By KEVIN FREKING, ANDREW TAYLOR and ALAN FRAM, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Restive Senate moderates in both parties searched for a solution to a partisan stalemate as they raced toward a late-night showdown vote and their last chance to reopen the federal government before hundreds of thousands of federal workers were forced to stay home…
By RICHARD LARDNER, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Symbols of American promise have turned into emblems of American dysfunction amid a dispute in Congress over spending and immigration that has forced scores of federal agencies and outposts to close their doors. The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island have turned away visitors in New York, due…
By DAVID A. LIEB and SUMMER BALLENTINE, Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — In his first interview since acknowledging an extramarital affair, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens said Saturday that there was “no blackmail” and “no threat of violence” by him in what he described as a months-long “consensual relationship” with his former hairdresser. Greitens told…
By ALAN FRAM, ANDREW TAYLOR and ZEKE MILLER, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Hours after shuttering much of the federal government, feuding Democrats and Republicans in Congress spent Saturday dodging blame for a paralyzing standoff over immigration and showed few signs of progress on negotiations needed to end it. The finger-pointing played out in rare weekend…
By ZEKE MILLER, ANDREW TAYLOR and ALAN FRAM, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans awoke Saturday to learn that bickering politicians in Washington had failed to keep their government in business, halting all but the most essential operations and marring the one-year anniversary of President Donald Trump’s inauguration. It was a striking display of Washington dysfunction,…
ST. LOUIS (AP) — The spokesman for Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens says there is “zero truth” to rumors that the Republican governor will resign. Social media was buzzing with resignation rumors Friday, even though the governor has said he would not step down, despite calls from five Republican lawmakers earlier this week urging him to…
By SARA BURNETT and JOHN O’CONNOR, Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner has reserved 30-minute time slots on TV stations across Illinois for infomercial-like campaign ads featuring FBI recordings of conversations between a top Democratic rival and now-imprisoned former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The ads, which include 11 minutes of discussions between billionaire businessman…
By ANDREW TAYLOR and ALAN FRAM, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A bitterly divided Congress hurtled toward a government shutdown this weekend in a partisan stare-down over demands by Democrats for a solution on politically fraught legislation to protect about 700,000 younger immigrants from being deported. Democrats in the Senate have served notice they will filibuster…
By SUMMER BALLENTINE, Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Embattled Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens issued a vague press release Thursday to outline a tax plan he hyped days earlier as the nation’s “boldest,” a muted rollout Democrats said proves the Republican’s administration has been disrupted by his acknowledgment of an affair and allegations of blackmail.…
By ALAN FRAM and ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A divided Congress barreled toward a possible election-year government shutdown Thursday, facing showdown votes in the House and Senate to keep federal offices open and hundreds of thousands of workers on the job. Weeks of argument over immigration, big spending and more remained unresolved, and…