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It won’t get any better: Washington faces another looming government shutdown
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It’s not going to get any better.
The government closed down for a record 43 days this fall. And if you thought you’d seen the worst of Congress, it truly won’t get any better when the majority of the federal government could shut down in the wee hours of January 31st.
That’s right. Lawmakers have yet to address the very issues which sparked this year’s astonishing shutdown. Some of those are legislative. Some are policy related. And the biggest problems are political.
Frankly, the political ones may be the most challenging.
Let’s start with the most obvious ways to extinguish a wintertime crisis in Washington.
SHUTDOWN IS OVER, BUT WASHINGTON’S BUDGET BRAWL IS JUST GETTING STARTED
A view of the U.S. Capitol Building at sunset on Jan. 30, 2025 (Emma Woodhead/Fox News Digital)
Included in the interim bill to reopen the government were three bills to fund major sections of the federal government through September 30, 2027 – the end of the current fiscal year. Congress adopted three of the 12 appropriations bills which run the government every year. Those are Legislative Branch for Congress, Military Construction/VA for military building programs, and the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Agriculture. Even though that’s three of the 12 annual spending bills, it’s not anywhere close to a «quarter» of all spending which Congress appropriates annually. More than half of all Congressionally-controlled spending goes to the Pentagon alone. So the House and Senate must pass all nine of the remaining nine annual bills in order to avoid a repeat of this fall at 12:00:01 on Saturday, January 31.
That is a tall order. But leading appropriators from both sides of the aisle and both sides of the Capitol say there’s been marked progress on these bills. Still, syncing everything up in a little more than two months – with Congress now out of session again this week and slated to be out for Christmas and New Year’s – strikes some as doom date with destiny. Keep in mind that Congress did not stay in session in late July and August to tackle some of those same bills. One wonders why anything will be different now.
And we haven’t even gotten to nettlesome questions which lurk in the individual bills themselves.
SHUTDOWN IGNITES STRATEGIST DEBATE: WILL TRUMP AND GOP PAY THE POLITICAL PRICE IN 2026?
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) speaks at a press conference with other members of Senate Republican leadership following a policy luncheon in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 28, 2025. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The «Labor-H» bill, which funds the Department of Labor along with Health and Human Services is always a political thicket. Imagine how tough that bill will be this time, with both sides sparring over policies dictated by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., about vaccines and other controversial health statements. That’s to say nothing of the core issue which prompted Democrats to oppose funding the government in September: an extension of Obamacare health subsidies.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., is now promising a vote related to an extension of those tax credits to defray spiking health care cost premiums. But no one knows what that package will look like. Some Republicans, like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, R-Ga., are now embracing the subsidies. She’s now retiring in January. Other Republicans are looking at ways to reform the program. Democrats might balk at that. And still other conservatives are using this as an opportunity to possibly torpedo Obamacare – the bane of their existence since 2009.
That could be the grandest political irony of all. Imagine a world where Republicans tried from 2009 through 2017 to repeal and replace Obamacare – yet stumbled at every turn. Then in 2025, Democrats refused to vote to fund the government in an effort to prop up Obamacare – and that’s finally what unwound the program.
Wow.
Moreover, President Trump is threatening to veto any bill which extends the Obamacare subsidies.
So we could already find ourselves barreling toward another government shutdown unless Democrats relent from their tactics this fall.
Much of what we’ve discussed addresses the legislative and policy disputes which lawmakers must resolve before late January. But the political challenges dwarf those issues.
Imagine a coda of what unfolded this fall. Most Democrats refuse to fund the government. But a coalition of some Democrats and most Republicans keep the government afloat to prevent another shutdown.
Recriminations inside the Democratic Party will be staggering. Anticipate epic infighting about Democrats executing yet another strategy. There will be calls for the ousters of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., — even though both sided with most Democrats to refrain from funding the government unless there was a deal on health care money.
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN BECOMING LONGEST IN US HISTORY AS DEMOCRATS DIG IN ON OBAMACARE
Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., talks after a policy luncheon on Capitol Hill, Sept. 24, 2024, in Washington. (Mariam Zuhaib/AP Photo)
Democrats could find themselves entering a civil war in the early days of 2026 – just as they see opportunities to vanquish Republicans at the polls in the 2026 midterms. On paper, Democrats stand a very good chance to win control of the House. The Senate is a reach based on a map which heavily favors the GOP. But Democrats think they could be within striking distance if they hold the seats of retiring Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., would have to win reelection in a competitive state. Democrats would then need to flip the seat of retiring Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., plus flip Ohio and maybe pull an armadillo out of a hat in Texas. It’s not impossible. But very challenging.
Internecine squabbling could trip up Democrats on that very narrow Senate pathway. The same with the House. Democrats must appear united heading into the 2026 midterms. But bickering about government shutdown #1 or government shutdown #2 does the party no favors.
Republicans aren’t inoculated from tricky politics in 2026 which are tethered to the shutdown(s).
Democrats made this fall’s shutdown about health care. And if Republicans don’t bend to the Democrats’ demand to extend the health care subsidies, the GOP may find itself upside down with voters on the topic. If so, Democrats may not have won the government shutdown battle. But perhaps they prevail in the war: the 2026 midterms.
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That’s why few exhaled after Congress voted to re-open the government last week. Everyone who is dialed into Capitol Hill knows things probably won’t get any better over the next nine weeks.
And as bad as this fall was, things may only get worse.
congress,politics,house of representatives politics,donald trump
Investigadores descubren cómo la fricción y la formación de burbujas dentro del magma determinan el tipo de erupción volcánica. Un equipo internacional de científicos presentó los resultados de una investigación clave sobre volcanes activos. El grupo estudió la relación entre las burbujas de gas, el movimiento del magma y la explosividad de las erupciones, en laboratorios y mediante simulaciones informáticas.
La investigación se centró en entender por qué algunos volcanes, aun con magma rico en gases que debería resultar altamente explosivo, presentan erupciones con lava fluida y no violentas. El estudio abordó fenómenos en volcanes conocidos como el Monte St. Helens (Estados Unidos) o el Quizapu (Chile). Los resultados permiten anticipar mejor el modo en que puede comportarse un volcán ante una acumulación de presión interna.
Según precisó ETH Zürich, los científicos observaron que la cantidad y el momento en que se forman las burbujas de gas deciden si una erupción resultará explosiva o tranquila. Hasta el momento, se suponía que estas burbujas surgían principalmente cuando el magma ascendía y la presión externa disminuía. El nuevo trabajo desafía esa idea y aporta datos experimentales concretos.
De acuerdo con ETH Zurich, la fricción y el movimiento dentro del conducto volcánico cumplen un rol decisivo en la aparición de burbujas. Estas fuerzas, conocidas como fuerzas de cizallamiento, pueden generar burbujas incluso sin la necesidad de una reducción de presión.
En zonas cercanas a las paredes del conducto, donde la fricción entre el magma y la roca es mayor, el material se mueve más lento que en el centro, creando un efecto similar al de remover miel con una cuchara. El resultado es la formación de burbujas de gas adheridas a la franja de mayor fricción.
De acuerdo con Olivier Bachmann, profesor de Vulcanología en ETH Zurich y coautor del estudio, los experimentos demostraron que el movimiento inducido en el magma basta para generar burbujas en ausencia de baja presión. Las pruebas se realizaron con líquidos viscosos saturados de dióxido de carbono que simulaban el comportamiento de la roca fundida en condiciones reales.
Cuanto mayor es el contenido inicial de gas en el magma, menor es la cantidad de fricción necesaria para crear nuevas burbujas, aclara Bachmann. El equipo observó que una vez que se forman burbujas en un sector, estas facilitan la nucleación de otras burbujas alrededor.
El equipo validó los datos experimentales mediante modelos por computadora, los cuales mostraron que la formación de burbujas ocurre especialmente allí donde el magma viscoso circula cerca de las paredes del conducto y se ve sometido a intensas fuerzas de cizallamiento.
El número y distribución de burbujas de gas en el magma no solo definen la forma en que este se eleva dentro del volcán, sino también el modo en que se libera hacia la superficie. En ciertos casos, las burbujas formadas por las fuerzas de cizallamiento se combinan y desarrollan canales por donde el gas escapa antes de tiempo. Así, el magma rico en gases puede desgasificarse antes de alcanzar la cima y salir en forma de una lava fluida y no explosiva.
Ejemplos como el Monte St. Helens confirman este patrón: durante su erupción de 1980, el evento comenzó con un flujo lento de lava dentro del cono volcánico. Solo cuando un deslizamiento de tierra aumentó bruscamente el tamaño del conducto y redujo la presión, se produjo la explosión. Los resultados del estudio señalan que la mayoría de los volcanes con magma viscoso permiten una salida eficiente de gases, una idea que modifica los modelos anteriores de predicción.
Bachmann explicó que el modelo tradicional, basado solo en la presión, no capturaba la capacidad del magma de liberar gases mediante la acción de fuerzas internas. Según el investigador, actualizar los modelos con estos mecanismos permitirá predecir mejor la peligrosidad de futuras erupciones.
El equipo utilizó líquidos análogos a la roca fundida, saturados de gas, para reproducir estas condiciones en laboratorio. Cuando aplicaron movimiento y generaron cizallamiento, notaron la nucleación abrupta de burbujas apenas se superaron ciertos umbrales. El hallazgo principal consistió en que, bajo altos niveles de saturación de gas, se necesita menos fricción para repetir el fenómeno.
De acuerdo con los datos presentados, la presencia de burbujas iniciales también acelera la formación de más burbujas en cadena, intensificando el desarrollo de canales de escape para los gases. Los volcanes anteriormente considerados impredecibles pueden, en realidad, liberar presión internamente sin detonar explosiones, si el magma logra formar vías de desgasificación a tiempo.
Este trabajo aporta una pieza clave para comprender cómo funcionan los procesos subterráneos en volcanes activos y mejora los criterios utilizados para evaluar futuros escenarios eruptivos. Según ETH Zurich, la ciencia volcánica avanza hacia modelos más precisos, lo que facilitará la prevención y la preparación ante riesgos naturales asociados a la actividad volcánica.
wn
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A surge in car-rammings and other assaults on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during targeted operations in California, Illinois and North Carolina has coincided with sharp criticism from local and state leaders against federal officers.
Earlier this week, the Department of Homeland Security reported a 1,300% increase in vehicular attacks on ICE since President Donald Trump took office, and a 58% spike against CBP officers in that same time period.
There were only two vehicular rammings of ICE agents – in particular – during former President Joe Biden’s final year in office. His administration also did not conduct fervent, targeted immigration raids at the same scale or frequency, according to reports.
DEMS URGED TO ‘STOP SIDING WITH ILLEGAL ALIENS’ AFTER ACTIVIST RAMS AGENTS IN SANCTUARY CITY
In comments to Fox News Digital on Friday, Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said:
«Since January 20, there have been 99 vehicle attacks against DHS law enforcement, a 1,000% increase in assaults against them, and an 8,000% increase in death threats to ICE officers. Make no mistake: The uptick in these kinds of attacks is being fueled by the constant demonization of ICE and CBP officers by Democrat politicians. They need to knock it off before they get one of our officers killed.»
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, whose city was targeted second after Los Angeles, has repeatedly labeled Trump a racist and characterized ICE agents as terrorists.
As recently as this week, Johnson told a podcast – in a report aired by Sky News – that «attacks» on illegal immigrants and targets of the Trump administration have the same characteristics as the priorities of antebellum freedmen.
«We know that the intentional attacks that are coming from the Trump administration and the extreme right in this country has very much been what I call an attempt to relitigate the Civil War,» Johnson said.
«They have not accepted the results that the North actually won.»
FROM WORDS TO BLOODSHED: DEMOCRATS BLASTED FOR RHETORIC AFTER DEADLY ICE SHOOTING
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents clashed with protesters in San Francisco, Calif. on Tuesday, July 8. (United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement via X)
Johnson said that Trump is also politically targeting education, housing, transportation, jobs and health care – which he said were «literally the five demands of descendants of slaves.»
During the Civil War, however, the Confederacy was led largely by Democrats of that era, including President Jefferson Davis, Vice President Alexander Stephens and officers like Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, who later became the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.
During the heat of immigration enforcement operations in Chicago, Johnson railed against the missions, describing scenes from the streets as «what terrorism looks like.»
Johnson also set up what he called «ICE-free zones» and in one instance, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem was denied the use of a restroom at the Broadview, Ill., city hall just outside Chicago proper.
BLUE STATE ICE AGENTS DODGE BULLETS, SPEEDING CARS AS LEFT RAMPS UP TRACKING CAMPAIGNS
Noem blamed Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker for the conditions that led to the incident, saying it is an example of how the Democrat «and his cronies treat our law enforcement — Absolutely shameful.»
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass also spoke out during ICE operations in her city, saying, «These tactics sow terror in our communities.»
Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., was caught on video shouting questions at Noem during a press conference.
DHS WARNS OF ‘UNPRECEDENTED VIOLENCE’ AS DEATH THREATS AGAINST ICE OFFICERS SOAR 8,000%
Noem later claimed Padilla «lunged» at her, which resulted in various analyses of video of the confrontation.
Padilla was quickly tackled by Noem’s security detail, and later commented on the incident, saying that if his treatment is how the Trump administration deals with a «senator with a question… you can only imagine what they’re doing to farmworkers» on the immigration enforcement front.
California Attorney General Robert Bonta publicly called the actions of ICE and CBP during its Los Angeles operations «part of a cruel and familiar patter of attacks on our immigrant communities by an administration that thrives on fear and division.»
«We won’t be silent. We won’t back down. We will continue to hold the federal government accountable when it violates the Constitution and federal law,» Bonta said in a July 7 statement.
MANHUNT UNDERWAY AFTER FEDERAL AGENTS TAKE GUNFIRE AS RIOTERS RAM VEHICLES, HURL DEBRIS IN CHICAGO
On Friday, DHS announced another arrest of a car-ramming suspect, with officials alleging Mexican national Roberto Galeana-Guatemala struck and seriously injured an officer with his vehicle when ICE was attempting to arrest him in National City, California.
Galeana-Guatemala was charged Friday with the assault as well as one count of being a removed alien who again entered the U.S. illegally.
McLaughlin said the incident marked roughly the 100th vehicle attack on ICE personnel since Trump took office.
After a recent case in which critics claimed DHS «kidnapped» a teenager, McLaughlin said the boy had been part of a group throwing rocks at officers who themselves were targets of another vehicle ramming attack.
She suggested rhetoric from critics over the incident was yet another accelerant on the political fire causing such attacks:
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«A U.S. teenager was arrested for assaulting law enforcement in Chicago—any claims that CBP ‘kidnapped’ a U.S. citizen and held him in a warehouse are bizarre and categorically false,» she said.
«These are more disgusting smears peddled by the media and billboard law firms. This attack is not an isolated incident, and it reflects a growing and dangerous trend of illegal aliens violently resisting arrest, and agitators and criminals ramming cars into our law enforcement officers.»
immigration,chicago,california,democrats,auto
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Gunmen abducted 303 children and 12 teachers in an attack on St. Mary’s School, a Catholic institution in Nigeria. Initial reports indicated that at least 52 had been kidnapped before the tally was increased to over 200 children and then to its final count of 303.
Most. Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna said in a statement that the total number of kidnapped was determined «after a verification exercise and a final census was carried out,» according to The Associated Press. Yohanna is the chairman of the Niger state chapter of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), who visited the school on Friday. The AP noted that the students who were kidnapped were male and female and ranged in age from 10 to 18.
GUNMEN ATTACK CHURCH IN NIGERIA, KILLING TWO AND KIDNAPPING OTHERS
In this photo released by the Christian Association of Nigeria, a man walks past belongings at the St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School after gunmen abducted children and staff in Papiri community in Nigeria on Nov. 21, 2025. (Christian Association of Nigeria via AP)
No group has come forward to claim responsibility for the attack, according to the AP. The outlet added that authorities said tactical squads and local hunters were working to rescue the kidnapped children.
After the attack, the state government said that St. Mary’s School reopened despite warnings of increased threats. However, Yohanna denied this claim, the AP reported.
«We did not receive any circular. It must be an afterthought and a way to shift blame,» he said, according to the AP.
This photo released by the Christian Association of Nigeria shows the dormitories of St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School after gunmen abducted children and staff in Papiri community in Nigeria on Nov. 21, 2025. (Christian Association of Nigeria via AP)
RAP STAR NICKI MINAJ THANKS TRUMP FOR ADDRESSING PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS IN NIGERIA
The attack at St. Mary’s follows a similar incident earlier this week in which armed attackers kidnapped 25 girls from a boarding school in Nigeria’s Kebbi State and killed at least one staffer. The search for the abducted schoolgirls is still underway.
A woman looks on as she walks past a classroom in Shehu Kangiwa Model Primary School in Argungu, Kebbi State, in northern Nigeria on April 12, 2025. (Leslie Fauvel / AFP via Getty Images)
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Nigeria has seen a series of attacks on Christians and their institutions, prompting President Donald Trump to declare the West African nation a «country of particular concern.» However, the Nigerian government has disputed the U.S.’s claims.
On Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz held an event highlighting the ongoing violence in Nigeria. During the event, Waltz called the killings of Christians in Nigeria «genocide wearing the mask of chaos.» He was joined by rap superstar Nicki Minaj, who called for religious freedom for all.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
world,crime,africa,christianity
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