Shutdown Showdown: ACA Fight, Carrier to Caribbean, TPUSA Probes, Netanyahu Pardon Ask

Congress races to end the 2025 government shutdown as the House takes a final vote today after a 7-week recess. The funding bill heads to President Trump for signature if it clears the chamber, but Democrats are blasting the deal for leaving out an extension of Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) premium subsidies. We break down what’s in the bill, what’s not, who flipped, and what it means for health care costs going into 2026.

At sea, the Navy’s USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group moves into the Caribbean, sharpening tensions with Venezuela and signaling a heavier U.S. posture in SOUTHCOM’s area of responsibility. What this deployment includes, why it matters, and how Caracas is reacting.

On campus and in the courts: the Justice Department is investigating violent unrest outside a Turning Point USA event at UC Berkeley, while separate reporting raises questions about nonprofit ties surrounding the protests. We lay out what’s confirmed and what remains allegation.

Plus: Reuters reports that former President Trump asked Israel’s president to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. What a presidential pardon in Israel entails, the politics around it, and possible fallout.

And a data-driven look at the surge in federal antisemitism investigations at U.S. universities since Oct. 7, what the numbers say, and how enforcement is evolving.