Here’s what you need to know at the end of the day.
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Good evening. Here’s the latest.
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1. A constitutional clash between President Trump and Congress appears imminent.
He plans to sign the spending package Congress is rapidly approving, to keep the government open past Friday.
But then, according to the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, and the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, he plans to declare a national emergency to sidestep Congress for funds to build his long-promised border wall. Above, the border fence between New Mexico and Mexico.
Here’s what the declaration would mean.
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2. The former F. B. I. deputy director Andrew McCabe said the Justice Department discussed encouraging cabinet members to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump from office.
In an interview with “60 Minutes” ahead of the publication of his memoir, Mr. McCabe said that topic was broached in 2017 by officials deeply alarmed by Mr. Trump’s decision to fire the bureau’s director, James Comey. Above, Mr. McCabe testifying on Capitol Hill in 2017.
The news came hours before the Justice Department came under new leadership. The Senate confirmed William Barr as attorney general, despite concerns from Democrats that he might not make public the findings of his department’s continuing Russia investigation.
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3. Amazon canceled its plans to build a corporate campus in New York City after stiff opposition from some local lawmakers and unions. The finger-pointing has begun.
A point of contention was the $3 billion package of incentives and subsidies the city and state agreed to — their largest ever, dedicated to one of the world’s richest companies.
Amazon said the deal would have created 25,000 jobs, but the debate it stirred touched on the city’s very identity. Before Amazon’s announcement, we looked at how the resistance was empowered by the rise of Democratic political strength. Above, anti-Amazon protesters before a New York City Council hearing last month.
Our business columnist notes that Amazon was forced to confront a challenge to one of its bedrock beliefs: “that being loved by customers is all that matters.
