Congress’ leaders aren’t budging on government shutdown

WASHINGTON - Congressional leaders in both parties refused to budge publicly from their political corners Saturday on the first day of the government shutdown, avoiding direct negotiations and bitterly blaming each other for the impasse in speeches. But private glimmers of a breakthrough were evident by late Saturday, as moderate Democrats and Republicans began to rally behind a new short-term funding proposal to reopen the government through early February.

Congress back at work on Sunday, still searching for deal to end shutdown Source: Cox Media Group

With no signs of any deal to restore funding for the federal government, lawmakers on Capitol Hill will be back for a rare Sunday session, with no real signs of an agreement to end the first government shutdown since 2013, as both parties continued to point the finger of blame at each other. The main stumbling block continues to be immigration, and what to do about hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrant Dreamers in the United States, who were protected under the Obama Administration's DACA program, which was ended by the Trump Administration in October.

Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer sang a different shutdown song in 2013

If you want to known why people hate politics, listen to the rhetoric surrounding the present shutdown of the federal government. This time around, Democrats play the role of the minority insisting on a policy change before they'll agree to end a filibuster and fund most government functions.

Trump aides: No DACA talks until government re-opens

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer responds to a question from the news media during a press conference as the Senate continues work on ending the government shutdown in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2018. WASHINGTON - Aides to President Trump said Saturday they are willing to negotiate with Democrats on the fate of an immigration program, but only after a congressional vote to fund the government and end the shutdown.

Shutdown deadline nears; no accord ina

President Donald Trump and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer met Friday afternoon in an eleventh-hour effort to avert a government shutdown, with a bitterly divided Washington locked in stare-down over fed Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y. walks to his vehicle following his meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, Friday, Jan. 19, 2018. WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer met Friday afternoon in an eleventh-hour effort to avert a government shutdown, with a bitterly divided Washington locked in stare-down over federal spending and legislation to protect some 700,000 younger immigrants from deportation.

FAA probes reason storm snarled flights at Kennedy airport

The Federal Aviation Administration says it is investigating the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's actions during a winter snowstorm that caused major disruptions at Kennedy Airport. The FAA says it will seek to determine whether the Port Authority complied with regulations requiring the timely removal of snow from all aircraft movement areas.

Senator to DOT: Press foreign airlines on JFK communication

Sen. Charles Schumer wants federal transportation officials to urge foreign airlines to work better with the operators of New York's Kennedy Airport after winter weather woes cascaded into days of cancellations and delays this month. The Senate Democratic leader notes that the department issues documents allowing foreign airlines to operate in the U.S. He suggests that it "utilize that leverage" to encourage foreign carriers to "develop more meaningful communication systems and contingency plans" with Kennedy's governmental and private operators.

Schumer urges Trump to sign fentanyl-screening bill

Sen. Charles Schumer is urging President Donald Trump to sign legislation that would allow U.S. Customs and Border Protection to buy portable screening equipment to detect the powerful opioid fentanyl before it enters the United States. Schumer said Sunday that the bill that passed both houses of Congress last year will help ensure that illicit narcotics "can be quickly detected, identified and seized on the spot."

Sen. Schumer urges quick federal review for Legoland

U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer wants the Army Corps of Engineers to quickly review and approve a wetlands permit that's holding up plans for a Legoland amusement park north of New York City. The New York Democrat says Merlin Entertainment has promised the project in the Hudson Valley will be the biggest of three Legolands in North America, with plans including a 250-room hotel and more than 50 rides.

Ap Fact Check: Trump’s truth-warp on taxes; Dems drift, too

President Donald Trump speaks during a bill passage event on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2017, to acknowledge the final passage of tax cut legislation by Congress. President Donald Trump speaks during a bill passage event on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2017, to acknowledge the final passage of tax cut legislation by Congress.

Juan Williams: The ground shifts on immigration

The earthquake began when candidates backed by President Trump played strong anti-immigrant cards in Virginia's gubernatorial race and Alabama's Senate race - and both came up losers. Trump, who had begun pulling down the curtain on the Obama-era program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals , is himself now talking a different game.

Democratic Senators invoke CRA to attempt reversal of FCC’s net neutrality decision

Senator Charles Schumer of New York is leading an effort to overturn the FCC's net neutrality decision. The FCC may have successfully overturned the current net neutrality rules during their December monthly meeting, but a call from one of the top Democrat Senators to repeal the decision clearly suggests that the battle over this issue has just begun.

Sen. Schumer: Bomb-detection units needed at transit hubs

Screening devices that detect suicide vests like the one that exploded in a New York City subway tunnel are being tested in a Los Angeles transit station, but U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer said Sunday the Transportation Security Administration should speed up plans to deploy the technology nationally. "The fact that we have this new, potentially life-saving technology at our fingertips - an ability to detect concealed explosives worn by cowards looking to do us harm - demands the federal government put both the testing and the perfecting of this technology on the fast-track," Schumer said.

Inside the race to deport a 94-year-old Nazi guard

Lawmakers and Jewish groups have called on the White House to take action, in a race to have Jakiw Palij face justice. NEW YORK - The last surviving Nazi collaborator ordered to leave American soil lives in a redbrick Queens rowhouse on a bustling stretch of 89th Street, just around the corner from a Chipotle with a distant view of the Manhattan skyline.

Pressure on White House to deport 94-year-old Nazi guard

The view down an alley off the Queens street where Nazi collaborator Jakiw Palij lives in New York. Must credit: Photo by Celeste Sloman for The Washington Post The view down an alley off the Queens street where Nazi collaborator Jakiw Palij lives in New York.

Gillibrand got a fight she wants after Trump’s fiery tweet

In this July 25, 2016, file photo, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY., speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. Gillibrand got a fight she wants after President Donald Trump attacked her in a provocative tweet that claimed she'd begged him for campaign contributions and would "do anything" for them.