Friday's Headlines: Mattis resigns after clash with Trump over Syria withdrawal

'A morning of alarm': Mattis departure sends shock waves abroad; Trump orders major military withdrawal from Afghanistan; 'A sad day for America': Washington fears a Trump...

Democracy Dies in Darkness     The morning's most important stories, selected by Post editors   Mattis resigns after clash with Trump over Syria withdrawal Defense Secretary Jim Mattis's surprise resignation came a day after President Trump overruled his advisers, including Mattis, and shocked American allies by announcing the pullout. By Paul Sonne, Josh Dawsey and Missy Ryan  •  Read more » 'A morning of alarm': Mattis departure sends shock waves abroad Overseas, the former marine was viewed as a steady hand as America's role in the world was thrown into question. By Isaac Stanley-Becker, Pamela Constable and Joanna Slater  •   Read more »   Trump orders major military withdrawal from Afghanistan The president has directed the Pentagon to devise a plan to withdraw nearly half of the 14,000 troops deployed there. By Dan Lamothe, Josh Dawsey, Missy Ryan and Paul Sonne  •   Read more »   'A sad day for America': Washington fears a Trump unchecked by Mattis The defense secretary's resignation letter seems to question the president's fitness as commander in chief. By Greg Jaffe and Karoun Demirjian  •   Read more »   Isolated and under pressure, Trump sets government in crisis The president abruptly moved to try to deliver on campaign promises to build a border wall and bring troops home. By Philip Rucker, Robert Costa and Josh Dawsey  •   Read more »   Trump's decision to withdraw from Syria marks a win for Putin The move allows the Russian leader to consolidate gains for Assad in Syria and demonstrates the fragility of the Western alliance. By John Hudson, Paul Sonne and Anton Troianovski  •   Read more »   Government on track for shutdown as Trump threatens to veto Senate deal, demanding border-wall funds House Republicans responded to the threat by passing a bill to keep the government funded until February and meet President Trump's demand to fund a border wall, but Senate Democrats oppose funding the wall and have the votes to block the House measure. By Erica Werner, Damian Paletta and Mike DeBonis  •   Read more »   Federal agencies prepare to cease operations Friday night About a quarter of the government, including the State, Agriculture, Interior, Treasury and Housing and Urban Development departments, would shut down. More than 380,000 federal workers would be sent home without pay. By Lisa Rein, Damian Paletta and Brady Dennis  •   Read more »   As stocks drop, Trump fears he's losing his best argument for reelection President Trump has pointed to market gains as proof that his economic policies are working and the country is thriving under his leadership. Now a favored talking point is crumbling. By Heather Long, Josh Dawsey and Thomas Heath  •   Read more »   U.S. stocks clobbered amid White House drama over shutdown The Dow and the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index are on pace for their worst quarter since 2011. The Nasdaq composite dropped into bear market territory. By Thomas Heath  •   Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT Opinions   William Barr's memo on the Mueller probe is baseless and dangerous By Andrew Coan  •   Read more »   With Mattis out, we're in uncharted territory By Jennifer Rubin  •   Read more »   Trump is now forging foreign policy on his own. Where will he take us? By Henry Olsen  •   Read more »   Has the GOP tax cut delivered? Yes — and the tooth fairy was here just last night! By Catherine Rampell  •   Read more »   Is arming teachers a good idea? Depends on where you live. By Gary Abernathy  •   Read more »   Does the global fight against climate change stand a chance without the U.S.? By Editorial Board  •   Read more » ADVERTISEMENT More News   End of Lean In: How Sheryl Sandberg's message of empowerment unraveled The Facebook executive's long-cultivated image as a righteous feminist icon and relatable role model is in shambles. By Caitlin Gibson  •  Read more »     Justice Dept. ethics official told Whitaker's team he should recuse from Mueller probe Earlier, a department official had said the ethics office advised acting attorney general Matthew Whitaker he need not step aside. Hours later, people familiar with the situation disclosed that a senior ethics official told Whitaker advisers that he should recuse to avoid the appearance of a conflict. By Devlin Barrett and Matt Zapotosky  •   Read more » D.C. Council member Jack Evans received stock just before pushing legislation that would benefit company A consulting firm created by Evans received 200,000 shares in Digi Outdoor Media; Evans says he returned the "stock certificate." By Steve Thompson  •   Read more »     Critic's Notebook Michelle Obama can wear whatever she wants now. And she wants sparkly thigh-high boots. A former first lady who once chafed at being called a celebrity is clearly now embracing it. By Robin Givhan  •   Read more »   Unions expand in digital newsrooms A wave of union-organizing has swept over the industry over the past three years as journalists working for the once-scrappy start-ups and venture-capital darlings of the Internet have banded together to negotiate collectively. By Paul Farhi  •   Read more »   Analysis Ranking the most stressful airports during the holidays A travel insurance company analyzed the flight cancellation rate at different airports. By Fredrick Kunkle  •   Read more »   Retropolis | The Past, Rediscovered NASA's first moonshot was a bold and terrifying improvisation with Apollo 8 No human had gone past low Earth orbit before Frank Borman, James Lovell, Jr. and Bill Anders blasted off 50 years ago. By Joel Achenbach  •   Read more » Post Reports | Listen Now U.S. troops to leave Syria. Now what? What it means for the U.S. to pull forces out of Syria. The fashion industry's mixed messages to plus-size women. Plus, when Congress weighed a journey to the center of Earth. By Washington Post Staff  •   Read more »         Share Today's Headlines:    Twitter     Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. You received this email because you signed up for Today's Headlines or because it is included in your subscription. 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