AP

By MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats kept their promise to reject any Republican spending bill that didn’t extend or restore health care benefits, choosing instead to force a government shutdown. Now they have to figure out how to get out of it. Just hours after the shutdown began, Senate Democratic

By PATRICK WHITTLE and GEOFF MULVIHILL Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A network of medical clinics that serves low-income residents in Maine said Wednesday it is shutting down its primary care operations because of Trump administration cuts to abortion providers. President Donald Trump’s policy and tax bill, known as the “ big beautiful bill,”

ISABELLA VOLMERT Associated Press LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer cast doubt on the prospect of running for president in 2028 while speaking in Toronto on Wednesday. Whitmer was asked by a Canadian journalist in a moderated discussion whether she is considering seeking the Democratic nomination for president in 2028. “I anticipate helping,

By JOSH FUNK AP Transportation Writer The Democratic member of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board that President Donald Trump fired ahead of the group considering the largest rail merger ever filed a lawsuit challenging his dismissal as illegal. Robert Primus, who had served on the board since 2001, said the White House never even gave

By LINLEY SANDERS and AMELIA THOMSON-DEVEAUX Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump got a significant amount of blame during the last partial government shutdown, which took place toward the end of his first term after he forced a shutdown over border wall funding — but with Democrats embracing the shutdown fight this time,

By JOSEPH FREDERICK, MATTHEW BROWN and SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Crowds of people loaded onto boats to tour the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Wednesday with no immediate signs of a government shutdown that has triggered the furlough of about two-thirds of National Park Service employees. But in Philadelphia,

By PHILIP MARCELO and BRUCE SHIPKOWSKI Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City rapper who joined President Donald Trump during a campaign rally last year has been sentenced to five years behind bars after he admitted he used earnings from his music career to fuel gang violence in Brooklyn. Sheff G, whose

By GARY FIELDS Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Historically, the U.S. military has been an engine for cultural and social change in America. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s vision for the armed forces he leads runs counter to that. In comments Tuesday to hundreds of military leaders and their chief enlisted advisers, Hegseth made clear he

By ALI SWENSON and MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government shut down Wednesday, with Democratic lawmakers insisting that any deal address their health care demands and Republicans saying those negotiations can happen after the government is funded. At issue are tax credits that have made health insurance more affordable for

By CURT ANDERSON Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Former Republican U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn, who was defeated in 2022 in a North Carolina primary, is looking for a comeback by running for Congress again, this time from Florida. Cawthorn, 30, announced in an online video Wednesday that he would seek the southwest Florida