Trump-Greene spat exposes friction on right over his second-term priorities

WASHINGTON — The latest friction between President Donald Trump and Georgia Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene has exposed cracks in the MAGA coalition over perceptions that the president has failed to live up to his economic campaign promises.

Even before the longest government shutdown in American history, the firebrand Republican congresswoman had begun orchestrating an eyebrow-furrowing political shift by speaking out against Trump, to whom she had — by design — been closely aligned. Several GOP sources said this week they aren’t sure just what Greene might be up to.

Whatever her objective, she has managed to get Trump’s attention as he juggles a number of complex foreign policy matters and, after last week’s Democratic electoral victories across the country, economic headwinds at home.

In a statement to CQ Roll Call provided via a spokesman Tuesday, Greene signaled a desire to remain at least partly aligned to Trump: “I haven’t lost my way. I’m 100 percent America first and only!”

—CQ-Roll Call

Pennsylvania lawmakers and Gov. Josh Shapiro have approved a $50.1 billion state budget, officially ending monthslong impasse

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Gov. Josh Shapiro signed a nearly $50.1 billion state spending plan on Wednesday, part of a breakthrough deal approved by the General Assembly that officially ended the state’s bitter, four-month-long budget stalemate.

The budget deal approved by the legislature Wednesday marks the first time Pennsylvania’s state budget has topped $50 billion, as state spending and revenue has skyrocketed in the post-COVID years due to federal cash infusions. The spending plan is a 4.7% increase over the previous fiscal year.

The $50.1 billion budget passed the House with a 156-47 vote and the Senate by a 40-9 vote, moving through both chambers with bipartisan support. The overall budget deal, which was made public Wednesday, addresses significant priorities for both Democrats and Republicans — while leaving some long-sought efforts behind.

Shapiro, a lead negotiator on the budget deal, signed the budget Wednesday afternoon to formally approve the 2025-26 fiscal year spending plan and end the budget impasse that had for months stalled payments to counties, schools, and nonprofits.

—The Philadelphia Inquirer

Food influencer Michael Duarte was shot dead by police in Texas, report says

Michael Duarte, the food influencer and barbecue aficionado known as “Food with Bear Hands,” was shot dead by Texas officers after lunging at one of them with a knife, according to a new report.

Friends and family revealed Monday that the beloved foodie had died in a “horrible incident” over the weekend while traveling in Texas, without releasing details. On Wednesday, the Medina County Sheriff’s Office shed some light on what had happened.

Deputies were responding to a 911 call Saturday in Castroville, Texas, about a “male subject with a knife acting erratically” and causing a disturbance, a spokesperson for the Medina County Sheriff’s Office told TMZ. He menaced the arriving deputies, the spokesperson said, and then lunged at one with the knife.

“After multiple verbal commands were given for Duarte to get on the ground by the deputy, Duarte charged toward the deputy while yelling, ‘I’m going to kill you,’” the sheriff’s office told TMZ. The deputy shot two rounds at him, police said, then rendered medical aid and rushed him to a San Antonio hospital. There, he was pronounced dead, TMZ reported.

—New York Daily News

Haiti gangs have slowed attacks in the capital, but they have intensified elsewhere

Gang violence continues to be responsible for hundreds of deaths and injuries in Haiti, where attacks by criminal groups have slowed in recent months in the capital but have intensified against farming communities and other rural areas outside of Port-au-Prince.

During the third quarter of this year, July 1 to Sept. 30, at least 1,247 people were killed and 710 injured because of violence perpetrated by gangs, self-defense groups and members of the public, as well as operations by security forces, according to the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti.

The office said in its latest report on the human rights situation that there were at least 145 kidnappings for ransom and 400 victims of sexual violence during the quarter.

“Sexual violence perpetrated by armed gangs remains at an alarming level,” the U.N. said. “Most of these acts involve gang rapes, often committed during home invasions or while victims are moving through the streets. Such sexual violence, frequently used as a tool of exploitation or punishment, has devastating physical, psychological, economic and social consequences for survivors and their families.”

—Miami Herald