Comment on Much as White House might try to soften blow, government shutdowns are costly and cumbersome

“President Biden has introduced a change to his White House departure and return routine. Instead of walking across the South Lawn to and from Marine One by himself, he’s now often surrounded by aides,” Axios reports. “With aides usually walking between Biden and journalists’ camera position outside the White House, the visual effect is to draw less attention to the 81-year-old’s halting and stiff gait.”

“Donald Trump’s allies are quietly drafting proposals that would attempt to erode the Federal Reserve’s independence if the former president wins a second term, in the midst of a deepening divide among his advisers over how aggressively to challenge the central bank’s authority,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) admitted to killing her dog in her new book, The Guardian reports. “She includes her story about the ill-fated Cricket, she says, to illustrate her willingness, in politics as well as in South Dakota life, to do anything ‘difficult, messy and ugly’ if it simply needs to be done.” No Going Back: The Truth on What's Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward Amazon Kindle EditionNoem, Kristi (Author)English (Publication Language)256 Pages - 05/07/2024 (Publication Date) - Center Street (Publisher) Check Price on Amazon

“Egypt’s president dispatched his intelligence chief to Israel on Friday in a last-ditch effort to revive talks toward a cease-fire in Gaza that would also free Israeli hostages and hold off a planned Israeli military offensive against Hamas in the city of Rafah,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met with China’s leader, Xi Jinping, in Beijing on Friday, as the two countries worked to hold together a fractious relationship despite disputes over the economy, national security and geopolitical frictions in East Asia, the Middle East and Ukraine,” the New York Times reports. “Both China and the United States have said they were hoping for progress on a few smaller, pragmatic fronts, including improving communications between their militaries and easing travel between the countries.

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