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Senate Democrats are threatening to block legislation that would fund the Department of Homeland Security and several other agencies Thursday, potentially bringing the government a step closer to a partial shutdown if Republicans and the White House do not agree to new restrictions on President Donald Trump’s surge of immigration enforcement.As the country reels from the deaths of two protesters at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis, irate Senate Democrats laid out a list of demands ahead of a Thursday morning test vote, including that officers take off their masks and identify themselves and obtain warrants for arrest. If those are not met, Democrats say they are prepared to block the wide-ranging spending bill, denying Republicans the votes they need to pass it and triggering a shutdown at midnight on Friday.Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday that Democrats won’t provide needed votes until U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is “reined in and overhauled.”“The American people support law enforcement, they support border security, they do not support ICE terrorizing our streets and killing American citizens,” Schumer said.There were some signs of possible progress as the White House has appeared open to trying to strike a deal with Democrats to avert a shutdown. The two sides were talking as of Wednesday evening, according to a person familiar with the negotiations who requested anonymity to speak about the private talks. One possible option discussed would be to strip the funding for the Homeland Security Department from the larger bill, as Schumer has requested, and extend it for a short period to allow time for negotiations, the person said. The rest of the bill would fund government agencies until September.Still, with no agreement yet and an uncertain path ahead, the standoff threatened to plunge the country into another shutdown just two months after Democrats blocked a spending bill over expiring federal health care subsidies, a dispute that closed the government for 43 days as Republicans refused to negotiate.That shutdown ended when a small group of moderate Democrats broke away to strike a deal with Republicans, but Democrats are more unified this time after the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal agents. Democrats lay out their demands There’s a lot of “unanimity and shared purpose” within the Democratic caucus, Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith said after a lunch meeting Wednesday.“Boil it all down, what we are talking about is that these lawless ICE agents should be following the same rules that your local police department does,” Smith said. “There has to be accountability.”Amid the administration’s immigration crackdown, Schumer said Democrats are asking the White House to “end roving patrols” in cities and coordinate with local law enforcement on immigration arrests, including requiring tighter rules for warrants.Democrats also want an enforceable code of conduct so agents are held accountable when they violate rules. Schumer said agents should be required to have “masks off, body cameras on” and carry proper identification, as is common practice in most law enforcement agencies.The Democratic caucus is united in those “common sense reforms” and the burden is on Republicans to accept them, Schumer said, as he has pushed for the Homeland spending to be separated out to avoid a broader shutdown.Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has indicated that he might be open to considering some of the Democrats’ demands, but he encouraged Democrats and the White House to talk and find agreement. Many obstacles to a deal As the two sides negotiated, it was still unclear whether they could agree on anything that would satisfy Democrats who want Trump’s aggressive crackdown to end.The White House had invited some Democrats for a discussion to better understand their positions and avoid a partial government shutdown, a senior White House official said, but the meeting did not happen. The official requested anonymity to discuss the private invitation.The House passed the six remaining funding bills last week and sent them to the Senate as a package, making it more difficult to strip out the homeland security portion as Democrats have demanded. Republicans could break the package apart with the consent of all 100 senators or through a series of votes that would extend past the Friday deadline.Even if the Senate can resolve the issue, House Republicans have said they do not want any changes to the bill they have passed. In a letter to Trump on Tuesday, the conservative House Freedom Caucus wrote that its members stand with the president and ICE.“The package will not come back through the House without funding for the Department of Homeland Security,” according to the letter. Republican opposition Several Republican senators have said they would be fine with Democrats’ request to separate the Homeland Security funds for further debate and pass the other bills in the package. But it might be more difficult to for Democrats to find broad GOP support for their demands on ICE.North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis said he’s OK with separating the bills, but is opposed to the Democrats’ proposal to require the immigration enforcement officers to unmask and show their faces, even as he blamed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for decisions that he said are “tarnishing” the agency’s reputation.“You know, there’s a lot of vicious people out there, and they’ll take a picture of your face, and the next thing you know, your children or your wife or your husband are being threatened at home,” Tillis said. “And that’s just the reality of the world that we’re in.”Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said that “what happened over the weekend is a tragedy,” but Democrats shouldn’t punish Americans with a shutdown and a “political stunt.”Democrats say they won’t back down.“It is truly a moral moment,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. “I think we need to take a stand.” Associated Press writer Michelle Price in Washington contributed to this report. Mary Clare Jalonick, Kevin Freking and Lisa Mascaro, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
Its been a dramatic week in foreign exchange markets as a six-word comment on Tuesday by President Donald Trump intensified a selloff for the U.S. dollar, sending it to its lowest level in four years. On Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sought to do some damage control. It doesnt appear to be working yet. Understanding whats happening with the dollar now traces back to early 2025, when the greenback hit a multi-year high relative to other currencies just days before Trumps return to the White House. The dollar has tumbled 10% since, a victim of the Sell America trade that first came into vogue after Trump announced sweeping tariff plans last April. The dollar was already under pressure this month as Trumps rhetoric about acquiring Greenland and his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland reignited that Sell America trade. Last week brought another blow to the greenback when Reuters reported that the New York Federal Reserve had conducted rate checks on the dollar/yen pair, putting traders on alert of a potential coordinated currency intervention by U.S. and Japanese authorities. And yet, it was a brief comment by Trump on Tuesday that saw the dollar suffer its worst one-day decline since April on Wednesday as currency traders ditched the dollar in favor of safe-haven assets like gold and the Swiss franc. When asked by a reporter if the dollar had declined too much, Trump brushed off any concerns, saying, No, I think its great. BESSENT SPARKS BRIEF RALLY Not everyone agrees with that sentiment, to put things mildly. The editorial board of The Wall Street Journal published an op-ed on Wednesday, noting that there are good reasons why a strong dollar policy is favored in Washington and that while Trump likes to be an economic iconoclast, he breaks this particular tradition at hisand Americasperil. Meanwhile, in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday, Bessent sought to reassure traders that the U.S. still has a strong dollar policy and said the U.S. is absolutely not intervening in the currency market right now. Bessents comments did spark a brief rally for the greenback that faded by early Thursdayan indication that the Trump administration may need to do more to reassure investors. DOLLAR AND THE ECONOMY On Wednesday, Federal Reserve policymakers left a benchmark interest rate unchanged, at a range of 3.50% to 3.75%. But Fed Chair Jerome Powell declined to weigh in on the currencys recent decline, telling a reporter, We dont comment about the dollar. That said, a weaker dollar undeniably has ramifications for the broader economy. A weaker dollar can boost U.S. exports by making American goods cheaper for foreign buyers, but it hurts consumers and businesses as the cost of imports becomes more expensive and risks inflation. Meanwhile, Americans pay more while traveling abroad, while its cheaper for foreign tourists to visit the U.S. DOLLAR BEAR MARKET The dollar is still strong by historic standardsand particularly compared to a roughly 12-year period between 2003 and 2015but some investors caution that the worst of its recent declines arent over. In fact, the term bear market is increasingly being bandied about. A bear market is defined as a decline of at least 20% from a recent peak. A longer-term dollar bear market is likely and could be worsened by an investing dynamic in recent years, as Cole Smead, CEO and portfolio manager at Smead Capital Management, told CNBCs Squawk Box Europe on Wednesday. Thats because a huge amount of money has poured into the U.S. over the past decade, and traders will eventually seek out better returns elsewhere. Were going to see the dollar struggle because of that capital account movement abroad, Smead said. More immediately, international traders once again have reason to hedge their bets on the U.S. given Trumps remarks. Stephen Jen, chief executive of London-based asset manager Eurizon SLJ Capital, told The Wall Street Journal that he expects a further 20% decline for the currency. The world is not ready.
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E-Commerce
Dearest gentle reader, Netflix humble requests your presence on your couch this today Thursday, January 29, 2026 to binge part one of the fourth season of its hit series Bridgerton. It is up to you whether or not to don your finest gowns, tiaras, and petticoats or simply leave that to the actors gracing your screens. While Lady Whistledowns identity is now common knowledge, society still has its eyes and judgement on you. So here are some facts you should know going into this next chapter so you are not the laughing stock of the season. Dont say we didnt try to help. What is the basic premise of Bridgerton? Netflixs Bridgerton is based on a series of romance novels by Julia Quinn. There are eight novels in the main series, each focusing on a Bridgerton sibling and a classic romance trope such as enemies to lovers. Additionally, since the popularity of the series epilogues, novellas, and one prequel book has expanded the literary world of the franchise.The plot centers on the individual Bridgerton family members quest for love in Regency Era London. The young adults and children are guided by their loving mother Violet who does her best despite missing her late husband who was killed by a bee sting before his children were of marrying age. Who is the creative force behind Bridgerton? Shonda Rhimes [Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Netflix] It is wild to think that Bridgerton came about because in 2017 creator Shonda Rhimes was sick on vacation. While she wasnt feeling well, she ran out of things to read and picked up Quinns first novel in the series, The Duke and I, which by chance was left in her room. After devouring it, she went out fever and all to the local bookstore to buy the rest of the books in the series. A seed for an idea was planted.That same year, Rhimes left ABC, her previous creative home, and signed a very lucrative four year overall deal with Netflix. Industry insiders estimated this deal was worth around$100 million dollars. With her newfound creative freedom outside the world of traditional network television, Rhimes teamed up with Netflix to tackle a genre that was looked down upon, romance. Why was Bridgerton such a surprise hit? Bridgerton was a gamble for both Rhimes and Netflix. Historically, traditional cable channels tended to stay in their land and do one genre well. For example HBO and Showtime focused on dark, gritty offerings that wouldnt make it past the censors of network televisions. Netflix has offerings for all, including women. Rhimes unabashedly embraced the Regency era and the pursuit of love and marriage. She also put her own unique fingerprints on it by creating an ethnically diverse world. One way she accomplished this was through the character of Queen Charlotte who did not appear in the original book series but was a real historical figure. While historians will continue to debate her ethnicity, in the show she is a Black woman. Her character’s popularity inspired Quinn to pair up with Rhimes to write the prequel novel. This representation in a genre that doesnt typically see diversity helped create even more fans. Golda Rosheuvel (left) as Queen Charlotte, Adjoa Andoh as Lady Danbury. [Photo: Liam Daniel/Netflix] Bridgertons first season debuted on Christmas day 2020. Eighty-two million homes tuned in (including partial viewers) so clearly men got into the action as well. This massive number was even bigger than Netflix projected and made Bridgerton Netflixs biggest series at the time. While the global pandemic certainly helped initially, the momentum for this series did not die down. Season 3s numbers continued to impress. This installment achieved 45.1M views opening weekend alone. Season 4 is primed to build on this momentum. Who does Bridgerton season 4 focus on? Season 4 is a Bridgerton twist on the Cinderella story. This time it is Benedict Bridgertons turn to find love. (Actor Luke Thompson is up to the challenge.)Benedict is the second oldest son which means he has a little more freedom than his older brother Anthony. He has used this freedom to pursue the arts and explore his sexuality, briefly considering a throuple in season 3.While his personality is bohemian, Violet fears he is a bit lost and needs to settle down. It is believed his sister Eloise (played by Claudia Jessie) will also be heavily featured in the season both because of their close relationship and the need to set up her future season.Last season also saw his sister Francesca married to John Stirling, the Earl of Kilmartin. Readers know some plot points also need to happen here for her season to be able to unfold. What new actors are joining the cast in season 4? Since Bridgerton is about a family, the core cast stays mainly the same with the focus shifting to whomevers love story is front and center for the season. Although sometimes this means fan favorites such as Simone Ashley (Kate Sharma) are not seen on screen. She is just one of the actors not listed on Netflixs official Season 4 cast announcement.Others not present are Jessica Madsen (Cressida Cowper), Bessie Carter (Prudence Featherington), James Phoon (Harry Dankwoth) or Harriet Cains (Philippa Featherington). Never fear the supporting cast does have additions to make up for these absences.Yerin Ha will don a mask for her turn as Benedict’s love interest Sophie Baek. The couple first meet at a masquerade ball that was teased in season 3. L to R: Michelle Mao as Rosamund Li, Katie Leung as Lady Araminta Gao, and Isabella Wei as Posy Li. [Photo: Liam Daniel/Netflix] The role of Lady Araminta Gun, aka the wicked stepmother, will be tackled by Katie Leung. Audiences might remember her from her role as Cho Chang in the Harry Potter movies.Rounding out the supporting cast are the stepsisters Michelle Mao as Rosamund Li and Isabella Wei as Posy Li.Fans can also expect to see familiar faces such as Jonathan Bailey, Nicola Coughlan, and Luke Newton. What are the release dates for season 4? Netflix is following a similar release schedule to season 3. The first four episodes will drop on Thursday, January 29, 2026 at 3 a.m. ET. The concluding four episodes of the season will debut on February 26, 2026.
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E-Commerce
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