Missouri Governor: ‘No Blackmail,’ ‘No Violence’ In Affair

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…

Democrats, GOP Try To Dodge Blame For Shuttered Government

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…

Government Shutdown Begins And So Does The Finger-Pointing

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,…

Illinois Governor To Air Ad Of Rival, Blagojevich On Wiretap

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…

Congress Likely Racing Toward A Government Shutdown

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…

Congress Nears Showdown Votes On Averting Federal Shutdown

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…