Different year, same looming government shutdown

Congress is close to averting a government shutdown; the US charges seven people with conspiring on Russia's behalf.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin.

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Congress just might avert a government shutdown

Nathan Howard/Getty Images. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

• Late Tuesday, lawmakers reached a “framework” to fund the government through 2023 and avert a shutdown. [Washington Post / Tony Romm]
• Congress will pass a short-term funding bill, or continuing resolution, to keep federal agencies running through December 23 while negotiators hammer out a larger spending package. [Associated Press / Kevin Freking]
• That full-year bill is expected to include roughly $1.7 trillion in spending, but lawmakers haven’t released any further details. [CNN / Clare Foran]
• Negotiations have stalled in recent weeks over domestic spending. Republicans want to boost the defense budget, while Democrats want more social spending. [Politico / Caitlin Emma and Marianne Levine]
• The government shutdown threat is becoming more common largely because Congress has become more politically polarized, making it challenging to approve even must-pass legislation. [Vox / Li Zhou]

Illegally feeding Russia’s war machine

• The US on Tuesday revealed charges against five Russians and two Americans for conspiring to procure weapons and launder money for Russia. [Reuters / Kanishka Singh]
• Prosecutors say the suspects illegally purchased and shipped advanced US-made equipment to Russia that the Kremlin can use for military purposes. [New York Times]
• The indictment alleges the two US-based defendants helped create fake invoices to buy and ship the technologies to intermediate locations, including Estonia, after which they went to Russia. [CNN / Holmes Lybrand]
• The Americans and one Russian — a suspected FSB agent — are in police custody, while the others are at large. The individuals face up to 30 years in prison if convicted. [Business Insider / Sophia Ankel]

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A bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation to ban TikTok over concerns the Chinese government is using the app to spy on Americans. [Vox / Sara Morrison]

• The Federal Reserve on Wednesday hiked interest rates by 0.5 percent — a slower pace than previous hikes — reflecting falling prices. [NBC News / Rob Wile]
• An autopsy confirmed that soccer writer Grant Wahl died from a ruptured aneurysm last week while covering the World Cup. [Washington Post / Cindy Boren and Ben Strauss]
• Victims of ethnic conflict in Ethiopia are suing Meta for $2 billion, alleging that Meta's Facebook helped stoke hate and violence. [BBC]

“We intend not to be back here between Christmas and New Year’s, and if we can’t meet that deadline, we would be happy to pass a short-term (resolution) into early next year.”

[Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader in the Senate / AP]

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