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Today’s Big Story

The Shutdown Begins

Government funding was cut off in a spending deadlock that could cut essential services and lead to mass layoffs

Lights out. The federal government has shut down for the first time since 2019 after the Senate on Tuesday failed to pass a government funding measure ahead of a midnight deadline. It will, of course, disrupt many federal services. The lapse in finances means crucial government functions—from small business loan services to national parks to job training for veterans—will shutter until lawmakers approve more money. Federal work vital to national security will continue, though employees, including many service members and law enforcement officers, will go unpaid.

The last time this happened in 2019, parts of the government were shuttered for 35 days in a standoff between congressional Democrats and Trump over the president’s demand to fund a wall at the southern border. This time, the dispute is over Democrats’ demand that the president agree to extend expiring health care subsidies and restore Medicaid cuts enacted over the summer. And Axios says party leaders don’t appear anywhere close to a compromise, so a path to reopening the government is unclear.

If the Obamacare tax credits are allowed to lapse, about four million people are projected to lose coverage starting next year, and prices will go up for an additional 20 million people. The Congressional Budget Office has projected that 10 million more Americans would become uninsured by 2034 as a result of the health cuts in the new tax law.

Trump issued threats from the White House, appearing to relish the prospect of a shutdown that he said he would use to hurt his political opponents. The president said he would move during a shutdown to enact measures that are “bad” for Democrats “and irreversible by them, like cutting vast numbers of people out, cutting things that they like, cutting programs that they like.” Later in the Oval Office, he said that “a lot of good can come down from shutdowns,” including laying off federal workers who are Democrats and undermining initiatives they support.

In his monologue on Tuesday night’s show, Jimmy Kimmel addressed the shutdown and the threatened mass firings. “Trump is threatening to make ‘irreversible cuts' if there’s a shut down, which—you know what? I was recently the victim of a government shutdown,” he said before adding, “They are reversible, I will tell you that.”

What’s Going On With the Military?

Hegseth pushes to remake our armed forces in his preferred image

President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary (or newly renamed Secretary of War) Pete Hegseth used a rare gathering of the country’s highest-ranking military officials to outline their vision for a cultural and operational military reset on Tuesday at Marine Corps Base Quantico. Before the captive audience, Hegseth asserted his vision for how the military will physically look and act, and offered a stark conclusion: “If the words I’m speaking today are making your heart sink, then you should do the honorable thing and resign.”

After declaring an end to “woke” culture, he announced new directives for troops that include “gender-neutral” or “male-level” standards for physical fitness. The dual messages underscored the Trump administration’s efforts not only to reshape contemporary Pentagon culture but to enlist military resources for the president’s priorities and for decidedly domestic purposes, including quelling unrest and violent crime.

Trump told military leaders that troops should use “dangerous” American cities as “training grounds.” He floated the idea of using the D.C. playbook for Chicago and Portland. And while Trump isn’t exactly the slimmest of Commanders-in-Chief, his Defense Secretary said that “Frankly, it’s tiring to look out at combat formations or really any formation and see fat troops. Likewise, it’s completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon.” Ouch.

DoorDash Delivery Bots

The autonomous delivery robot will switch between sidewalks, bike paths and roadways

DoorDash is putting the “dash” to the test in hopes of speeding up robot deliveries. By now, we’ve all seen some small delivery bots plodding away on the sidewalk, weaving between people and trying their best to cross the street. DoorDash is taking things up a notch.

The bots, named Dot, will switch between sidewalks, bike paths and roadways. And it’s built not just for cities, but suburbia too—able to roll right up to the front door of many homes. The company says the robot carries the same load as any other sidewalk delivery vehicle in the fleet (around six pizzas worth), but it travels at up to 20 mph.

It looks a little like a supersized baby stroller with a pair of cartoonish LED “eyes”, and closes like a giant mouth. (In case you were wondering, yes, it chirps and croons the way droids from Star Wars tend to.) Dot’s design isn’t just vaguely friendly. It’s also eye-catching, which suits its very specific mission. According to CNET, the first Dot robot is live now as DoorDash tests it in Phoenix. The early program allows residents to give feedback on the bot's performance as DoorDash prepares to release the Dot into other markets.

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