OMAHA — In the officially nonpartisan Nebraska Unicameral, the Democratic-leaning minority bloc currently has 16 seats, including progressive Omaha nonpartisan State Sen. Megan Hunt.

That means the Legislature’s partisan minority, when united, needs Hunt and at least one GOP defector to stop legislation the group opposes. Republicans, when united, hold a narrow supermajority of 33 seats that can overcome them.

WASHINGTON — The longest shutdown in U.S. history ended Wednesday night when President Donald Trump signed a spending package that  reopens the government and funds most of it through January.

The Oval Office ceremony came just hours after the House voted to approve the legislation, which senators passed earlier in the week.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jeffrey Epstein wrote in a 2019 email to a journalist that Donald Trump “knew about the girls,” according to documents made public Wednesday, but what he knew — and whether it pertained to the sex offender’s crimes — is unclear. The White House quickly accused Democrats of selectively leaking the emails to smear the president.