The second-longest government shutdown enters its 24th day with Congress out of session and the funding lapse heading toward next week.

Carl Hulse is the chief Washington correspondent for The Times, primarily writing about Congress and national political races and issues. He has nearly four decades of experience reporting in the nation’s capital.

The stopgap bill, which would extend government funding until Nov. 21, was defeated after a 49-45 vote. It required 60 votes to pass and has now extended the shutdown to two weeks. The Senate will reconvene and vote again on Oct. 15, marking the ninth voting session on the funding bill.

Two B-1 Bombers flew from the U.S. to about 50 miles from the coast of Venezuela on Thursday, according to a defense official and flight tracker data for the aircraft.

Action News Now reporter Margot Rowe reports on the bipartisan effort by Democrat Adam Schiff of the Untied States Senate and Republican Doug LaMalfa of the United States House of

The United States Senate has confirmed Chad Meredith from Lexington to serve as a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) released the following statement Thursday on the Senate’s confirmation of Chad Meredith, of Lexington and the son of state Sen. Steve Meredith, R-Leitchfield, to serve

Two people on an alleged drug smuggling boat were recovered and detained by the Navy Thursday after the vessel was destroyed.

Colorado and Virginia are two states that lean Democratic, though both have shown some purple tendencies in the past. Democratic leaders in the two states have signaled a new willingness to redraw their Congressional maps in recent days following new efforts in North Carolina and Indiana led by Republicans.