• Schumer Shutdown update: A vote to approve the House-passed continuing resolution to fund the government through November 21 failed to pass the Senate for the 12th time on Wednesday. The vote came after a baffling non-filibuster from Democrat Sen. Jeff Merkley. His 23-hour speech was a protest of Donald Trump’s first nine months in office, though, like Sen. Cory Booker’s marathon speech earlier this year, it proved only that some Democrats can avoid going to the bathroom for a very long time. The government shutdown has now become the second-longest in U.S. history, with no end in sight, prompting Republicans to consider passing a new CR through the House that would continue funding the government through January or even until December 2026. As it stands, even if the Senate relents and passes the current CR, funding would expire in just under a month.

• Dem lawmakers snitching on ICE: Attacks and assaults against ICE agents have risen by 1,000% this year, but evidently, that’s not high enough for some Democrats. On Tuesday, House Dems on the Oversight Committee introduced a plan to create what they’ve dubbed a “Master ICE Tracker” with the aim of “tracking every single instance” of ICE activity. While a program that would warn lawbreakers of ICE activity is problematic enough, the bigger issue is that this tracker effectively paints targets on ICE agents. Of course, these lawmakers couch their ICE tracker as merely a means of conducting oversight, but that claim is belied by the fact that Democrats have not only repeatedly objected to ICE raids but have smeared these federal law enforcement agents as the Gestapo. Apparently, Democrats don’t want criminal illegal aliens removed from the country.

• U.S. imposes sanctions on Russian oil: After canceling his summit meeting with Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin, President Trump on Wednesday announced that his administration is raising sanctions against Russia’s two largest oil companies, Open Joint Stock Company Rosneft Oil and Lukoil OAO. “These are tremendous sanctions,” Trump explained. “These are against their two big oil companies, and we hope they won’t be on for long. We hope that the war will be settled.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called for an immediate ceasefire, warning that “a substantial pickup in Russia sanctions” was on the table. “Treasury is prepared to take further action if necessary to support President Trump’s effort to end yet another war,” he said. “We encourage our allies to join us in and adhere to these sanctions.” This action is a severe hit to Russia’s economy. It also shows that Trump’s patience with Putin is wearing thin.

• Senator Marsha Blackburn to sue Biden DOJ officials: Tennessee Senator and gubernatorial candidate Marsha Blackburn has announced that she will sue Biden DOJ officials, former Special Counsel Jack Smith, and the now-disbanded FBI CR-15 team that violated her and other senators’ rights by tracking their phone calls. “It’s the First and the Fourth amendment that was violated,” Blackburn explained, “plus our Speech and Debate Clause, our separation of powers, and the Stored Communications Act.” She also pointed out that the subpoena of her phone records occurred earlier than previously believed — in May, rather than September 2023 — putting it before the Democrat indictment of Donald Trump. Her wireless carrier, Verizon, also drew her ire for never questioning the subpoena that required it to hand over the records of sitting members of Congress.

• Jay Jones reckless driving conviction under renewed investigation: Jay Jones is the Virginia attorney general candidate who wants his coworkers’ children to die in their arms, but he’s also the man convicted of driving 116 MPH in a 70 MPH zone in 2022. The reckless driving case has now had a special prosecutor appointed to it after the county’s attorney recused himself. Then, Attorney Nathan Green, the newly appointed special prosecutor, also recused himself on Thursday, leaving the investigation without an investigator. It is unclear why this seemingly settled legal matter is coming under renewed investigation. Jones paid a $1,500 fine and was ordered to serve 1,000 hours of community service, which was reported as complete by January 2024. Jones reported serving 500 hours with his own political action committee, MOM PAC, and 500 hours with the Virginia NAACP. Perhaps it’s the self-serving community service being investigated, or perhaps it’s the astonishing claim that Jones served 20 hours every week despite working full-time and campaigning for fellow Democrats. (Updated)

• Pentagon announces more than 60 journalists have signed new rules: The old Pentagon press corps walked out of the building last week over new restrictions on access and a new policy requiring them to acknowledge that soliciting unauthorized information could be considered a security threat. The near-universal walkout, including such organizations as Fox News and The Washington Times, has not deterred War Secretary Pete Hegseth from moving forward with the new policies. Indeed, on Wednesday, the Pentagon announced that more than 60 journalists, including 26 from 18 outlets in the previous press corps, have agreed to the new policy. Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the Pentagon is eager to work with this new pool of journalists.

• Dems warn Trump against weaponizing IRS: One of the most blatant examples of the weaponization of a federal agency against political opponents occurred under Barack Obama with the IRS targeting of Tea Party and other patriot groups. Yesterday, Senate Democrats sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and senior IRS official Gary Shapley, demanding that planned changes at the IRS be dropped. Ironically, Democrats warned that these changes are an effort to “weaponize the IRS against President Trump’s perceived enemies,” which “is against the law, an abuse of power, and a threat to the integrity of our democratic institutions.” The Trump administration wants to make changes to the IRS that would make it easier to pursue criminal investigations into leftist groups. Some of the changes at the agency’s criminal investigative division would entail removing so-called independent career officials, who have made it difficult and tedious to investigate leftist groups.

• Hunter blames his pardon on Trump: Hunter Biden says his pardon last fall is Donald Trump’s fault. The son of former President Joe Biden spoke with Mediaite editor Tommy Christopher this week regarding the recent batch of federal indictments against those who weaponized the justice system against Trump. “My dad would not have pardoned me if President Trump had not won,” Hunter asserted. The younger Biden said his father was forced to pardon him because he didn’t believe he would have had a normal appeals process under a Trump presidency, saying, “Donald Trump went and changed everything.” Hunter indicated that if he had not been pardoned, it would have made him an easier target for the Trump administration, which would have impacted his whole family. He acknowledged how privileged he is, but then added that Trump isn’t “even close to being finished with … his revenge tour and his absolute obsession with my dad.”

• Trump’s H-1B visa fee pushing companies to hire Americans: Last month, President Trump issued an executive order that instituted a $100,000 application fee for an H-1B visa. Trump’s aim was to encourage companies to prioritize hiring American workers over foreign workers. It appears that Trump is getting the desired results, as a number of U.S. employers are stopping their sponsorship programs for H-1B visas for non-technical positions. Indeed, two of the nation’s largest H-1B visa mills, Cognizant and Tata Consulting Services, are distancing themselves from relying on cheaper foreign workers. Cognizant, an IT consulting firm, states on its recent new job postings that it will “only consider applicants for this position who are legally authorized to work in the United States without the need of employer sponsorship.”

Headlines

• NBA’s Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier arrested in FBI gambling probe with alleged ties to Italian mafia (OutKick)

• U.S. strikes drug boat in Pacific for first time (Newsweek)

• Trump counterterrorism program kills 370 jihadists in nine months (Just the News)

• Annual family premiums for employer coverage rise 6% in 2025, nearing $27,000 (KFF)

• Luigi Mangione got beat up by seven “ladyboys” in Thailand shortly before killing healthcare CEO (Not the Bee)

• Humor: Next “No Kings” protest to end by 4 PM so everyone can get home in time for “Matlock” (Babylon Bee)

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