Saturday Night Live opened its latest episode with a cold open spoofing Pam Bondi's recent congressional hearing, in which the attorney general clashed with senators through evasive answers and sharp personal jabs. This week's host, Amy Poehler, played the role of Bondi, while her longtime friend and fellow SNL alum Tina Fey made a surprise cameo as Secretary of Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem - hair extensions, Botox, and AR-15 included.
As the federal government shutdown enters its 12th day on Sunday, the Trump administration has implemented a comprehensive purge of the federal public health workforce, laying off thousands of employees at the Department of Health and Human Services, including at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The cuts have dismantled critical programs in family planning, LGBTQ+ and adolescent health, and infectious disease surveillance, leaving experts warning that the United States is entering the viral respiratory infection season flying blind.
Chuck Schumer took so much heat in March when they passed a clean CR. And he's so worried about AOC challenging him and losing control of his Senate Democratic conference that he's trying to show. I mean, he even updated his glasses to show that he is hip and, you know, feisty now. But it's absurd. The whole thing is performative, Lawler said.
Many major national parks remain open to the public during the government shutdown. Still, exactly what "open" means varies from park to park - and it doesn't mean they're running like usual. If a national park is open, it means the public can access it, but some offer more services than others. For instance, some parks are keeping visitor centers open while others aren't. Many aren't collecting entrance fees.
Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, has threatened the layoffs for weeks, citing the government shutdown. Vought wrote on social media Friday that his promised reduction in force had begun. A department spokesperson then confirmed in an email to Inside Higher Ed that "ED employees will be impacted by the RIF." The spokesperson did not clarify how many employees will be affected or in which offices.
The Blue Angels won't be flying here this year, and the parade of ships only consisted of one ship Friday morning. But even a scaled-down Fleet Week is expected to bring tens of thousands of people to the area and could be a big boom for businesses. A big, visual welcome came from one of San Francisco's fire boats for the HMCS Nanaimo, an impressive coastal defense vessel belonging to the Royal Canadian Navy.
Continuation of essential services: FEMA emergency response operations, Coast Guard rescues, and volunteer aid will remain operational during a shutdown, ensuring critical assistance during disasters. Concerns over FEMA's reduced workforce: The downsizing of FEMA staff prior to the shutdown has raised concerns about the agency's ability to effectively respond to disasters with fewer personnel and resources. Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) availability: Despite the shutdown, the DRF remains active to cover immediate needs like debris removal and temporary housing, but concerns about its adequacy persist.
"We will never compromise on safety. When staffing constraints arise, the FAA will slow down air traffic at impacted airports to ensure operations remain safe," FAA spokesperson Hannah Walden tells WIRED, adding that Transportation secretary Sean Duffy " said that air traffic controllers who report to work will be paid. Regarding reductions in force (RIFs), DOT has been clear for months: safety critical positions-including air traffic controllers-have and will continue to be exempt from any RIFs."
In a development born of the government shutdown, the SEC announced Thursday that companies can proceed with IPOs using an obscure automatic approval process, now with the added bonus of skipping pricing information entirely. What's happening is that with 90% of SEC staff furloughed, startups can file their paperwork and have it automatically become effective after 20 days. This option always existed; firms just rarely use it because they prefer having SEC reviewers actually look at their disclosures before going public.
One national park is staying open through the government shutdown - Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The park, located in the Appalachian Mountains between North Carolina and Tennessee, will be fully staffed through the period, NPR reported. The outlet reported that seven local governments in the area were paying the park's 275 full time employees to keep the park operating during the shutdown. Local governments have raised nearly $2 million to keep the park running, per NPR.
They're already paying $2,000 a month with $10,000 deductibles. I'm getting phone calls from people that are saying if the ACA tax credits expire, they aren't going to be able to have health insurance.
As the government shutdown stretches into its ninth day, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., is urging House Republicans to return to Washington and negotiate, warning that millions of Americans could soon see their health care premiums double if Congress fails to act. "There certainly is [a way out], and it's an obvious way out," Durbin told Morning Edition. "Have both sides sit down at the table immediately and find ways to deal with the challenge that faces us. Millions of American families are going to see their health care costs double if Congress doesn't act immediately."
The US Senate remained deadlocked on legislation to end the government shutdown on Thursday, as Donald Trump reiterated his threat to make Democrats pay for the funding lapse that has closed federal agencies and furloughed workers nationwide. The Senate took its seventh round of votes on competing Democratic and Republican proposals to restart the funding, but neither won enough bipartisan support to clear the 60-vote threshold for advancement in the chamber.
I'm telling you the truth, and you can go look at all the documents yourself. Don't look at Republican paperwork. Look at the Congressional Budget Office, who said that we had at least 1.4 million illegal aliens draining the resources from Medicaid, which is why you put their forms into law and got it signed July 4th. Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries' counter-proposal for the CR would reverse all that.
The shutdown has been pretty damaging, you know, not yet because it's early, but it gets a little bit worse as it goes along. And we'll be making cuts that are permanent. And we're only gonna cut Democrat programs, I hate to tell you. I guess that makes sense. But we're cutting Democrat programs. We are going to start that.
That's a great achievement. We applaud her. I look forward to administering the oath of office to her to make her an official member of the House as soon as we get back to regular session. Right now, Chuck Schumer holds the cards on when that can happen because he is the one that has shut down the government, and that is a problem, Johnson said.
"Phoenix Education Partners, parent company of the for-profit University of Phoenix, which announced its IPO plans one day before the shutdown began, said on Wednesday that it has priced its shares at $32. That's the midpoint of its earlier targeted range of between $31 and $33 a share. The company intends to list on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the "PXED" ticker symbol. Selling shareholders will offer roughly 4.3 million shares of its common stock,"
The IRS will furlough nearly half of its workforce on Wednesday as part of the ongoing government shutdown, according to an updated contingency plan posted to its website. Most IRS operations are closed, the agency said in a separate letter to its workers.The news comes after President Donald Trump and Congress failed to strike an agreement to fund federal operations, and the government shutdown has entered its second week, with no discernible endgame in sight.
Transport Secretary Sean Duffy said 53% of flight delays in the US are being caused by staffing issues. That's compared to around 5% before the government shutdown, which began last week. Airports around the US have seen delays as more air traffic controllers call in sick.
