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…