Today in Black History: Jazz legend Ella Fitzgerald, the "First Lady of Song," was born on this date in 1918 in Newport News, Virginia.

The New York Times

National

Spending Bill Was Going to Be Easy. Then It Hit a Wall

Republicans Struggle With How to Avoid a Shutdown

Five Key Questions as a Government Shutdown Looms

Trump Is Said to Want 15% Corporate Rate in Tax-Cut Plan

In New Trade Front, Trump Slaps Tariff on Canadian Lumber

Big Turnout for Ossoff Surpassed Recent Democratic Benchmarks

New Orleans Begins Removing Confederate Monuments, Under Police Guard

2 Arkansas Inmates Put to Death in Rare Double Execution

After Scandal, Wells Fargo Board Faces Election Vote

Jay Dickey, Arkansas Lawmaker Who Blocked Gun Research, Dies at 77

On This Block, Worries Run Deeper Than Flint’s Tainted Water


Local

New York City Will Offer Free Preschool for All 3-Year-Olds

Queens Fire’s Death Toll: ‘5 Amazing People Full of Life’

In New York City Schools, an Ever-Rising Tide of Homeless Students


The Christian Science Monitor

Witnesses to execution test a 'somber' civic duty


Philly.com

With lawyers as witnesses, police shooting victim prevailed

Philly charter officials call for charters for 20 schools but not Laboratory


The Cleveland Plain Dealer

Cops involved in Tamir Rice shooting tell their stories in never-before-seen interviews

Cuyahoga County to subsidize internships for former inmates

Lawsuit threatened against AT&T over slow Internet speeds in low-income Cleveland neighborhoods

Cleveland City Council approves deal for renovations to The Q

Proposed reforms could divert 3,400 offenders from Ohio's overcrowded prisons. Not everyone is on board.

East Cleveland police officers plead guilty in beating of prisoner


The Detroit Free Press

2 big names loom large in the Detroit mayoral race

Lt. Gov. Brian Calley prepping for gubernatorial run

Women's group makes final push to test abandoned rape kits

New Detroit schools superintendent says he's willing to start early


The Star-Ledger

Christie mentor Samson won't face jail as judge rejects citizen's misconduct complaint

Hackers reportedly disable Newark computers and demand $30K 'ransom'

Man freed after being mistakenly arrested for Newark murder

Christie budget would strain N.J. schools and local governments, rating agency says


The Chicago Tribune

2 dead, 8 wounded in shootings on South, West sides

CPS proposes school year dates for 2017-18 as district awaits word on possible shortened year

Dozens rally for Evanston's only African American librarian in work dispute

Obama avoids Trump talk, focuses on preparing 'next generation of leadership' at U. of C. forum

Apprenticeship programs increasingly put workers on track for jobs in finance


The Washington Post

Controversial Confederate statue removed in New Orleans

‘All that Confederate stuff’ leads to endorsement switch in Va. governor’s race

Trump softens border wall demands in bid to calm shutdown jitters

President seeks 15 percent corporate tax rate, even if it swells the national debt

This congressman’s reelection challenge is (almost) as big as Texas

Analysis: The disrupter president and the do-little Congress

Senate staff perplexed by unusual White House private briefing on North Korea

Sotomayor sees ‘disturbing trend’ of court siding with police officers accused of excessive force

Supreme Court to decide whether defendants are entitled to a mental-health expert on their side

We’re jailing way more people who’ve been convicted of exactly nothing


The Los Angeles Times

Anticipating a shift to the right in the courts, the NRA begins its attack on gun controls in California

Gone in 30 seconds: Mob of up to 60 juveniles robs passengers on BART train, officials say

'I took someone’s life — now I am giving back': In California's prisons, inmates teach each other how to start over


USA Today

Prosecutors: Inmate's water cut off for 7 days before he died

Serena Williams responds to Ilie Nastase's racist remarks

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