Top United States government News
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...
Senate review of Supreme Court ethics finds more luxury trips and urges enforceable code of conduct
WASHINGTON (AP) — A nearly two-year investigation by Democratic senators of Supreme Court ethics details more luxury travel by Justice Clarence Thomas and urges Congress to establish a way to enforce a new code of conduct. Any movement on the issue appears unlikely as Republicans...
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...
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...
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...
Trump adds Europe to the list of US trade partners he's threatening with tariffs
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump on Friday added the 27 countries that make up the European Union to the list of trade partners he's threatening with tariffs — unless the group takes steps to import more U.S. goods. “I told the European Union that they...
Biden and the first lady bring holiday cheer to patients and families at a children's hospital
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, brought some Christmastime cheer to patients and their families at a children's hospital on Friday but a toddler in a light blue jumper entertained, too. The president and first lady visited privately with patients and their...
EPA head Regan, who championed environmental justice, to leave office Dec. 31
WASHINGTON (AP) — Michael Regan, who championed environmental justice as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, will leave the agency Dec. 31, three weeks before the end of President Joe Biden's term. In a letter Friday to agency employees, Regan said he was proud of...
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...
Latest United States government News
Farmers are still reeling months after Hurricane Helene ravaged crops across the South
LYONS, Ga. (AP) — Twisted equipment and snapped tree limbs still litter Chris Hopkins’ Georgia farm more than two months after Hurricane Helene made its deadly march across the South. An irrigation sprinkler system about 300 feet (92 meters) long lay overturned in a field, its...
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...
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...
Government funding bill clears the Senate and heads to President Biden for his signature, averting shutdown
WASHINGTON (AP) — Government funding bill clears the Senate and heads to President Biden for his signature, averting shutdown.
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...
Mystery drone sightings continue in New Jersey and across the US. Here's what we know
A large number of mysterious drones have been reported flying over New Jersey and across the eastern U.S., sparking speculation and concern over where they came from and why. In response, the Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday and Thursday temporarily banned drone flights...
House approves three-month government funding bill, sending to Senate with just hours left before shutdown deadline
WASHINGTON (AP) — House approves three-month government funding bill, sending to Senate with just hours left before shutdown deadline.
Stock market today: Wall Street rises to turn a dismal week into just a bad one
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rose Friday to turn what would have been one of the market’s worst weeks of the year into just a pretty bad one. The S&P 500 rallied 1.1% for its best day in six weeks and shaved its loss for the week down to 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average...
Middle East latest: Israeli strike in Gaza kills at least 7 people, including 4 kids
An Israeli airstrike on a residential building in central Gaza killed at least seven Palestinians, including four children, and wounded 16 other people Friday afternoon, health officials said. Israel faces heavy international criticism over the unprecedented levels of civilian...
