KEVIN FREKING

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., gives two thumbs up as the Senate votes to approve a 45-day funding bill to keep federal agencies open, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Government shutdown averted with little time to spare as Biden signs funding before midnight
The threat of a federal government shutdown ended late Saturday night after Congress approved a temporary funding bill to keep federal agencies open until Nov. 17.
 
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., pauses as he addresses reporters about efforts to pass appropriations bills and avert a looming government shutdown, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. He is joined at right by House Homeland Security Chair Mark Green, R-Tenn., and Rep. Monica de la Cruz, R-Texas. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
McCarthy’s last-ditch plan to keep the government open collapses, making a shutdown almost certain
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s last-ditch plan to keep the government temporarily open has collapsed. Friday’s vote a day before the deadline makes a government shutdown almost certain.
 
FILE - House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., walks to the chamber for procedural votes to advance appropriations bills, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday night, Sept. 26, 2023. McCarthy is digging in on his refusal to take up Senate legislation designed to keep the federal government fully running beyond midnight Saturday, Sept. 30. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
McCarthy rejects Senate spending bill while scrambling for a House plan that averts a shutdown
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is digging in on his refusal to take up Senate legislation designed to keep the federal government fully running beyond midnight Saturday.
 
FILE - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses a joint meeting of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 21, 2022. Zelenskyy's visit to Washington this week comes at a critical time as Republican leadership in the House and Senate diverge on the best way to get more military and humanitarian aid over the finish line. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
Political divide emerges on Ukraine aid package as Zelenskyy heads to Washington
 
FILE - Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., speaks during a news conference after the House approved an annual defense bill, Friday, July 14, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. The most vulnerable House Republicans whose elections in swing districts next year will determine which party gains control of the chamber are overwhelmingly voicing their support for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. “I think the American people deserve to know the facts and I am looking forward to seeing what the outcome of the inquiry is," said Kiggans. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
The Republicans most at risk in next year’s election are falling in line behind impeachment inquiry
The most vulnerable House Republicans whose elections in swing districts next year will determine which party gains control of the chamber are overwhelmingly voicing their support for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
 
President Joe Biden walks across the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, after returning from a trip to India and Vietnam. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Biden brushes off House impeachment inquiry and says Republicans want to shut down the government
President Joe Biden is brushing off the House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry. Biden says the way he sees it, they opened the probe against him because they want to shut down the federal government.
 
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, leaves the chamber as senators arrive for votes, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. Tuberville is delaying civilian and flag officer nominations in the Pentagon as he protests a Defense Department policy providing leave and reimbursement for service members who need to travel to get an abortion. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Hundreds of military promotions are on hold as a Republican senator demands end to abortion policy
Military officials say an Alabama senator’s hold on top promotions in a clash over abortion policy raises national security concerns. Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville is leading the blockade and warns of a long standoff on hundreds of nominations.
 
FILE - Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., talks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, July 17, 2023. House conservatives in a group known as the Freedom Caucus have unveiled a list of demands that they want included in a stopgap spending measure to keep the federal government running after the end of September. It's a smorgasbord of non-starters for the Democratic-controlled Senate and the White House, signaling the challenges McCarthy will face next month to get a bill passed in the House without alienating a sizeable share of his conference. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
Group of House conservatives unveils demands to support spending bill and avoid shutdown
House conservatives in a group known as the Freedom Caucus have unveiled a list of demands they want included in a stopgap spending measure to keep the federal government running after the end of September.
 
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., speaks at a news conference as the House prepares to leave for its August recess, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, July 27, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Members of Congress break for August with no clear path to avoiding a shutdown this fall
Lawmakers broke for their August recess this week with many worried about whether they can avoid a partial government shutdown upon their return.
 
FILE - American Airlines pilot captain Pete Gamble, left, and first officer John Konstanzer conduct a pre-flight check before taking off from Dallas Fort Worth airport on Dec. 2, 2020, in Grapevine, Texas. The House has overwhelmingly passed a bill that would give the Federal Aviation Administration more money to hire air traffic controllers. It also aims to address pilot shortages by raising the mandatory retirement age. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)
House aims to ease air travel delays with more money for air traffic controllers
The House has overwhelmingly passed a bill that would give the Federal Aviation Administration more money to hire air traffic controllers. It also aims to address pilot shortages by raising the mandatory retirement age.
 
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of Calif., speaks during a news conference after the House approved an annual defense bill, Friday, July 14, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
House Republicans push through defense bill limiting abortion access and halting diversity efforts
The House has passed a sweeping defense bill that provides a pay raise for service members but strays from traditional military policy with Republicans add-ons blocking abortion coverage, diversity initiatives at the Pentagon and transgender care.
 
FILE - Israel's President Isaac Herzog delivers a speech during the opening ceremony of the Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Day at Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem, Monday, April 17, 2023. Israeli President Isaac Herzog will address a joint meeting of Congress on July 19 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Israel's statehood and to reaffirm the nation's special relationship with the United States, congressional leaders announced Thursday, June 29. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov, File)
Israel’s President Herzog will address Congress to commemorate the 75th anniversary of its statehood
Israeli President Isaac Herzog will address a joint meeting of Congress on July 19 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Israel’s statehood.
 
FILE - Packages are seen stacked on the doorstep of a residence, Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021, in Upper Darby, Pa. Conservatives anxious to counter the U.S.’s leading economic adversary have set their sights on a top trade priority for labor unions and progressives: cracking down on the deluge of duty-free packages coming in from China. The changing political dynamic could have major ramifications for small businesses and consumers importing products from China valued at less than $800. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Packages from China are surging into the United States. Some say $800 duty-free limit was a mistake
Conservatives in Congress are anxious to counter China, which is America’s leading economic adversary. And they’ve set their sights on a top trade priority for labor unions and progressives.
 
Biden invokes Defense Production Act for formula shortage
President Joe Biden has invoked the Defense Production Act to speed production of infant formula and has authorized flights to import supply from overseas.
 
Groups worry about tapping COVID relief for infrastructure
Organizations representing long-term care facilities are urging lawmakers working on a bipartisan infrastructure plan to avoid dipping into COVID-relief funds to help pay for the roughly $600 billion in new spending sought for the public works buildout.
 
Dems aim for July vote as Congress digs in on infrastructure
Even before President Joe Biden unveiled his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan, congressional committees were laying the groundwork for a major public works investment.
 
Highlights of the COVID-19 relief bill advancing in Congress
The House passed a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package early Saturday that includes $1,400 checks for most Americans and billions of dollars for schools, state and local governments and businesses.
 
Biden backs studying reparations as Congress considers bill
President Joe Biden’s White House is giving its support to studying reparations for Black Americans. Press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday that he would “certainly” support studying the issue.
 
Biden: Governors, mayors need $350 billion to fight COVID-19
President Joe Biden has met with a bipartisan group of governors and mayors at the White House as part of his push to give financial relief from the coronavirus pandemic to state and local governments.
 
COVID fears grow in Capitol as three lawmakers test positive
Within a span of about 24 hours, three House Democrats have announced they tested positive for COVID-19.
 
Trump, still not conceding defeat, trumpets vaccine progress
President Donald Trump has offered a rosy update on the race for a vaccine for the resurgent coronavirus, while gliding over significant challenges to come.
 
McEnany wears 2 hats as WH press secretary, campaign adviser
Kayleigh McEnany is wearing two hats these days, serving as both the White House press secretary and a Trump 2020 campaign adviser.
 
Trump denies downplaying virus, casts doubt on mask usage
President Donald Trump is denying he played down the threat of the coronavirus earlier this year, although there is an audio recording of him stating he did just that.
 
CDC directs halt to renter evictions to prevent virus spread
The Trump administration has issued a directive halting the eviction of certain renters though the end of 2020 to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.
 
Trump’s big night: Expect talk of GOP progress, Dem anarchy
Four years ago, Donald Trump accepted the Republican Party’s nomination for president with a dark convention speech that painted a dystopian portrait of an America in decline. And he offered a singular solution: “I alone can fix it.”
 
Kodak lands loan to bolster US-produced drug supply
Eastman Kodak will receive a federal loan of $765 million to help reduce the country’s reliance on other countries for ingredients used in generic drugs, an agreement President Donald Trump hailed as a breakthrough in bringing more pharmaceutical manufacturing to the United States.
 
Trump seeks political shot in the arm in vaccine push
President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic put his political fate in grave jeopardy.
 
Trump reins in major environmental law to speed big projects
President Donald Trump is rolling back an influential environmental law from the Nixon era that he says delays infrastructure projects.
 
Trump comeback rally features empty seats, staff infections
President Donald Trump has used his comeback rally to define the upcoming election as a stark choice between national heritage and left-wing radicalism.
 
Trump tempers officials’ grave assessments with optimism
The U.S. surgeon general is raising the specter of the gravest attacks against the nation in memory, 9/11 and Pearl Harbor, to steel anxious Americans for impending sorrow in the age of the coronavirus.
 
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