown is over.
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Takeaways from the newly released Epstein documents |
A House committee released 23,000 documents related to Jefferey Epstein on Wednesday, many of them emails the convicted sex offender sent to his rich or influential friends, or to reporters, over many years. Read more. |
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Democrats on the House Oversight Committee initially released three emails where Epstein mentioned President Donald Trump. Republicans on the committee responded by disclosing the bigger trove of documents and accused the Democrats of cherry-picking a few messages out of context in an effort to make Trump look bad.
Epstein said Trump ‘knew about the girls,’ but it’s unclear what he meant. Trump and Epstein were friends for years but at some point had a falling out, even before underage girls started to come forward to accuse Epstein of sexual abuse. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Democrats had leaked select emails to “create a fake narrative to smear President Trump.”
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Many of the documents were email exchanges between Epstein and journalists he had longstanding relationships with, or who solicited his insights on financial markets and Trump. He was asked, typically off the record, to weigh in on everything from the president’s relationships with foreign leaders to the impact of oil prices on wealthy families in Saudi Arabia.
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California revokes 17,000 commercial driver’s licenses for immigrants |
California is revoking 17,000 commercial driver’s licenses given to immigrants after discovering the expiration dates went past when the drivers were legally allowed to be in the U.S., state officials said Wednesday. Read more. |
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The announcement follows harsh criticism from the Trump administration about California and other states granting licenses to people in the country illegally. The issue was thrust into the public’s consciousness in August, when a tractor-trailer driver not authorized to be in the U.S. made an illegal U-turn and caused a crash in Florida that killed three people.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Wednesday that California’s action to revoke these licenses is an admission that the state acted improperly even though it previously defended its licensing standards. Governor Gavin Newsom’s office said that every one of the drivers whose license is being revoked had valid work authorizations from the federal government.
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The new rules for commercial driver’s licenses that Duffy announced in September make getting them extremely hard for immigrants because only three specific classes of visa holders will be eligible. Only 10,000 of the 200,000 noncitizens who have commercial licenses would qualify for them.
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