DEMS' STRATEGY: Eyes will be on congressional Democrats in addition to the president for Trump's State of the Union address to Congress next week.
House Democrats are planning a variety of moves to demonstrate their opposition to the president during the speech in the midst of a standoff over immigration enforcement policies and the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), The Hill's Sudiksha Kochi reports.
Kochi reports some Democrats are planning to skip the event, while others are planning to walk out midway through the speech and bring guests to underscore their arguments about the impacts of his policies. Still others haven't made their plans clear.
Congressional addresses have become rowdy affairs in recent years. Former President Biden was heckled on multiple occasions during his presidency, while Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) shouted out at Trump during his address before Congress last year.
But House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) seems to be trying to head that off in advance. Multiple outlets reported he advised members during a closed-door meeting last week to either attend the address in "silent defiance" or skip it entirely.
▪ USA Today: What to know ahead of Trump's speech.
▪ Washington Examiner: GOP wants Trump to use optimistic tone.
▪ The Wall Street Journal: The Republican governor getting under Trump's skin.
DHS TALKS: The White House signaled negotiators remain "pretty far apart" on reaching a deal to fund DHS after Democrats issued their counteroffer.
"In terms of the written offer that was transmitted from the Democrats, the parties are still pretty far apart," a White House official told The Hill.
"The Administration remains interested in good faith conversations to end the Democrat shutdown before more Americans feel the impacts," they continued. "But the Administration also remains committed to carrying out the President's promise to enforce federal immigration law."
Senate Democrats sent their counterproposal Monday night to the White House after rejecting the administration's previous offer as "not serious." The details of Democrats' most recent proposal and the back-and-forth have been mostly unclear.
Most employees of DHS are still working, as they're considered essential, but Wednesday marks the fifth day of the funding gap for the department. Congress remains out of session throughout the week, teeing up the shutdown to continue at least into next week.
▪ The Hill: DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin leaving administration.
▪ NBC News: DHS Secretary Kristi Noem's relationship with Coast Guard strained.
CBS HEADACHES MOUNT: The number of troubles facing CBS is rising with the latest controversy concerning "The Late Show" host Stephen Colbert.
Colbert slammed CBS on his show Monday, accusing the network's lawyers of telling him that he could not host Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico.
The late-night host theorized Paramount, which owns CBS, didn't want to upset Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr, who has expressed interest in eliminating the exemption to the agency's "equal time" rule for late-night TV programs.
CBS denied preventing Colbert from airing an interview with Talarico, saying it only offered legal guidance that it could trigger equal time rules, which require programs to allow time for a candidate's opponent, for two other candidates.
But the media outlet has received backlash from critics who accused CBS of censorship.
"This is yet another troubling example of corporate capitulation in the face of this Administration's broader campaign to censor and control speech," said FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, a Democrat. "The FCC has no lawful authority to pressure broadcasters for political purposes or to create a climate that chills free expression."
Colbert pushed back on CBS's denial during his Tuesday night show, calling it "crap." He said "every word" of his script from Monday was approved by CBS's lawyers, who regularly approve every script of his show before it airs.
"In fact, between the monologue I did last night and before I did the second act talking about this issue, I had to go backstage. I got called backstage to get more notes from these lawyers — something that had never, ever happened before — and they told us the language they wanted me to use to describe that equal time exception," Colbert said. "And I used that language. So, I don't know what this is about."
"I really don't want an adversarial relationship with the network, I've never had one," Colbert added.
This is the latest controversy concerning CBS in recent months. The organization and its owner Paramount have already faced scrutiny over the cancellation of Colbert's program and its installation of controversial Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss to lead CBS News.
CBS is set to lose another high-profile figure as Anderson Cooper said Monday he would leave his longtime role as a contributor for "60 Minutes." He said the decision was based on wanting to spend more time with family.
But his departure comes at a critical time for the network, when the spotlight is already on the company. CBS is also facing pressure over the ties between its contributor Peter Attia and Jeffrey Epstein, as revealed in the Epstein files.
ZUCKERBERG TESTIFIES: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is set to testify Wednesday in the landmark social media case over claims that his and other social media platforms were intentionally designed to be addicting for children.
The case began earlier this month against Meta (which owns Facebook and Instagram) and Google's YouTube, after TikTok and Snapchat reached settlements with the plaintiffs. It's just the first in a series of trials against Meta, TikTok and YouTube set in the coming months.
Zuckerberg has previously testified before Congress on these accusations, but Wednesday will mark the first time he testifies before a jury on them, ABC News reported. The plaintiffs, a mother and daughter, argue the platforms led to the daughter's struggles with anxiety, depression and body image issues, while Meta has pointed to the safeguards it has put in place for teen users.
The outcome of the trial is being seen as a bellwether of the future cases coming up.
NO MATCH: DNA from gloves found near the house of Nancy Guthrie didn't yield any match in the FBI's database, a major setback for investigators.
Officials had one of their best possible leads yet in the more than two weeks since the mother of "Today" show anchor Savannah Guthrie disappeared when they located the gloves about 2 miles away from the home. They appeared to match those worn by a masked person seen outside the home on Nancy Guthrie's doorbell camera. But the lack of a match dashed those hopes.
The Pima County Sheriff's Department said additional DNA found at the house is also being analyzed.
▪ NewsNation: Officials trace suspect's backpack to Walmart.
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