government shutdown

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'Park Protection Measures' to Be Taken at Joshua Tree

People have been defacing trees, damaging roads

(Newser) - Joshua Tree National Park is likely closing Thursday thanks to the partial government shutdown. The Southern California park, located near Twentynine Palms in the Mojave Desert, says that—with only about eight rangers patrolling due to the shutdown—visitors have recently defaced the park's namesake trees and done damage...

Feds Say Shutdown Won't Delay Tax Refunds

Furloughed workers will be recalled

(Newser) - Relief for taxpayers? The administration says there will not be delays to tax refunds despite a government shutdown stretching into its third week. Acting White House budget office director Russell Vought says refunds will go out on time. He told reporters Monday that rules will be changed to make the...

Trump 'Can Relate' to Plight of Unpaid Government Workers

He says Sunday shutdown talks were 'productive'

(Newser) - President Trump said Sunday that he can "relate" to the plight of hundreds of thousands of federal workers worried about having to get by without paychecks if the shutdown continues, though critics wondered if the president really had any comparable life experiences. "I'm sure the people that...

Dems Slam 'Extraordinary' Move to Keep Parks Open

Is it illegal for officials to tap entrance fees?

(Newser) - The National Park Service is taking an extraordinary—and, it turns out, controversial—step to keep its most popular sites open and safe for visitors during a prolonged government shutdown, the Washington Post reports. The Interior Department's acting secretary, David Bernhardt, has agreed to let park managers use entrance...

'It's Kind of Scary': Park Deaths Mount Amid Shutdown

Officials fear they can't properly reach victims

(Newser) - Three people have died accidentally in US national parks during the federal shutdown—not a high number, but an added concern when 16,000 of 19,000 park workers are furloughed and parks aren't being properly maintained, the Washington Post reports. Each death was a tragic loss: A 14-year-old...

Sunday Brings Another Round of Shutdown Talks

Saturday's session wasn't very effective

(Newser) - White House officials and congressional aides are returning to discussions Sunday to find a way to reopen the government after emerging from the first round of weekend talks without a breakthrough. President Trump tweeted Saturday: "Not much headway made today." The president later tweeted that he planned to...

Trump: I May Call a National Emergency

The president spoke in the White House Rose Garden

(Newser) - President Trump opened a meeting with Congressional leaders Friday by launching into a 15-minute profanity-laced tirade and saying the federal shutdown is really a "strike," sources tell CNN . Trump also turned to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and touched on the issue of impeachment, prompting her to remind him...

TSA Screeners Are Calling in Sick
TSA Screeners Are
Calling in Sick

TSA Screeners Are Calling in Sick

Absences increase at airports as employees are asked to work without pay

(Newser) - TSA screeners currently working at airports across the country are doing so without collecting a paycheck, thanks to the government shutdown. And it appears that an increasing number of them aren't having it anymore. The New York Times and CNN report that the number of screeners calling in sick...

In Shutdown, a 'Wrench' in Getting Your Tax Refund?

IRS employees who process tax refunds are among first to be furloughed

(Newser) - The Internal Revenue Service may not be anyone's favorite government agency, but many taxpayers may be pulling for it to regain full staffing over the next few weeks. That's because tax refunds may be delayed this year, thanks to the partial government shutdown, USA Today reports. Per a...

This Shutdown Could Set a Record
This Shutdown
Could Set
a Record

This Shutdown Could Set a Record

House bills dead in the water ahead of White House meeting, with no end in sight

(Newser) - The government shutdown entered day 14 Friday, moving it closer to record-setting territory. Given that no solution is in sight, the impasse has a shot of breaking the record of 21 days set in 1995, reports Axios , which notes it's currently the 4th-longest shutdown we've experienced. Not that...

10 States Least Affected by Shutdown

Minnesota leads the way

(Newser) - It is now day 13 of a partial government shutdown, and neither side looks willing to budge on the main sticking point of money for a border wall. The pain of the shutdown is spread unevenly throughout the country, with some states affected more than others, notes WalletHub . The site...

Neither Side Backs Down Ahead of Trump&#39;s Wall Meeting
Little Progress Made at
Trump's Wall Meeting
the rundown

Little Progress Made at Trump's Wall Meeting

At least that's what Democrats seemed to indicate in early reports

(Newser) - The 12th day of the government shutdown brought a meeting between President Trump and congressional leaders in which his Homeland Security officials were tasked with making a "plea" for the border wall. The 3pm Wednesday session, which comes one day before Democrats seize control of the House, was held...

Day Before Dems Take the House, a White House Briefing

It'll be on border security

(Newser) - President Trump invited congressional leaders from each chamber to a White House briefing on border security Wednesday as the partial government shutdown wore on over funding for a border wall, with Trump tweeting : "Let's make a deal?" The briefing will happen the day before the Democrats take control...

Federal Workers Push Back Over Shutdown
Federal Workers File Suit

Federal Workers File Suit

Union doesn't want them working for nothing

(Newser) - Work without pay? Nope, federal workers are balking at that requirement and filing suit over the US government shutdown, ABC News reports. The lawsuit , filed Wednesday by the American Federation of Government Employees, objects to the requirement that so-called "essential" employees work for nothing. That category includes roughly 420,...

House Democrats Have a Plan to End Shutdown

But coming legislation does not provide Trump's requested $5B for a border wall

(Newser) - Democrats retake control of the House this week, and they plan two quick moves designed to end the government shutdown. First, they will pass a bill on Thursday to fund the Homeland Security department until Feb. 8—though without providing the $5 billion for a border wall demanded by President...

Consequence of the Shutdown: Poop Problems

Some parts of Yosemite have had to close down due to human feces, urine

(Newser) - When the government shut down on Dec. 22, Yosemite National Park remained open but its bathrooms did not. Tourists haven't stopped relieving themselves, apparently alongside the road, reports the Los Angeles Times . Now, two campgrounds, the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias, and Hetch Hetchy have been shut down over...

Trump Ends 2018 by Freezing Federal Workers' 2019 Pay

Congress could take up the issue in January

(Newser) - In August President Trump said he planned to freeze federal employee pay in 2019 due to "serious economic conditions," reports USA Today . That has come to pass. The president on Friday signed an executive order establishing what will be the first pay freeze for civilian federal workers (the...

Not Getting Paid in the Shutdown? Start Painting, Agency Suggests

Office of Personnel Management recommends offering to do chores for rent reduction

(Newser) - Stuck home on furlough or working without pay due to the government shutdown? Instead of stressing about your temporarily lost income, ask your landlord if you can do some painting or other handyman tasks to slash your rent. That's just one piece of advice the Office of Personnel Management...

Trump Threatens to 'Close the Southern Border Entirely'

President digs in on his demand for a wall

(Newser) - Democrats are making clear they don't intend to budge on President Trump's $5 billion demand for a border wall, and the president issued a threat of his own on Friday. He said he would "be forced to close the Southern border entirely" if Democrats don't provide...

Dems Say They'll 'Vote Swiftly' to End Shutdown

Funding bill expected on Jan. 3

(Newser) - For the first time since the end of 1995, the US is on course to start a new year amid a government shutdown. Both houses of Congress adjourned Thursday with no deal to end the partial shutdown that began at midnight on Dec. 21, the Guardian reports. With President Trump...

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