Millions of Americans are facing a huge increase in the amount they have to pay for health insurance. A dispute about government subsides for healthcare was one of the major issues that led to a 43-day shutdown of the US government last year the longest in history. But even when the shutdown ended, Republicans and Democrats failed to agree on and extension of the the subsidies.
A much-delayed report shows the U.S. economy grew a robust 4.3% between July and September, fueled by consumer spending. STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: In July through September, the U.S. economy grew faster than economists had predicted. LEILA FADEL, BYLINE: That's according to a delayed report from the Commerce Department on GDP, the gross domestic product. The report is nearly two months late because of the government shutdown.
A contributing factor to this lack of productivity was President Donald Trump's increasing use of executive orders, often controversial and subject to multiple court challenges. So far in his second term, Trump has signed 224 executive orders, compared to the 52 he signed in 2017 and more than he did during his entire first term. President Joe Biden signed 76 in 2021, his first year in office.
US real gross domestic product rose at an annualized rate of 4.3% in the third quarter, exceeding the 3.3% expected and more than the 3.8% growth in the second quarter. "The increase in real GDP in the third quarter reflected increases in consumer spending, exports, and government spending that were partly offset by a decrease in investment," the Bureau of Economic Analysis said.
'It's likely a bit distorted,' said Diane Swonk, chief economist at the tax and consulting firm KPMG. 'The good news is that it's cooling. We'll take a win when we can get it.' Still, Swonk added: 'The data is truncated, and we just don't know how much of it to trust.' By disrupting the economy - especially government contracting - the shutdown may have contributed to a cooling in prices, she said.
The United States economy lost 41,000 jobs in October and November, and the unemployment rate has ticked up to its highest level since 2021 as the labour market cools amid ongoing economic uncertainty driven by tariffs and immigration policies. In November, the US economy added 64,000 jobs after shedding 105,000 in October, according to a report released on Tuesday by the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Federal Reserve has one more decision in 2025 - and it will set the tone for where interest rates will go in the new year. On Wednesday, leaders at the central bank will decide whether to continue cutting rates or put a pause on loosening monetary policy. The call will have ripple effects across consumer prices, the job market, and Corporate America.
Amid wider economic uncertainty, some analysts have said that businesses are at a "no-hire, no fire" standstill. That's caused many to limit new work to only a few specific roles, if not pause openings entirely. At the same time, sizable layoffs have continued to pile up - raising worker anxieties across sectors. Some companies have pointed to rising operational costs spanning from U.S. President Donald Trump's barrage of new tariffs and shifts in consumer spending.
After pushing for entry for weeks, they visited on Monday and found three people detained there and said the facility was clean. I'm glad that we were finally able to get down there, U.S. Rep. Juan Vargas told reporters following the visit. It does leave a lot of suspicion in my mind as to what was there before, why weren't we allowed to go in. We gave all the notices that we were supposed to.
This morning, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced September retail sales data, which showed sales began slowing even before the government shutdown through the economy for a loop. Sales increased 0.2% in September nationwide, slower than August's 0.6% gain. Worse, essentially all the increase in September "sales" came in the form of price hikes on products. Prices rose 0.3% in the month, and if you back out that increase, shopping-sales actually declined 0.1%.
The latest data covers 1 October through 15 November, the entire period of the government shutdown, which ended on 12 November, plus an additional three days. This included detaining thousands of people with no criminal record. In total, ICE arrested and detained approximately 54,000 people during the shutdown. The agency also deported approximately 56,000 people during this time. Customs and Border Protection additionally arrested and thousands more during the same period, and ICE arrest figures do not account for all people held in ICE detention.
This was "a nightmare scenario," said a firefighter with the park, who also spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. During the last government shutdown six years ago, the revelation that vandals appeared to have chopped down a few of the Dr. Seuss-esque trees grabbed national headlines. In this instance, the firefighter estimates more than a thousand trees were torched.
The US added 119,000 jobs in September, far more than the 53,000 economists expected, and unemployment unexpectedly increased to 4.4% from 4.3%. August's job growth was revised from a gain of 22,000 to a loss of 4,000, and July's growth was revised from a gain of 79,000 to 72,000. "With these revisions, employment in July and August combined is 33,000 lower than previously reported," BLS said.
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) told a group of random people to get off their fat ass on Wednesday after they posted a TikTok video flipping off President Donald Trump. In the video, the people could be seen giving Trump the middle finger as the rap song F*ck Donald Trump played in the background. F*ck Donald Trump all the way around !!!! they captioned the video on TikTok.
Instead, it will release some of the October jobs data - most importantly the number of jobs that employers created last month - along with the full November jobs report, now due a couple of weeks late on Dec. 16. The department's "employment situation" report usually comes out the first Friday of the month. But the government shutdown disrupted data collection and delayed the release of the reports. For example, the September jobs report, now coming out Thursday, was originally due Oct. 3.
The bill proposes funding salaries, operating expenses and other Federal Aviation Administration programs by tapping into a little-used fund with $2.6 billion that was created to reimburse airlines if the government commandeers their planes and they are damaged. The bill's sponsors, which include four of the top Republicans and Democrats on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, hope that relying on the fund might make their bill more attractive than other proposals because it would limit the potential cost of dolling out paychecks.
Why do you think Leader Schumer is to blame, given that Republicans have control, as [Sen.] Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) is saying, of the White House and both chambers of Congress? Host Kristen Welker asked. He said he agreed with Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) that Schumer was a good leader under President Joe Biden , and that he also agreed with Sen. Shaheen that President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) deserved most of the blame for the shutdown.
You could almost mistake it for an ad. Last week, the far-right Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene was on the Amtrak Crescent traveling from the nation's capital to her home state, and she was enchanted. "The sweetest people run the train," she posted on X, alongside a video of the autumnal landscape rushing by. "And the morning views of my north Georgia mountains made me smile and warmed my heart."
