Saturday's Headlines: Shutdown begins as Congress fails to reach deal

'He takes no ownership': Trump eschews responsibility for a shutdown he once craved; Trump breaks with predecessors, rallies conservatives for shutdown; Federal workers caught in...

Democracy Dies in Darkness     The morning's most important stories, selected by Post editors   Shutdown begins as Congress fails to reach deal The partial shutdown comes amid an impasse between President Trump and Democrats over billions in funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Negotiations are expected to continue through the weekend. By Erica Werner, Damian Paletta and John Wagner  •  Read more » The Debrief 'He takes no ownership': Trump eschews responsibility for a shutdown he once craved After vowing to "take the mantle," the president seeks to foist blame on Democrats. By David Nakamura  •   Read more »   Trump breaks with predecessors, rallies conservatives for shutdown "A government shutdown should not be part of the budget negotiation any more than chemical warfare should be a part of war," says veteran GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander. By Sean Sullivan  •   Read more »   Federal workers caught in the fray as Trump battles Congress A long-term shutdown would bring massive furloughs and uncertainty for many who are employed by the government or its contractors. By Steven Mufson and Lisa Rein  •   Read more »   Q&A What happens during a shutdown: Late paychecks, closed museums and more A guide to the ways people across Washington and the country could be affected. By Mark Berman and Lisa Rein  •   Read more »   Violence Against Women Act expires with government shutdown The landmark 1994 law — and funding for programs to help victims of sexual assault, domestic abuse and stalking — had received several short-term extensions. By Elise Viebeck  •   Read more »   The Fix: Who will Americans blame for a shutdown? We looked at polls for the answer. We looked at different polls to find the answer. By Scott Clement and Emily Guskin  •   Read more »   Photos: The scene in Washington as a shutdown looms Read more » Trump-Erdogan phone call set in motion the tumult over Syria, Mattis "You know what? It's yours," President Trump said of Syria. "I'm leaving." The call, shorthanded in more or less the same words by several administration officials, set off events that, even by the whirlwind standards of Washington in the Trump years, have been cataclysmic. By Karen DeYoung, Missy Ryan, Josh Dawsey and Greg Jaffe  •   Read more »   Retreating ISIS army smuggled a fortune out of Iraq and Syria to finance future resurgence The Islamic State is sitting on a mountain of stolen cash and gold that its leaders stashed away to finance terrorist operations and ensure the organization's survival years into the future. By Joby Warrick  •   Read more »   Iran looks to expand its reach across Middle East amid U.S. exit from Syria President Trump's decision to withdraw troops from Syria will allow Iran to exert its influence more widely there, leaving Israel wondering whether it can count on Washington for support in the event of war. By Liz Sly and Loveday Morris  •   Read more »   GOP breaks with Trump over Syria, Afghanistan, Mattis — but is at a loss on how to stop him Senate Republicans will get to vet Mattis's replacement, but they're struggling to channel their outrage into actions that can reverse Trump's new course. By Karoun Demirjian  •   Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT Opinions   Trump's shutdown stunt is an act of needless stupidity By Editorial Board  •   Read more »   It's official. We lost the Cold War. By Dana Milbank  •   Read more »   There may be peace on Earth somewhere. But there's murder in D.C. By Colbert King  •   Read more »   Mattis endured a lot. Here's why this was the last straw. By Jim Hoagland  •   Read more »   The lure of chaos is leading Britain straight into the abyss By Anne Applebaum  •   Read more »   Human rights treaties promised a better future. Why did they fail? By James Loeffler  •   Read more » ADVERTISEMENT More News   Justice Dept. officials told Whitaker signing gun regulation might prompt challenge to his appointment The internal debate over Matthew G. Whitaker's signature, which began weeks ago, shows how concerned even top Justice Department executives are that his appointment to acting attorney general is vulnerable to a legal challenge. By Devlin Barrett  •  Read more »     U.S. stocks suffer amid tumult in Washington; Dow has worst week in a decade The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index and the Dow are on track for their worst Decembers since 1931, during the Great Depression. The Nasdaq fell into bear market territory, a 20 percent drop from its high. By Thomas Heath  •   Read more »   LeBron James: NFL owners are 'old white men' with 'slave mentality' toward players In the latest episode of "The Shop," which aired Friday on HBO, the Lakers forward drew a stark contrast between the NBA and the NFL. By Ben Golliver  •   Read more »   Jamal Khashoggi's final months as an exile in the long shadow of Saudi Arabia The slain journalist was simultaneously drawn to and fearful of the authoritarian state that would kill him. An account of his final 18 months reveals new details about his interactions with Saudi officials, his activities over the last year of his life and his killing. By Souad Mekhennet and Greg Miller  •   Read more »   A girl in Mexico attached her Christmas list to a balloon. A man across the border found it. "My Spanish isn't very good, but I could see it was a Christmas list," said Randy Heiss, who found the note while hiking in Arizona and started a search for the sender. By Amy Wang  •   Read more »   D.C. chancellor pick knew of alleged relationship between student, staffer in Indiana. It wasn't reported for 6 days. Lewis Ferebee, schools superintendent in Indianapolis, is a defendant in three lawsuits that raise questions about whether he met his obligation to ensure that sexual misconduct allegations were reported to the state's child protective services agency. By Emma Brown and Perry Stein  •   Read more »   Is 'Fox & Friends' getting feistier with its friend in chief? Fox News Channel's perky morning show is typically a safe space for President Trump and his surrogates, but recently it has shown an unusual amount of critical questioning of the administration. By Paul Farhi and Sarah Ellison  •   Read more » Post Reports | Listen Now 'The sound and the fury': Another week in the White House As the threat of a shutdown looms, White House reporter Josh Dawsey recounts President Trump's chaotic week. Senior editor Marc Fisher discusses the evolution of former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Plus, a bat cave could help stop a deadly disease. 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. Manage my email newsletters and alerts | Unsubscribe from Today's Headlines Privacy Policy | Help ©2018 The Washington Post  |  1301 K St NW, Washington DC 20071