The Senate is leaving town until Tuesday, guaranteeing the government shutdown will last at least 14 days.

It also means active-duty troops will miss their Oct. 15 paychecks unless the White House intervenes to shift money from other purposes, as some officials are considering

Senators had initially considered voting on the dueling stopgap bills for an eighth timeThursday night but instead decided to leave town after a marathon session to pass the annual defense authorization bill.

Jordain Carney

10/09/2025, 9:21pm ET

https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/10/09/congress/gone-till-tuesday-00601753

Timely troop pay is now in Trump’s hands

Congress will not be able to act in time to get servicemembers their Oct. 15 paychecks.

By Meredith Lee Hill and Jordain Carney 10/10/2025, 10:11am ET

President Donald Trump is now the only person with the power to keep 1.3 million active-duty military members from missing their paychecks Wednesday after the Senate failed to act on spending legislation Thursday then left Washington for the long holiday weekend.

If all active-duty troops are not paid on time, it would be a first in U.S. history.

Trump, however, has publicly assured service members several times now that they will get their pay regardless of the shutdown. White House officials have been reviewing options to shift funding around to avoid the pay lapse, and many Republicans on Capitol Hill believe Trump will intervene — even amid questions about the legality of the move.

But senior Hill Republicans are arguing they need to let troop pay lapse in order to demonstrate the real consequences of Senate Democrats blocking the short-term spending bill the House passed last month, according to four people granted anonymity to discuss behind-the-scenes strategic conversations.

If Democrats can make it through the Oct. 15 troop pay deadline without feeling overwhelming political consequences, the shutdown will drag on for weeks, those Republicans argue.

Many congressional Republicans have pushed their leaders to pass a standalone bill allowing troop checks to go out, but those leaders are holding firm against it— leaving intervention by Trump as the only other way to pay troops at this point. House GOP leaders have no plans to try to pass troop pay legislation, led by Rep. Jen Kiggans of Virginia, by unanimous consent during the House’s pro forma session Friday, according to three people granted anonymity to describe plans.

Speaker Mike Johnson said earlier this week that Monday is the real cutoff point for a decision given the Pentagon’s payroll process. Now with both chambers out of town until after that deadline, it’s up to Trump.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, asked in a brief interview Thursday night about the troop pay, replied with exasperation: “Open up the government.” As far as the options Trump officials have been discussing, Thune said he’s been “talking constantly” with the White House but wasn’t aware of Trump’s latest statement on the matter.

Thune made clear earlier this week he didn’t believe such a vote was necessary, jumping in after Johnson seemed open to the idea when the two appeared together at a news conference. Thune has floated trying to move a stand-alone Defense Department funding bill, but that would take buy-in from Democrats and wouldn’t be passed before the paycheck deadline.

Johnson has since closed the door to the possibility of a stand-alone troop pay bill.

“We’ve had that vote,” Johnson told Fox News Friday morning. “And now they realize the real consequences, I think the House Democrats have realized the real consequences of what they’ve done. And it’s shameful.”

https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/10/10/congress/timely-troop-pay-is-now-in-trumps-hands-00601881

The Senate is leaving town until Tuesday, guaranteeing the government shutdown will last at least 14 days.

It also means active-duty troops will miss their Oct. 15 paychecks unless the White House intervenes to shift money from other purposes, as some officials are considering

Senators had initially considered voting on the dueling stopgap bills for an eighth timeThursday night but instead decided to leave town after a marathon session to pass the annual defense authorization bill.

https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/10/09/congress/gone-till-tuesday-00601753

Christopher Cadelago

@ccadelago

Exclusive from @melmason on Katie Porter, who berates a staffer and tells her to “get out of my fucking shot!” while recording a video with the Biden administration.

The video + story — scooped by @politico👇🏼

https://politico.com/news/2025/10/08/katie-porter-tears-into-staffer-new-video-00598942

5:45 PM · Oct 8, 2025

·

5.3M

Views

https://x.com/ccadelago/status/1976041225548701921

>>23718762

Exclusive

‘Get out of my f–king shot’: Katie Porter tears into staffer in newly released video

The former member of Congress, who is now running for California governor,also vented that she was snubbed by the Biden White House, complaining she raised the president “a shit ton of money.”

Katie Porter shouts at staffer By Melanie Mason and Blake Jones10/08/2025 05:42 PM EDT

SACRAMENTO, California — A newly surfaced video shows Katie Porter —the front-runner in next year’s race for California governor — blasting a staffer who interrupteda meeting the former House member was taping for the Biden administration.

“Get out of my fucking shot!” Porter said after the employee came into view.

Video of the exchange, exclusively obtained by POLITICO on Wednesday,shows an online conversation between Porter and then-Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm in July 2021. Several minutes in, Porter’sstaffer interjected to correct something the Democratic representative had saidabout electric vehicles. Porter thenreprimandedher employee, who had also previously appeared periodically in the background during the recording.

“You also were in my shot before that. Stay out of my shot,” Porter said. The staffer, whom POLITICO is not identifying out of privacy concerns and who was not the source of the video, declined to comment.

A final, edited version of the webinar that was published by the Department of Energy did not include the exchange.

POLITICO’s reporting comes a day after a video went viral of Porter threatening to walk out of an interview with a California CBS News reporter.The newly surfaced meeting will almost certainly add to criticism of Porter’s judgment and temperament as the front-runner in the race to succeed California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

For years,Porter has contended with accusations that she was a difficult boss or abusiveto employees during her time in Congress, along with unrelated domestic disputes. In a statement Wednesday, Porter saidshe’s striving to do better by her staff.

“It’s no secret I hold myself and my staff to a high standard, and that was especially true as a member of Congress,” Porter told POLITICO in a statement. “I have sought to be more intentional in showing gratitude to my staff for their important work.”

In the video call, in which Porter touted the Biden administration’s ambitious climate agenda and promoted electric vehicles, the then-representativealso complained to Granholm that she had not visited the White House despite raising a “shit ton” of money for President Joe Biden.

“Never been there. Some of my colleagues (have been) three, four times,” Porter vented. “I don’t fit in the photo-op for some reason.”

Porter also sounded off about not being in touch with Biden officials.“I’m like the least in-connection with the White House member of Congress,” Porter said. (maybe its because of her ego, money grabbing, and hateful conduct, did she ever think of that?)

Granholm, who declined to comment to POLITICO, is heard gently downplaying her concerns. “That is not true.”

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/08/katie-porter-tears-into-staffer-new-video-00598942

Weiss makes first major CBS moves

Max Tani Media Editor, Semafor Oct 9, 2025, 6:05pm EDT

The News

Less than a week into her tenure as CBS News’ editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss is already making her editorial presence felt at the network.

On Monday, Paramount announced that it had purchased the center-right, pro-Israel digital news publication The Free Press for $150 million, and would install Weiss, its founder, atop the storied newsroom.

During CBS News’ editorial meeting on Thursday, Weiss said the network shouldlean heavily into the news of a major hostage and prisoner exchangedeal between Israel and Hamas, per two people who were in attendance.

Weiss proposed an idea:a roundtable panel with former secretaries of state Hillary Clinton, Mike Pompeo, and Antony Blinken.

She said she was happy to use her contacts to book the panel herself and began texting sources during the meeting to try and set it up.Her idea was met with some initial skepticismamong CBS News staff; Clinton, Pompeo, and Blinken are not easy guest bookings. And the network does not typically run roundtable political discussion panels.

Still, by Thursday afternoon, the three panelists had initially agreed to sit down with the network, four people with knowledge confirmed to Semafor.The likely interview will be hosted by Norah O’Donnell, the former CBS Evening News anchor, and is expected to air in segments over several day.

The New York Times’ Michael Grynbaum was the first to report that Weiss had proposed the idea.

MAX’S VIEW

During her introduction to CBS News staff on Monday, as Semafor reported,Weiss said she wanted to “win,” and restore interest and trust in CBS News.

While the response to those remarks was not necessarily positive, Weiss booked the panel on the same day as her first visit to CBS News’ Washington newsroom,where some staff have seen it as a symbolic victory.

The booking of three high-profile former secretaries of state sends a message to the network’s newsroomthat, while Weiss may lack experience in television programming,she is skilled in the art of attracting attentionand has a fairly long journalistic rolodex.

But Weiss will have to continue to work to earn the trust of her CBS News colleagues, particularly around issueswhere her very public personal views run up against a nonpartisan news broadcast.

The Free Press hasestablished itself as one of the most pro-Israel US media organizationsand has criticized establishment media for what it sees as anti-Israel bias. That reputation has followed Weiss to CBS News, where staff are already carefully watching whether she attempts to shape coverage related to the war in Gaza.

One CBS News staffer noted to Semafor that during Thursday’s morning editorial call,a London-based producer repeatedly emphasized that the network needed to hear from people in Gaza about the hostage deal— which prompted no response from Weiss.

KNOW MORE

The move also represents a notable return for O’Donnell, who could benefit from Weiss’ arrival.

The former anchor was forced to leave her job earlier this year amid a broader rethinking of the evening newscast spearheaded by then-network president Wendy McMahon. O’Donnell has since stayed on as a contributor.

But she appears to be among Weiss’ early favorites; the new editor-in-chief told staff that she’d met with O’Donnell in recent days, and they worked together on Thursday to quickly book and record the roundtable.

https://www.semafor.com/article/10/09/2025/weiss-makes-first-major-cbs-moves

‘We’re Now a Conservative Opinion Page,’ Declares Washington Post Columnist

Charlie Nash Oct 10th, 2025, 12:07 am (Not conservative, NeoCons)

Washington Post columnist Marc Thiessen boasted on Thursday that the newspaper was “now a conservative opinion page,” after receiving complaints over an article titled,“Yes, Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.”

After Thiessen’s article went viral on social media, Foundation for Defense of Democracies CEO Mark Dubowitz noted that it “was written by @marcthiessen who is a (welcome) outlier at the Washington Post.”

Thiessen responded, “Thanks Mark. But not such an outlier any more! We’re now a conservative opinion page.”

Thiessen’s article was warmly received by President Donald Trump, who wrote in a Truth Social post, “Thank you Washington Post. Wow!!!”

Washington Post columnistDavid Ignatius also praised Trump’s Gaza peace plan on MSNBC, Thursday, declaring, “Joe Biden could never do that. And Donald Trump was able to do it.”

For more than a year, the Washington Post hasreceived criticism from staffers and readers alike over its apparent shift in identity.

In February, Post owner Jeff Bezos announced that the newspaper’s opinion section would now be dedicated to the “support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets.”Hours after making the announcement, Bezos dined with President Donald Trump.

Months prior, during the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election, the newspaper announced it was returning to its “roots of not endorsing presidential candidates” – having previously endorsed Joe Biden in 2020, Hillary Clinton in 2016, and Barack Obama in 2012 and 2008.

Several members of the Washington Post editorial board resigned over the news,with the newspaper’s opinion editor resigning just a few months later. Since then, the newspaper has appeared to shift into more of a conservative direction.

In March, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt praised the Washington Post for “finally learning.” In July, veteran Washington Post columnist Joe Davidson wrote a scathing resignation letter, accusing the newspaper of “killing” and censoring his articles for being “too opinionated.”

https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/were-now-a-conservative-opinion-page-declares-washington-post-columnist/?cfp

Steven Cheung

@StevenCheung47

President Trump will continue making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives.

He has the heart of a humanitarian, and there will never be anyone like him who can move mountains with the sheer force of his will.

The Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace.

https://x.com/StevenCheung47/status/1976601157041856756

Citizen Free Press

@CitizenFreePres

Look out Antifa, your time is over.

From Mario Nawfal

8:29 AM · Oct 10, 2025

·11.7K Views

https://x.com/CitizenFreePres/status/1976626225624838336

'My husband had nothing to do with this': Mobile County sheriff's wife says ICE Halloween decorations meant to raise awareness

Erica Thomas | 10.08.25

Halloween decorations at the home of Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch are being heavily criticized after a Facebook post featuring the display was shared.

The decorations depict skeleton ICE agents chasing other skeletons dressed in sombreros and Mexican-style ponchos.

Whitney Newman posted the photo saying, "It's hard to put into words how disappointing it is to see our elected sheriff use his own front yard to mock and dehumanize a group of people."

The post received hundreds of reactions and was shared over 250 times.

However, Burch's wife, Michelle Alfonso Burch, responded, saying that her family members are immigrants and the purpose of the decorations was to draw attention to the issues facing the country. She said her husband had nothing to do with the decorations, other than mowing the grass around them.

"Every year, I make tongue-in-cheek Halloween decorations with a topical theme at my home," Michelle Alfonso Burch said in a statement. "I like decorating for Halloween and other holidays and rotate these decorations periodically."

"My husband has nothing to do with these, other than mowing the grass around them," she continued. "I made this one, playing both on my Cuban background and new, needed changes in federal immigration enforcement. My parents were legal immigrants, and I have plenty of immigrants throughout my family."

"I'll make a new one shortly – we have no shortage of topics to cover," she added.

https://1819news.com/news/item/my-husband-had-nothing-to-do-with-this-mobile-county-sheriffs-wife-says-ice-halloween-decorations-meant-to-raise-awareness