The Morning Sixpack - November 11, 2025
Senate ends shutdown chaos as Trump lashes out over flights, sues BBC for $1B, and pushes fake $2,000 tariff “rebate” amid backlash.
Shutdown Showdown: Senate Pushes to Reopen Government—But the Fight Isn’t Over Yet #Day41
After 41 long days of unpaid workers, shuttered agencies, and mounting frustration, the Senate finally passed a funding package to reopen the government. The bill moves the country one step closer to ending the longest shutdown in U.S. history, but it’s far from a done deal. The lights in Washington might flicker back on soon—but don’t expect the drama to fade just yet.
The legislation passed 60–40, backed by 52 Republicans and eight Democrats. It bundles three full-year spending bills with a stopgap extension to fund the rest of the government through Jan. 30. The measure also reverses layoffs caused by the shutdown and blocks further firings until the continuing resolution expires. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky was the only Republican to vote against it.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune sounded relieved yet wary: “I am grateful that the end is in sight,” he said, urging colleagues not to delay the relief Americans desperately need. Lawmakers agreed to fast-track the process, hoping to officially end the shutdown within days. Meanwhile, Speaker Mike Johnson told House Republicans he aims to pass the bill by Wednesday—the first full legislative day in over seven weeks.
But it won’t be smooth sailing. House Democrats, led by Hakeem Jeffries, plan to oppose the package because it omits any fix for expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies. In exchange for limited Democratic support, Thune agreed to a symbolic vote on extending the subsidies, though that measure is expected to fail. Without those protections, millions could face higher premiums in 2026—fuel for another political fight on the horizon.
Democrats aren’t thrilled with how this saga ends. Many believe they had leverage and squandered it. As Sen. Chris Murphy put it, “The people were on our side... We could have won—and giving in now will embolden him.” The Senate may have broken the stalemate, but the next battle—over health care and political will—is already locked and loaded.
Source: My Daily Grind News
Editor: Ending the longest shutdown in U.S. history shouldn’t feel like surrender—but here we are. The GOP dodged blame, Democrats blinked (AGAIN), and millions of Americans just want their paychecks and basic government functions back. Washington’s dysfunction factory keeps churning, and this “victory” smells more like a temporary truce than a win. You can call it a “ceasefire.”
Trump Floats $2,000 “Tariff Dividend” for Americans—But the Math Doesn’t Add Up
Donald Trump is dangling another round of fantasy checks—this time a $2,000 “tariff dividend” supposedly funded by money his tariffs brought in. The catch? Those tariffs are paid by American businesses (and passed on to you at the checkout counter). So, in effect, Trump’s plan would hand you a rebate on a tax you already paid—and it won’t be enough to counter all the tariffs you have already paid.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said, “We’re going to issue a dividend to our middle income people and lower income people of about $2,000... and we’re going to use the remaining tariffs to lower our debt.” That’s the pitch. The problem? There isn’t remotely enough cash to make it happen. Budget analysts say even if every penny of tariff revenue were redirected, it would still leave at least a $100 billion shortfall between what’s collected and what Trump’s promising to spend.
Erica York from the Tax Foundation didn’t mince words: “Even with the most conservative estimates applied to it, it doesn’t work.” She noted that sending $2,000 checks to Americans making under $100,000 a year would cost far more than tariffs could ever generate—and even limiting it to those under $75,000 wouldn’t balance the books. In short, Trump’s “dividend” would balloon the national debt instead of shrinking it.
To make things more absurd, the White House is already backpedaling on the idea of direct payments. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told ABC that the so-called “dividend” might just mean tax tweaks already in place—like “no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security.” Translation: there’s no check coming, but you might get to keep a few more bucks from cuts that already happened.
The real kicker? Trump’s boasting about tariff revenue could blow up his own Supreme Court defense. His lawyers just argued those tariffs aren’t meant to raise revenue but to regulate trade. As Solicitor General John Sauer told the justices, “They are not revenue-raising tariffs. The fact that they raise revenue is only incidental.” Hard to keep a straight face when your president’s on TV bragging about all the “revenue” he plans to hand out.
Source: NPR
Editor: Only Trump could promise to pay Americans with their own money, then call it a “dividend.” It’s like robbing your house, pawning the furniture, and congratulating yourself for giving the cash back. The math doesn’t lie—but Trump’s narrative sure does.
FDA Drops Black Box Warnings on Menopause Drugs—Critics Say Process Was “Too Cozy” with Pharma
After more than two decades, the FDA is removing its strongest safety warning from hormone-based menopause treatments—igniting a fierce medical and political debate over science, safety, and process. The agency’s decision affects more than 20 estrogen and progestin products, including popular pills, patches, and creams used to treat hot flashes and other symptoms.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. framed the move as progress: “We’re challenging outdated thinking and recommitting to evidence-based medicine that empowers rather than restricts.” The FDA says newer studies show hormone therapy poses minimal risks when started before age 60 or within 10 years of menopause onset. Supporters, including FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, call the old warning “obsolete.” But others warn that the agency skipped the usual public and scientific review process—and that’s where this story gets messy.
Rather than convening a formal advisory committee, Makary handpicked a dozen doctors who already favored hormone therapy, several with ties to drugmakers. Critics argue that this insider approach undermines the agency’s credibility. “The FDA’s credibility is weakened when it appears to make policy with cheerleaders instead of scientists,” said Diana Zuckerman of the National Center for Health Research. Makary brushed off the criticism, saying traditional review panels are “bureaucratic, long, often conflicted, and very expensive.”
Supporters insist this is about correcting 20-year-old fearmongering. Dr. Steven Fleischman of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said, “I can spend 30 minutes counseling someone about hormone-replacement therapy—tell them everything—but when they fill the prescription and see that warning, they just get scared.” Makary himself has gone further, claiming hormone therapy could reduce heart disease and Alzheimer’s, calling it perhaps the most beneficial medication for women “in the modern era.”
That claim, though, is far from settled science. Dr. JoAnn Manson of Harvard Medical School, who helped shape the original 2002 warnings, cautioned that the evidence for those broad benefits “is not as conclusive or definitive” as Makary describes. Still, she agreed that removing the black box could help doctors and patients make more individualized decisions. The original warnings will still appear—just buried lower on the label.
Source: Associated Press
Editor: The FDA just traded caution for convenience—and possibly swapped science for speed. When the guy who literally wrote a book praising hormone therapy ends up running the agency that deregulates it, you don’t need estrogen to feel the heat.
Remember when Sara Palin always talked about “crony capitalists”? Yeah, this is that.
Air Chaos Deepens as Shutdown Grounds Thousands of Flights and Trump Threatens Controllers
America’s air traffic system is collapsing under the weight of the government shutdown—and President Trump’s threats aren’t helping. With air traffic controllers unpaid, overworked, and burning out, more than 1,400 flights were canceled Monday alone, stranding passengers nationwide and crippling an industry already on the edge.
Data from aviation firm Cirium shows 1,432 of 25,733 scheduled flights—about 5.5%—were grounded Monday, with the number rising by the hour. Last week, the Trump administration ordered airlines to slash flights at 40 major airports by up to 10% by Friday. “All Air Traffic Controllers must get back to work, NOW!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social, offering $10,000 “loyalty bonuses” to those who stayed on the job while threatening to dock pay for those who didn’t.
Over the weekend, nearly 23,000 flights were disrupted nationwide—18,576 delayed and 4,519 canceled—marking one of the worst stretches for air travel since early 2024. United and Delta began offering flight attendants extra pay to pick up trips, a desperate measure usually reserved for hurricanes or blizzards. By Sunday, 10% of U.S. flights were canceled, making it the fourth-worst day for air travel in nearly two years.
The chaos is rippling beyond airports. Hertz reports surging one-way car rentals, and private jet operators say demand has spiked among those who can afford to skip the mess. Even so, the FAA has now begun limiting private flights at a dozen airports to ease congestion. Meanwhile, air traffic controllers—now missing their second paycheck—are exhausted and stretched thin. “They must focus on child care instead of traffic flows. Food for their families instead of runway separation,” said Nick Daniels, head of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. “The added stress leads to fatigue... and the increased risk every day this shutdown drags on.”
The Senate is inching toward a funding deal, but until it passes, the skies remain gridlocked. And even after it’s resolved, it could take months for controllers to receive back pay and for the aviation system to recover. The last time this happened—in 2019—it took more than two months to make workers whole.
Source: CNBC
Editor: Nothing says “run government like a business” quite like threatening to dock your employees’ pay when they’re already working for free. The nation’s skies are turning into a metaphor for Washington itself—crowded, chaotic, and run on fumes.
Keep reading—what Trump said about the air traffic controllers gets them a bit riled up. Last story of the day…
Trump Threatens $1 Billion Lawsuit Against BBC Over Edited Jan. 6 Documentary
Donald Trump is threatening to sue the BBC for $1 billion, claiming the network “maliciously” edited his Jan. 6 speech to make it look like a call for violence. His lawyer, Alejandro Brito, fired off a letter demanding a full retraction, a public apology, and a payout to “appropriately compensate President Trump for the harm caused.” The letter warned that if the BBC doesn’t comply by Friday at 5 p.m. Eastern, “President Trump will be left with no alternative” but to file suit.
The BBC has already pulled the documentary—titled “Trump: A Second Chance?”—from its online player, and top executives Tim Davie and Deborah Turness resigned over the backlash to its editing. In a letter to Parliament, BBC Chair Samir Shah admitted, “The way the speech was edited did give the impression of a direct call for violent action. The BBC would like to apologize for that error of judgment.” Shah added that the matter had been reviewed months earlier but should have been “handled more formally.”
Trump’s legal team seized on that admission, citing it alongside a leaked memo from former BBC standards adviser Michael Prescott, who blasted the network’s handling of the segment. “The BBC is on notice,” Brito’s letter warned, closing with the line only a Trump lawyer could write: “PLEASE GOVERN YOURSELF ACCORDINGLY.”
This isn’t Trump’s first media grudge match. He’s already sued CBS News, The New York Times, and Penguin Random House in recent years—winning a $16 million settlement from Paramount Global over a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris. A Florida judge previously dismissed one of his sprawling complaints against the Times, writing that “a complaint is not a public forum for vituperation and invective.” Trump refiled it anyway.
For now, the BBC says it will “respond in due course.” But this latest Trump lawsuit fits the familiar pattern: hit back hard, weaponize litigation, and control the headlines. Whether he ever collects a penny—or just collects attention—remains to be seen.
Source: The New York Times
Editor: Only Trump could turn an apology into a billion-dollar payday demand. He’s less interested in clearing his name than cashing in on it. At this point, suing the press is his version of cardio—he doesn’t break a sweat, but he sure gets his reps in.
Air Traffic Chief Slams Trump for Forcing Unpaid Workers Back to the Skies
Donald Trump’s demand that unpaid air traffic controllers return to work “now” has drawn fierce backlash from the union that keeps America’s skies safe. After weeks of chaos caused by the historic government shutdown, Trump took to Truth Social to threaten pay cuts, replacements, and black marks against federal employees who didn’t immediately clock back in.
“All Air Traffic Controllers must get back to work, NOW!!!” Trump wrote, promising $10,000 “bonuses” to those he called “GREAT PATRIOTS” while vowing to “dock” anyone who took time off. He accused workers who stayed home of falling for what he called the “FAKE DEMOCRAT ATTACK” and warned that anyone thinking of leaving their jobs should do so “with NO payment or severance of any kind!”
Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, blasted the comments and called the situation “un-American.” He revealed that some controllers had been forced to sell plasma and pick up side gigs like DoorDash just to survive. “No American should ever be forced to work without a paycheck,” Daniels said. “Failing to pay the workforce that keeps our sky safe is not acceptable and it is not sustainable.”
Even with the government officially reopened, airlines warn the system won’t rebound overnight. Airlines for America said reduced flight schedules “cannot immediately bounce back to full capacity” and predicted “residual effects for days.” With the Thanksgiving travel rush days away, travelers should expect more cancellations, delays, and frayed tempers.
Trump, meanwhile, appears more interested in assigning loyalty points than leadership. His threats may play well with his base, but to the men and women guiding planes full of passengers through crowded skies, it’s just another reminder that Washington dysfunction has real-world consequences—and real people paying the price.
Source: Raw Story
Editor: Only Trump could call workers “patriots” in one sentence and threaten to fire them in the next. The man treats federal employees like contestants on The Apprentice—except this time, the stakes are 30,000 feet in the air.