Hours away from a partial government shutdown, here’s where things stand — and how we got here. While the bill would keep the government fully functioning, it does not include money for President Trump’s beloved wall on the southern border. Lawmakers and aides went home optimistic that Thursday morning, the House would pass that bill and send it to the president’s desk. There were hours of headlines about an apparent presidential retreat on building a wall and angst from hard-line Republicans over their last opportunity to secure funding before a Democratic majority. Then the president informed House Republicans on Thursday that he would refuse to sign the Senate measure.

Source: New York Times December 21, 2018 10:00 UTC