Here's the biggest news you missed this weekend.
Congress avoids a shutdown
A government shutdown has been averted (for now). The Republican-controlled House passed a last-minute deal after Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., put a so-called clean 45-day continuing resolution on the floor. The measure got significant bipartisan support before the Senate approved it and sent it to President Joe Biden's desk.
McCarthy's eleventh-hour gambit forced him to do something he had avoided for months under pressure from far-right Republicans: He was going to have to rely on Democrats.
The move worked, but Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., wasted little time Sunday in announcing he intends to file a motion to oust McCarthy from the speakership.
"I think we need to rip off the Band-Aid. I think we need to move on with new leadership that can be trustworthy," Gaetz said in an interview on CNN.
Biden spoke about the agreement Sunday afternoon, saying the House's conservative rebels "will be back again" to try to thwart the next funding deal.
Fire alarm mishap
- As Republicans rushed to pass the stopgap measure Saturday, Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., pulled a fire alarm in a Capitol office building. In a statement that night, Bowman said, "Today, as I was rushing to make a vote, I came to a door that is usually open for votes but today would not open. I am embarrassed to admit that I activated the fire alarm, mistakenly thinking it would open the door."
- The House Administration Committee is investigating the incident, and McCarthy called for Bowman to be punished, comparing it to the Jan. 6 rioters who attacked the building.
Student loans
Many people with federal student loan debt will have to start making payments as of Sunday, all while struggling with nagging inflation and rising interest rates.
Borrowers who spoke to NBC News shared plans to leave the careers they went to school for, take on additional debt, spend down savings or cut back on leisure activities, among other sacrifices.
Keith Kruchten, a father of two living in Illinois, said that he plans to decide soon "which house repair gets delayed another month" and that he has to cut his children's activities.
"I’m 40 now and have no significant retirement savings and feel like I’ve done everything that you’re supposed to do along the way, that we’re taught as kids," he said.
Jimmy Carter turns 99
Former President Jimmy Carter turned 99 years old Sunday, more than seven months after he entered hospice care.
The official birthday bash for the longest-living U.S. president in history was rescheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum instead of Sunday because of the threat of a government shutdown, museum officials said.
Festivities also took place Saturday in Carter's hometown, Plains, Georgia, and President Joe Biden sent birthday wishes in a video posted to X, formerly known as Twitter.
"President Jimmy Carter, you remain the spirit and the heart of the American people," the post said.
Pregnant and with no OB-GYN around for miles
Abortion has been banned in Idaho, with few exceptions, since August 2022. As a result, a 25-bed hospital in Bonner County discontinued obstetrics, labor and delivery services this year, citing the state's "legal and political climate."
Where does that leave women with wanted pregnancies? Some told NBC News they have to travel at least an hour away, dealing with logistical burdens, financial difficulties, stress and anxiety.
Katie Bradish, 36, said she shells out hundreds of dollars to go to prenatal appointments in Spokane, Washington, 90 minutes from her home.
Her biggest fear is about the timing of her due date in January — what she calls "blizzard time." In case she winds up delivering on the drive to Spokane, she has already stocked up on shower curtains and rubber gloves in the car.
"That may sound like a joke, but it's not," she said.
The U.K.'s filthy rivers
Only 14% of English rivers are classed as having "good ecological status." And outrage over the state of the country's waterways and the perceived impunity of private sewage companies is piling pressure on the government for the seeming lack of political will to address it.
The largest-ever criminal investigation into potential widespread breaches of environmental permit conditions at wastewater treatment plants run by water and sewage companies was launched in November 2021.
But in the meantime, residents still have to deal with sewage spillage. In Woodbridge, volunteers are testing the waters and taking samples.
The Deben Bluetits meet up for so-called wild swimming in a river near Woodbridge, making sure to keep their mouths above the glistening water, which could poison them with E. coli.
Politics in Brief
Red-state Democrats: In GOP-leaning states, Democrats are still figuring out exactly how, and how often, to talk about abortion.
Supreme Court: Former President Donald Trump sought to curb the power of federal agencies when he was in office. Now cases that could hobble some of those agencies are coming before the Supreme Court.
Feinstein's successor: The Congressional Black Caucus on Sunday urged California Gov. Gavin Newsom to appoint Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., to the seat of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
Culture & Trends
Leslie Odom Jr. is best known on Broadway for his Tony-winning performance as Aaron Burr in "Hamilton." He's back onstage for the revival of "Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch," written by legend Ossie Davis.
"I've read this play 35 times at this point, and in rehearsal I was discovering jokes that I missed on the page," Odom said in an interview. "To hear another actor read them aloud, it’s like, 'Oh, my God, look! That’s a double-entendre.'"
He believes the play, about a preacher in the Jim Crow era returning to the Georgia plantation where he grew up, will register with audiences regardless of the moment in time they experience it.
"Truth doesn't go out of style," Odom said.
In case you missed it
- The Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon in Minnesota was canceled Sunday because of concerns about record heat.
- Thousands of workers at the Department of Veterans Affairs are leaving their jobs, saying they're struggling to keep up with a flood of new cases brought on by the PACT Act, which expanded benefits to millions of veterans exposed to toxic substances.
- The man accused of beating and killing 26-year-old tech entrepreneur Pava LaPere had been released early from prison, despite having a violent past that included a conviction for a sex offense.
- Simone Biles is back for the world gymnastics championships in Antwerp, Belgium — the city where she won her first world title a decade ago at age 16.
- An arrest in connection with the fatal shooting of Tupac Shakur follows decades of conspiracies and media coverage around who would want the influential hip-hop star and actor dead.
- Paris is set to host the Olympics next year, but first it has a serious problem to deal with: bedbugs.
- A Central Park Zoo sea lion named Sally briefly escaped her enclosure after the severe weather in New York flooded her pool.
- Mexican paletas are a growing craze worldwide. Here's why almost all stores selling the frozen treat share one name.
- Sushi omakase has experienced a surge in popularity in major U.S. cities — and it all started in Los Angeles.
