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Congress braces for extended DHS shutdown

Morning Report is The Hill's a.m. newsletter. Subscribe here. In today's issue: ▪ DHS funding set to run out Saturday ▪ Trump defends embattled Cabinet members ▪ Top Wall Street lawyer resigns over Epstein ties ▪ Climate change endangerment finding overturned Lawmakers left

These Are Not Your Father’s Democrats

Janet Mills, the 78-year-old moderate who has served as Maine’s governor since 2019, is staid and a little boring—which is exactly why, last fall, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee pushed her to run against progressive upstart Graham Platner in the state’s Senate

How the Democrats Can Play Offense on Immigration

If all politics is spectacle in the era of Donald Trump, few episodes illustrate this more vividly than that created by Republican governors who bused asylum-seeking immigrants from their states into Northern cities during Joe Biden’s presidency. Greg Abbott of Texas and Ron

Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights Is Fan Fiction

In an interview last month with Fandango , writer-director Emerald Fennell explains why the title on the Wuthering Heights poster is in quotations. “I can’t say I’m making Wuthering Heights . It’s not possible,” she says. “There’s a version that I remembered reading that isn’t

Colleges grapple with growing fallout from Epstein files

Colleges and universities across the country are dealing with growing fallout from the Epstein files, with professors, donors and at least one sitting school president revealed to have ties to the late sex trafficker. From state schools to Ivy League universities,

Top lawyer for Goldman Sachs resigns over Epstein documents

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said Thursday that Kathy Ruemmler, the investment banking company's top lawyer, will resign after the Department of Justice (DOJ) released its remaining files connected to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, revealing a close relationship

Joe Rogan explains his appearance in the Epstein files

Podcaster Joe Rogan on the Tuesday episode of his show explained his why his name appeared in the Department of Justice's (DOJ) last release of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. "The Joe Rogan Experience" host told guest Cheryl Hines, the wife of Health

FBI ups reward to $100K in Nancy Guthrie search

The FBI on Thursday raised its reward for information leading investigators to Nancy Guthrie, the mother of NBC's "Today" host Savannah Guthrie, to $100,000 amid the agency's search near Tucson, Ariz. The agency also revealed new identifying information about a possible suspect

Confusion reigns over Trump meeting with governors

A series of contradictions and reversals from the White House and National Governors Association (NGA) this week has bred widespread confusion over the fate of the bipartisan group’s annual meeting with the president. All governors are expected to gather Feb. 19-21 in

Trump threatens primaries over tariff vote

Welcome to The Hill's Business & Economy newsletter {beacon} Business & Economy Business & Economy The Big Story Trump threatens Republicans who rejected Canada tariffs President Trump threatened “consequences come Election time” for Republican lawmakers who oppose his

Anthropic donates to pro-AI safeguards group

{beacon} Technology Technology The Big Story Anthropic gives $20M to group backing AI safeguards Anthropic said Thursday that it is giving $20 million to Public First Action, a group launched last year by two former members of Congress to support efforts to develop AI

Trump erases legal basis for climate regs

{beacon} Energy & Environment Energy & Environment The Big Story Trump erases legal basis for climate regs The Trump administration on Thursday repealed the landmark 2009 legal finding that climate change poses a threat to the public — and axed climate rules for cars and

McMahon leading delegation to Olympic closing ceremony

Education Secretary Linda McMahon will lead a U.S. delegation to the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Italy later this month, the White House announced Wednesday. The closing ceremony is set to be held Feb. 22 at Verona Arena in Verona, Italy, with a grand finale that

Karrin Taylor Robson suspends Arizona governor bid

Developer Karrin Taylor Robson announced Thursday she’s dropping her bid for Arizona governor, expressing concerns over a messy Republican primary heading into November. In a statement posted on the social platform X, Taylor Robson said “we cannot afford a divisive Republican

Potomac wastewater spill appears to be largest in US history

A wastewater spill into the Potomac River that began last month now appears to be one of the largest in American history. DC Water, a local water utility, said in a press release last week that part of a sewer system known as the Potomac Interceptor collapsed along the Clara

'Melania' producer: Request to take down music 'ridiculous'

“Melania” producer Marc Beckman defended the documentary’s use of music from the 2017 film "Phantom Thread," after the film’s director, Paul Thomas Anderson, and composer, Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood, said the documentary used the music without their approval. “It’s a blatant

Russia blocks WhatsApp

Russia on Thursday moved to block the WhatsApp messaging platform owned by Meta, further restricting international communications for citizens and visitors. In 2022, Meta Russia was designated as an extremist platform by Russian authorities, and access to its platforms —