Plus, a D.O.J. dust-up over Mel Gibson. 

On Today’s Episode:

House Republicans Unveil Spending Bill to Avert Shutdown at Week’s End, by Catie Edmondson and Carl Hulse

Trump, With More Honey Than Vinegar, Cements an Iron Grip on Republicans, by Annie Karni and Jonathan Swan

Trump Promised Americans Booming Wealth. Now He’s Changing His Tune, by Tyler Pager

Justice Dept. Official Says She Was Fired After Opposing Restoring Mel Gibson’s Gun Rights, by Devlin Barrett

Ukraine Bombards Russia, Forcing Moscow Airports to Close, by Marc Santora and Ivan Nechepurenko

Rodrigo Duterte, Philippine Ex-President, Is Arrested on I.C.C. Warrant, by Sui-Lee Wee and Camille Elemia

15 Lessons Scientists Learned About Us When the World Stopped, by Claire Cain Miller and Irineo Cabreros

Tune in every weekday morning. To get our full audio journalism and storytelling experience, download the New York Times Audio app — available to Times news subscribers on iOS — and sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Tell us what you think at: [email protected]. 

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.