AP - In a blunt challenge to Republicans in Congress, President Barack Obama insisted Wednesday that elimination of selected tax breaks for oil companies and the super-wealthy must be included in any deficit reduction plan.
AP - A bitter budget standoff sent Minnesota spiraling Thursday toward a wide-ranging government shutdown, threatening to shutter state parks on the brink of the Fourth of July weekend and lay off tens of thousands of workers if a deal isn't struck by midnight between the state's Democratic governor and GOP lawmakers.