Morning Brief: Super Typhoon Fung-wong Batters Philippines, Syrian President Sharaa to Meet With Trump, Govt Shutdows Hits Day 40

Al-Sharaa came to power the hard way. His rebel coalition ousted Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, bringing a brutal 13-year civil war to an end. Once a commander inside Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)—a group that once waved al-Qaeda’s banner—he’s spent the past year recasting it into a nationalist movement sporting stylish suits instead of suicide vests. The rebranding worked. By mid-2025, Washington officially took HTS off its list of foreign terrorist organizations, and al-Sharaa’s name was scrubbed from both U.S. and United Nations sanctions lists. That cleared the runway for this week’s historic handshake at the White House. President Donald Trump, never one to shy from political theater, has called al-Sharaa a “strong guy,” a phrase that in Trump-speak usually means “someone I can do business with.” The two first met in Riyadh last May, breaking a quarter-century of silence between Washington and Damascus. This time, they meet on Trump’s home turf to talk about something the U.S. can always sell—fighting terrorism. Both leaders are reportedly discussing Syria’s participation in a U.S.-led coalition aimed at hunting down what’s left of Islamic State cells scattered across the Levant. But this isn’t just about security. It’s about normalization and influence. For the United States, re-engaging Syria is a geopolitical play to counterbalance Iran’s presence and hedge against Russian leverage in the region. For al-Sharaa, it’s about legitimacy—getting Syria’s name back into the family photo of nations after more than a decade in exile. Not all sanctions are gone. Key restrictions under the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act still hang like a sword over Damascus, pending Congressional review. Still, the diplomatic tide is shifting. In September, al-Sharaa addressed the United Nations General Assembly—the first Syrian to do so in nearly sixty years—and spoke of rebuilding a country that has known nothing but war. From pariah to partner, the journey of Ahmed al-Sharaa is a reminder that in global politics, yesterday’s outcast can be tomorrow’s ally—if the timing, and the interests, line up just right.   Sharaa to become 1st Syrian president at White House https://t.co/VT6cLkz36b pic.twitter.com/xKXt4lnAH0 — Hürriyet Daily News (@HDNER) November 9, 2025 Day 40: A Government Shutdown With Real-World Consequences Forty days into a funding lapse that began on October 1, Washington’s standoff has become the longest shutdown in American history. Workers are unpaid, services are stalled, and Congress is still trading talking points instead of votes. The record that used to belong to 2018–2019 is gone. This one has surpassed it. The flashpoint is health care. Democrats are holding out for a guaranteed extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies. Republicans want a clean funding bill first and offer only a future vote with no promise of passage. Leadership in both chambers has stuck to those positions through weekend negotiating sessions. The result is the same blank scoreboard. Meanwhile, the shutdown is no longer an inside-the-Beltway argument. It is hitting kitchens and airports. Food assistance programs are unfunded or running on fumes, and the Federal Aviation Administration has ordered airlines to cut flights at dozens of busy airports because controller staffing has cratered without paychecks. That move triggered widespread delays and cancellations, with ripple effects from Atlanta to the New York region and beyond. On the aviation side, the numbers tell the story. The FAA has asked carriers to trim schedules at about forty high-traffic airports. Delays have stacked up by the thousands, and absences among controllers are rising. Airlines, crews, and travelers are paying for a political fight they do not control. If the shutdown continues, the system bends further. Capitol Hill has floated partial fixes. Proposals to reopen slices of government and extend subsidies for the short term have circulated, but they keep running aground on the same reef. Democrats want a concrete extension of ACA support. Republicans refuse to negotiate health policy inside a stopgap. The gap between those positions is the shutdown. There is an old infantry saying about operations that drag on without a clear objective. You start losing tempo. That is where Washington is. Federal workers are burning savings. Families who rely on food benefits are counting days. Airports are rationing airspace. The economy absorbs a thousand small cuts that add up fast. Congress can argue about who gets credit for ending this, but the country needs the lights back on now. Until the two sides trade hard lines for a concrete deal on funding and a defined path on subsidies, day 41 is coming. And after that, day 42.   Government shutdown reaches its 40th day as senators work through a crucial weekend https://t.co/xMhOS1CJiv pic.twitter.com/jCl9hAzHSl — Action News 5 (@WMCActionNews5) November 9, 2025