Trump offers no new ideas to end government shutdown on '60 Minutes'

President Donald Trump offered no new ideas to end the government shutdown and shrugged off demands by Democrats to address skyrocketing Obamacare insurance premiums in an interview on CBS News’ “60 Minutes.”

Echoing Republican talking points, Trump said he “won’t be extorted” by the opposition party into negotiations to reopen the government even as the shutdown heads into a second month with government workers not receiving paychecks and 42 million people missing food assistance.

“I think they have to (cave),” Trump said. “And if they don’t … it’s their problem.” The presidents offered only vague promises to address spiraling health insurance costs, an issue that has bedeviled him since before he even took office for his first term in 2017.

“We will work on fixing the bad healthcare that we have,” Trump said. “Right now, we have terrible healthcare and too expensive for the people.” Trump repeated his call for GOP congressional leaders to end the filibuster rule in the Senate, which requires a 60-vote supermajority for most legislation.

—New York Daily News

Both sides say democracy is at stake with Prop. 50 — but for very different reasons

LOS ANGELES — If the ads are any indication, Proposition 50 offers Californians a stark choice: "Stick it to Trump" or "throw away the constitution" in a Democratic power grab.

And like so many things in 2025, President Donald Trump appears to be the galvanizing issue. Even by the incendiary campaigns California is used to, Proposition 50 has been notable for its sharp attacks to cut through the dense, esoteric issue of congressional redistricting.

It comes down to a basic fact: this is a Democratic-led measure to reconfigure California's congressional districts to help their party win control of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2026 and stifle Trump's attempts to keep Republicans in power through similar means in other states.

Thus far, the anti-Trump message preached by Proposition 50 advocates, led by Gov. Gavin Newsom and other top Democrats, appears to be the most effective. Supporters of the proposal have vastly outraised their rivals and Proposition 50, one of the most expensive ballot measure campaigns in state history, leads in the polls.

—Los Angeles Times

Gov. JB Pritzker says he’s still deciding whether ‘right-to-die’ legislation should become Illinois law

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday said he was still deciding whether he’d sign legislation that would permit doctors to help terminally ill people end their lives, after the bill narrowly passed the General Assembly last week.

“It was something that I didn’t expect and didn’t know it was going to be voted on, so we’re examining it even now,” Pritzker, a Democrat, said.

The Democratic-run state Senate, before dawn broke Friday, voted with the bare minimum 30 votes to allow mentally competent, terminally ill adults the right to access life-ending prescription medication with physician oversight. The vote sent the bill to the governor’s desk. But opponents, including disability advocates and the Catholic Church, have pushed back against the measure, saying it could lead to discrimination, coercion and abuse.

Pritzker, who is running for a third term next year and is widely considered a potential 2028 contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, on Monday said he’s still taking input on the controversial bill and has already “heard a lot” from advocates backing the legislation.

—Chicago Tribune

Trump’s military threat doesn’t reflect reality of violence in Nigeria

Nigeria reeled on Monday from U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim over the weekend that Christians are being systematically killed in the West African country, with blanket coverage across local media.

“They’re killing the Christians and killing them in very large numbers,” Trump said in comments while traveling on Air Force One on Saturday. “We’re not going to allow that to happen.”

The false idea of a genocide against Christians in Nigeria has been floating around right-wing circles in the West for years, and was brought up by Trump during his first term in power. But it has gained particular traction in recent months, prompting rising concern in Africa’s most populous country.

The nation of 230 million — roughly split between Muslims and Christians — has a long history of ethnic violence driven by access to resources such as land and water, and terrorism by the likes of Boko Haram and Islamic State that largely kills Muslims.

—Bloomberg News