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The government shutdown has entered its 36th day, breaking the record as the longest ever and disrupting the lives of millions of Americans with federal program cuts, flight delays and federal workers nationwide left without paychecks.President Donald Trump has refused to negotiate with Democrats over their demands to salvage expiring health insurance subsidies until they agree to reopen the government. But skeptical Democrats question whether the Republican president will keep his word, particularly after the administration restricted SNAP food aid, despite court orders to ensure funds are available to prevent hunger.Trump, whose first term at the White House set the previous government shutdown record, is set to meet early Wednesday for breakfast with GOP senators. But no talks have been scheduled with the Democrats.“Why is this happening? We’re in a shutdown because our colleagues are unwilling to come to the table to talk about one simple thing: health care premiums,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., in a late evening speech.“Stop this mess, come to the table, negotiate it,” she said.With Trump largely on the sidelines, talks have intensified among a loose coalition of centrist senators trying to negotiate an end to the stalemate. Expectations are high that the logjam would break once election results were fully tallied in Tuesday’s off-year races that were widely watched as a gauge of voter sentiment over Trump’s second term in the White House. Democrats swept key contests for governor in Virginia and New Jersey, and New York City mayor, certain to shake up the political assessments.But earlier in the afternoon, Senate Democrats left an hours-long private meeting stone-faced, with no certain path forward.“We’re exploring all the options,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said afterward. Trump sets another shutdown record Trump’s approach to this shutdown stands in marked contrast to his first term, when the government was partially closed for 35 days over his demands for funds to build the U.S.-Mexico border wall. At that time, he met publicly and negotiated with congressional leaders, but unable to secure the funds, he relented in 2019.This time, it’s not just Trump declining to engage in talks. The congressional leaders are at a standoff and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., sent lawmakers home in September after they approved their own funding bill, refusing further negotiations.In the meantime, food aid, child care funds and countless other government services are being seriously interrupted and hundreds of thousands of federal workers have been furloughed or expected to come to work without pay.Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted there could be chaos in the skies next week if air traffic controllers miss another paycheck. Labor unions put pressure on lawmakers to reopen the government.Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said this has been not only the longest shutdown but also “the most severe shutdown on record.”The Republican leader has urged the Democrats to accept his overtures to vote on the health care issue and keep negotiating a solution once the government reopens, arguing that no one wins politically from the standoff.“Shutdowns are stupid,” Thune said. Senators search for potential deal Central to any endgame will be a series of agreements that would need to be upheld not only by the Senate, but also the House, and the White House, which is not at all certain in Washington.First of all, senators from both parties, particularly the powerful members of the Appropriations Committee, are pushing to ensure the normal government funding process in Congress can be put back on track.Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., along with several Democrats, including Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and Chris Coons of Delaware, are among those working behind the scenes.“The pace of talks have increased,” said Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., who has been involved in conversations.Among the goals is guaranteeing upcoming votes on a smaller package of bills where there is already widespread bipartisan agreement to fund various aspects of government, like agricultural programs and military construction projects at bases.“I certainly think that three-bill package is primed to do a lot of good things for the American people,” said Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., who has also been in talks. Health care costs skyrocket for millions More difficult, a substantial number of senators also want some resolution to the standoff over the funding for the Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire at year’s end.With insurance premium notices being sent, millions of Americans are experiencing sticker shock on skyrocketing prices. The loss of enhanced federal subsidies, which were put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic and come in the form of tax credits, are expected to leave many people unable to buy health insurance.Republicans are reluctant to fund the health care program, also known as Obamacare, without reforms, but negotiating a compromise with Democrats is expected to take time, if a deal can be reached at all.Thune has promised Democrats at least a vote on their preferred health care proposal, on a date certain, as part of any deal to reopen government. But that’s not enough for some senators, who see the health care deadlock as part of their broader concerns with Trump’s direction for the country.The White House says its position remains unchanged and that Democrats must vote to fund the government before talks over health care can begin. White House officials are in close contact with GOP senators who have been quietly speaking with key Senate Democrats, according to a senior White House official. The official was granted anonymity to discuss administration strategy. Trump’s demands to end the filibuster fall flat The president has been pushing the senators to nuke the filibuster the Senate rule that requires 60 votes to advance most legislation as a way to reopen the government.The GOP senators have panned Trump’s demands to end the filibuster, in a rare public break with the president. Thune and others argue the Senate rule, while infuriating at times, ensures the minority party can be a check on the administration, which is important when power shifts in Washington.But in the current Senate, where Republicans hold a slim majority, 53-47, Democrats have been able to block the House-passed bill that would fund the government, having voted more than a dozen times against.Trump has said that doing away with the filibuster would be one way the Republicans could bypass the Democrats and end the shutdown on their own. Republican senators are trying to avoid that outcome. Associated Press writers Kevin Freking, Stephen Groves, Seung Min Kim and Mtt Brown contributed to this report. Lisa Mascaro and Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
A UPS wide-body cargo plane crashed on Tuesday and erupted into a fireball moments after takeoff from the international airport in Louisville, Kentucky, killing seven, including all three aboard, and injuring 11 on the ground, officials said. Flames from the crash, shortly before sundown, ignited a string of fires in an industrial corridor adjacent to the airport, forcing authorities to halt flight operations through the night, the officials said. The Louisville airport, which is home to UPS Worldport a global hub for the shipping company’s air cargo operations and its largest package-handling facility worldwide was expected to reopen on Wednesday morning. Two runways were strewn with debris from the crash. In a Tuesday night service alert, UPS said delivery schedules for airborne and international packages “may be affected” by the disruption. “Contingency plans are in place to help ensure that shipments arrive at their final destinations as quickly as conditions permit,” it added. The triple-engine plane was fueled for an 8-1/2 hour flight to Honolulu. It had a crew of three, UPS said. None survived, officials said. Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg told reporters at a late-night news briefing that four deaths were confirmed on the ground, with 11 injured people taken to hospitals. Separately, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said the death toll was at least seven and expected to rise. Some survivors had suffered “very significant” injuries, he said. It was the first UPS cargo plane to crash since August 2013, when an Airbus aircraft went down on a landing approach to the international airport in Birmingham, Alabama, killing both crew. Television channel WLKY, a CBS affiliate, showed video of Tuesday’s crash, with flames visible as the plane took off, and the fireball erupting as it hit the ground. Several buildings in an industrial area beyond the runway were on fire after the crash, with thick, black smoke seen rising into the evening sky. Beshear said stricken facilities on the ground included a petroleum recycling center and an auto parts business. “UPS Flight 2976 crashed around 5:15 p.m. local time on Tuesday, Nov. 4, after departing from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in Kentucky,” the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. One key question for investigators is why one engine appeared to have separated from the plane before the crash, a person briefed on the matter said, pointing to video images of airfield debris. The cause and origin of the fire before the aircraft went down were also unknown. U.S. air safety expert and pilot John Cox said investigators will need to look at why the plane with three engines failed to fly after one apparently caught fire. Its too big a fire for a normal, typical-engine fire, Cox said. Its much too big. That airplane should have flown on two engines. So now weve got to look at what caused it not to fly, he added. Fires on the ground burned for hours afterwards, with authorities warning the public within a 5-mile (8-km) radius of the scene to stay indoors to guard against air-quality hazards. The shelter-in-place zone was later reduced to a mile across. CRASH INVOLVED 34-YEAR-OLD PLANE FAA records show the crashed plane, an MD-11 freighter, was 34 years old. Boeing, which shut down the MD-11 program after acquiring it in a merger with McDonnell Douglas, said it was concerned for the safety and well-being of those affected, and it would provide technical support to the investigation. Flightradar24 said the plane, which began operations with UPS in 2006, had flown from Louisville to Baltimore earlier on Tuesday before returning to Louisville. It climbed to an altitude of 175 feet and reached a speed of 184 knots before making a sharp descent, Flightradar24 data showed. The National Transportation Safety Board will lead the accident investigation and was sending a team to the site, a spokesperson said. The NTSB typically takes 12 to 24 months to complete an investigation, make a finding of probable cause and issue recommendations to help avoid similar incidents. UPS is the largest employer in Louisville, providing 26,000 jobs, the publication Louisville Business First said. “We are terribly saddened by the accident tonight in Louisville,” the company said in a statement. Louisville’s Worldport is at the center of the hub-and-spoke system for its air cargo network, serving the high-tech, healthcare and retail industries, handling more than 300 flights and processing about 2 million packages a day. More than 150 UPS customers, such as Merck & Co and other major pharmaceutical companies, have inventory there. “My heart goes out to everybody at UPS, because this is a UPS town,” Louisville Metro Council member Betsy Ruhe, whose district includes the airport, said at the press conference. “We all know somebody who works at UPS, and they’re all texting their friends, their family, trying to make sure everyone is safe. Sadly, some of those texts are probably going to go unanswered.” Additional writing and reporting by Dan Catchpole, Steve Gorman, Juby Babu, Allison Lampert, Gnaneshwar Rajan and Shivani Tanna David Shepardson, Chris Thomas and Lisa Baertlein, Reuters
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E-Commerce
Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York on Tuesday, capping a stunning ascent for the 34-year-old, far-left state lawmaker, who promised to transform city government to restore power to the working class and fight back against a hostile Trump administration.In a victory for the Democratic party’s progressive wing, Mamdani defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa. Mamdani must now navigate the unending demands of America’s biggest city and deliver on ambitious skeptics say unrealistic campaign promises.With his commanding win, the democratic socialist will etch his place in history as the city’s first Muslim mayor, the first of South Asian heritage and the first born in Africa. He will also become New York’s youngest mayor in more than a century when he takes office on Jan. 1.“The conventional wisdom would tell you that I am far from the perfect candidate. I am young, despite my best efforts to grow older. I am Muslim. I am a democratic socialist. And most damning of all, I refuse to apologize for any of this,” Mamdani declared to a roaring crowd at his victory party.He cast his win as a boon for blue-collar workers struggling to get by. “New York, tonight you have delivered a mandate for change,” he said, vowing to “wake up each morning with a singular purpose: To make this city better for you than it was the day before.”More than 2 million New Yorkers cast ballots in the contest, the largest turnout in a mayoral race in more than 50 years, according to the city’s Board of Elections. With roughly 90% of the votes counted, Mamdani held an approximately 9 percentage point lead over Cuomo.Mamdani’s unlikely rise gives credence to Democrats who have urged the party to embrace more progressive candidates instead of rallying behind centrists in hopes of winning back swing voters who have abandoned the party.He has already faced scrutiny from national Republicans, including President Donald Trump, who have eagerly cast him as a threat and the face of a more radical Democratic Party that is out of step with mainstream America. Trump has repeatedly threatened to cut federal funding to the city and even take it over if Mamdani won. A commanding win At his victory party in Brooklyn, Mamdani supporters cheered and embraced, some tearfully, after The Associated Press called the race. Campaign posters flew through the air, as one person hoisted the official flag of New York City and Bad Bunny played from the speakers.The mood was far more muted at Cuomo’s party at a midtown Manhattan theater. In his concession speech, a defiant Cuomo called his campaign “a caution flag that we are headed down a dangerous, dangerous road” and noted that “almost half of New Yorkers did not vote to support a government agenda that makes promises that we know cannot be met.”Still, he corrected his supporters when they began to boo at the mention of Mamdani’s name.“No, that is not right,” he said, offering to help the incoming mayor in any way. “Tonight was their night.”Mamdani’s grassroots campaign centered on affordability, and his charisma spoiled Cuomo’s attempted political comeback. The former governor, who resigned four years ago following allegations of sexual harassment that he continues to deny, was dogged by his past throughout the race and was criticized for running a negative campaign.Mamdani will also have to deal with Trump, who not only threatened retribution against the city but also suggested he might try to arrest and deport Mamdani if he won. Mamdani was born in Uganda, where he spent his early childhood, but was raised in New York City and became a U.S. citizen in 2018.In his speech, Mamdani addressed Trump head on.“New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants and as of tonight, led by an immigrant,” he said, adding that, “If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him.”Trump appeared to acknowledge Mamdani’s challenges, posting “AND SO IT BEGINS!” on his Truth Social site. New mayor will pursue an ambitious agenda Mamdani, who was criticized throughout the campaign for his thin resume, will now have to begin staffing his incoming administration and planning how to accomplish the ambitious but polarizing agenda that drove him to victory.Among the campaign’s promises are free child care, free city bus service, city-run grocery stores and a new Department of Community Safety that would send mental health care workers to handle certain emergency calls rather than police officers. It is unclear how Mamdani will pay for such initiatives, given Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul’s steadfast opposition to his calls to raise taxes on wealthy people.His decisions around the leadership of the New York Police Department will also be closely watched. Mamdani was a fierce critic of the department in 2020, calling for “this rogue agency” to be defunded and slamming it as “racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety.” He has since apologized for those comments and has said he will ask the current NYPD commissioner to stay on the job.Mamdani’s campaign was driven by his optimistic view of the city and his promises to improve the quality of life for its middle and lower classes.Cuomo, Sliwa and other critics assailed him over his vehement criticism of Israel ‘s military actions in Gaza. Mamdani, a longtime advocate of Palestinian rights, has accused Israel of committing genocide and said he would honor an arrest warrant the International Criminal Court issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Mamdani won over the city while Cuomo faltered Mamdani began his campaign as a relatively obscure state lawmaker, little known even within New York City.Going into the Democratic primary, Cuomo was the presumed favorite, with near-universal name recognition and deep political connections. Cuomo’s chances were buoyed further when incumbent Mayor Eric Adams bowed out of the primary while dealing with the fallout of his now-dismissed federal corruption case.But as the race progressed, Mamdani’s natural charm, catchy social media videos and populist economic platform energized voters in the notoriously expensive city. He also began drawing outside attention as his name recognition grew.Mamdani trounced Cuomo in the primary by about 13 points.The former governor relaunched his campaign as an independent candidate for the general election, vowing to hit the streets with a more energetic approach. However, much of his campaign continued to focus on attacking opponents. In the race’s final stretch, he claimed Mamdani’s election would make Jews feel unsafe.Meanwhile, supporters packed Mamdani’s rallies, and he held whimsical events, including a scavenger hunt and a community soccer tournament.Cuomo also juxtaposed his deep experience in government with Mamdani’s less than five years in the state Legislature. But the former governor also faced his own poltical baggage, as his opponents dredged up the sexual harassment allegations that led to his resignation, as well as his decisions during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.Sliwa, the creator of the Guardian Angels crime patrol group, also had his moments mostly in the form of funny quips on the debate stage but had difficulty gaining traction as a Republican in an overwhelmingly Democratic city.He conceded the race about a half hour after the polls closed, wishing Mamdani “good luck because if he does well, we do well.”But he also issued a warning: “If you try to implement socialism, if you try to render our police weak and impotent, if you forsake the people’s public safety, we will become the mayor-elect and his supporters’ worst enemies.” Associated Press writers Jennifer Peltz, Philip Marcelo and Jake Offenhartz contributed to this report. Anthony Izaguirre and Jill Colvin, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
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