Government funding bill clears Congress and heads to President Biden, averting a shutdown

WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing a government shutdown deadline, the Senate rushed through final passage early Saturday of a bipartisan plan that would temporarily fund federal operations and disaster aid, dropping President-elect Donald Trump's demands for a debt limit increase into the new year. ...

Senate passes Social Security benefits boost for many public service retirees

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate passed legislation early Saturday to boost Social Security payments for millions of people, pushing a longtime priority for former public employees through Congress in one of its last acts for the year. The bipartisan bill, which next heads to President...

Musk helped kill a congressional spending bill. But much of what he spread was misinformation

President-elect Donald Trump's billionaire ally Elon Musk played a key role this week in killing a bipartisan funding proposal that would have prevented a government shutdown, railing against the plan in a torrent of more than 100 X posts that included multiple false claims. The X...

Government funding difficulties create gloom for federal workers before Christmas

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Johnny Zuagar says he’s tried to hide his worries about a potential government shutdown from his three boys as he weighs how much to spend on Christmas presents. “I’ve got to keep a poker face,” Zuagar, a statistician at the U.S. Census Bureau, said...

Florida requires teaching Black history. Some don't trust schools to do it justice

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Buried among Florida's manicured golf courses and sprawling suburbs are the artifacts of its slave-holding past: the long-lost cemeteries of enslaved people, the statutes of Confederate soldiers that still stand watch over town squares, the old plantations turned into...

The Latest: Schumer says Senate on course to pass bill before funding lapses at midnight

With hours to go before a midnight government shutdown, the House approved a new plan from House Speaker Mike Johnson that would temporarily fund federal operations and disaster aid, but dropped President-elect Donald Trump’s demands for a debt limit increase into the new year. The...

Missouri governor commutes sentence of white police officer convicted of fatally shooting Black man

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A white former Kansas City police officer who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a Black man was released from prison Friday after Missouri’s governor commuted his sentence to parole. The decision by Republican Gov. Mike...

Senate approves 235th judge of Biden's term, beating Trump's tally

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden secured the 235th judicial confirmation of his presidency Friday, an accomplishment that exceeds his predecessor's total by one after Democrats put extra emphasis on the federal courts following Donald Trump's far-reaching first term, when he filled three...

Oregon sheriff concerned about letters asking people to track possible immigrants

LINCOLN CITY, Ore. (AP) — A sheriff in Oregon says he has contacted the FBI and is increasingly concerned about a letter circulating in his rural, coastal community asking people to write down the license plate numbers of possible immigrants. The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office...

Senate approves 235th judge of Biden presidency, beating Trump’s mark, as Democrats tout diversity of nominees