A Government Shutdown Standoff, and Trump’s Plans for ‘War-Ravaged’ Portland

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0:38From The New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Monday, September 29th. Here's what we're covering.

0:49We don't want to shut down the government, but if Democrats refuse to just pass this clean, continuing resolution, that's exactly what's going to happen. The White House and congressional Republicans are growing increasingly frustrated with Democrats as the government teeters on the edge of a shutdown. Funding is set to run out in less than 48 hours, at which point many federal operations will come to a halt and thousands of workers could be furloughed if the two sides don't reach a deal. Today, for the first time this term, President Trump will host Democrats at the White House for talks. Now, if the president at this meeting is going to rant and just yell at Democrats and talk about all his alleged grievances and say this, that and the other thing, we won't get anything done.

1:35But my hope is it'll be a serious negotiation. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer will be there alongside House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. In the Senate, Republicans hold a narrow majority but will need some Democratic support in order to pass a temporary spending bill. Democrats, however, are demanding that any deal must include additional money for health care programs to protect Americans from losing coverage. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has dismissed that, accusing Democrats of trying to hijack the stopgap measure and fill it with, quote, all this liberal special interest stuff.

2:11Lawmakers are set to vote again tomorrow night, just hours before the deadline.

2:22I think we have maybe a deal on Gaza, very close to a deal on Gaza. In another major meeting at the White House today, President Trump will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss a post-war plan for Gaza. I think it's a deal that will get the hostages back. It's going to be a deal that will end the war. Trump said Friday that a deal to end the fighting was close. It's not been finalized yet, but we're working with President Trump's team. actually as we speak, and I hope we can make it a go. Netanyahu shared similar comments yesterday on Fox News. This will be the fourth time the leaders have met in Washington since Trump returned to office.

3:03Each time has raised hopes of a ceasefire, though wider negotiations have repeatedly fallen apart. Next month, the war will enter its third year. It began with the October 7th attacks by Hamas that killed about 1 ,200 people in Israel. Israel's counterattack in Gaza has now killed over 65 ,000 people, including thousands of children, according to Gaza health officials, and it's leveled much of the territory. As the wars continued, Israel's become more isolated diplomatically. Netanyahu is wanted by the International Criminal Court on allegations of war crimes, and several of Israel's allies, like France and the U.K., have recently recognized a Palestinian state over Israeli objections.

3:46The Trump administration's most recent proposal to end the fighting calls for Hamas to return all living hostages and the remains of those who've been killed within 48 hours of any deal. And Hamas members who agree to peaceful coexistence with Israel will be granted amnesty. It's unclear if Netanyahu, who has repeatedly vowed to completely eradicate Hamas, would accept those terms.

4:18And last update on the Trump administration. This weekend, the president announced that he's directed troops to Portland, Oregon, which he called war ravaged. It's the latest instance of Trump deploying the military onto city streets. He said he'd authorized troops to use what he called full force to quell protests there at ICE facilities. First Amendment rights and you can't take them away, no matter how many times you brutalize this community. For several months, a small but persistent group of demonstrators has camped in front of an ICE facility about two miles from downtown Portland. Some of the protesters have tried to block federal vehicles from leaving the building, and agents in armored gear have pushed them back.

4:59Fox News coverage of that, cut together with images from much larger protests in Portland back in 2020, prompted Trump to say he didn't know that was still going on and threatened action. State and local leaders sued yesterday to try and stop the planned deployment.

5:23Near Flint, Michigan yesterday, a gunman crashed his car into a church and began shooting before lighting the building on fire. At least four people were killed in the attack. I don't know how many people are unaccounted for at this time. we do know that there are some that are unaccounted for. Authorities are still working through the wreckage of the burned building, which was part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Mormon Church. They found three explosive devices at the scene, and the gunman is believed to have used an accelerant, possibly gasoline, to start the fire. The gunman was then killed by officers responding to the scene.

5:59That suspect is a 40-year-old male from the city of Burton. Military records show that the shooter was a Marine Corps veteran who deployed to Iraq from 2007 to 2008. Authorities did not address any possible motive for the attack, but the FBI said it's investigating it as an act of targeted violence. In another shooting over the weekend, which authorities called highly premeditated, a gunman opened fire at a crowded Riverside bar in Southport, North Carolina, killing three people. Police say he pulled up to the dock before he began firing, and he escaped by boat. Within an hour, authorities detained a suspect.

6:38They've identified him as a 40-year-old Marine Corps veteran who said he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. They called it a lone wolf attack and did not cite any possible motive.

6:58In New York City, in a video that opened with Frank Sinatra singing, I did it my way, Mayor Eric Adams announced he was dropping out of the race. Despite all we've achieved, I cannot continue my re-election campaign. Adams had been facing low poll numbers, and there'd been a constant drip of corruption allegations surrounding his administration. He was personally indicted on corruption and fraud charges earlier this year, though the Justice Department then abandoned the case so Adams could assist with President Trump's deportation efforts. I hope you will see that despite the headlines and innuendo, I always put you before me.

7:39Always. Behind the scenes, Adams had spent the last few weeks exploring potential off-ramps to avoid an embarrassing loss at the polls. That included talking with the Trump administration about becoming the ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Proponents of the plan felt getting Adams out of the race would help consolidate opposition to Zoran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee and frontrunner who Trump has heavily criticized. In his video message, Adams did not endorse any other candidate, but strongly suggested New Yorkers not vote for Mondani. With just five weeks to go until Election Day, it's unclear how much Adams' departure will shake up the race.

8:18His name will still be on the ballot because of the short timeline. And polls consistently put his support in just the single digits, suggesting the shift won't free up that many votes for other candidates.

8:35And finally, the NFL announced last night that Bad Bunny will headline the Super Bowl halftime show in February. The Grammy award-winning Latin superstar is one of the most streamed artists on Earth, with more streams on Spotify than anyone else in 2020, 2021 and 2022. He was dethroned in 2023 by Taylor Swift, who was also rumored to be in the running for next year's halftime show, which will be held at Levi's Stadium near San Francisco. Traditionally, the halftime show is the most watched TV event in the country, even more popular than the game itself. The last one, with Kendrick Lamar, pulled in 130 million viewers.

9:18My colleagues at The Athletic recently ranked the best halftime performances of all time. The top spot went to Prince for his performance in 2007. He played Purple Rain as it was raining. When he was asked beforehand if he wanted to cancel because of the weather, he reportedly just asked, Can you make it rain harder?

9:47Those are the headlines. And I want to make sure you don't miss something brand new that is coming to Times Audio. subscriber-only episodes from a bunch of different shows. If you subscribe to The New York Times, you will get two special episodes of The Daily every month, along with early access to the next season of Serial, all kinds of stuff. You can subscribe at nytimes.com slash podcasts or directly on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow.

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