Today's edition of quick hits:
* The shutdown deadline is Friday: "President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he is 'extremely unhappy' with the bipartisan deal lawmakers reached to avert a government shutdown this week that provides money for a southern border fence, but he vowed to build a border wall anyway."
* Will Trump praise or denounce the violence? "A belligerent man at President Trump's campaign rally on the Texas border apparently attacked news crews, shoving and swearing at a photojournalist from the BBC, according to reports and a spokeswoman for the network."
* The latest from Virginia: "Two of the three government staffers to Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax and two employees of his political action committee resigned following news Friday of a second sexual assault allegation against him."
* High-speed rail: "Gov. Gavin Newsom announced in his first State of the State speech that he intends to scale back California's $77-billion bullet train project, saying that while the state has the capacity to complete the first leg in the Central Valley, extending the rail line to Southern California and the Bay Area would 'cost too much and take too long.'"
* Will their outrage turn to action? "Senate Republicans are fuming at President Donald Trump for telling lawmakers he would disregard a law requiring a report to Congress determining who is responsible for the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi."
* It's so much easier to buck the party line when there are no consequences: "Sen. Rand Paul said Monday that he will vote against confirming President Donald Trump's nominee for attorney general, William Barr, citing his record on privacy issues."
* These two sentences from Catherine Rampell are worth keeping in mind: "Right now, Democrats still retain a monopoly on expertise and evidence-based policy. They should not relinquish it easily."
* It's ridiculous that so many could be so wrong: "About 1 in 3 Americans -- 34 percent -- say that blackface is 'always' or 'sometimes' acceptable as part of a Halloween costume, according to a survey Pew Research released Monday."
* I get the sense Trump doesn't know what "lame duck" means: Discussing trade with China today, the president said, "We've never been in this position before. We've always been the lame duck. And we're not the lame duck anymore."
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.