Dems in hot seat after DHS warns their frontline workers will go without pay if shutdown hits
As the federal government heads toward a potential shutdown starting Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security assured that immigration and border operations will continue but said frontline employees could be working without pay. DHS noted in a statement to Fox News Digital on Tuesday that Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Transportation Security Administration will continue their “critical functions,” including ICE being able to “arrest and deport violent criminal aliens” and CBP being able to “screen goods and people” entering the U.S. The agency also noted that the officer hiring processes will still continue, including for recruitment. SHUTDOWN EXPLAINED: WHO WORKS, WHO DOESN’T AND HOW MUCH IT COSTS “While these critical operations continue, Democrats are forcing many of our nearly 200,000 frontline officers, emergency responders and employees to continue secur[ing] the Homeland without pay,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “Far-left politicians demonize our employees every day, which has led to a 1,000% increase in assault[s] on our law enforcement. Now they are holding hostage their family’s finances and jeopardizing their welfare. This is unacceptable.” CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE As of Tuesday afternoon, a government shutdown seems likely and would be the first since the end of 2018 and entering 2019 during President Donald Trump’s first term. There were also lengthy shutdowns during the Obama and Clinton administrations. USER’S MANUAL TO A LIKELY GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN TONIGHT “The Trump administration wants a straightforward and clean CR to continue funding the government – the exact same proposal that Democrats supported just six months ago, 13 times under the Biden administration. But radical Democrats are threatening to shut the government down if they don’t get their nearly $1.5 trillion wish list of demands, including free health care for illegal aliens,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson stated. “The Democrat’s radical agenda was rejected by the American people less than a year ago at the ballot box. Now they’re trying to shut down the government and hold the American people hostage over it.” Meanwhile, Democrats in Congress have said Republicans should bear the blame for the shutdown. BORDER PATROL UNION WARNS: ‘LIFE AND DEATH’ MISSION AT RISK IN SHUTDOWN FIGHT “Republicans would rather shut down the government than protect the Affordable Care Act. A shutdown puts ACA tax credits at risk—and in Texas, premiums could jump 289%, costing families $459 more each year,” Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, posted to X Tuesday. “They passed up multiple chances to extend them in the Big Beautiful Bill; they chose not to. Families shouldn’t have to pay the price for their political games.”
Government shutdown risk grows after Dems block Trump-backed extension for a 2nd time
Senate Democrats again blocked Republicans’ short-term funding extension Tuesday afternoon, further increasing the odds of a partial government shutdown and thousands of federal workers going without paychecks. Democratic lawmakers in the upper chamber, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., banded together to vote against the GOP’s continuing resolution (CR), a move that marked the second time Democrats impeded the legislation’s progress this month. Congress has until midnight Wednesday to pass a CR or else the government will shut down. However, the possibility of that happening became increasingly unlikely throughout the day as Republicans and Democrats huddled behind closed doors in separate meetings hours before the vote. The bill, which was passed by the House GOP earlier this month, failed on a largely party-line vote, 55-45. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., was the lone Republican to vote against the bill, while Sens. John Fetterman, D-Pa., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Angus King, I-Maine, crossed the aisle to vote for the funding extension. JD VANCE SAYS GOVERNMENT LIKELY ‘HEADED INTO A SHUTDOWN’ AFTER TRUMP MEETS WITH DEMS Democrats also tried to advance their own counter-proposal, but that bill was similarly blocked by Senate Republicans. There is still time to avert a partial shutdown, but the window is closing fast. If Schumer and Thune are unable to find a path forward, it would mark the third shutdown under President Donald Trump. When asked if he believed a shutdown was inevitable, Trump said, “Nothing is inevitable.” “But I would say it’s probably likely, because they want to give healthcare to illegal immigrants, which will destroy healthcare for everybody else in our country,” he told reporters in the Oval Office. “And I didn’t see them bend even a little bit when I said we can’t do that.” Shortly after the vote, however, the Office of Management and Budget released a memo that the appropriations for Fiscal Year 2025 would run out at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, making a shutdown official. “It is unclear how long Democrats will maintain their untenable posture, making the duration of the shutdown difficult to predict,” the memo read. Republicans want to pass a “clean” short-term extension until Nov. 21 that would give appropriators time to finish spending bills, while Democrats want to extend expiring Obamacare premium subsidies, among multiple other demands. But the chances of a deal materializing, particularly one that meets Democrats’ demands, are slim. Both Senate leaders traded barbs throughout the day, first on the Senate floor and then in back-to-back press conferences. SHUTDOWN EXPLAINED: WHO WORKS, WHO DOESN’T AND HOW MUCH IT COSTS Thune panned Democrats’ push for an extension to the expiring tax credits, which aren’t set to sunset until the end of this year, as well as their other demands to repeal the healthcare portion of Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” and clawback canceled funding for NPR and PBS. Republicans argue that reversing the cuts from Trump’s megabill and undoing the public broadcasting rescission would amount to $1.5 trillion in spending tacked onto their short-term funding extension. “These are things that they’re demanding as part of their so-called negotiation,” Thune said. “Ladies and gentlemen, there isn’t anything here to negotiate.” Schumer, however, countered that the decision to shut the government down was “in their court” and charged that Democrats were working to solve the GOP’s “healthcare crisis.” SCHUMER, DEMOCRATS FACE HEAT FOR SHIFTING STANCE ON GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN THREAT Still, despite scoring a meeting in the Oval Office with Trump and congressional Republican leaders, in addition to public guarantees from Thune and Republicans that Obamacare tax credits could be discussed after a shutdown was averted, Schumer demanded that Democrats be cut in on negotiations to craft a bipartisan bill. Earlier in the day, the top Senate Democrat commandeered a floor chart from Thune that showed how many times Democrats supported CRs under former President Joe Biden. He said that each time, Republicans were involved in the process. “As leader, I sat down with the Republicans every one of those years and created a bipartisan bill. Their bill is partisan. They call it clean. We call it partisan. It has no Democratic input,” Schumer said. “Thune never talked to me.”
Democrats silent on illegal alien registered to vote in blue state
Maryland Democratic Gov. Wes Moore and other Democratic leaders have fallen silent after it was discovered that illegal alien Ian Andre Roberts, who was recently arrested by ICE, is registered as an active Democratic voter in the state. Fox News Digital reached out to Moore’s office and the offices of Maryland’s two Democratic senators, Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks, and Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., asking for their response to an illegal alien being a registered Democratic voter in their state, but did not receive a response by the time of publication. This week, the Maryland Freedom Caucus blew the whistle on Roberts being listed as an active Democratic voter on the state’s official elections board website despite not being a U.S. citizen and not having lived in Maryland for years. IOWA SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT ARRESTED BY ICE, FACING PRIOR WEAPONS CHARGES, ALLEGEDLY FOUND WITH LOADED HANDGUN On Tuesday, SBE sent a statement to Fox News Digital that a review of public information available through Maryland’s Public Information Act “did not show any voting history for any individual with the name Ian Andre Roberts in Maryland.” The statement further said that due to Maryland law protecting personal identifying information from disclosure, SBE “cannot and will not publicly announce whether media reports about the individual in question is or is not or was or was not a registered voter in Maryland.” Finally, SBE noted that according to Maryland law, it is not a crime to unintentionally register to vote despite not being eligible. The office added that “the right to vote is a sacred right that has been expanded through sacrifices of many before us” and “this office will not disenfranchise a voter based upon partial or unsubstantiated evidence.” EX MICHELLE OBAMA AIDE LEADS DES MOINES SCHOOL BOARD’S DEFENSE OF SUPERINTENDENT ARRESTED BY ICE In response, Republican state Delegate Matt Morgan, who is chair of the Maryland Freedom Caucus, told Fox News Digital that SBE’s statement only leads to more questions. The Maryland Freedom Caucus sent a letter to SBE on Monday demanding answers about “gaping holes” in the state’s election integrity systems. “Basically, the board of elections has the excuse that Mr. Roberts was registered accidentally, and therefore he didn’t break a law. This leads me to ask how many other people are accidentally automatically registered? Why was he automatically registered as a Democrat?” said Morgan. “The Maryland Freedom Caucus looks forward to receiving answers from the state [Board of Elections] on these questions soon,” he added. SOCIAL MEDIA ERUPTS AFTER ICE ARREST OF SUPERINTENDENT IN IOWA: ‘CRAZY STORY’ According to Morgan, Roberts’ registration means that he is eligible to vote in all federal, state and local elections despite not being a U.S. citizen, and also despite likely not having lived in Maryland for the past decade. Morgan pointed to a letter the elections board sent to the Justice Department in August in which State Administrator of Elections Jared DeMarinis expressed concern that if the board gave over voter information to the federal government, that data would be “used for enforcement of immigration laws against Maryland residents.” Roberts was working as the superintendent of public schools in Des Moines, Iowa, until he was arrested by ICE last week. According to officials, he attempted to flee ICE agents and was taken into custody on a fugitive warrant. He was found with $3,000 in cash, a fixed-blade hunting knife and a loaded Glock 19 firearm, according to ICE. MARYLAND SENATOR SAYS ICE FACILITY HIDES ‘EVIL PERSISTING IN DARKNESS’ AFTER DENIED ACCESS He came to the U.S. in 1999 from Guyana on a student visa and was arrested by ICE last week after having a final order of removal issued against him in 2024. He was hired as head of the Des Moines public schools in 2023 despite having illegal weapons possession charges against him from 2020. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP This comes after several Maryland Democrats, including Van Hollen and Ivey, have been outspoken in their support for the rights of illegal immigrants, even flying to El Salvador earlier this year to visit a suspected MS-13 gang member named Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who at the time was imprisoned after being deported by the Trump administration.
Trump says administration close to finalizing federal funding deal with Harvard University
President Donald Trump indicated on Tuesday that his administration is close to finalizing a deal with Harvard University to restore $2.4 billion in federal grants. “I guess we reached a deal with Harvard today. All you have to do is paper it, right, Linda?” Trump asked Education Secretary Linda McMahon in the Oval Office. “Yes, sir. Paper it out,” she replied. SETTLEMENT TALKS FALTER BETWEEN TRUMP ADMINISTRATION AND HARVARD: REPORT “We’re in the process of getting very close, and Linda is finishing up the final details, and they’d be paying about $500 million,” Trump said. “And they’ll be operating trade schools, and they’ll be teaching people how to do AI and lots of other things. Engines, lots of things.” Trump and Harvard have battled over his decision to slash billions in federal funds. The terms of the deal were not made clear. Earlier this year, the Trump administration froze $2.2 billion in funding for the university and threatened to revoke its tax-exempt status due to the Ivy League school’s alleged failure to address antisemitism on campus. US BLOCKS TRUMP ATTEMPT TO FREEZE MORE THAN $2 BILLION IN HARVARD FUNDS Harvard successfully challenged the freeze in court, with a judge accusing the administration of weaponizing antisemitism as a pretext for an “ideologically motivated assault” on the university. The Trump administration and Harvard nearly reached a settlement in August. Terms of the deal called for Harvard to spend $500 million on workforce programs in exchange for the restoration of billions in federal funding. Fox News Digital has reached out to Harvard and the White House. Trump has threatened other universities over their alleged failures to rein in antisemitism during anti-Israel protests. Fox News Digital’s Marc Tamasco contributed to this report.
Fox News Poll: Democrat Sherrill leads New Jersey governor’s race
A Fox News survey of New Jersey voters finds Democrat Mikie Sherrill ahead of Republican Jack Ciattarelli by 8 percentage points among likely voters (50-42%) and 7 points among the larger sample of registered voters (48-41%) – both lead just outside the margin of sampling error. The candidates are vying for the seat being vacated by term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who beat Ciattarelli in the 2021 gubernatorial election by only about 3 points. This analysis uses registered voter results. FOX NEWS POLL: UNHAPPY WITH NYC’S DIRECTION, VOTERS FAVOR MAMDANI FOR MAYOR BY A WIDE MARGIN Sherrill, a congresswoman, gets her biggest backing from Black and Hispanic voters, those with a college degree and voters under age 45. There is a 15-point gender gap with women preferring Sherrill by 14 points and men favoring Ciattarelli by 1. Ciattarelli, a former state assemblyman, does best among MAGA supporters, White Catholics, White men without a college degree and voters ages 45-54. Nearly equal numbers of Republicans back Ciattarelli (90%) as Democrats go for Sherrill (89%), and the preference among the small subgroup of independents splits. Sherrill is helped by more New Jersey voters identifying as Democrats than Republicans. Both Sherrill and Ciattarelli supporters have a high degree of vote certainty (84% each). Still, the race has room for movement because about one voter in seven says they could change their mind before casting ballots. FOX NEWS POLL: CAPITALISM REMAINS MORE POPULAR THAN SOCIALISM, YET MAJORITIES SUPPORT TAXING THE WEALTHY By an 8-point margin, a larger share of Ciattarelli supporters (50%) than Sherrill supporters (42%) say they are more enthusiastic about voting this year than usual. The Fox News survey was completed after both the first gubernatorial debate on September 21 and news that the National Personnel Records Center at the National Archives had mistakenly released unredacted portions of Sherrill’s military file. That release, reported publicly on September 25, prompted complaints from Sherrill and other Democrats, while the Ciattarelli campaign began pressing her on the issue. By a 6-point margin, more voters have a positive opinion of Sherrill (51%) than of Ciattarelli (45%) and, by a 7-point spread, more think she is honest and trustworthy (56%) than say the same about him (49%). Murphy’s favorable rating is underwater by a single point (47% vs. 48%). While more than half remain dissatisfied with the direction of their state, New Jersey voters are happier now than when Murphy was elected: 46% are satisfied with how things are going, up 9 percentage points from 37% who felt that way in 2017. The New Jersey electorate is concerned about two main issues. In spontaneous, unprompted replies, 34% say taxes are the biggest problem facing the state and 20% cite the cost of living. Other issues like housing and energy costs are mentioned by 5% or fewer. Sherrill is preferred by 16 points among those whose priority is the cost of living, while tax voters favor Ciattarelli by 5. Only 4% of voters view President Donald Trump/the Republicans as the biggest problem for the state, but one-third say one reason for their vote is to express opposition to Trump (34%), more than double the number who are voting to show him support (16%). Six in 10 Democrats say their vote is to express opposition to Trump compared to four in 10 Republicans who say theirs is to show support. More than half of Republicans say Trump is not a factor in their vote (56%). Overall, 42% of New Jersey voters have a favorable opinion of Trump, while 55% view him unfavorably. That’s a net negative of 13 points, which is an improvement since 2017, when his ratings were underwater by 26 points. While former Vice President Kamala Harris won New Jersey by 6 points (52%), Trump received 46% of the vote in last year’s presidential election, up from the 41% he received in both 2020 and 2016. Poll-pourri A 54% majority of New Jersey voters think the way Republicans talk about politics these days is leading to an increase in violence, while just under half, 48%, say the same about Democrats. CLICK HERE FOR CROSSTABS AND TOPLINE Conducted Sept. 25-28, 2025, under the joint direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News Poll includes interviews with a sample of 1,002 New Jersey registered voters randomly selected from a statewide voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (120) and cellphones (638) or completed the survey online by following a link received via text message (244). There was a subsample of 822 likely voters. Results based on both the registered voter and likely voter sample have a margin of sampling error of ± 3 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Sources for developing weight targets include the most recent American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis and voter file data. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education and area variables to ensure the demographics of respondents are representative of the registered voter population. Likely voters are identified based on past vote history and self-reported likelihood of voting. Results among subgroups are only shown when the sample size is at least N=100. Fox News’ Victoria Balara contributed to this report.
Afghanistan imposes internet blackout: What has the effect been so far?
A nationwide telecoms shutdown has been imposed in Afghanistan, as part of a Taliban crackdown on “immoral activities”. Netblocks, a global internet watchdog, said on Monday that multiple networks in Afghanistan had been disconnected. Telephone services had also been limited, resulting in what Netblocks described as a “total internet blackout” in the nation of 43 million people. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list Connectivity was cut in phases on Monday, with the final stage affecting telephone services. In the past, the Taliban have voiced concern about online pornography. And earlier this month, authorities cut fibre-optic links to some provinces, with officials citing morality concerns. “The incident is likely to severely limit the public’s ability to contact the outside world,” the group added. This is the first time that the whole of Afghanistan has faced an internet blackout under the hardline Islamist government. It risks cutting off the country, which is in desperate need of humanitarian assistance, just weeks after a devastating, magnitude-6 earthquake in the east of the country. Which telecoms services are being restricted? Earlier this month, the Taliban began to close down internet services. On September 16, the Balkh provincial spokesperson stated that fibre-optic internet had been completely banned in the northern province. “This measure was taken to prevent vice,” he wrote on social media. At about the same time, restrictions were also reported in the northern provinces of Badakhshan and Takhar, as well as in Kandahar, Helmand, and Nangarhar in the south. Advertisement Cloudflare Radar – an international internet traffic monitor – said Kabul had suffered the sharpest municipal drop in internet connectivity, followed by the western city of Herat, and Kandahar in the south. On Monday, online TV channel TOLOnews reported that the authorities had set a one-week deadline for the shutdown of 3G and 4G internet services for all mobile phones, leaving only the 2G mobile network active. Telephone services have also been compromised, as they are routed over the internet and share the same fibre-optic cables. What is likely to be worst-affected? Internet and communications Tolo warned viewers of disruption to its news services and added that the shutdown would affect its own internal operations. Elsewhere, both The Associated Press (AP) and AFP news agencies said they were unable to contact their bureaus in the capital city, Kabul. On Tuesday, Al Jazeera attempted to contact people in Kunar, Jalalabad and Kabul by WhatsApp and by phone from outside Afghanistan, but no messages or calls got through. Afghan citizens living abroad, such as rights activist and journalist Nilofar Ayoubi, report that they have been unable to communicate with family members. I haven’t been able to reach my mother in Afghanistan for the past nine hours due to the internet blackout. Tonight, I feel just as hopeless and powerless as I did on the night of August 15 , 2021 .. https://t.co/yX4ycP4sMK — Nilofar Ayoubi 🇦🇫 (@NilofarAyoubi) September 29, 2025 Flights Some flights from Kabul airport have been disrupted. According to flight tracking service Flightradar24, nine flights scheduled to depart from or arrive at Kabul International Airport on Tuesday were cancelled. Other flights went ahead as planned. Even before the Taliban takeover in August 2021, the Afghan economy was fragile. Some 47 percent of the country’s population were living below the poverty line. Unemployment stood at 11.7 percent in 2020, and 34.3 percent of people with jobs were living on less than $1.90 per day, Sheela Samimy, an economist and former director in the Afghan Ministry of Finance, told Al Jazeera at the time. A telecoms shutdown could well exacerbate Afghanistan’s economic struggles. Internet platforms – such as Aseel, an online platform enabling Afghan artisans – mostly women – to sell handmade jewellery, carpets and pottery to customers around the world while setting their own prices – are expected to be badly affected by the internet blackout as vendors and customers become unable to connect to these sites. Advertisement Aseel also enabled people from overseas to donate humanitarian aid via its website. Afghans who earn a living via social media platforms such as YouTube will also be affected. Financial and healthcare services Diplomatic officials told the BBC that the internet shutdown could affect banking systems across the country, in addition to business operations and hospital services. What does the Taliban say about all this? AFP reported that a government official told it on Monday that the fibre-optic network it relies on for operations would be shut down. “Eight to nine thousand telecommunications pillars” would be shut down, he said, adding that the blackout would last “until further notice”. Since seizing power in 2021, the Taliban has imposed numerous restrictions on society in line with its strict interpretation of Islamic law. But strictures ordered by the leadership, based in Kandahar, have grown increasingly hardline recently. Authorities banned Afghan women working for the United Nations from entering its offices in September. This follows prohibitions on women in numerous jobs, while girls were prohibited from attending high school in 2021. Women are now also banned from higher education. Many women and girls have since relied on online classes provided by educators abroad or by charitable organisations. This latest clampdown on the internet means these opportunities are now also under threat. The Taliban says it respects women’s rights in line with its interpretation of Islamic law. But women’s rights activist Sanam Kabiri, an Afghan living in Pakistan, said: “The Taliban are using every tool at their disposal to suppress the people. “What else do these ignorant men of another century want from our oppressed people?” Will this hamper ongoing earthquake rescue efforts in Afghanistan? On August 31, a devastating magnitude 6.0 earthquake in eastern Afghanistan killed more than 2,200 people and injured some 3,600, according to the Taliban authorities. As rescue efforts persist, hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced. Women have remained largely absent from earthquake clear-up operations, in large part because the Taliban has barred them from working for nongovernmental organisations operating in the
Why is the US government on the brink of a shutdown? What will it mean?
The United States government will shut down on Wednesday if Democrats and Republicans in Congress cannot reach an agreement on a vital funding bill. The shutdown could temporarily halt some US government services and put the salaries of government employees on hold – or even end them altogether. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list While it has been normal practice to place staff on “furlough” during previous government shutdowns – meaning they are reinstated and receive back pay once the government is up and running again – this time, the Trump administration is threatening to fire people permanently. Why might the government shut down? The new fiscal year for the federal government begins on October 1, but Congress has not agreed on a necessary short-term funding bill. Republicans control both chambers of Congress. In the Senate, Republicans hold 53 seats and Democrats, 47. The Republicans have fallen short of the 60 votes needed to pass legislation. The Senate majority leader is Republican John Thune, and the minority leader is Democrat Chuck Schumer. In the House of Representatives, Republicans hold 220 seats and Democrats hold 212. The House speaker is Republican Mike Johnson, the majority leader is Republican Steve Scalise, and the minority leader is Democrat Hakeem Jeffries. The disagreement is over a short-term spending bill introduced by the Republicans, lays out the funding of government operations until November 21. Without it, the government cannot function. What is the dispute about, exactly? The main stumbling block is continued funding for the Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare, which is popular with voters and enables low-income people to access healthcare, John Owens, an emeritus professor of US government and politics at the University of Westminster in London, told Al Jazeera. Advertisement Democrats are refusing to back the Republican bill unless Republicans undo recent cuts to Medicaid enacted under Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” in July. Democrats additionally want to extend special tax credits that reduce the cost of health insurance for Americans. These credits are set to expire later this year. Therefore, Senate Democrats have proposed a range of alternatives, including a seven- to 10-day funding bill, along with other possible measures that could run concurrently, two Senate Democratic sources told the Reuters news agency on Monday. Republicans have rejected these proposals, however, and, so far, neither side shows any sign of backing down. Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump cancelled talks with Democratic leaders, deeming their demands “unserious”. As a result, Congress is in limbo and is not expected to vote on anything this week. On Monday, congressional leaders left a meeting with Trump without reaching a deal. Schumer and Jeffries have blamed the Republicans for the impending shutdown. Hours after that meeting, Trump posted an AI-generated, “deepfake” video of Schumer and Jeffries with fabricated audio on his Truth Social platform. It depicts Jeffries wearing a large sombrero and sporting a handlebar moustache while Schumer says, “If we give all these illegal aliens healthcare, we might be able to get them on our side so they can vote for us.” The video has been condemned by Democrats as a racist dogwhistle alluding to Mexicans. “It’s a disgusting video and we’re gonna continue to make clear bigotry will get you nowhere,” Jeffries said. “We are fighting to protect the healthcare of the American people in the face of an unprecedented Republican assault.” US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer [File: Nathan Howard/Reuters] How likely is it that there will be a government shutdown? The disagreement over healthcare funding is far from being resolved. Furthermore, Owens explained that any Senate agreement must also be approved by the House, where Trump’s party has a slim, hard-right majority closely aligned with him. However, some Republicans in the House are also fearful of the effects of the healthcare cuts in their districts. “With midterm elections due next November, there is tremendous pressure, particularly on electorally vulnerable Republican senators who are also under pressure from Trump to support his cuts,” Owens said. “Whether the current impasse results in a shutdown remains to be seen. Its effects will depend on its length and the ultimate willingness of Trump and his party, and the Congressional Democrats to reach some kind of compromise.” Advertisement Trump himself does not seem optimistic about resolving the impasse. “I just don’t know how we’re going to solve this issue,” CBS News reported, quoting him, on Sunday. US Vice President JD Vance also warned that the government is heading for a shutdown, blaming Democrats. “I think we’re headed into a shutdown because the Democrats won’t do the right thing,” Vance told reporters after the meeting on Monday. If Congress does not agree on a short-term funding bill by midnight on Tuesday (04:00 GMT on Wednesday), the shutdown will prompt federal closures at 12:01am on Wednesday (04:01 GMT). On Tuesday, the crypto-based prediction market, Polymarket, placed the odds of a government shutdown at 86 percent. What happens during a government shutdown? A government shutdown happens when a lapse in funding forces parts of the government federal agencies with non-essential functions to cease operations. Under US law, if the government shuts down, agencies are required to “furlough” – suspend or discharge – their “non-excepted” employees. Once the shutdown is over and operations resume, furloughed employees receive their backdated pay, due to a 2019 bill passed by Congress enshrining this into law. An “excepted employee” is a US federal civil service employee who “protects life and property”. While excepted employees stay on the job during a government shutdown, they do not get paid until the shutdown ends. Each agency develops its own plan for the shutdown, deciding which employees will stay and who will be furloughed. Owens estimated that about 900,000 federal workers would be laid off if the shutdown happens. Some government work continues during a shutdown. Members of the armed forces, FBI, CIA and air traffic controllers continue to work. Programmes funded by mandatory spending, such as Social Security and Medicare, also continue
Palestinians in Gaza react to Trump plan on ending Israel’s war
NewsFeed ‘They want to turn it into Trump resorts’. Palestinians in Gaza have been reacting to US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to bring an end to Israel’s war on the enclave. Published On 30 Sep 202530 Sep 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Adblock test (Why?)
Major changes from October 1: RBI Cheque clearing, NPS, UPI, train ticket reservation, bankand more; all you need to know
From October 1, 2025, several key changes will take effect in India, impacting banking, postal services, railways, and pensions. Here’s everything you need to know about changes which are likely to impact the pockets of the common people.
TVK chief Vijay releases video message after Karur stampede kills 41: ‘My heart is filled with pain’; DMK reacts
A stampede broke out at Vijay’s poll campaign rally in Karur on Saturday, killing at least 41 people and injuring dozens others. Police have launched an investigation into the tragic incident. Read on to know more on this.