1/ Congress passed a two-week spending bill to extend the government’s funding through Dec. 21 and avoid a partial shutdown. Lawmakers face an impasse over whether to meet Trump’s demand for $5 billion to build a wall along the border with Mexico, which Democrats have resisted. Trump has threatened to force a partial government shutdown if Congress does not give him his wall money. (Wall Street Journal / Reuters / Washington Post)

2/ A bipartisan group of senators are trying to punish Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi while also curtailing U.S. involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen, and suspending arms sales to the Kingdom. Trump, meanwhile, has downplayed assertions that Prince Mohammed was responsible for Khashoggi’s murder at the Saudi consulate. (Bloomberg / Reuters / CNN)

3/ Trump blamed Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation for his low approval rating, claiming that “without the phony Russia Witch Hunt […] my approval rating would be at 75% rather than the 50% just reported by Rasmussen.� Trump’s average approval rating is 43.3%, according to Real Clear Politics. And, according to FiveThirtyEight, Trump’s approval rating is 42.1%. (Politico)

4/ Trump and the NRA used the same consultants to execute complimentary TV advertising strategies during the 2016 presidential election. The NRA used a media strategy firm called Red Eagle Media, while the Trump campaign purchased ads through a firm called American Media & Advocacy Group, which were aimed at the same demographic as the NRA spots. Both firms are affiliated with the conservative media-consulting firm National Media Research, Planning and Placement, with both the NRA’s and the Trump campaign’s ad buys were also authorized by the same person at National Media. The arrangement is likely a violation of campaign finance laws. (Mother Jones)

poll/ 67% of voters are concerned about the recent climate change report that concludes that global warming is already “transforming where and how we live.� 58% agree with the scientific consensus that climate change is being caused by human activity. (