Emergency crews are on the scene of a structure fire in downtown Washington. The blaze broke out shortly after 4 Saturday morning at 54 West Maiden street, which is located across from City Hall. Multiple residents have been displaced and the Red Cross has been called to help provide a warming station for those displaced by the fire. One person is being treated for difficulty breathing at the scene.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has rushed through final passage of a bipartisan plan to fund federal operations and prevent a government shutdown. It now goes to President Joe Biden, who is expected to quickly sign it into law. The House passed the package late Friday in an overwhelming vote. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer pushed into the night to finish early Saturday, just after the midnight deadline. The bill would temporarily fund federal operations and disaster aid, but drops President-elect Donald Trump’s demands for a debt limit increase into the new year. Speaker Mike Johnson had insisted Congress would “meet our obligations” and not allow federal operations to shutter ahead of the Christmas holiday season. He also said Trump is happy with the outcome.
MAGDEBURG, Germany (AP) — Germans are mourning a violent attack after a Saudi doctor intentionally drove a black BMW into a Christmas market teeming with holiday shoppers, killing at least two people, including a small child, and injuring at least 60 others. Authorities arrested a 50-year-old man at the site of the attack Friday evening and took him into custody for questioning. He has lived in Germany for nearly two decades, practicing medicine. Several German media outlets identified him as Taleb A. There were still no answers Saturday as to what caused him to drive into a crowd in the eastern German city of Magdeburg. Describing himself as a former Muslim, he shared dozens of posts daily focusing on anti-Islam themes.
(AP) Drivers and airline passengers without reindeer and sleighs better make a dash for it: it’s beginning to look like another record for holiday travel in the U.S. The auto club AAA predicts that more than 119 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home between Saturday and New Year’s Day. The two weekends on either side of Christmas are tempting a lot of people to head out earlier. U.S. airlines expect to have their busiest days to be Friday and Sunday this week and next Thursday, Friday and Sunday. A government shutdown that could start as soon as Saturday was not expected to immediately affect flights and airport operations.
