By MARY CLARE JALONICK and JOEY CAPPELLETTI, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican leaders in the House and Senate said Wednesday that they will reject Democratic demands for an immediate extension of health care subsidies, challenging Democrats to vote against a stopgap spending bill that doesn’t include them but will keep the government open at the end of the month.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Democrats “have a choice to make” as the Sept. 30 deadline approaches. They can work with Republicans, Thune said, or “they can shut down the government with all that will mean for the American people.”

Democratic leaders have so far shown no signs of backing off their demands, arguing that it’s Republicans’ responsibility to negotiate with them as they will need at least seven Democratic senators to move the stopgap spending bill forward. It’s a high-stakes game of brinksmanship for the Democrats, in particular, as the party’s base urges them to fight harder and many wager that a shutdown would force Republicans to negotiate with them on health care and other issues.

“Democrats don’t want a shutdown, but Republicans cannot shut Democrats out of the process and pretend like the last nine months have been business as usual,” Schumer said.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., tells reporters that Republicans are jeopardizing health care for Americans with their policies and their strategy to fund the government before the deadline at the end of the month, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

It’s a risky strategy. If the government does shut down on Oct. 1, most federal agencies will close and millions of federal employees deemed non-essential, including many in the military, won’t receive paychecks. And there’s no guarantee that the two parties could find agreement on how to end the standoff.

Democrats on both sides of the Capitol are watching Schumer closely after his last-minute decision in March to vote with Republicans to keep the government open. Schumer argued then that a shutdown would be damaging and would give President Donald Trump and his White House freedom to make more government cuts. Many on the left revolted, with some advocates calling for his resignation.

The vote in the spring caused a temporary schism with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who opposed the GOP spending bill and said he would not be “complicit” with Schumer’s vote.

The two Democratic leaders now say they are united, and Schumer says that things have changed since March. The public is more wary of Trump and Republicans, Schumer says, after the passage this summer of Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” that cut Medicaid and other government programs.

Democrats’ top demand is that Republicans agree to extend health care tax credits that have made health insurance more affordable for millions of people since the COVID-19 pandemic. Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson have indicated that they are open to extending the subsidies, which expire at the end of the year. The subsidies are available to low- and middle-income individuals who purchase health insurance through the Affordable Care Act. But many Republicans would like to see changes that most Democrats are likely to oppose.

Unbowed by the Democratic threats, House Republicans are moving forward with the stopgap measure to keep federal agencies funded through Nov. 21, buying lawmakers more time to work out their differences on spending levels. Republicans argue they are providing exactly what Democrats have insisted upon in past government shutdown battles — a clean funding bill free of partisan policy riders.

“They’re trying to insert unrelated matters into the middle of a clean government extension. And I don’t think that’s going to work,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said on CNBC Wednesday morning.

Related Articles

Trump, ICE target police in Chicago, other cities for recruitment in NFL ad

National Academy of Sciences rebuffs Trump EPA’s effort to undo regulations fighting climate change

Trump’s call to end mail-in voting creates a dilemma for GOP candidates who benefit from it

Obama says the US is at ‘an inflection point’ after Kirk’s killing and Trump has divided the country

A law enforcement surge has taken a toll on children of immigrants in Washington schools

The GOP bill would generally fund agencies at current levels, with a few limited exceptions, including an extra $88 million to increase security for lawmakers, the Supreme Court and members of the executive branch. The proposed boost comes as lawmakers face an increasing number of personal threats, with their concerns heightened by last week’s assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

The House is expected to vote on the stopgap measure by Friday. Democrats said they would unveil an alternate proposal, but had not done so by Wednesday afternoon.

Trump, so far, has been dismissive of the Democrats’ threats, saying last week to not “even bother” negotiating with them.

“If you gave them every dream, they would not vote for it,” Trump said.

Democrats have tried to use those words against him and insist the president would take the blame if the government shuts down.

“Unless he’s forgotten that you need a supermajority to pass a budget in the Senate, that’s obviously his signal he wants a shutdown,” said Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat.

Associated Press writer Kevin Freking contributed to this report.

By SOPHIE BATES, Associated Press

CLEVELAND, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi police on Wednesday awaited autopsy results for a Black student found hanging from a tree at Delta State University, in a case that has ignited strong emotions in a state with a history of racist violence.

The 21-year-old student was found near the campus pickleball courts early Monday. While police have said they saw no evidence of foul play, his family is demanding answers and has hired prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump.

Campus police Chief Michael Peeler released little new information about the investigation at a news conference, calling the death an “isolated incident” and insisting there were no active threats to students and faculty.

“Out of respect for those grieving, we ask for continued patience and compassion as this investigation proceeds,” Peeler told reporters at the Delta State campus.

Friends and family of a deceased Delta State University student gather outside to pray after a law enforcement briefing, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, in Cleveland, Miss. (AP Photo/Sophie Bates)

The chief state medical examiner was conducting an autopsy Wednesday, and Peeler said preliminary findings should be released in a day or two.

Peeler said the evidence includes video footage, but he would not say what it shows and where it came from, citing the ongoing investigation.

Family members of the student called for more information from university officials during a news conference on Tuesday. Vanessa Jones, an attorney for the family, said the student had just started classes at Delta State this fall and was “full of life, eager to be there.”

“There should have been cameras at the university that easily could enlighten us as to what happened,” Jones told reporters, adding: “From the moment he left his dorm room or entered that campus, there should be surveillance of all of his actions.”

FILE – Students sit on a bench in front of Kent Wyatt Hall on Delta State University’s Cleveland, Miss., campus on Sept. 14, 2015. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

Jones said the family also wants an independent autopsy performed.

Online rumors that the student was found with broken limbs were disputed by Bolivar County Coroner Randolph Seals Jr. In a statement cited by local news outlets Tuesday, Seals said his office conducted a preliminary examination and concluded the student did not suffer any lacerations, contusions, compound fractures, broken bones or injuries consistent with an assault.

Seals did not immediately return phone messages from The Associated Press.

“We recognize this is not only about facts,” Delta State President Dan Ennis said Wednesday. “It’s about emotions and about feelings and the way this loss and how it was discovered affects people’s lives.”

Related Articles

FDA proposes ban on Orange B, a food dye not used for decades

Here’s how to get tickets for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles

Army veteran who burned American flag near White House pleads not guilty to federal charges

Deadly disease caused by blood-sucking insects spreading in US, CDC says

One of the country’s most distinctive car collections goes on sale in Chicago

Many social media posts about the case have evoked a darker period in U.S. history when killings of Black people by white vigilantes inflicted racial terror in Mississippi and other parts of the Deep South. They include the infamous lynching of Emmett Till, whose body was found 30 miles from the Delta State campus.

Marquon McKinney said he and other Black students at Delta State have been shaken by the death.

“Everybody’s upset right now,” McKinney said, adding that he feels that university officials are trying to downplay the death. “It’s a lot of emotions going on.”

McKinney said his mother called him in the middle of a class on Monday to make sure he was OK, before he had learned that someone had been found dead.

Located in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, near the Arkansas state line, Delta State had a fall 2024 enrollment of more than 2,600 students, 42% of whom are Black.

Crump said he plans to lead an independent investigation along with civil rights groups. U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, has called for the FBI to investigate.

AP journalist Russ Bynum contributed from Savannah, Georgia.

Staff members work to prepare the Fall Flower Show in the Sunken Garden of the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory at Como Park Zoo and Conservatory in St. Paul on Sept. 17, 2025. The Fall Flower Show will open on Friday, Sept. 19. (Kathryn Kovalenko / Pioneer Press)

Green thumbs putting their own gardens to bed for the year can still get a dose of the growing season by checking out Como’s GardenCam to watch the installation of the Fall Flower Show.

In advance of Friday’s opening, the public can see staff and volunteers transport and install plants and other touches in the Sunken Garden at Como Park’s Marjorie McNeely Conservatory. It’s been quite the process, with flatbed carts and ladders and lots of sweating in the recent extreme heat.

“We did a post on our social about the end of the Summer Flower Show,” said Horticulture Supervisor Ariel Dressler on Wednesday. “It had grown lush and full and tropical — it was hard to imagine starting over with a clean slate, but we did a post on Monday morning and sure enough, we removed everything from the room (except the Cypress trees), topped the beds with fresh potting soil, and it looked very empty and vacant for the new design.”

As for last season’s flowers and plants, a spokesman says that some are used for the next show, some go back in the greenhouse, some are composted and some are sold in the gift shop.

Dressler said they started planting for the fall show Tuesday and were nearly finished Wednesday.

“We’ll put finishing touches on it Thursday, in time for the first wedding in the Sunken Garden on Thursday night,” Dressler said. “It’s a pretty tight turnaround, just four days.”

On Wednesday, the cam — which started up as an option during the pandemic — showed gardeners wearing hats, gloves and summery shorts and T-shirts as they planted garden beds and climbed ladders under the glass sky of the conservatory. (Note: With the recent hot temperatures, the conservatory’s camera sometimes shuts off, so check back often as staff work through the issue of technology overheating).

During the show, online visitors can people-watch as well as watch the blooming 24 hours a day at Comozooconservatory.org/mmc-sunken-garden-live/.

A 110-year tradition

The annual Fall Flower Show has been a tradition since the conservatory opened in 1915. Currently, the conservatory hosts seven seasonal flower shows.

While the staff works together to brainstorm each show, they take turns serving as lead designer. This fall’s show was designed by horticulturist Rylee Werden and features candy-like pops of color for its debut.

The Fall Flower Show begins to bloom in the Sunken Garden of the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory at Como Park Zoo and Conservatory in St. Paul on Wednesday. (Kathryn Kovalenko / Pioneer Press)

The first half of this Fall Flower Show, through Oct. 19, will feature a colorful palette of orange, pink and purple chrysanthemums, with cheerful accent plants including celosia, marigolds and zinnias.

The second half of the show, from Oct. 24 through Nov. 30, will have a moodier vibe with darker colors and creamy accents. Think chrysanthemums of crimson red, deep purple and pale pink, framed by dark foliage and complemented by pops of cream and light rose from dahlias and other classic fall flowers.

There will be some “unique curiosities” growing around the room as well, the conservatory teased in its announcement.

The curiosities include a unique plant with a spooky flair.

Related Articles

Hip hop star Cardi B to make her long-awaited return to the metro

‘Coolest Thing Made in Minnesota’: A look at this week’s matchups

Skywatch: Shoot high for celestial treasures

St. Paul, meet your funniest person: Filipino software engineer Jethro Trogo

Ahead of upcoming 20th anniversary show, Ananya Dance Theatre is physically and morally powerful as ever

“It’s called ‘Bed of Nails’ and it’s going to be a real treat for people,” Dressler said. “The thorns really do look like nails.”

Fall Flower Show

The conservatory’s flower show, located within Como Park at 1225 Estabrook Drive, will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., except for Oct. 20-23, when the Sunken Garden will close for a mid-show change (all other rooms of the conservatory will remain open to the public).

Admission to the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory is always free, although voluntary donations are appreciated.

Get info about sponsoring a garden at comofriends.org/support/sponsorship/garden/ or an animal at https://comofriends.org/support/sponsorship/animal/.

By Margarette Burnette, Spencer Tierney, NerdWallet

The Federal Reserve just delivered the rate cut that Wall Street predicted, trimming the federal funds rate by 0.25 percentage points. The new target range is now 4.00% to 4.25%. While the move is likely to make loans cheaper, it will affect more than just debt. People with money parked in high-yield savings accounts will probably see their rates fade as well.

When the Fed lowers rates, banks often follow by lowering savings yields. It may not be a huge drop right away, but annual percentage yields (APYs) for today’s top savings accounts and certificates of deposit — which are north of 4% — will probably decline. If you’re not already earning a high rate on your money, you may want to act soon.

High rates will dip but not disappear

The economy has been showing signs of slowing productivity and rising unemployment, and the Fed typically responds to these conditions by easing its rate policy. In August 2025, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled rate cuts in a speech at the Fed’s annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Powell noted that “the baseline outlook and the shifting balance of risks” could justify a change. Today’s announcement made the change a reality. Depending on market conditions, there could be even more cuts in the future.

The Fed’s decision today was notable in that it was the first rate cut in 2025. But it was a relatively small reduction. While banks will drop their deposit rates, that doesn’t mean it’s your last chance for worthwhile rates.

“We’ve spent so much of the last 17 years in a zero-rate environment that we tend to think when rates fall, they’re going back to zero,” says Adam Stockton, head of retail deposits and lending at the banking analytics firm Curinos. But that scenario is probably not where we’re headed, Stockton says.

The Fed projected in June that its long-term target rate range is around 3.00% to 3.50%. If that holds, it means a further drop of only one percentage point or less. Stockton noted that, apart from a catastrophic financial event, consumers don’t need to worry about their deposit rates dropping to nothing. But finding the best rates for your money should continue to be a priority.

How to react to lower rates on savings accounts

Today’s best high-yield savings accounts earn around 4% APY, based on NerdWallet data. Those rates will likely dip, but since today’s cut is only 0.25 points, we’re unlikely to see large rate swings. If you’re looking for a place to park your cash and earn interest, a high-yield savings account is still your best bet.

Stockton suggests staying on top of your account’s rate to watch out for drops. You don’t have to check the APY daily, but looking it up every month or so to make sure it’s competitive is a good idea, he says. If it isn’t, consider switching accounts.

Keep in mind that interest compounds over time. So the sooner you move your money into a high-yield account, the more it can grow.

Don’t wait to open a new CD

The best one-year CD rates are around 4.10%, while top five-year rates are closer to 3.80%, according to NerdWallet data. These are some of the highest rates of the past decade, and you’ll need to act quickly if you want to secure them. As with savings accounts, these CD yields will likely dip.

CDs’ fixed rates let you lock in today’s yields for months or years of consistent returns. Ideally your rate surpasses inflation. Note that certificates of deposit are best for savings left untouched, since there are typically early withdrawal penalties that can erase some or all interest earned.

It’s not too late to get a high-yield savings account or CD before rates slip. The Fed’s next meeting is scheduled for late October, at which point it may cut rates again, so savers may want to act before then.

More From NerdWallet

The Truth About These 4 Common Banking Myths
Savings Rates Stay Strong Despite Dips: A 2024 Recap and What’s Next for 2025
Are You Saving Money in the Right Place?

Margarette Burnette writes for NerdWallet. Email: mburnette@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @Margarette.
Spencer Tierney writes for NerdWallet. Email: spencer.tierney@nerdwallet.com.

The article What Savers Should Do After the Fed’s First Rate Cut in 2025 originally appeared on NerdWallet.