The Patriot Post® · Friday Top Headlines

• Shutdown deadline looms as Trump, Democrats fight over wall money (Agence France-Presse)

• House approves spending bill with $5.7 billion for border wall (Fox News)

• James Mattis quitting as defense secretary, citing disagreements with Trump (National Review)

• Up to half of American troops to be pulled from Afghanistan (Associated Press)

• U.S. says asylum-seeking migrants to wait in Mexico (Associated Press)

• Dow drops 470 points to 14-month low in second day of big losses following Fed rate hike (CNBC)

• Trump signs and celebrates the farm bill (ABC News)

• Criminal justice bill passes House, heads to President Trump for his signature (USA Today)

• Whitaker cleared to oversee Mueller probe after ethics investigation (Townhall)

• Eighteen most mortifying media moments of 2018 (Grabien News)

• DC-area federal government workforce continues to shrink (WTOP)

• Jack Phillips is now in court for not baking a “gender transition” cake (The Daily Wire)

• Planned Parenthood accused of mistreating pregnant employees (The Washington Free Beacon)

• Humor: Disappointed soldier was looking forward to hanging out in Syria for another 20, 30 years (The Babylon Bee)

• Policy: The preexisting-condition trap (National Review)

• Policy: DeVos rule on sexual harassment restores primacy of law (RealClearPolitics)

For more of today’s news, visit Patriot Headline Report.