Government shutdown begins as lawmakers fail to reach deal to extend funding

Government shutdown begins as lawmakers fail to reach deal to extend funding

Watch: Pete Hegseth addresses military leaders at Quantico Government shutdown begins after Congress fails to pass funding bill | Special Report Watch: Homes in North Carolina's Outer Banks collapse into ocean

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September 30, 2025

Government shutdown begins as lawmakers fail to reach deal to extend funding

Government shutdown begins as lawmakers fail to reach deal to extend funding Watch: Pete Hegseth addresses military leaders at Quantico Gov...

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Government headed to a shutdown after last-ditch vote fails in Senate

Government headed to a shutdown after last-ditch vote fails in Senate

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats have voted down a Republican bill to keep funding the government, putting it on a near certain path to ashutdownafter midnight Wednesday for the first time in nearly seven years. The Senate rejected the legislation as Democrats are making good on their threat to close the government ifPresident Donald Trumpand Republicans won't accede to their health care demands. The 55-45 vote on a bill to extend federal funding for seven weeks fell short of the 60 needed to end a filibuster and pass the legislation. Senate Democratic LeaderChuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Republicans are trying to "bully" Democrats by refusing to negotiate on an extension ofexpanded Affordable Care Act tax creditsthat expire at the end of the year. "We hope they sit down with us and talk," Schumer said after the vote. "Otherwise, it's the Republicans will be driving us straight towards a shutdown tonight at midnight. The American people will blame them for bringing the federal government to a halt." The failure of Congress to keep the government open means that hundreds of thousands of federal workers could be furloughed orlaid off. After the vote, the White House's Office of Management and Budget issued a memo saying "affected agencies should now execute their plans for an orderly shutdown." Threatening retribution to Democrats, Trump said Tuesday that a shutdown could include "cutting vast numbers of people out, cutting things that they like, cutting programs that they like." Trump and his fellow Republicans said they won't entertain any changes to the legislation, arguing that it's a stripped-down, "clean" bill that should be noncontroversial. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said "we can reopen it tomorrow" if enough Democrats break party lines. The last shutdown was in Trump's first term, from December 2018 to January 2019, when he demanded that Congress give him money for his U.S.-Mexico border wall. Trumpretreated after 35 days— the longest shutdown ever — amid intensifying airport delays and missed paydays for federal workers. Democrats take a stand against Trump, with exceptions While partisan stalemates over government spending area frequent occurrence in Washington, the current impasse comes as Democrats see a rare opportunity to use their leverage to achieve policy goals and as their base voters are spoiling for a fight with Trump. Republicans who hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate needed at least eight votes from Democrats after Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky opposed the bill. Democratic Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine voted with Republicans to keep the government open — giving Republicans hope that there might be five more who will eventually come around and help end a shutdown. After the vote, King warned against "permanent damage" as Trump and his administration have threatened mass layoffs. "Instead of fighting Trump we're actually empowering him, which is what finally drove my decision," King said. Thune predicted Democratic support for the GOP bill will increase "when they realize that this is playing a losing hand." Shutdown preparations begin The stakes are huge for federal workers across the country as the White House told agencies last week that they should consider "a reduction in force" formany federal programs if the government shuts down. That means that workers who are not deemed essential could be fired instead of just furloughed. Either way, most would not get paid. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated in a letter to Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst on Tuesday that around 750,000 federal workers could be furloughed each day once a shutdown begins. Federal agencies were already preparing. On the home page of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, a large pop up ad reads, "The Radical Left are going to shut down the government and inflict massive pain on the American people." Democrats' health care asks Democrats want to negotiate an extension of the health subsidies immediately as people are beginning to receive notices ofpremium increasesfor the next year. Millions of people who purchase health insurance through the Affordable Care Act could face higher costs as expanded subsidies first put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic expire. Democrats have also demanded that Republicans reverse the Medicaid cuts that were enacted as a part of Trump's "big, beautiful bill" this summer and for the White House to promise it will not move to rescind spending passed by Congress. "We are not going to support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the health care of everyday Americans," House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said. Thune pressed Democrats to vote for the funding bill and take up the debate on tax credits later. Some Republicans are open to extending the tax credits, but many are strongly opposed to it. In rare, pointed back-and-forth with Schumer on the Senate floor Tuesday morning, Thune said Republicans "are happy to fix the ACA issue" and have offered to negotiate with Democrats — if they will vote to keep the government open until Nov. 21. A critical, and unusual, vote for Democrats Democrats are in an uncomfortable position for a party that has long denounced shutdowns as pointless and destructive, and it'sunclear how or when a shutdown will end. But party activists and lawmakers have argued that Democrats need to do something to stand up to Trump. "The level of appeasement that Trump demands never ends," said Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt. "We've seen that with universities, with law firms, with prosecutors. So is there a point where you just have to stand up to him? I think there is." Some groupscalled for Schumer's resignationin March after he and nine other Democrats voted to break a filibuster and allow a Republican-led funding bill to advance to a final vote. Schumer said then that he voted to keep the government open because a shutdown would have made things worse as Trump's administration was slashing government jobs. He says things have now changed, including the passage this summer of the massive GOP tax cut bill that reduced Medicaid. Trump's role in negotiations A bipartisan meeting at the White House on Monday was Trump's first with all four leaders in Congress since retaking the White House for his second term. Schumer said the group "had candid, frank discussions" about health care. But Trump did not appear to be ready for serious talks. Hours later, he posted a fake video of Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries taken from footage of their real press conference outside of the White House after the meeting. In the altered video, a voiceover that sounds like Schumer's voice makes fun of Democrats and Jeffries stands beside him with a cartoon sombrero and mustache. Mexican music plays in the background. At a news conference on the Capitol steps Tuesday morning, Jeffries said it was a "racist and fake AI video." Schumer said that less than a day before a shutdown, Trump was trolling on the internet "like a 10-year-old." "It's only the president who can do this," Schumer said. "We know he runs the show here." ___ Associated Press writers Seung Min Kim, Kevin Freking, Matthew Brown, Darlene Superville and Joey Cappelletti in Washington contributed to this report.

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September 30, 2025

Government headed to a shutdown after last-ditch vote fails in Senate

Government headed to a shutdown after last-ditch vote fails in Senate WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats have voted down a Republican bill t...

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Records appear to reveal past arrest of man accused in Michigan church shooting

Records appear to reveal past arrest of man accused in Michigan church shooting

Newly released records from Utah's Summit County Sheriff's Office appear to suggest the man accused of attacking a church in Michigan over the weekend had been arrested in Utah in 2010. According to an incident report and mugshot obtained by Scripps News, Thomas Jacob Sanford was arrested for driving under the influence after leaving a bar on March 12, 2010. A man with the same name and date of birth crashed his truck into a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, on Sunday. Police say he then shot several people, set the building on fire, before being killed in a shootout with officers. The Utah incident report from 2010 described Sanford as driving in a vehicle that was "bouncing back and forth (side to side) in his lane." RELATED STORY |Police say no victims remain unaccounted for after shooting, fire at Michigan church During the traffic stop, the officer conducted field sobriety tests on Sanford. He described Sanford as having eyes that were "fairly blood shot and glossy." The officer also noted that Sanford appeared to have a balance problem. "Based on the driving pattern I observed, time of night (bar closing time frame), Sanford's field sobriety test observations and his breath sample, I placed Sanford under arrest for suspicion of driving under the influence," the officer wrote. According to the report, a breath test at the jail returned a .181 result. Sanford "admitted to have (sic) been drinking beer...and said that he had two, but they were 'stronger' beers. He also said he had beers at his house before going out," the officer wrote.

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September 30, 2025

Records appear to reveal past arrest of man accused in Michigan church shooting

Records appear to reveal past arrest of man accused in Michigan church shooting Newly released records from Utah's Summit County Sheriff...

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Why some see Bad Bunny as a controversial choice for the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show

Why some see Bad Bunny as a controversial choice for the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show

Bad Bunny wasunveiled as the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show performerearlier this week, sparking a mix of excitement and displeasure from different segments of the American public. While many of the Puerto Rican rapper's fans were ecstatic to learn that he'd be headlining the event, which takes place at Levi's Stadium on Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, Calif., others were critical of the National Football League's choice. Negative reactions to the selection of Bad Bunny as the 2026 Super Bowl halftime headliner seem to stem from two key factors: that he primarily raps and sings in Spanish, and that he's an advocate of immigrants amid the ongoing deportations and ICE raids in the United States. Born in Bayamón and raised in the northern part of Puerto Rico, specifically in Vega Baja, Bad Bunny has Puerto Rican pride deeply ingrained in his artistry and public image. The 31-year-old Latin sensation, who recently concluded his 31-show residency in San Juan, describes his latest album, 2025'sDebí Tirar Más Fotos,as beinga love letter to Puerto Rico. Bad Bunny, whose 2022 albumUn Verano Sin Tibecame the first Spanish-language album to be nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammys, has made his love for performing in Spanish common knowledge. He is often credited with pushing Spanish-language rap into the mainstream. But Bad Bunny's lack of English-language hits is seen by some as a problem. "It's not about who is already a fan of this dude. He came out of no where and doesn't sing in English,"Josie Glabach, a libertarian commentator, wrote on Xfollowing the news that Bad Bunny would be the next halftime show performer. "It's about recruiting people away from the light and into the darkness at a consequential time. Keep you children away from it." On X, Benny Johnson, a conservative YouTuber, also criticized Bad Bunny for being a "massive Trump hater" and an "anti-ICE activist" and for having "no songs in English." "The NFL is self-destructing year after year," Johnson added. While the "Veldá" rapper has said he is open to the idea of performing in English, it isn't something he's going to do just to appease certain demographics. "It's just that I feel more comfortable in my own language. ... I think in Spanish, I feel in Spanish, I eat in Spanish, I sing in Spanish," Bad Bunnytold Vanity Fair in 2023. As for whether he'd ever sing in English, he said, "I am never going to do it just because someone says I need to do it to reach a certain audience." Others have accused Bad Bunny of hypocrisy for agreeing to perform at the Super Bowl while excluding the continental U.S. from his upcoming Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour in response to the ongoing immigration enforcement operations conducted by the Trump administration. "There were many reasons why I didn't show up in the US, and none of them were out of hate — I've performed there many times. All of [the shows] have been successful. All of them have been magnificent,"he told i-D magazine in September. "Latinos and Puerto Ricans of the United States could also travel here [to Puerto Rico], or to any part of the world. But there was the issue of — like, f***ing ICE could be outside [my concert]. And it's something that we were talking about and very concerned about." This isn't the first time Bad Bunny has voiced his support for immigrant and Latino communities. In July, the rapper unveiled his "Nuevayol" music video, which featuresa powerful pro-immigrant message. Near the end of the video, a voice, which some believemimics Trump's, can be heard over the radio saying, "I made a mistake. I want to apologize to the immigrants in America. I mean the United States. I know America is the whole continent. I want to say that this country is nothing without the immigrants. This country is nothing without Mexicans, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Colombians, Venezuelans, Cubans." During the 2024 presidential election, Bad Bunny shared a videoin support of his homelandafter comedian Tony Hinchcliffe referred to Puerto Rico as an "island of garbage" during a Trump rally in New York. One X user's criticism of Bad Bunny headlining the 2026 Super Bowl despite choosing not to include any U.S. stops on his upcoming tour had garnered more than 400,000 likes as of Tuesday afternoon. "The concept of refusing to perform in the us to protest against the ICE and then agreeing to do the superbowl lmfao," read the post. the concept of refusing to perform in the us to protest against the ICE and then agreeing to do the superbowl lmfaohttps://t.co/vRLQZxcn6d — caio* (@mclr4n)September 29, 2025 Fans of Bad Bunny immediately came to his defense, arguing that his decision to skip the U.S. on his upcoming tour was made out of concern for the safety of his fans. One fan has received 37,000 likes on X with a post stating: "'protest against ICE' no it was to PROTECT people from ICE and the super bowl has a very different audience let's use critical thinking pls." Another post, which has received 38,000 likes, read, "He didn't perform in the states because of concern of ice being outside of his 30+ locations with his predominately all Hispanic fanbase. He's performing at the Super Bowl which is attended by mostly non Latinos. Why isn't it clicking for yall?" "protest against ICE" no it was to PROTECT people from ICE and the super bowl has a very different audience let's use critical thinking pls — simone 🫧 is NOT seeing ari (@eternalsimone)September 29, 2025 He didn't perform in the states because of concern of ice being outside of his 30+ locations with his predominately all Hispanic fanbase. He's performing at the Super Bowl which is attended by mostly non Latinos. Why isn't it clicking for yall? — Mando (@JloBardi)September 29, 2025 Others have argued that the selection of Bad Bunny as the halftime performer is even more significant given the typical demographic makeup of the Super Bowl's audience. A2025 Media Culture reportfound that the sporting event's at-home audience is mostly male (57%) and white (68%), with Gen X-ers and baby boomers making up 60%. A separate surveyconducted by Statistain 2023, which gauged the Super Bowl's importance, found that white respondents reported a higher percentage of "very important" ratings compared with Black, Latino and Asian respondents. "He's going to sing in Spanish at the most american event in the current political climate," another X user posted. "It is clearly an intentional message." He's going to sing in Spanish at the most american event in the current political climate, It is clearly an intentional message — Nico (@siganme_nico)September 29, 2025

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September 30, 2025

Why some see Bad Bunny as a controversial choice for the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show

Why some see Bad Bunny as a controversial choice for the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show Bad Bunny wasunveiled as the 2026 Super Bowl halftime...

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Jennifer Lawrence reveals her 'Summer I Turned Pretty' bias. It's not who you may think.

Jennifer Lawrence reveals her 'Summer I Turned Pretty' bias. It's not who you may think.

Jennifer Lawrence has a hot take. In the midst of doing press for her new movie "Die, My Love," the Academy Award-winning actress, who was discussing messy relationships with co-star Robert Pattinson, revealed she is #TeamJeremiah, as inJeremiah Fisher, a character and love interest in the Amazon Original Series"The Summer I Turned Pretty." Following a slightly contentious and rather cinematicconclusion,Season 3 of "The Summer I Turned Pretty"revealed whichFisher brother, Conrad or Jeremiah,reigned supreme in the epic battle for Belly's heart. "I have been ordered by all of my friends to not reveal this," Lawrence says in the clip. "I'm team Jeremiah, I am." Lawrence's "hot take" sent "Summer I Turned Pretty" fans into a frenzy, with many debating about whether she was right or wrong in the comments of streaming platform MUBI's post, which has garnered over 8 million views since it was posted on Sept. 29. Team Jeremiah or Team Conrad? Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson discuss messy relationships while promoting their new film, DIE MY LOVE.pic.twitter.com/0fRtTMOUNw — MUBI (@mubi)September 29, 2025 Speaking directly to the camera, Lawrence, who offers some context to a confused Pattinson, doubles down on her choice, offering a pretty specific explanation about why she favors the younger Fisher brother. See what "The Hunger Games" and "Silver Linings Playbook" actress had to say. Missing 'The Summer I Turned Pretty?'See Jenny Han's other works According to Lawrence, Conrad is "toxic" because he flip-flops back and forth on his feelings for Belly, unlike Jeremiah, who is loyal from the start. Lawrence was also not a fan of Conrad's love confession, served beachside, the night before Belly's wedding. "I think that Conrad is toxic," Lawrence says in the clip. "Like, he kind of liked her, but then he didn't, and he left her hanging. And then for him to confess his love to her the night before her wedding is sick." Debates, sometimes heated ones and think pieces,about which Fisher brother really is the best choice for Bellyhave occurred since the start of the show. Jeremiah stans, including Lawrence, haven't been as vocal about their preference, likely, for fear of being judged or ridiculed by other fans. Social media accounts for"The Summer I Turned Pretty"even issuedwarningsthroughout Season 3,reminding fansthat "the show isn't real but the people playing the characters are." Pattinson, thoroughly amused by Lawrence's passion, said he keeps "intending to watch the show." "I'm, I'm Team Jeremiah," Lawrence concludes. "Rake me over the coals." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Jennifer Lawrence reveals favorite 'Summer I Turned Pretty' brother

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September 30, 2025

Jennifer Lawrence reveals her 'Summer I Turned Pretty' bias. It's not who you may think.

Jennifer Lawrence reveals her 'Summer I Turned Pretty' bias. It's not who you may think. Jennifer Lawrence has a hot take. In th...

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Tyrese Gibson failed to turn himself in following arrest warrant for cruelty to animals, police say

Tyrese Gibson failed to turn himself in following arrest warrant for cruelty to animals, police say

Tyrese Gibson failed to turn himself in to police after an arrest warrant was issued because his four Cane Corso dogs mauled and killed a neighbor's dog in Georgia in mid-September, police said Tuesday. The warrant for cruelty to animals issued for the"Fast & Furious" actoris part of an "ongoing issue" following multiple calls about the dogs in the past few months, Fulton County Police Captain Nicole Dwyer said. "Our priority is the safety of the community and when there's so many incidents of dogs, especially large dogs like this, getting out and then killing an animal, you know, what's next? A child?" Dwyer said. "Our main priority is safety and that's why we want the dogs in custody." Gibson had received multiple warnings before the warrant was issued, and police had attempted to cite him before the attack, but the actor wasn't at his Atlanta home. Dwyer said she spoke with Gibson's lawyer last week and informed them the actor had to turn himself in by Friday. Gibson's attorney, Gabe Banks, wrote to in an email to The Associated Press the actor is "cooperating fully with authorities to address and resolve this matter responsibly." Gibson wasn't home when the incident took place, Banks wrote, and "immediately made the difficult decision to rehome his dogs to a safe and loving environment." Just after 10 p.m. on Sept. 18, a neighbor of Gibson's, whose house is half a mile away, let their dog, a small spaniel, out to their yard and returned five minutes later to find the dog had been attacked. The dog was rushed to a veterinary hospital, but did not survive, Dwyer said. The four dogs were then seen at the next-door house, where the owner called police, saying she was afraid to leave her house. Animal control officers responded and were able to keep the dogs back while the neighbor went to her vehicle. Police issued a search warrant for Gibson's property on Sept. 22, but the actor and the dogs were not at the residence. Banks wrote that Gibson "extends his deepest condolences to the family who lost their beloved dog to this tragic incident." Gibson posted a video to Instagram that included various clips of his dogs early Monday. He didn't speak in the video, but rather included audio from the podcast, "The Breakfast Club," where hosts discussed the case.

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September 30, 2025

Tyrese Gibson failed to turn himself in following arrest warrant for cruelty to animals, police say

Tyrese Gibson failed to turn himself in following arrest warrant for cruelty to animals, police say Tyrese Gibson failed to turn himself in ...

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California sisters missing for 36 years found alive as search shifts to mother's killer

California sisters missing for 36 years found alive as search shifts to mother's killer

Two California sisters missing for 36 years were found alive and well in their home state with the help of familial DNA, authorities investigating their case in Arizona said. When they were discovered in August, Jasmin and Elizabeth Ramos were living under new names given by foster parents who raised them in Ventura County, California, unaware of their missing status. Now authorities want to find the killer of their mother, Marina Ramos of Bakersfield, California, whose body was found with multiple stab wounds in Mohave County, Arizona, on Dec. 12, 1989, the local sheriff's office said. Jasmin was 2 months old and Elizabeth was 14 months old when they went missing that month and were found days later abandoned in an Oxnard, California, park bathroom, the Mohave County Sheriff's Office said in a Sept. 22Facebook post. "A witness walking in the area heard children crying in the women's restroom," the office said. "He asked a woman to check the bathroom, and she found the girls laying on the wet floor with no adult nearby." At the time, authorities didn't make the connection between the girls and the killed woman. "The girls were eventually adopted by a couple in Ventura County and were raised together in a loving home," the Mohave County Sheriff's Office said. The office's Special Investigations Unit, established in 2019 to revive cold cases, reopened the Ramos file at a time when the slain victim was still unidentified, her girls were considered missing and there were no suspect leads, the sheriff's office said. In 2022, fingerprints from Marina Ramos' body matched those on file belonging to a woman named Maria Ortiz, who had been arrested and fingerprinted following allegations of shoplifting in Kern County, California, in June 1989, the Mohave County Sheriff's Office said. A Bakersfield address for Ortiz led investigators to a roommate, who said she had a cousin named Marina Ramos who had been missing since 1989, the office said. "It was later learned that Maria Ortiz was an alias used by Marina Ramos," the office said. Investigators also discovered that Ortiz had two young daughters who remained missing. Mohave County Sheriff's Office investigators, led by Lori Miller, a former Los Angeles Police Department detective, got a DNA sample from a relative of Marina Ramos and used law enforcement and family DNA databases in hopes of finding the girls, the office said. They discovered one of the sisters, who said the pair had been abandoned in 1989, the sheriff's office said. The other sister kept newspaper clippings that contained news of the abandonment, it said. While the sheriff's office in Arizona celebrated the discovery, calling Miller's feat"unbelievable work,"a key portion of the case remains unsolved: who killed Marina Ramos? "The search for the suspects involved in the homicide of Marina Ramos continues," the Mohave County Sheriff's Office said. The office said a witness reported seeing Marina Ramos with two men and her daughters at the Oxnard park where the girls were abandoned, and that the five were also seen in a compact, black pickup. Investigators hope that observation might jog someone's memory and help authorities track down Marina Ramos' killers. Anyone with information was urged to contact the Mohave County Sheriff's Office.

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September 30, 2025

California sisters missing for 36 years found alive as search shifts to mother's killer

California sisters missing for 36 years found alive as search shifts to mother's killer Two California sisters missing for 36 years were...

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