The US government entered a partial shutdown Saturday as a midnight funding deadline passed without Congress approving a 2026 budget, though disruption was expected to be limited with the House set to move early next week to ratify a Senate-backed deal.The funding lapse followed a breakdown in negotiations driven by Democratic anger over the killing of two protesters in Minneapolis by federal immigration agents, which derailed talks over new money for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).”Instead of going after drug smugglers, child predators, and human traffickers, the Trump Administration is wasting valuable resources targeting peaceful protestors in Chicago and Minneapolis,” Senate Democratic Minority Whip Dick Durbin posted on social media.”This Administration continues to make Americans less safe.”Roughly three-quarters of federal operations are affected, potentially triggering shutdown procedures across a wide range of agencies and operations, from education and health to housing and defense. Federal departments were expected to begin implementing shutdown plans overnight, but congressional leaders in both parties said the Senate’s action made a short disruption far more likely than a prolonged impasse.If the House approves the package as expected early next week, funding would be restored within days, limiting the practical impact of the shutdown on government services, contractors and federal workers.If the shutdown extended more than a few days, however, tens of thousands of federal workers would risk being put on unpaid leave or working without their money until funding is restored.Late Friday, the Senate passed a package clearing five outstanding funding bills to cover most federal agencies through September, along with a two-week stopgap measure to keep DHS operating while lawmakers continue negotiations over immigration enforcement policy.The House of Representatives was out of session as the deadline expired and is not scheduled to return until Monday. President Donald Trump backed the Senate deal and urged swift House action, signaling he wanted to avoid a prolonged shutdown — the second of his second term — after a record-length stoppage last fall disrupted federal services for more than a month.- Political backlash -The Senate breakthrough came only after Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina lifted a procedural block that had stalled the package late Thursday. Graham had objected to provisions in the DHS stopgap and to House-passed language repealing an earlier measure that allowed senators to sue the Justice Department if their phone records were seized during past investigations.Graham agreed to release his hold after Senate leaders committed to holding future votes on legislation he is sponsoring to crack down on so-called “sanctuary cities” that refuse to cooperate with federal deportation operations.Democrats, meanwhile, have remained united in opposing new DHS funding without changes to immigration enforcement following the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis.Their deaths intensified scrutiny of federal agents’ conduct and hardened opposition to approving money for immigration agencies without new guardrails.Party leaders have accused immigration authorities of operating with insufficient oversight and have demanded reforms including tighter warrant requirements, limits on certain enforcement tactics and greater accountability for agents in the field.Much of the US media interpreted the White House’s willingness to split DHS funding from the broader budget package as a recognition that the administration needed to recalibrate its deportation strategy after the political backlash over the Minneapolis deaths.Republicans are divided over that approach. While some lawmakers have acknowledged the need for changes following the shootings, conservatives have warned against concessions they say could weaken immigration enforcement. Several have signaled they will push their own priorities during the upcoming DHS negotiations, including measures targeting states and cities that limit cooperation with federal authorities.Although Congress has already approved six of the 12 annual funding bills, those measures account for only a minority of discretionary spending. The remaining bills fund large swaths of the federal government, making the lapse significant if it ends up being prolonged.The Office of Management and Budget on Friday night issued a memo ordering agencies to prepare for an “orderly shutdown,” saying: “It is our hope that this lapse will be short.”

Venezuela’s acting president announced on Friday a proposal for mass amnesty in the country, in her latest major reform since the US toppling of Nicolas Maduro just weeks ago.Delcy Rodriguez, in a speech at the Venezuelan Supreme Court attended by top government officials, said she will propose a “general amnesty law covering the entire period of political violence from 1999 to the present.”Leftist revolutionary Hugo Chavez assumed the presidency in 1999, and was succeeded upon his death in 2013 by Maduro, who oversaw an increasingly authoritarian government and whose two re-elections were widely dismissed as fraudulent.”This law will serve to heal the wounds left by political confrontation, fueled by violence and extremism. It will allow us to put justice back on track in our country,” Rodriguez said, also announcing a “major national consultation for a new judicial system.”She also announced plans to close the notorious El Helicoide prison in Caracas, where rights groups say political prisoners were tortured by Maduro’s intelligence services.The massive facility, originally built as a shopping mall, will be turned into a “sports, cultural and commercial center for police families and neighboring communities,” Rodriguez said.A mother interviewed by AFP near El Helicoide was overjoyed that her son, imprisoned inside, may soon be released under the law.”It’s wonderful! I haven’t heard from my son in six months, so, damn it, this is a huge joy, it’s an amnesty, my God, it’s total liberation,” said Betsy Orellana, 63.- Wary opposition -Formerly Maduro’s vice president, Rodriguez, 56, has quickly moved in less than four weeks in power to overhaul Venezuelan society in ways sought by the United States, earning high praise from US President Donald Trump.Along with her brother, National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez, she has passed a new law opening up the country’s critical oil sector to private investments — a key demand of Trump.The move on Thursday was almost immediately followed by a rollback on US sanctions targeting Venezuela’s oil industry.The government also agreed on January 8, five days after Maduro was seized in a deadly US military operation, to free inmates considered political prisoners by rights groups.Families — many of whom began camping outside the prisons — and rights groups have criticized the slow pace of the releases, with the Foro Penal NGO counting less than 300 in total released since January 8.Opposition figures in Venezuela have voiced reserved optimism at the changes taking place, wary that Maduro’s closest allies still remain in power.Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado said Friday that Rodriguez’s amnesty proposal came only after she was pushed by Washington.”This is not a voluntary gesture by the regime, but a response to pressure from the United States government. And I hope that the prisoners will soon be able to be with their families,” she posted on social media.Opposition lawmaker Tomas Guanipa, whose two brothers are imprisoned, said he hope the amnesty would end “an era of repression.””May this be the beginning of a path that leads us to freedom and democracy, definitively and forever,” he told AFP in an interview at his home in Caracas.- Americans freed -US authorities on Friday announced that all Americans known to be held prisoner in Venezuela had been released. The announcement came hours after the release of Peruvian-American political prisoner Arturo Gallino Rullier, whom the Foro Penal group said was on his way to the United States.For years, Venezuela has routinely arrested foreigners and domestic opposition actors on a range of charges from spying to plotting attacks — charges critics dismiss as fabricated.In a sign of Trump’s satisfaction with the new Venezuelan authorities, his administration lifted a ban on US flights to the South American country.And after years of the US embassy being shuttered, Washington is also preparing to re-establish its diplomatic presence in Caracas.Seasoned diplomat Laura Dogu was recently named US charge d’affaires for Venezuela — the highest level representative below an ambassador.Dogu is expected to arrive in Caracas on Saturday, diplomatic sources told AFP.

“Melania,” the Amazon MGM-produced documentary following the typically guarded US first lady as she prepares for her husband Donald’s second inauguration, opened in theatres Friday.The wide release came a day after a lavish premiere at the Kennedy Center, recently redubbed the Trump-Kennedy Center, where the 55-year-old former model’s outspoken husband called the film “glamorous, very glamorous.”At a showing in Washington, where a major winter storm has snarled transit, Savannah Harrison told AFP she had purchased her ticket because she “was just very intrigued to see the behind the scenes.”Unlike most reviewers in US media, she was delighted by the film.”In contrast of what we see from President Trump everyday, it’s just another aspect that it humanizes them a little bit more,” she said, admitting that she went into the film with a positive view of the first lady.In Los Angeles, where voters opted against Trump 2-to-1 in 2024, a billboard for the documentary was defaced to make it appear as if the first lady was defecating on an American flag.The 1 hour 44 minute film follows the normally guarded Melania during the 20 days leading up to the January 20, 2025 inauguration. After its theatrical release it will be available for streaming on Prime Video.From the presidential couple’s Florida estate to Trump Tower in New York and the White House, the first lady goes from appointment to appointment, preparing her outfits for Inauguration Day and deciding on decor for their return to Washington.There are no sensational revelations, though she does discuss the deep impact of her mother’s death. She also says her favorite singer is Michael Jackson.Surprise guests also make appearances, including French first lady Brigitte Macron, who holds a video call with her incoming American counterpart.- Critiques -While the film grants rare access into her life, “Melania” has also given an insight into the way US business titans have lined up to pay tribute to the Trump administration in the past year.Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos has grown notably closer to Trump, securing a prime seat at the inauguration and telling the Washington Post newspaper he owns to favor pro-business editorials.US media say that of Amazon’s $40 million licensing deal for the film, Melania, who served as executive producer, will receive 70 percent. The next highest bid, from Disney, was reportedly only $14 million.At a viewing in Florida, Jannet Iglesias was enthusiastic about the film, calling it “incredible.””I think that everyone has to come and see it. I’m going to come for the second time,” she said.US media has been less enthusiastic in its reviews, with The Atlantic calling the documentary a “disgrace” and the Variety trade magazine describing it as a “shameless infomercial.”Expected viewership for the film has also been much discussed online, with many anticipating weak sales.In South Africa, the film was withdrawn from major theaters just before its release, with the distributor citing “the current climate.”South Africa’s government has had very tense relations with Trump, notably over his unfounded allegations of there being a “genocide” against White people in the country.The film has also been roundly critiqued for its director: Brett Ratner.The director behind the “Rush Hour” franchise was in 2017 accused of sexual assault by actresses Natasha Henstridge and Olivia Munn, as well as four other women, in the midst of the #MeToo movement. He has denied any wrongdoing.