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US House votes to avert government shutdown
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives has voted to pass a budget deal to avert what would be the first US federal government shut down since 2019.
The deal, which passed by a vote of 366 -34 only six hours before a midnight deadline, must still be approved by the Democratic-controlled Senate before it can be signed into law by President Joe Biden.
Lawmakers earlier this week had successfully negotiated a deal to fund government agencies – but it fell apart after President-elect Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk called on Republicans to reject it.
This vote was the third attempt this week to get a deal through the House after a second funding measure – that one backed by Trump – failed on Thursday.
The 118-page “American Relief Act, 2025” that passed in the House on Friday strips out a debt-limit provision that Trump had demanded, which was a sticking point for Democrats and some Republican budget hawks in an earlier draft bill.
The deal also removes measures sought by Democrats in the first version of the bill, including the first pay raise for lawmakers since 2009, federal funds to rebuild a bridge that collapsed in Baltimore, healthcare reforms, and provisions aimed at preventing hotels and live event venues from deceptive advertising.
A total of 34 Republicans voted against the short-term funding bill while all Democrats in attendance were in favour.
Trump has not yet commented on the vote. A statement put out by the White House on behalf of Biden praises the deal.
Ahead of the vote, Democrats slammed the involvement of Mr Musk in the process, who they pointed out is an unelected billionaire.
Mr Musk, who Trump has tasked with cutting government spending in his future administration, had lobbied heavily against an earlier bill.
During floor debate, Republicans said they look forward to a “new era” when Trump takes office and Republicans take control of both chambers of Congress next month.
The wrangling over budget left Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson bruised amid criticism from members of his own party over his handling of the process.
“We are grateful that everyone stood together to do the right thing and having gotten this done now as the last order of business for the year, we are set up for a big and important new start in January,” Johnson told reporters after Friday’s vote.
He also said that he had spoken frequently to both Trump and Mr Musk during the negotiations.
Johnsons remarks came shortly after Mr Musk praised the Louisiana congressman’s work on the budget in a post on X, the social media platform he owns.
“The Speaker did a good job here, given the circumstances,” he posted. “It went from a bill that weighed pounds to a bill that weighed ounces.”
The dramatic budget fight served as a preview of the tense legislative fights that could be in store next year, once Trump is in the White House.
Officials have warned that if there is no funding deal going into the holiday season, millions of federal employees would go without paycheques if the government shuts down.
There will be countless other ways a shut down would affect Americans – including by limiting assistance to aid-reliant farmers and people recovering from natural disasters.
The last government shutdown was during Trump’s first term in 2019 after the Republican-controlled House of Representatives failed to come to an agreement on a new spending bill.
That shutdown lasted 35 days, and was the longest in US history.
[BBC]
Mexico has deployed thousands of soldiers to bolster security after a wave of violence erupted following the death of a powerful drug lord, the country’s security minister has said.
Defence Secretary Ricardo Trevilla said an extra 2,500 soldiers had been sent to western Mexico on Monday, with the government saying about 9,500 troops have been deployed overall since Sunday.
At least 20 states have seen unrest since Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes – better known as “El Mencho” – died in custody on Sunday shortly after being captured by Mexican special forces in Jalisco state.
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) is one of Mexico’s most feared criminal organisations and its leader was the country’s most wanted man.
At least 25 members of Mexico’s National Guard have died in Jalisco state since the violence erupted, the country’s security minister said.
El Mencho was captured after forces tracked down a romantic partner he was meeting, according to defence secretary Trevilla.
The drug lord was was seriously injured in a firefight between his bodyguards and the military commandos deployed to capture him, and he died while the military was transporting him from the town of Tapalpa to the capital, Mexico City.
At least six of El Mencho’s security guards were also killed in the operation, while three members of the Mexican military were injured, the defence ministry said.
Security secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch said a prison guard, a member of the state prosecutor’s office and 30 members of El Mencho’s criminal organisation were killed in the unrest since his death, according to the AFP news agency.
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum has praised the army’s operation that led to El Mencho’s death and said her priority is to guarantee peace and security across the country.
“There is calm, there is government, there are armed forces and there is a lot of co-ordination,” Sheinbaum said.
As news of El Mencho’s death spread, members of his cartel launched attacks in many towns and cities where the CJGN is active.
In some towns, they blocked roads by throwing spikes and nails on to the tarmac – in others, they commandeered buses and other vehicles then torched them in the middle of the road.
Sheinbaum said that the road blocks had been cleared by Monday morning.
However, dozens of banks and local businesses have been damaged after they were set alight by cartel members.
[BBC]
West Indies went on an unfettered big-hitting spree at the Wankhede Stadium, crushing Zimbabwe by 107 runs and sounding out a warning to other title-contenders in the 2026 T20 World Cup. Led by turbo-charged fifties from Shimron Hetmyer and Rowman Powell, West Indies racked up 254 for 6 – the second highest total at a men’s T20 World Cup – including 19 sixes. No team has hit more sixes in an innings in the history of the competition.
In response, Zimbabwe were all out for only 147, suffering their first loss in this tournament after topping Group B in the lead-up to the Super Eight.
It was Hetmyer, who started the carnage with a 19-ball half-century before former captain Powell and the rest of the middle order joined the six-hitting party. Hetmyer, Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Jason Holder all kept launching the ball into the night sky and made it look ridiculously easy, like West Indies’ hitters did in 2012 and 2016.
After missing Zimbabwe’s group-stage fixtures against Australia and Sri Lanka with injury, left-arm quick Richard Ngarava marked his return by having Brandon King holing out to long leg for 9 off 12 balls with a 101kph slower ball. Then, in the final over of the powerplay, Craig Evans dug an offcutter into the pitch and had Shai Hope caught spectacularly by Brian Bennett in the outfield for 14 off 12 balls.
Despite losing two wickets, West Indies scored 55 runs in their first six overs, with Hetmyer responsible for 20 of those. Hetmyer was just getting started at No. 3, a new(ish) role for him in this T20 World Cup after spending the previous edition on the bench.
Identified by coach Daren Sammy as a batter who could perform Nicholas Pooran’s role, Hetmyer aced it on Monday. He was particularly severe on spin, cracking Graeme Cremer and Sikandar Raza for 56 off 17 balls, with all seven of his sixes coming against spin. Hetmyer’s strike rate of 329.41 is the second-highest among batters to have scored 50-plus runs against spinners in a men’s T20I, where ball-by-ball data is available.
Along the way, Hetmyer charged to a 19-ball half-century, toppling his own record for West Indies’ fastest fifty at a men’s T20 World Cup. Earlier in this tournament, Hetmyer had clubbed a 22-ball fifty against Scotland in Kolkata.
Hetmyer was also aided by Zimbabwe’s fielding lapses. Tashinga Musekiwa dropped Hetmyer on 9 and then again on 70. Hetmyer added 15 to his tally after the second reprieve before Bennett eventually held onto a chance in the deep.
But the momentum seamlessly switched from one West Indies batter to another. Powell, who was on 15 off 17 balls at one point, teed off when he imperiously whipped Evans over midwicket. He hit three more sixes, including a 106-metre monster over extra-cover off part-time seamer Dion Myers in the 13th over. He pressed on to bring up a 29-ball fifty.
In the next over, Powell drilled one back so fiercely that the ball burst through the hands of Raza and left him needing attention from the physio. Raza even had to spend some time off the field, with Ngarava, the Test captain, standing in for him in the closing stages of the first innings.
Though Powell departed for 59, with Musekiwa getting third-time lucky and clinging onto a catch, electric cameos from Rutherford, Shepherd and Holder powered West Indies past 250.
Zimbabwe need a strong start to stay in the game. However, that was not to be and by the end of three overs, they were three down. Gudakesh Motie then precipitated Zimbabwe’s collapse with his career-best T20I figures of 4 for 28.
Having hurt his finger in the first innings, Raza (27 off 20 balls) came out to bat but only flickered briefly before Motie castled him with a delightful delivery that pitched on middle and ripped away to hit off.
Akeal Hosein’s dismissal of Bennett with his stock ball that drifted in towards middle and leg and turned away to hit off was another contender for the ball of the day.
The end was nigh for Zimbabwe when they slumped to 103 for 9 in the 15th over, but Evans delayed it with a 21-ball 43. Forde wrapped up the win – West Indies’ second biggest in terms of runs – when he had Evans top-edging a catch to short third in the 18th over.
Brief scores:
West Indies 254 for 6 in 20 overs (Shai Hope 14, Shimron Hetmyer 85, Rovman Powell 59, Sherfane Rutherford 31, Romario Shepherd 21, Jason Holder 13; Richard Ngarava 2-47, Blessing Muzarabani 2-42, Brad Evans 1-46, Graeme Cremer 1-38) beat Zimbabwe 147 in 17.4 overs (Tadiwanashe Marumani 14, Brad Evans 43, Dion Myers 28, Sikandar Raza 27, Tony Munyonga 14; Gudakesh Motie 4-28, Akeal Hosein 3-28, Matthew Forde 2-27, Jason Holder 1-25) by 107 runs
[Cricinfo]
Having been under covers for long periods, the surface showed some stickiness in the previous Super Eights game here, making run-scoring far from straightforward. However, with no rain around now, the pitch has had time to settle, which could aid better batting compared to the England-Sri Lanka game. That said, spin is still expected to play a major role. On the weather front, there is no rain forecast for Tuesday.
Even though Shaheen Afridi spent a fair amount of time bowling in the practice session on the eve of the game, it appears unlikely that the left-armer will return to the XI, with Salman Mirza set to retain his place. Pakistan brought back Fakhar Zaman into the mix against New Zealand in place of Khawaja Nafay. With the game getting washed out, they would want to stick to their call and give the experienced Zaman a go.
In that scenario, Babar’s role could be limited to that of a stabiliser at No. 4 in case of early wickets.
[Cricbuzz]
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