GOP LOOKS TO AVERT POSSIBLE SHUTDOWN
washington » Congressional Republicans are working aggressively to craft an agreement intended to keep the government open past April 28, but their bid to avert a shutdown hinges on courting Democrats wary of President Donald Trump and skirting the wrath of both hardline conservatives and Trump himself.
The murky path forward on government funding sparked widespread uneaseWednesday within the business community and at the Capitol, where Republicans worried that Trump’s request for money to build a wall along the border withMexico and $ 30 billion in new defense spending must be delayed to avoid a shutdown.
2 former Christie aides go to prison B
newark, n. j. » Two former aides to Republican Gov. Chris Christie were sentenced to prison onWednesday for creating a colossal traffic jam at the GeorgeWashington Bridge for political revenge, a scandal that sank Christie’s White House campaign and was attributed by the judge to a venomous climate inside state government.
Bill Baroni, Christie’s appointee to the Port Authority ofNewYork and NewJersey, was sentenced to two years in prison, and Bridget Kelly, Christie’s former deputy chief of staff, was sentenced to 18 months at separate hearings in the 2013 lane- closing case.
Suicide truck bombing kills 15 in Baghdad
B baghdad » A suicide truck bomb targeted a police checkpoint in southern Baghdad onWednesday night, killing 15 people and wounding 45, according to Iraqi officials.
The bomber detonated the vehicle, an oil tanker laden with explosives, security and hospital officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity under regulations. Three policemen were among the dead while the rest were civilians, and a number of policemen were also wounded, the officials said.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
FDA approves 1st drug for aggressive MS B
trenton, n. j. » U. S. regulators have approved the first drug for an aggressive kind of multiple sclerosis that steadily reduces coordination and the ability to walk.
The Food and Drug Administration approved Ocrevus late Tuesday after a large study found it slowed progression of the neurological disease and reduced symptoms.
While there are more than a dozen treatments for the most common form of MS, there’s been nothing specifically for people with the type called primary progressiveMS. That type of MS is relatively rare, affecting about 50,000 Americans.
Ivanka Trump to become White House employee B
washington » Ivanka Trump is officially joining her father’s administration as an unpaid employee, after her plans to serve in a more informal capacity were questioned by ethics experts.
The first daughter announcedWednesday that she will serve as an unpaid employee in the White House, saying she had “heard the concerns some have with my advising the President in my personal capacity.” She added that she has been “working in good faith with the White House Counsel and my personal counsel to address the unprecedented nature of my role.”
Environmental groups file lawsuit B
chicago » Environmental groups that vowed to fight President Donald Trump’s efforts to roll back his predecessor’s plans to curb globalwarming made good on their promise Wednesday, teaming up with an American Indian tribe to ask a federal court to block an order that lifts restrictions on coal sales from federal lands.
The Interior Department last year placed a moratorium on new coal leases on federal lands to review the climate change impacts of burning the fuel and whether taxpayers were getting a fair return. But Trump on Tuesday signed a sweeping executive order that included lifting the moratorium.
Environmentalists say lifting the moratorium will worsen climate change.
Texas trooper: 13 dead, 2 injured in church vantruck crash B
uvalde, texas » A church bus carrying senior adults returning from a retreat in southwestern Texas onWednesday collided head- on with a pickup truck, killing 13 people and injuring two others.
At about 12: 20 p. m., the bus, carrying 14 people, was traveling south on the two- lane highway when a white Dodge pickup truck veered into its lane, striking the bus and killing 12 passengers on the scene, including the bus driver.
One woman died later in the hospital, while another woman remained in critical condition. The driver of the truck remained in stable conditionWednesday night.
U. S. opens investigation into civilian deaths in Mosul. The U. S. military
has launched a formal investigation into what role the U. S. played in the deaths of dozens of civilians inMosul, Iraq, earlier this month, amid warnings from a top American general that the dense urban fight is making it harder to avoid killing innocents.
Gen. Joseph Votel, head