Congress passed a bipartisan short-term funding bill at the last minute after removing $6 billion in Ukraine assistance. The stopgap funding bill allows construction to begin on a second Columbia-class submarine as it threatens to fall behind schedule while a shutdown looms. Zelenskyy visited Washington hoping to secure more and better US aid for Ukraine. But many of his pleas fell on deaf ears as Republican opposition grows. The $826-billion GOP bill to fund the Defense Department faces opposition from all House Democrats and a handful of key Republican lawmakers. Republican leaders pulled votes on the defense spending bill after failing to secure Freedom Caucus support, teeing up a possible shutdown next month. Lawmakers are warning that a political budget fight could have severe financial consequences for troops and their dependents. Members of the House Freedom Caucus are demanding changes in Pentagon training and programs in exchange for their support of a budget deal. The former prisoner of war had his conviction thrown out by a federal judge last week. The whistleblower claimed the government has operated a decades-long UFO retrieval and reverse engineering program. A bipartisan group of senators seeks to boost defense spending beyond the debt ceiling cap amid resistance from House Republicans. Load More