Government may shut down The chance of the

Government may shut down

The chance of the United States government shutting down tonight is pretty high. The House managed to pull together enough GOP votes last night to pass a short-term spending bill that would keep things going but that deal doesn’t look as though it will pass in the Senate, where the Democrats refuse to vote for it because it doesn't have a DACA fix. DACA is the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. It is an American immigration policy that allowed some individuals who entered the country as minors, and had either entered or remained in the country illegally, to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and to be eligible for a work permit. As of 2017, approximately 800, 000 individuals—referred to as Dreamers after the DREAM Act bill—were enrolled in the program created by DACA. The policy was established by the Obama Administration and rescinded by the Trump Administration in 2017. The Senate adjourned after 10 on Thursday night with no sign that Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mc. Connell had or would have the votes to pass a bill to keep the government funded past a Friday midnight deadline. If Congress can't agree on a plan to fund the federal government before time runs out, a shutdown is expected to affect millions of Americans. 9 million children who are under the Children's Health Insurance Program will have less certainty about the future of their health care. About 1. 3 million active-duty military will be expected to work potentially without pay. About 850, 000 government employees will be furloughed each day. 681, 170 residents in Washington, DC, could potentially not receive basic services such as trash pickup, because the city budget is tied with the federal budget. Up to 417 national park sites could be closed. 19 Smithsonian museums will be closed.

In Other News n n n North Carolina won't have to redraw its congressional districts, as ordered earlier this month by a federal court. A three-judge panel had ruled that the state needed to redo the voting maps because they were intentionally drawn to help Republicans. That was significant because it was the first federal court ruling to strike down a congressional map as representing a partisan gerrymander. Gerrymandering is a practice intended to establish a political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating district voting boundaries. The resulting district is known as a gerrymander. But, in this case, the Supreme Court has blocked the lower court's ruling, meaning the controversial maps will probably be used in the next election. A string of brutal rapes is spurring outrage in India. There were five attacks in five days in one northern Indian state, including the suspected gang rape of a 15 -year-old girl, whose body was found floating in a canal. Sexual violence against women has long been a problem in India. The world doesn't see the United States as much of a leader these days. A new Gallup poll puts global approval of US leadership at just 30%. That's right behind China and just a few points ahead of Russia. Germany was the top-rated country in the current poll, coming in at 41%.

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