Senate rejects competing bills to fund government, increasing risk of shutdown on Oct. 1

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate rejected competing measures on Friday to fund federal agencies for a few weeks when the new budget year begins on Oct. 1, increasing prospects for a partial government shutdown on that date. Leaders of the two parties sought to blame the other side for the standoff. Democrats accused Republicans of not negotiating with them to address some of their priorities on health care as part of the funding measure, even though they knew Democratic votes would be needed to get a bill to the president’s…

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Pity Trump’s Defenders

Minutes after news broke that ABC had bowed to the Trump administration’s threats and indefinitely suspended Jimmy Kimmel, Ari Fleischer, the former Bush-administration press secretary, tried to explain why the thing that just happened was not actually what happened. “Liberals want to make this firing about ‘free speech,’” he wrote on X, “Did it ever occur to them the issue might be accuracy? Kimmel told his viewers that Charlie Kirk was murdered by MAGA.” Nothing to see here, just a network imposing a zero-tolerance standard for factual accuracy upon its…

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Jordan: FBI Has ‘Refocused’ Away From ‘Targeting Citizens for Their Beliefs’

This week, FBI Director Kash Patel appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee and House Judiciary Committee, sparking headlines for fiery exchanges as he defended the bureau from Democrats’ attacks. On Wednesday, Patel appeared before House members, during which House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, had his own memorable moments. During his opening statement at Wednesday’s hearing, Jordan focused in part on how the FBI under then-Director Christopher Wray had been targeting Catholics as well as parents at local school board meetings. Jordan remarked that Patel had “ended the weaponization of…

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Fastest Growing MoveOn Petition of the Year Demands ABC and Disney Reinstate Jimmy Kimmel and Resist Government Censorship

A new MoveOn petition, on track to be MoveOn’s fastest growing of the year, is calling on ABC and Disney to immediately reinstate late-night host Jimmy Kimmel after his suspension, which came following pressure from the Trump administration and MAGA Republicans. Petition organizers say the move is a dangerous escalation of authoritarian censorship in the U.S. See the MoveOn petition here. The petition also calls for ABC and Disney to commit to standing up against government censorship and demonstrate to its audiences that they value free speech over political pressure. “Whether you are…

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Lawmakers press OPM on ‘critical’ staffing, funding issues in Postal insurance program

Less than two months away from this fall’s Open Season, Democrats in Congress are raising concerns that the Office of Personnel Management may not be fully prepared to administer the major health insurance program for millions of Postal Service employees and annuitants. Top Democrats from several congressional committees sent a letter Friday to OPM Director Scott Kupor to push for answers about key issues recently identified in the new Postal Service Health Benefits program. The letter comes a few months after the agency’s inspector general office found “critical” staffing vacancies…

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