federal budget

Just ten hours before a threatened government shutdown, the Senate convenes this afternoon -- but leaders have made it clear that senators aren't going to accept Republican demands that a spending measure be linked with a one-year delay in implementing the rest of President Barack Obama's health care law.

The stock market is down sharply in early trading as the U.S. federal government appears headed for a partial shutdown.

A challenge to the president's health care law has the federal government teetering on the brink of a partial shutdown.

The White House and congressional Democrats say House approval of a delay in President Barack Obama's health care law does nothing but push the government closer to a partial shutdown in less than 48 hours.

The White House says a House Republican bill that would delay a major provision of President Barack Obama's health care law is reckless and irresponsible.

President President Barack Obama is asking Americans for help spreading the word about new health insurance exchanges in his weekly radio and internet address while Republicans talk about the debt ceiling.

Heat is building on balkanized Republicans, who are convening the House this weekend in hopes of preventing a government shutdown but remain under tea party pressure to battle on and use a must-do funding bill to derail all or part of President Barack Obama's health care law.

The Senate has rejected an effort by young conservative senators to block a bill to avert a government shutdown on Tuesday.

The Democratic-led Senate is ready to approve legislation averting a government shutdown Tuesday.

House Republicans will not simply pass a temporary spending bill from the Democratic Senate after it is shorn clean of a tea party plan to "defund Obamacare," House Speaker John Boehner said on Thursday.