• SNAP fight: After funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program lapsed in November, District Judge John McConnell ruled that funding must be found immediately, even at the cost of depleting funds meant for natural disasters. The First Circuit Court of Appeals refused to block McConnell’s order that dispersements must be made by last Friday night. The USDA obeyed the order, and states began disbursing SNAP funds even as the appeal advanced to the Supreme Court. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson then froze McConnell’s order, causing the USDA to demand that states claw back those funds. Now, states are facing penalties if they don’t find a way to rescind the payments. All of this confusion could have been avoided if the judicial branch had taken the time to exercise deliberation in its judgments and remembered that it does not hold the power of the purse.

• MSM message: Don’t blame Dems for shutdown: Senate Democrats are entirely to blame for what is now the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. However, that is not the message Americans are getting fed from mainstream news outlets. A recent Media Research Center analysis of ABC, CBS, and NBC found they “have hammered both Congressional Republicans and President Trump with a wall of negative shutdown coverage, while largely shielding Democrats from blame for the now-historic gridlock.” Furthermore, these networks have gone to bat for Democrat lawmakers, couching their refusal to vote on a clean continuing resolution to reopen the government as a fight for healthcare for millions of Americans who could see their premiums rise by “169%.” Thanks to this deceptive reporting, Democrats have been able to continue their shutdown while suffering little political damage.

• Trump’s rebate proposal: Donald Trump over the weekend floated a couple of proposals to put taxpayer money back into taxpayer hands. Cutting checks from the government is a very Democrat or populist idea, but Americans who are concerned about the massive national debt may wish for the money to be used to pay that down instead. Trump’s first proposal is for Congress to defund ObamaCare and redirect those funds to the American people to “PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE.” Republican congressional leaders haven’t signed on to Trump’s proposal at this time, but both Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson support negotiations to reform the failing ObamaCare system. His second proposal is for tariff revenue to be used to send a $2,000 check to “everyone” — except “high income people.” The Treasury Department reported that $195 billion in tariff revenue has been collected since the beginning of the year.

• Border Patrol agents targeted in Chicago shooting: Over the weekend, Border Patrol agents were shot at while they were conducting immigration enforcement in Chicago. As anti-ICE “agitators” crowded around Border Patrol vehicles, an unknown male in a Jeep engaged in a drive-by shooting targeting CPB agents’ vehicles. Fortunately, no one was struck by the gunfire. According to DHS, “This incident is not isolated and reflects a growing and dangerous trend of violence and obstruction. Over the past two months, we’ve seen an increase in assaults and obstruction targeting federal law enforcement during operations. These confrontations highlight the dangers our agents face daily and the escalating aggression toward law enforcement. The violence must end.”

• Judge rules Trump can’t deploy National Guard to Portland: Following a three-day trial last week challenging Donald Trump’s order to send National Guard troops into Portland, Oregon, to defend federal personnel and property, U.S. District Court Judge Karin Immergut ruled against the Trump administration, writing in her decision that “The occasional interference to federal officers has been minimal, and there is no evidence that these small-scale protests have significantly impeded the execution of any immigration laws.” The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals had already ruled against deploying the troops pending Immergut’s decision. White House spokesman Abigail Jackson responded to the ruling, arguing that Trump “exercised his lawful authority to protect federal officers and assets.” The White House will be appealing this decision.

• Biden’s hilariously bad hypocrisy: Former President Joe Biden made an appearance Friday night for the Democrat Party’s “Ben Nelson Gala.” His speech was full of the usual gaffes, slurred speech, and whisper-shouting. After he concluded, a hot mic caught an aide informing him that he would be remaining on stage, to which he replied, “I am? Oh.” The part that really raised eyebrows, however, was when Biden opined on how much money the Trumps have been making since retaking the White House. “Can you imagine if any other president in American history did that?” Biden asked the crowd. Unlike Biden, most Americans are lucid enough to recall that Trump was one of the few presidents to lose net worth in his first term in office, and he doesn’t take a presidential salary. Some may even remember how much the Biden family’s net worth increased during Joe’s time in public life.

• BBC director-general resigns after bias exposed: The notion that much of the American news media is “fake news” is now common, but many may not be aware that the issue extends to the UK as well. The BBC has been exposed by a whistleblower dossier, as reported in The Telegraph, for deceptive editing of January 6 footage, as well as pro-Hamas bias and one-sided reporting on transgenderism. The report is damning enough that the BBC’s director-general has stepped down in a decision he insisted was “entirely my decision.” The head of the BBC’s News and Current Affairs has also resigned. The question now is whether the BBC will let its scapegoats take the blame and continue with its biased reporting, or if it will take the opportunity to adopt balanced reporting.

• F-150 Lightning getting fossilized? Is it the end of the line for Ford’s electric pickup truck? Last week, it was reported that Ford executives were discussing scrapping the F-150 Lightning. And the reason is as predictable as thunder following lightning: poor EV sales. As New Jersey auto-dealer Adam Kraushaar explained, “The demand is just not there. We don’t order a lot of them because we don’t sell them.” That’s the market at work. Overall sales numbers for EVs have tanked since the $7,500 tax credit expired at the end of September. Case in point: Last month, Ford sold 66,000 gas-powered F-Series trucks compared to just 1,500 Lightnings. The trouble facing EVs has always been twofold: high cost and limited range.

Headlines

• U.S. surpasses 10,000 flight delays Sunday in worst day of shutdown (Reuters)

• Elise Stefanik announces run for New York governor (National Review)

• DC Mayor Muriel Bowser under investigation for Qatar trip (Townhall)

• Stephen Moore quits Heritage Foundation (NY Post)

• Florida sues Planned Parenthood over claims about the safety of abortion pills (Not the Bee)

• Court strikes down Ohio school’s pronoun policy in win for parental rights group (Fox News)

• Meta reportedly projected 10% of 2024 sales came from scam, fraud ads (CNBC)

• Judge dismisses Boeing criminal case over 737 Max crashes (CNBC)

• NATO’s chief says the West is finally “turning the tide” on Russia’s ammo advantage (Business Insider)

• China tests America’s naval might with latest warship (Daily Caller)

• Humor: Mamdani dethrones Newsom as U-Haul’s top salesman (Babylon Bee)

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