The House is scheduled to vote on a short-term budget deal Thursday afternoon, but the latest count shows that House GOP leaders don't have enough votes. Now, President Trump has thrown a wrench into Speaker Ryan's bargaining power, tweeting that the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) shouldn't be included in a short-term plan.
Reason Magazine Editor-at-Large Matt Welch explains why a government shutdown "may happen by accident." Since it's been almost five years since the last shutdown, Welch says politicians may have forgotten how much Americans hate it when the government comes to a halt.
If Republican leaders can't get enough votes for the short-term budget deal, then Congress will only have 24 hours to put another deal together. The last time the government shut down was October 2013.
Water infrastructure across the country is vulnerable as climate change makes storms more unpredictable and destructive, flooding low-lying drinking water treatment plants and overwhelming coastal sewage systems.
Iran has transferred five Iranian-Americans from prison to house arrest in exchange for billions of dollars frozen in South Korea, U.S. and Iranian officials said Thursday, in a deal that comes after months of heightened tensions between the two countries.