US government shutdown looms as Trump, Biden feud over funding bill

Part 1 👉 Part 2

US President-elect Donald Trump hasn’t taken office yet, but he’s already throwing punches, tackling the Biden administration over the massive government funding deal.

What are they sparring over?

🔺On Tuesday, congressional leaders introduced a short-term funding bill aimed at keeping the federal government operational until March 14.

🔺This stopgap measure was announced just days before a looming December 20 deadline to avert a government shutdown.

What led to the collapse of the government funding plan?

Republicans are opposed to the increased spending proposed in the 1,547-page bill, which includes allocations of $100.4 billion for disaster relief, $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers, and various other provisions.

Part 1 👉 Part 2

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US government shutdown looms as Trump, Biden feud over funding bill

Part 2 👉Part 1

Feuding with the Biden administration over the government funding deal, Trump has placed the debt ceiling at the forefront of discussions aimed at keeping the government operational.

🔸Trump is urging lawmakers to incorporate an increase in the debt ceiling into the budget package, which would enable the Treasury Department to issue new debt to meet existing obligations.

🔸Republicans have been encouraged to approve a ‘clean’ stopgap funding bill paired with a hike to the debt ceiling before Trump takes office on January 20.

🔸Elon Musk, picked to head the newly-established "Department of Government Efficiency" or DOGE, warned on X that “any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in two years!”

What was the White House response?

Trump and the Republicans were blasted for “playing politics with this bipartisan agreement.” This would “hurt hardworking Americans and create instability across the country” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

Trump and Vance remain adamant, quipping that raising the debt ceiling “is not great, but we’d rather do it on Biden’s watch.”

Part 2 👉Part 1

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❗️In just less than two hours, Putin's Live Q&A session and press conference will kick off

📹Andrea Lucidi, an independent military correspondent working in Donbass, is already there, sharing his impressions specifically for Sputnik.

🌐Stay tuned!

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🤔 What makes Putin's Q&A session so unique?

Russian President Vladimir Putin is the world’s only leader who holds live nationwide Q&As!

👉 Check out why nobody can compare to Putin!

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❗️Russian troops have liberated the settlements of Zelenovka and Novy Komar in the Donetsk People's Republic, the Defense MInistry has announced.

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🇷🇺🪖More statements from the Russian MoD daily briefing on the special military operation's progress:    

▪️Ukrainian losses in the area under the control of Russia’s Battlegroup Tsentr reached 520 soldiers.

▪️Russia’s Battlegroup Zapad successfully repelled two Ukrainian counterattacks, resulting in the loss of roughly 460 Ukrainian soldiers.

▪️Ukrainian forces sustained losses of up to 315 soldiers in the operational area of Russia’s Battlegroup Yug.

▪️Russian forces hammered Ukrainian airfields and troop concentrations across 149 districts, over the past 24 hours.

▪️Russian air defense systems downed a guided Neptune missile and wiped out 154 Ukrainian drones, over the past 24 hours.

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🎥🎥 Russian President Vladimir Putin holds his annual end-of-year press conference, Direct Line, combined with a Q&A session.

The event has attracted enormous attention in Russia: the number of questions has almost reached 2 million. New questions continue to arrive around the clock.

It will be the third time that Direct Line, the end-of-year press conference and Q&A session, will be held in a combined format.

This option was first tested in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the events from being held separately. The format returned in 2023.

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⚡️President Putin emphasized that over the past two years, the Russian economy has experienced a growth of approximately 8%.

In comparison, the U.S. economy has grown by 5-6%, while Europe as a whole has seen only a 1% increase.

He further pointed out that Germany, the leading economy in the Eurozone, has recorded no economic growth at all, standing at 0%.

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❗️Russian unemployment rate at record low of 2.3% - Putin

Inflation in Russia is warning sign, Putin said adding that Russians' real incomes has increased.

He stressed that the Russian economy is generally stable and reliable, with 2025 GDP growth to be 2%-2.5%

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❗️Putin calls growth of Russia's economy largely a result of its sovereignty

Sovereignty is especially vital for Russia, because if it is lost, then statehood is lost, he said.

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Russia is unfazed WHEN "bullets are whistling and time flying” - Putin

It's all about the economy, said Putin when asked about today's troubled times, adding that Russia has risen to the challenge.

“You know, when everything is calm, tranquil and stable, we're bored. Well, it's stagnation. We want some commotion,” said the Russian president.

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❗️There is movement all along the front line, every day - Putin on the progress of Russian troops in the special military operation zone

💬Russian troops are returning territory in square kilometers, Putin stressed.

💬He added that Russian military capabilities are strengthening.

💬The Russian army is progressing toward fulfilling the key objectives identified at the outset of the special military operation, he said.

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⚡️Russian troops are knocking out the enemy [Ukrainian forces] out of Russia's Kursk region - Putin

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Only Russian Cossacks sang in German

Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed the issue of national sovereignty, recalling how at then German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's birthday party everyone sang in English, except for a group of Russian Cossacks.

"I asked them how they learned this song, and they said out of respect to the Germans, out of respect to the hosts," Putin said. "Later I was approached by many guests and many people told me they were ashamed that only Russian Cossacks sang in German."

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Russian forces liberating square kilometers worth of territory daily: Putin

“Let’s imagine that the [the banner of] the 155th Marine Brigade of the Pacific Fleet represents all the military banners of our guys fighting right now for Russia, for the Motherland, across the line of engagement,” President Vladimir Putin said at his year-end press conference in Moscow, when asked about the pace of the Special Military Operation.

💬“We see movement all along the front line every day,” Putin emphasized, adding that it was not a matter of 100, 200 or 300 meters, but “square kilometers every day.”

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❗️Putin hails Oreshnik as cutting-edge weapon

The Oreshnik was created based on previously finalized Russian design projects, the leader stressed.

President Putin said he took part in the decision to produce the Oreshnik.

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❗️Putin on updating the nuclear doctrine:

This increases the responsibility of hostile non-nuclear states and ensures the security of Belarus.

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When asked why the weapon was named "Oreshnik [meaning Hazel Tree in Russian]", Putin answered:

"Honestly, I don't know."

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💨Russia VAPORIZING NATO equipment in Kursk — Putin

“The number of NATO armored vehicles that Russia has wiped out in its border region of Kursk has exceeded the amount of enemy vehicles destroyed last year," the Russian head of state noted.

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❗️Putin issues challenge to Oreshnik's skeptics in the West: "Pick any target in Kiev and deploy all your air defense systems there. Let's see what happens."

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