Senate nears shutdown deal; Trump pardons allies, including Giuliani

After six weeks of gridlock, the Senate finally moved late Sunday on a short-term funding deal that could reopen the government. But the fight over health care subsidies isn’t over yet.

Plus, President Donald Trump is floating a new “tariff dividend,” saying most Americans could see a $2,000 payout as a reward for the nation’s “booming economy.” But so far, his team admits there’s no formal plan and few details on how it would actually work.

And, the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is officially in place. This year, a 75-foot Norway spruce made the 150-mile trip from upstate New York to Midtown Manhattan.

These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Monday, Nov. 10, 2025.

Democrats, GOP strike tentative funding deal to reopen the government

There may be an end in sight for the government shutdown, which is now in its sixth week.

Sunday night, eight Senate Democrats joined Republicans to advance a House-passed short-term funding bill, with a 60-to-40 vote that could reopen the government as soon as this week.

The deal would fund the government through January, restore pay for federal workers, and reverse mass firings ordered under the Trump administration.

In exchange, Democrats secured only a promise — not a guarantee — for a later vote on extending Affordable Care Act tax credits, their key demand throughout the shutdown.

Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was among the Democrats who voted “no,” calling the plan incomplete and saying the fight is far from over.

“We asked President Trump to step in and meet with us to deliver lower health care for Americans, and instead, Donald Trump has taken the American people hostage, from cutting off food aid to hungry families and vets and seniors and kids, to manufacturing flight cancellations, to cutting off home heating aid,” Schumer said. “This health care crisis is so severe, so urgent, so devastating for families back home that I cannot, in good faith, support this cr that fails to address the health care crisis.”

Majority Leader John Thune, meanwhile, urged immediate passage, saying it’s time to reopen the government.

“Mr. President, after 40 long days, I’m hopeful that we can finally bring this shutdown to an end. And I don’t need to go over all the reasons why it’s imperative that we get the government open as soon as possible,” Thune said. “From the truly precarious situation we are in with regard to air travel, to the fact that our staffs have been working without pay for a full 40 days now, all of us, Republicans and Democrats, who support this bill know that the time to act is now.”

The Senate reconvenes at 11 a.m. ET, and is expected to continue negotiating final details.

Even with progress, it could still be days before the shutdown officially ends.

Appeals court rules Trump admin can’t withhold $4 billion in SNAP benefits

A federal appeals court has ruled the Trump administration must fully fund food assistance benefits during the ongoing government shutdown.

Late Sunday night, the first circuit court of appeals in Boston upheld a lower court order from Rhode Island, requiring the U.S. Department of Agriculture to release $4 billion to ensure Americans receive full SNAP benefits — commonly known as food stamps.

The decision came after the USDA told states to “immediately undo” any steps taken to distribute full benefits, warning of possible financial penalties.

Several states began issuing payments on Friday, but on Saturday, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson temporarily paused the order while the appeals court reviewed the case.

Even with Sunday’s ruling, the pause will remain in place for 48 hours, meaning payments will not resume immediately.

It remains unclear whether the administration plans to follow through on its threat to penalize states it claims acted without authorization.

Trump floats giving Americans $2,000 for health care and tariff dividends

Trump is promising what he calls a $2,000 dividend for most Americans, saying the money would come from the nation’s booming tariff revenues.

In a Truth Social post, the president wrote, “People who are against tariffs are fools…. We are taking in trillions of dollars and will soon begin paying down our enormous debt… A dividend of at least $ 2,000 per person (excluding high-income individuals!) will be paid to everyone.”

It was just one of a string of weekend posts in which Trump claimed the U.S. was the richest and most respected country in the world thanks to his trade policies. He said that those tariffs were now helping to pay down the national debt.

However, on ABC, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stopped short of calling Trump’s dividend promise a genuine plan.

“The $2,000 dividend could come in lots of forms, in lots of ways, George. You know, it could be just the tax decreases that we are seeing on the president’s agenda. You know, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on social security, deductibility of auto loans,” Bessent said.

For now, there’s no formal proposal, no congressional language, and no clear math showing how a $2,000 payout would be funded. However, the bipartisan policy center indicates that the U.S. collected $227 billion in tariffs in 2025.

The president has floated the idea, but the details, the dollars and the specifics are not yet in place.

Trump pardons political allies, including Giuliani, Meadows and Powell 

Trump has issued a wave of new pardons, clearing more than 70 political allies linked to efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

The proclamation posted Sunday night by pardon attorney Ed Martin lists high-profile names. Those pardoned include Rudy Giuliani, former chief of staff Mark Meadows, and attorney Sidney Powell, among others. All were accused or under investigation for election interference.

Trump called the pardons “the end of a grave national injustice” and part of a “process of national reconciliation.”

Giuliani faced criminal charges in Georgia for allegedly helping to organize a fake slate of electors and spreading false voter fraud claims. He was indicted on 13 counts, including soliciting officials to violate their oaths and making false statements.

Giuliani was also held liable in civil court for defaming two Georgia election workers and ordered to pay $148 million. He eventually settled, which allowed him to retain his property.

The proclamation explicitly states it does not pertain to Trump himself, but it clears many of the key figures who assisted him in challenging the 2020 results.

BBC top officials resign following allegations of Trump bias

Trump is celebrating after two of the BBC’s top executives resigned over how the network edited his Jan. 6 speech.

In a Truth Social post Sunday night, Trump wrote, “The top people in the BBC, including Tim Davie, the boss, are all quitting/fired, because they were caught ‘doctoring’ my very good (perfect!) speech of January 6th. Thank you to The Telegraph for exposing these corrupt ‘journalists.’” 

Hours earlier, the BBC confirmed that both Director-General Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness had resigned.

It focuses on a BBC Panorama documentary that pieced together parts of Trump’s 2021 speech, omitting the line in which he said supporters should “peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”

The version that aired retained the phrase “fight like hell,” making it sound as if he were encouraging violence.

Pressure surged after Britain’s Telegraph newspaper published details of a leaked internal dossier that criticized the BBC’s editorial standards, including the Trump edit, and accused the network of broader bias.

On Sunday, Davie issued a letter to staff, explaining that his decision to step down was “entirely” his own, adding, “Overall the BBC is delivering well, but there have been some mistakes made and as director-general I have to take ultimate responsibility.”

Turness described the uproar as “damaging” to an institution she cares about, saying simply, “The buck stops with me.”

She had once been the head of NBC News. 

The resignations represent one of the largest leadership upheavals in BBC history and serve as a significant test of trust in Britain’s public broadcaster.

Rockefeller Center Christmas tree arrives in New York City

The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree arrived in Manhattan over the weekend, a 75-foot Norway spruce from upstate East Greenbush, New York, just outside Albany. It’s a sign that the holidays have officially arrived in New York City.

Crowds gathered as cranes hoisted the 11-ton tree into position above the ice rink, marking the first big moment of the season.

The year’s tree was donated by Judy Russ and her family, planted by her late husband’s great-grandparents almost a hundred years ago.

She said it’s bittersweet to see it shine without him, but also special that “our family’s tree gets to be everyone’s tree.”

Next, over 50,000 lights, a 900-pound Swarovski star and the big lighting, which will take place on Dec. 3, officially kicking off Christmas in the city that never sleeps.

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Facing $50K in adoption fees, this Texas couple baked up a sweet side hustle

KATY, Texas — Pam and Doug Johse have been on their feet for hours, shuffling between tasks with a Pavlovian urgency spurred by the dings and rings of kitchen timers. Yet as they unload a car packed with the treats they baked earlier today, the Johses find themselves racing against another clock: There’s only 15 minutes until the beginning of the Saturday evening pop-up market where they’ll sell Pam’s famous sourdough banana muffins, chocolate-chunk cookies and Texas-sized cinnamon buns.

They batten their tablecloth against the evening breeze and zip-tie a “Loaves of Love” sign to their tent. Pam fans out the cookies Doug had carefully tucked into plastic bags during their afternoon bake-a-thon. The wind whips. Cookies slip. They readjust. 

The stakes at this little pop-up bake shop feel high. Then again, they always do. 

The Johses, like one in eight American families, have struggled with infertility. Unlike many other couples, their struggle is permanent — unfixable, according to medical experts.

“August 8, 2023,” Doug says, his voice a whisper, turning to Pam. “I don’t know why I remember that, but that’s the day we found out it would be unsafe for you to have a kid.”

It was the beginning of a journey that has glued them to baking sheets, hand mixers and the steering wheel of their little red SUV as they sell baked goods across their suburban Texas hometown.

“We want to grow our family through adoption,” Doug tells his customers. “But that’s prohibitively expensive. It was either this or get a third job.”So here they are, slinging baked goods at a pop-up market — a routine weekend activity in recent months — as they work to come up with the $40,000 to $50,000 fee staring them in the face. Read the full story now>

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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief