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Emergency responders work the scene of semitruck crash in Teutopolis, Ill., on Saturday. Federal regulators confirmed they are reviewing the crash of a semitruck carrying a toxic substance in central Illinois, resulting in "multiple fatalities" and dangerous air conditions that prompted the evacuation of area residents.

A truck crash in Illinois kills 5, injures 5 and forces evacuation over ammonia leak

The Associated Press

The crash caused a large plume of anhydrous ammonia that caused dangerous air conditions in the northeast area of Teutopolis.

Members of the House and Senate raced to pass dueling spending bills ahead of a midnight deadline to fund the federal government.

Congress passes spending stopgap, averting a shutdown hours before midnight deadline

Deirdre Walsh

The Senate voted 88 to 9 to approve a short-term spending bill to fund the government through November, 17.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks at an event on the one-year launch of the Pandemic Fund, in New York City on Sept. 19.

Janet Yellen says a government shutdown would add to risks of a recession

David Gura

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is sounding the alarm about the damage a government shutdown could do to the U.S. economy. "It's really reckless and will impose immediate harm," Yellen told NPR.

U.S. President Joe Biden's dog, Commander, is walked on the south side of the White House before a signing ceremony for the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 on August 9, 2022 in Washington, DC.

Opinion: Who's a bite-y boy?

Scott Simon

The Biden's German shepherd, Commander, is a bit bite-y.

A stoplight is seen in front of the dome of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. The government has begun to inform workers of an impending shutdown that could see millions of federal employees and military personnel sent home or working without pay.

D.C. has a lot of federal workers. A government shutdown would have big impacts

Margaret Barthel

The Washington, D.C., region is home to about 400,000 federal employees, plus members of the military and government contractors. In a government shutdown, they face no pay and lots of uncertainty.

Rapper Tupac Shakur attends a voter registration event in South Central Los Angeles, Aug. 15, 1996. Las Vegas police said they have made an arrest, Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, for the first time in the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur.

Nevada grand jury indicts witness in killing of Tupac Shakur

The Associated Press

A Nevada grand jury indicted Duane "Keffe D" Davis, one of the last living witnesses to the fatal drive-by shooting of the rapper in Las Vegas, prosecutors announced in court Friday

What a shutdown would mean for student loan borrowers

Cory Turner

October loan payments will still be due, but an extended shutdown could impact customer service.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy continues to battle a group of conservatives who oppose any short-term spending bill ahead of a likely government shutdown.

House GOP hardliners block spending stopgap with shutdown looming

Deirdre Walsh

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy rejected a bipartisan Senate proposal to keep agencies funded through November 17 and instead moved a GOP bill that linked another month of spending with border security.

PEPFAR, the U.S. multibillion dollar effort to fight HIV/AIDS, funds organizations such as the Coptic hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. PEPFAR, in the cross-hairs of abortion opponents, will likely not be reauthorized, though partners would continue to receive funding.

What's behind the debate to re-authorize PEPFAR, the widely hailed anti-HIV effort?

Gabriel Spitzer

The program launched by President George W. Bush is credited with saving 25 million lives. Some in Congress want this year's reauthorization tied to language that PEPFAR will not "promote abortion."

The famous Sycamore Gap tree along Hadrian's Wall in northern England is seen in June, at top, and the new landscape on Thursday after someone cut the tree down.

Despair flows after England's Sycamore Gap tree is cut down. Could it regrow?

Bill Chappell

The famous tree in northern England is believed to have been around 200 years old. Efforts are under way to salvage it through regrowth or grafting — or starting over from a new seed.