Month: October 2021

President Joe Biden on Thursday night signed Congress’ stopgap funding bill to avert a shutdown and extend government funding through December 3. The Senate and House voted on Thursday to pass a measure to resupply the federal government with funds until December in order to avoid a shutdown that was set to take place at midnight. The Senate voted 65-35 and the House voted 254-175 in support of the stopgap funding bill. Congress then sent the bill to President Biden’s desk for a signature before the midnight deadline, at which point the government would have had to partially shut down.

Biden canceled a trip to Chicago on Wednesday to stay in Washington, D.C., to facilitate a deal to avoid a shutdown and work on debt ceiling negotiations. The White House said Biden would sign a measure quickly to keep federal employees working beyond Thursday. Biden said in a statement that “the passage of this bill reminds us that bipartisan work is possible and it gives us time to pass longer-term funding to keep our government running and delivering for the American people.”

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told lawmakers last week that she expects that Congress has until about Oct. 18 to raise the debt ceiling before the government starts defaulting on payments, which would make borrowing more money more expensive and more difficult.

The FBI is assisting in the search for a 19-year-old woman who went missing last Friday from an Orlando apartment complex.  Sheriff John Mina of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday that the FBI is aiding in the search for Miya Marcano, who was last seen at about 5 p.m. on Friday at the Arden Villas Luxury Apartments in Orlando, where she lived and worked.

According to the sheriff, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement has assisted with specially trained canines that can locate electronics, specifically cell phones. Other local agencies have provided dogs and dive teams to search bodies in the water. Earlier this week, Armando Manuel Caballero, a person of interest in the case, had been found dead of an apparent suicide.  Sheriff Mina said authorities believe Caballero, who worked at the apartments, had accessed Marcano’s apartment without her permission and there was an arrest warrant for him for burglary. Currently, investigators aren’t looking for any other people in connection to Marcano’s disappearance, saying Caballero “was the main person that we are focusing on.”

Marcano was wearing a red shirt, jeans, and a black hoodie at her apartment complex when she was last seen. The sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post that Marcano “had a scheduled flight that evening, but never made it on the plane.”  Authorities urge anyone with information to call the Central Florida Crimeline or 407-836-4357.

Editorial credit: Olivia Lunar / Shutterstock.com