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Government Shuts Down as Talks Fail to Break Impasse The federal government shut down early Saturday after congressional and White House officials failed to find a compromise on a spending bill that hinged on President Trump’s demands for $5.7 billion for a border wall. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/21/us/politics/trump-shutdown-border-wall.html

Jim Mattis, Defense Secretary, Resigns in Rebuke of Trump’s Worldview Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, whose experience and stability were widely seen as a balance to an unpredictable president, resigned Thursday in protest of President Trump’s decision to withdraw American forces from Syria and his rejection of international alliances. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/20/us/politics/jim-mattis-defense-secretary-trump.amp.html?3

Trump Withdraws U.S. Forces From Syria, Declaring ‘We Have Won Against ISIS’ President Trump has ordered the withdrawal of 2,000 American troops from Syria, bringing a sudden end to a military campaign that largely vanquished the Islamic State but ceding a strategically vital country to Russia and Iran. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/19/us/politics/trump-syria-turkey-troop-withdrawal.amp.html?2

Les Moonves, Longtime CBS Chief, Steps Down Leslie Moonves, the longtime chief executive of the CBS Corporation, stepped down on Sunday night from the company he has led for 15 years. His fall from Hollywood’s highest echelon was all but sealed after the…

Nations at UN Climate Talks Back Universal Emissions Rules After two weeks of bruising negotiations, officials from almost 200 countries agreed Saturday on universal, transparent rules that will govern efforts to cut emissions and curb global warming. Fierce disagreements on two other climate issues were kicked down the road for a year to help bridge a chasm of opinions on the best solutions. https://apnews.com/bed944b3b50b43298b58682be83243b4?2

Theresa May Survives Leadership Challenge, but Brexit Plan Is Still in Peril Britain’s prime minister, Theresa May, survived the gravest threat yet to her embattled leadership on Wednesday, winning a confidence motion called by Conservative Party lawmakers angry at her handling of the country’s troubled departure from the European Union. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/12/world/europe/brexit-theresa-may-vote.html

Prosecutors Say Trump Directed Illegal Payments During Campaign Federal prosecutors said on Friday that President Trump directed illegal payments to ward off a potential sex scandal that threatened his chances of winning the White House in 2016, putting the…

French Police Crack Down on ‘Yellow Vests’ With Tear Gas and Hundreds of Arrests PARIS — A fourth weekend of antigovernment protests in France turned violent again on Saturday, with demonstrators in Paris burning cars and ripping down barricades from store fronts, while the riot police fired tear gas and water cannons to control the crowds. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/08/world/europe/france-paris-riots-yellow-vest.html

Michael Cohen Says He Arranged Payments to Women at Trump’s Direction Michael D. Cohen, President Trump’s former lawyer, made the extraordinary admission in court on Tuesday that Mr. Trump had directed him to arrange payments to two women during the 2016…

Jeff Sessions Is Forced Out as Attorney General as Trump Installs Loyalist WASHINGTON — President Trump fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday, replacing him with a loyalist who has echoed the president’s complaints about the special counsel investigation…

Huawei C.F.O. Is Arrested in Canada for Extradition to the U.S. A top executive and daughter of the founder of the Chinese tech giant Huawei was arrested on Saturday in Canada at the request of the United States, in a move likely to escalate tensions between the two countries at a delicate moment. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/05/business/huawei-cfo-arrest-canada-extradition.html

George Bush, 41st President, Dies at 94 George Bush, the 41st president of the United States and the father of the 43rd, who steered the nation through a tumultuous period in world affairs but was denied a second term after support for his presidency collapsed under the weight of an economic downturn and his seeming inattention to domestic affairs, died Friday night at his home in Houston. He was 94. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/30/us/politics/george-hw-bush-dies.html?2