Day 14 of the government shutdown..

No deal.

And now the government getting close to running out of money.

Also no deal on the debt ceiling.

And the potential of defaulting on the nation's bills.

Just another manic Monday.

The Senate meets at 2pm today. The House is in session as well, but no votes until 6:30. So much for a sense of urgency.

Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell spoke yesterday, but failed to come to an agreement. The Washington Post today reports on a bitter fight between the two men. Uh oh... continue reading »

The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) is the guiding force behind the CFDA Fashion Awards (the so-called "Oscars of Fashion"). It also has a fairly new program to help fund, guide and promote up-and-coming designers called the "CFDA Fashion Incubator."

It's only a couple years old, but it has a pretty good track record at finding and nuturing emerging designers... continue reading »

Shutdown day 11... continue reading »

Shutdown day 10.

No signs of a deal right now, but President Obama will meet with top House Republicans today at the White House. There's also growing speculation that the GOP may agree to a short-term deal to raise the debt ceiling to calm increasingly concerned financial markets.

1200EDT -- POTUS & VPOTUS meet with Secy Lew. Oval Office.

1345EDT -- POTUS & VPOTUS meet with the Senate Dem Caucus. State Dining Room.

1635EDT -- POTUS & VPOTUS meet with the House Republican Leadership. Roosevelt Room... continue reading »

It's day 9 of the shutdown with no end in sight.. and the nation is quickly approaching our borrowing limit.

In a surprise news conference yesterday, President Obama warned that default would be "insane, catastrophic, chaos," and demanded that Boehner take back of that threat. Boehner said a little later yesterday that Republicans will not back off the threat until Obama comes to the bargaining table... continue reading »

Shutdown day EIGHT - 8 not so great.

Both the Senate and the House will be back in session during our show today, but don't expect much to come out of it. The Senate Dems will reportedly also try to pass a stand-alone measure that would raise the government's borrowing ability through at least next year. Meantime, Senator Ted Cruz was on the "Kelly File," and is sticking to his guns.. saying his goal remains to take a bite out of Obamacare.

Mike Emanuel on the shutdown. Doug McKelway reporting on the furloughs of some private company employees and defense contractors... continue reading »

Government shutdown week two!

No signs of progress in finding a resolution to the shutdown. Speaker of the House John Boehner and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew hit the Sunday shows and traded blame for the closure of parts of the government. It looks like there is no deal to fund the government..

Boehner says he doesn't even have the votes to put forward a clean CR or continuing resolution. Democrats say he could pass it with Dem votes (a move Boehner is loathe to try)... continue reading »

Shutdown day 4. No public signs of progress. We do have reports however (see New York Times) that Speaker of the House John Boehner won't let the United States default. He reportedly is telling Republican lawmakers he won't let the crisis go too far. He may use a combination of Democrat and Republican votes to prevent the U.S. from defaulting. Conservatives won't like that idea. In any case, Speaker Boehner doesn't appear ready to make that move. The House continues to vote on piecemeal funding bills that face rejection in the Senate. Mike Emanuel reporting... continue reading »

No progress to report after an unsuccessful meeting between Congressional leadership and the White House over the government shutdown. Both sides still seem far apart.

There are growing fears the shutdown could go on for weeks. With the deadline over raising the countries borrowing limit approaching in just two weeks, there is growing concern over the potential economic impact.

President Obama telling CNBC "this time I think Wall Street should be concerned." The President makes comments today at 10:40am. We also get weekly jobless numbers today... continue reading »

No progress in ending the government shutdown. The House wasn't able to pass several spending measures last night that would have funded smaller bits of the government. Now there's fears that the shutdown could drag on for weeks as both sides dig in their heels. Remember we have a debt ceiling deadline in just a few weeks. President Obama said "They're shutting down the government over an ideological crusade to deny affordable health care to many Americans."... continue reading »