The US government could shut down. Here’s what to know

If lawmakers don’t secure a spending deal before Friday midnight, all nonessential government functions will pause

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A government shutdown looms after Republicans in Congress failed on Thursday to pass a pared-down spending bill. The potential shutdown could disrupt Christmas travel and deliver a blow to the US economy just a month before Donald Trump returns to the White House.

Lawmakers face a last...

Biden is one of our greatest presidents — smears won’t tarnish his legacy

America’s greatest presidents were sometimes treated like punching bags in office — insulted and vilified by opponents. President Biden has endured the same undeserved treatment. But I expect that, like other great presidents, history will judge him more accurately. 

Biden has been a historically transformative president. His landmark domestic accomplishments are comparable to Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal and Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society.   

A ...

Tax lobbyists worry border bill could derail reform efforts

Tax lobbyists are worried Congress could endanger highly anticipated tax reform if it uses the first reconciliation bill to shore up immigration and border security funding.

Tax cuts enacted in 2017 by President-elect Trump’s signature bill are set to expire at the end of next year. Lobbyists already believe it will likely take longer to pass tax reform than the GOP originally hoped, and it could take even longer if Republicans opt to hold the tax package for a second reconcil...

Americans are mad as hell and Democrats must respond to voter anger

Progressives, and ordinary people who buy groceries, scored a victory this week when a judge quashed a mega-merger between two mammoth grocery chains, Kroger and Albertsons.

The merger could have cost grocery shoppers in Washington state alone an extra $800 million per year. Things got even better when the two big grocery chains turned on each other and Albertsons sued its erstwhile merger partner after the ruling. Judicial action toppled the corporate giants and ele...

Trump team digs in on Hegseth

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A new agenda for a new Democratic Party

Following Vice President Kamala Harris’s defeat — which also saw Democrats lose the Senate and fail to retake the House of Representatives — one thing is fundamentally clear: The Democratic Party needs a new agenda if it hopes to win in the future. 

Quite simply, Democrats cannot continue with the same playbook they’ve used for much of the past decade. It has alienated their base and threatens to relegate the party as a whole to minority status for years to come....

Medicare Advantage gets ally in Dr. Oz

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