OnPolitics: There won't be a federal shutdown

Avoiding a shutdown resolved one of four thorny issues facing Congress in the next few weeks. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

On Politics   Thursday, September 30 OnPolitics: There won't be a federal shutdown Avoiding a shutdown resolved one of four thorny issues facing Congress in the next few weeks. Thursday has been a wild day in Congress. Congressional leaders have been jockeying all week between trying to avert a federal government shutdown and figuring out what's going on with the bipartisan infrastructure framework (BIF). Not to mention a ticking time-bomb on the debt limit.  They at least managed to prevent the shutdown from happening!  Hundreds of thousands of nonessential federal employees would have been furloughed beginning Friday if Congress hadn't acted. Infighting jeopardizes BIF: Progressives and moderates within the House Democratic party are leading competing factions towards a showdown on Thursday. One side wants to delay the vote, while the other has been pushing to proceed.   It's Amy and Mabinty, with the news out of Washington.  The chaos in Congress   Let's start with the good news: The House voted Thursday to join the Senate in extending funding for the federal government through Dec. 3, averting a midnight shutdown. The bill now heads to President Joe Biden for his signature. The House voted 254-175 to approve the bill that raced through both chambers in a few hours. The approval came quickly after Democrats dropped attempts to combine the measure with an increase in the amount the country can borrow. The Senate had earlier voted 65-35 to approve the bill. The not-so-good news (at least for Democrats): Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said the House should delay a Thursday vote on a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package. "If it's pushed back two more weeks, it doesn't matter. It will pass. But it must pass in tandem" with a $3.5 trillion budget bill packed with progressive policies, said Sanders, who helped craft the budget bill. "You think the world will collapse?" the Senate Budget Committee chairman asked. "Who decided that today was a pivotal day?" The two wild cards on BIF: Sinema and Manchin.  Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's office said Thursday the president and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have known her budget priorities and concerns for weeks. Sinema, a moderate Democrat from Arizona and a crucial vote in the divided Senate, said months ago she opposed the initial $3.5 trillion proposal by Senate Democrats. Senator Joe Manchin, D-W.V., said Thursday that $1.5 trillion is the highest price tag he would support on Biden's social spending bill. That is much lower than the $3.5 trillion Biden proposed and what progressives want for a bill that includes priorities, such as subsidized caregiving, childcare, pre-kindergarten and community college.   Real quick: stories you need to read • Banished from "Trump World:" Former president Donald Trump's organization says it has cut ties to former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski amid allegations of sexual misconduct by a Trump donor. • A "historic change" for care: Tracking Biden's $3.5 trillion infrastructure package, reporter Courtney Subramanian looks at how its childcare and elder care policies could change the industry. • Cruz v. campaign finance laws: The Supreme Court agreed to hear a lawsuit brought by Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz challenging federal campaign finance rules that restrict a campaign's ability to raise money after an election to repay a candidate's personal loan. • Military suicides increase: Suicides among U.S. troops increased 15% in 2020 compared to the previous year. This troubling trend appears to be most common among Army members. Want this news roundup in your inbox every night? Sign up for OnPolitics newsletter here.  How one journalist escaped from Afghanistan When Kabul fell to the Taliban, Fatema Hosseini had only bad options. As a female journalist who'd worked for USA TODAY, she could stay and be killed or taken by the Taliban or she could run. But getting out seemed impossible. Fearing the Taliban would ransack her home as they had her parents', she pulled a collage off her wall - photos of her and her friends eating ice cream, American song lyrics, and more. She dropped her memories into a bucket and burned them. No one expected Kabul to fall so quickly, writes USA TODAY's world affairs correspondent Kim Hjelmgaard. But when it did, he knew he had to get Fatema out of there.  Her only way out was through the Hamid Karzai International Airport. As chaos surrounded her at the Kabul airport, there were times Fatema thought she couldn't go on. She faced gunfire, a Taliban whip, tear gas and, horrifically, a sexual assault. Finally, she made it to the Ukrainian special forces and across the gate.  Fatema was one of thousands evacuated from Kabul. Her family lifted off from the Kabul runway minutes before the ISIS-K terrorists carried out a suicide bombing at the gate, killing at least 170 Afghans and 13 U.S. soldiers. Others weren't as successful. Her harrowing and emotional escape from Afghanistan is a detailed account of the danger many journalists had to face and are still enduring in the country today. While infrastructure week is playing out in Washington, Fat Bear week is happening across the country! 🐻 - Amy and Mabinty Discover more with our newsletters: Get the latest headlines, things to do and more in your inbox. Sign up here.   FOLLOW US Problem viewing email? View in browser Unsubscribe • Manage Newsletters • Terms of Service • Privacy Policy/Your California Privacy Rights • Privacy Notice • Do Not Sell My Info/Cookie Policy • Feedback © 2021 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. 7950 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, VA 22102

Shutdown skirted

A Texas man was billed $54,000 for coronavirus tests at an emergency room. And Hawaii's Kilauea volcano is erupting. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

The Short List   Thursday, September 30 Shutdown skirted A Texas man was billed $54,000 for coronavirus tests at an emergency room. And Hawaii's Kilauea volcano is erupting. Congress approved funding to avert a shutdown of the federal government. The story of how one woman fled Afghanistan for freedom. And one of the most active volcanos on Earth is erupting. 👋 Heyo! Laura here, with Thursday's biggest news. But first, later, gator! 🐊 Florida man strikes again, and this time, it involves a man, an alligator and a trash can.  The Short List is a snappy USA TODAY news roundup. Subscribe to the newsletter here or text messages here. Congress passes bill to avoid government shutdown Congress and President Joe Biden averted a government shutdown just hours before a midnight deadline Thursday with a bill that funds the government through Dec. 3.  Congress passed the bill earlier in the day and the president signed it into law shortly after, with less than five hours to spare. The House voted 254-175 to approve the bill that raced through both chambers in a few hours. The approval came quickly after Democrats dropped attempts to combine the measure with an increase in the amount the country can borrow. The Senate voted 65-35 to approve the bill, which includes $28.6 billion for disaster assistance and $6.3 billion for Afghan refugees. The short-term funding bill would keep the government operating until Dec. 3, to give lawmakers more time to approve funding for the fiscal year that starts Friday. Catch up with the latest updates here.  A harrowing escape from Afghanistan Afghan journalist Fatema Hosseini, a young, educated woman and member of the Shi'a Hazara ethnic group, among the most oppressed in Afghanistan, was a Taliban target when the militia overran the country. Her parents' home in Herat was ransacked. The Taliban promised to honor women's rights, but their bloody track record suggests otherwise. Fatema faced gunfire, a Taliban whip, tear gas and a sexual assault, as she made her way to the Ukrainian military that would be her way out of the ravaged country. With the help of USA TODAY reporter Kim Hjelmgaard and some lucky connections, Fatema escaped – barely – on a Ukrainian flight out of Kabul. Read Fatema's story about her harrowing escape from Afghanistan. • From Fatema Hosseini: Taliban fighters tortured my colleagues. • The Backstory: How a USA TODAY freelancer escaped the Taliban. Afghan journalist Fatema Hosseini is greeted by USA TODAY Editor in Chief Nicole Carroll and publisher Maribel Wadsworth at Dulles International Airport after being evacuated from Kabul. Jarrad Henderson, USA TODAY What everyone's talking about • Ellen Pompeo: Denzel Washington 'went nuts' on her during 'Grey's Anatomy.' • Is the McRib coming back? Yep, and it'll hit McDonald's a bit earlier this year. • North Korea's Kim Jong Un rips US for 'petty trick' and 'hostile acts.' • Creepy crawlies: This yellow-striped spider from Asia is invading Georgia. • Meet the soul singer who traveled from 'cotton fields to Beverly Hills.' DHS: No deportation just for being undocumented The Biden administration issued guidelines Thursday to immigration officers that lacking documentation should "not alone be the basis" for deporting an immigrant.  Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the department will focus its resources on apprehending and removing undocumented immigrants who are a threat to national security or public safety. Congress hasn't passed legislation to create a pathway to citizenship for some of the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the USA. • Protesters block Golden Gate Bridge, demand immigration reform. The Haitian migrant encampment in Del Rio, Texas, thins out after migrants returned to Mexico or were deported. Omar Ornelas/USA Today Network $54,000 for coronavirus tests? The bill was "corrected," but it doesn't negate the shock factor. A Texas man who was charged $54,000 for his coronavirus tests at an emergency room says he negotiated it down to about $16,000, and his insurance company paid the full bill. Travis Warner said he and his wife's visit to a free-standing ER in Lewisville was, at first, a relief because he could return to work once he tested negative. Warner received PCR diagnostic tests for the coronavirus, plus the less-accurate rapid antigen tests because of time sensitivity in wanting to return to work. Warner is self-employed and has his own health care plan with Molina Healthcare. Molina Healthcare said in a statement, "This matter was a provider billing error which Molina identified and corrected." 👉 Latest COVID-19 news: Panic buttons issued to hospitals; Lack of coronavirus tests could jeopardize school safety. Catch up on Thursday's updates. • Woman who survived 1918 flu, WWII, dies from COVID-19 at 105. • Feel crushing isolation during COVID-19? Imagine being young and incarcerated. A health care worker at a 24-hour drive-thru site set up by Miami-Dade and Nomi Health in Tropical Park administers a coronavirus test Aug. 30 in Miami. Joe Raedle/Getty Images Real quick • Britney Spears' dad is out. How soon could her conservatorship end? • 11-year-old golfer defies 67 million-to-1 odds with two holes-in-one. • Ecuador prison riot leaves 116 dead, 5 decapitated in ferocious gang battle. • Judge denies Josh Duggar's motion to dismiss child pornography charges. • Hurricane Sam to kick up 'life-threatening' surf along East Coast. 🌋 Kilauea is erupting One of the most active volcanos on Earth is erupting on Hawaii's Big Island. Billowing clouds of volcanic gas and lava fountains were seen forming in the crater at the summit of the Kilauea volcano.  The U.S. Geological Survey confirmed the eruption, raising the volcano alert level to "warning" and the aviation code to red. The eruption at the Halemaumau crater appears to be contained within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and posed no threat to homes in the area, USGS officials said. The release of gases remains the primary hazard in the eruption as water vapor, carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide form "vog," or volcanic smog, downwind of the volcano. • Photo gallery: Hawaii's Kilauea eruption. Kilauea Volcano bubbles and burns Sept. 29. M. PATRICK/US Geological Survey/AFP via Getty Images A break from the news • 🍿 Grab the popcorn! What's streaming and in theaters this weekend. • 😱 You're wasting money on tech. Here's how to save smart. • 🏝 Let's go on vacay! This cabin comes with an entire island to yourself. This is a compilation of stories from across the USA TODAY Network. Want this news roundup in your inbox every night? Sign up for The Short List newsletter here. MORE ARTICLES 5 things you need to know Thursday How Biden's agenda hinges on these two senators A small army of volunteers helped Afghans flee   FOLLOW US Problem viewing email? View in browser Unsubscribe • Manage Newsletters • Terms of Service • Privacy Policy/Your California Privacy Rights • Privacy Notice • Do Not Sell My Info/Cookie Policy • Feedback © 2021 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. 7950 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, VA 22102