00:00The very brief partial government shutdown is now officially over.
00:04The House narrowly passed a $1.2 trillion funding deal to end the four-day shutdown,
00:09and President Trump promptly signed it.
00:12What that means in practice is that the vast majority of the government can now keep the
00:16lights on until September, with the exception of the Department of Homeland Security.
00:21The deal that passed on Tuesday includes an extension of their budget only until February
00:2613th, which is next Friday.
00:28Now, this isn't a case of Congress just kicking the can down the road as they are known to
00:33do from time to time.
00:34The extension is designed to give both parties time to hash out an agreement on reforms to
00:39immigration enforcement without making the rest of the government suffer while that happens.
00:44Democrats want things like a ban on ICE agents wearing masks and a requirement that they
00:48obtain judicial warrants before taking people into custody.
00:51Unfortunately, the week-and-a-half grace period might not matter.
00:55Senate Majority Leader John Thune called finding such an agreement by the deadline a, quote,
01:01impossibility.
01:02So we'll have to see.
01:03And the clock is officially ticking.
01:06Meanwhile, new data from the Department of Homeland Security shows that more than 180 of its vehicles
01:11have been attacked since President Trump took office last year and launched his immigration
01:16crackdown.
01:16That's more than a 3,000% increase from 2024.
01:21The data includes things like tire slashing, ramming of the vehicles, and attempts to run
01:26over agents.
01:27And as for some of those agitators who may be taking part in these attacks, a conservative
01:32research firm believes some of this chaos has been financed by China.
01:36While the protests appear in many ways to be grassroots gatherings organized on message
01:41boards and encrypted texting apps, a firm called Capital Research says some of the protests are
01:46backed by a fund created by left-leaning billionaires and, yes, China.
01:51This comes from Scott Walter, the president of Capital Research.
01:54He's an expert on dark money.
01:56He says that the network that seems most active in Minnesota is backed by American businessman
02:01Neville Singham, who's based in Shanghai.
02:04Now, Congress, specifically the House Oversight Committee, is digging into Singham and whether
02:08his financial support of left-wing causes constitutes foreign influence, given possible ties between
02:14his network and the Chinese Communist Party's propaganda efforts.
02:18Representatives of the United States and Iran are set to meet in Istanbul on Friday, an effort
02:23to hammer out a nuclear deal.
02:26Now, if you're Iran here, you know what you absolutely shouldn't do three days before that
02:31meeting?
02:32Provoke the U.S. military.
02:34Well, U.S. Central Command reported that it shot down an Iranian drone over the Arabian
02:40sea after it, quote, aggressively approached the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.
02:45The Shahid 139 unmanned vehicle was flying toward the ship with unclear intent when an
02:51F-35 fighter jet launched from the aircraft carrier to protect personnel on board.
02:55Then, in a separate incident, Iran's notorious Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened to
03:01board and seize a U.S.-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz.
03:05After the threat, a U.S. destroyer with air support escorted the tanker safely through the
03:09waterway.
03:10White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt says the talks, the nuclear talks, are still
03:14a go for now.
03:16For more on these stories and everything else you could possibly want to know, check out
03:21the New York Post in print or online.
03:23And don't forget, like and subscribe to the New York Postcast wherever you get your podcast
03:26and on YouTube.
03:27I promise you'll be glad you did.
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