AP News in Brief at 6:04 p.m. EDT

US government on brink of first shutdown in almost 7 years during partisan standoff

WASHINGTON (AP) — With a government shutdown just hours away, Democrats and Republicans angrily blamed each other and refused to budge from their positions Tuesday, unable to find agreement or even negotiate as hundreds of thousands of federal workers stood to be furloughed or laid off.

The partisan standoff over health care and spending is threatening to trigger the first U.S. government shutdown in almost seven years at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. To avoid it, the Senate would have to pass a House measure that would extend federal funding for seven weeks while lawmakers finish their work on annual spending bills.

A vote on the bill, along with a Democratic alternative, was scheduled for early evening. But a resolution appeared far off as tempers flared, increasing the odds of a shutdown by the hour.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Republicans are trying to “bully” Democrats by refusing to negotiate on an extension of health care benefits and other priorities.

“It’s only the president who can do this. We know he runs the show here,” Schumer said Tuesday morning, after a bipartisan White House meeting the day before yielded little progress.

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Here are some effects of a government shutdown if Congress, Trump don’t reach a deal

The federal government is nearing a partial shutdown, with a range of effects on public services and the broader U.S. economy.

Employee furloughs and potential layoffs would halt some government activities. Other functions — like NASA’s space missions, President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and certain public health work at FDA and the USDA — would continue.

Here is a look at some of what agencies are planning:

Most Department of Homeland Security employees would continue to work, reflecting the fact that so much of the department’s workforce is connected to law enforcement or works in areas funded by user fees as opposed to Congressional appropriations.

The Department of Homeland Security said in a plan published on its website that about 14,000 of the agency’s roughly 271,000 employees would be furloughed in the event of a government shutdown. That would include maintaining the vast majority of officers and employees at Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Transportation and Security Administration, Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, among other divisions.

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Trump calls for using US cities as ‘training ground’ for military in unusual speech to generals

QUANTICO, Va. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday proposed using American cities as training grounds for the armed forces and spoke of needing U.S. military might to combat what he called the “invasion from within.”

Addressing an audience of military brass abruptly summoned to Virginia, Trump outlined a muscular and at times norm-shattering view of the military’s role in domestic affairs. He was joined by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who declared an end to “woke” culture and announced new directives for troops that include “gender-neutral” or “male-level” standards for physical fitness.

The dual messages underscored the Trump administration’s efforts not only to reshape contemporary Pentagon culture but to enlist military resources for the president’s priorities and decidedly domestic purposes, including quelling unrest and violent crime.

“We should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military,” Trump said. He noted at another point: “We’re under invasion from within. No different than a foreign enemy but more difficult in many ways because they don’t wear uniforms.”

Hegseth called hundreds of military leaders and their top advisers from around the world to the Marine Corps base in Quantico without publicly revealing the reason. His address largely focused on long-used talking points that painted a picture of a military that has been hamstrung by “woke” policies, and he said military leaders should “do the honorable thing and resign” if they don’t like his new approach.

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Trump says his administration is close to reaching a deal with Harvard University

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that his administration is close to reaching a deal with Harvard University, which it has targeted with a series of investigations and billions of dollars in funding cuts as it presses for changes to its policies and governance.

A truce with the country’s oldest and wealthiest college would end a clash that has tested the independence of America’s colleges.

Trump came into office saying he would cut funding for schools that defied his agenda, vowing to eliminate “wokeness.” His pressure campaign zeroed in on the Ivy League institution after it rebuffed his demands.

Trump initially said a deal had been reached but then said officials were “close to finalizing” the agreement. “We haven’t done it yet,” he said at the White House.

Trump said the agreement includes a $500 million payment from Harvard that would be used to create “a giant trade school, a series of trade schools that would be run by Harvard.” Trump described it as an investment to revive trade schools and produce workers for American plants.

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Judge finds the Trump administration unconstitutionally targeted noncitizens over Gaza war protests

BOSTON (AP) — The Trump administration violated the Constitution when it targeted non-U.S. citizens for deportation solely for supporting Palestinians and criticizing Israel, a federal judged said Tuesday in a scathing ruling directly and sharply criticizing President Donald Trump and his policies as serious threats to free speech.

U.S. District Judge William Young in Boston agreed with several university associations that the policy they described as ideological deportation violates the First Amendment as well as the Administrative Procedure Act, a law governing how federal agencies develop and issue regulations. Young also found the policy was “arbitrary or capricious because it reverses prior policy without reasoned explanation.”

“This case -– perhaps the most important ever to fall within the jurisdiction of this district court –- squarely presents the issue whether non-citizens lawfully present here in United States actually have the same free speech rights as the rest of us. The Court answers this Constitutional question unequivocally ‘yes, they do,’” Young, a nominee of Republican President Ronald Reagan, wrote.

Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, released a statement that didn’t directly address the ruling but said Young was “smearing and demonizing federal law enforcement.”

“Our ICE law enforcement should be thanked for risking their lives every day to arrest murderers, pedophiles, rapists, gang members, and terrorists instead of vilified by sanctuary politicians,” she said. “It’s disheartening that even after the terrorist attack and recent arrests of rioters with guns outside of ICE facilities, this judge decides to stoke the embers of hatred.”

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Turning Point, moving forward without Charlie Kirk, makes first return to Utah since his killing

LOGAN, Utah (AP) — Turning Point USA’s college tour will return to Utah on Tuesday for its first event in the state since its founder, Charlie Kirk, was assassinated on a college campus earlier this month.

The stop, at Utah State University in Logan, is about two hours north of Utah Valley University, where Kirk was killed Sept. 10 by a gunman who fired a single shot through the crowd while Kirk was speaking.

The assassination of a top ally of President Donald Trump and one of the most significant figures in his Make America Great Again movement has galvanized conservatives, who have vowed to carry on Kirk’s mission of encouraging young voters to embrace conservatism and moving American politics further right. Kirk himself has been celebrated as a “martyr” by many on the right, and Turning Point USA, the youth organization he founded, has seen a surge of interest across the nation, with tens of thousands of requests to launch new chapters in high schools and on college campuses.

Tuesday’s event, which was scheduled before Kirk’s death, will showcase how Turning Point is finding its path forward without its influential leader, who headlined many of its events and was instrumental in drawing crowds and attention.

The college tour is now being headlined by some of the biggest conservative names, including Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly and Glenn Beck. Tuesday’s event will feature conservative podcast host Alex Clark and a panel with Rep. Andy Biggs, former Rep. Jason Chaffetz and Gov. Spencer Cox. Sen. Mike Lee had to cancel a planned appearance due to budget votes in Washington and will appear by video instead, his spokesperson said.

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Israeli troops kill 31 Palestinians in Gaza as Qatar says discussion needed on Trump peace plan

CAIRO (AP) — Qatar said Tuesday that further talks were needed over details of U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace plan aimed at ending the nearly two-year war in Gaza, as Hamas weighed its reply. In Gaza, Israeli forces killed at least 36 Palestinians, local hospitals said.

The comments by Qatar, a key mediator, appeared to reflect Arab countries’ discontent over the text of the 20-point plan that the White House put out after Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced they had agreed on it Monday.

Three Arab officials told The Associated Press that changes had been made in the original proposal that Arab and Muslim countries had worked out with Trump – changes in favor of Israel. The officials, who came from regional powers involved in the talks, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the behind-the-scenes diplomacy.

The depth of the Arab countries’ discontent was not clear, and they have continued to express broad support for the plan. But Qatar’s comments indicated they could seek further negotiation over some of its terms — even as Trump told reporters Tuesday that Hamas has “three or four days” to respond.

Arab mediators and Turkish officials are to meet with Hamas representatives Tuesday in Doha to discuss the plan, said Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari.

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Pfizer agrees to lower prescription drug costs for Medicaid in a deal with Trump

WASHINGTON (AP) — Pfizer has agreed to lower the cost of prescription drugs for Medicaid under a deal struck with the Trump administration, President Donald Trump said Tuesday as he promised similar deals with other drugmakers under the threat of tariffs.

Trump made the announcement at the White House alongside Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla just hours ahead of a possible government shutdown in a partisan standoff over health care and spending.

Pfizer Inc., one of the largest U.S. drugmakers, produces the COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty and the treatment Paxlovid. Its products also include several cancer drugs, the blood thinner Eliquis and Prevnar pneumonia vaccines.

Under the deal, New York-based Pfizer will charge most-favored-nation pricing to Medicaid and guarantee that pricing on newly launched drugs, Trump said. That involves matching the lowest price offered in other developed nations.

Pfizer also agreed to participate in a new website the administration plans to start called TrumpRx, which will allow people to buy drugs directly from manufacturers. Pfizer said many of its treatments will be offered at discounts that average 50% through that platform.

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Victims of Michigan church shooting include a grandfather who was a Navy veteran

GRAND BLANC TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — One of the people killed in the attack on a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints meetinghouse in Michigan was being remembered as a grandfather who adored spending time with his family.

John Bond, a Navy veteran, was among those who died Sunday morning when a Marine veteran smashed his pickup truck into the church and began shooting, according to friends organizing fundraising for the family.

Bond was well-known in the community and loved golfing and trains, said the GoFundMe posting.

Authorities have not yet released the names of the four people who died or the eight people — ages 6 to 78 — who were wounded and expected to survive. Among the wounded were a father and his young son, according to another GoFundMe post.

Federal investigators remained on the scene on Tuesday as heavy machinery began moving debris from the church, which was set ablaze and reduced to rubble during the attack in Grand Blanc Township, about 60 miles (96 kilometers) north of Detroit.

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Nicole Kidman files for divorce from Keith Urban after 19 years of marriage

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Nicole Kidman has filed for divorce from Keith Urban after 19 years of marriage, bringing a surprising end to a long and seemingly successful union that brought together two superstars from the worlds of movies and music.

The 58-year-old Oscar-winning actor petitioned on Tuesday to end her marriage to the 57-year-old Grammy winning country singer in a Nashville court. The documents state the couple has undergone “marital difficulties and irreconcilable differences.”

Kidman and Urban, two of the biggest stars to come out of Australia in recent decades, have been red carpet fixtures throughout their two-decade relationship, with Urban joining his wife at the Oscars and Kidman attending music events like the Academy of Country Music Awards.

The filings include a marriage dissolution and childcare plan agreed on by the couple and submitted for a judge’s approval.

“The mother and father will behave with each other and each child so as to provide a loving, stable, consistent and nurturing relationship with the child even though they are divorced,” says the permanent parenting plan, using language common in the state’s divorces. “They will not speak badly of each other or the members of the family of the other parent. They will encourage each child to continue to love the other parent and be comfortable in both families.”

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