WBEZ 91.5 Chicago

President Obama and congressional leaders may be trying to cut the federal budget, but they’ve agreed to pour more than a half-billion dollars of new funds into Race to the Top, the president’s signature education program.

The unexpectedly chilly winds of April weren't enough to blow down the National Endowment for the Arts, even though some members of Congress wanted to pour cold Tea Party on it.

Updated at 3:50 p.m. on 04/11/11 At the 11th hour, leadership struck a budget deal to avert a government shutdown Friday, April 8. But that’s last year’s budget—and it’s six months overdue.

Now that we know there will NOT be a partial shutdown of the federal government because late last night lawmakers reached a deal on a plan to cut about $38 billion from this year's budget, it's time for some morning-after analyses.-- Over at It's All Politics, our colleague Frank James says this sho

The IRS suspends the approval of paper tax returns. National Parks and museums will closed. A flood of financial problems for already struggling states. All this, and more, could become reality if lawmakers on Capitol Hill can’t strike a deal before the day’s end.

Just days after it looked like the chances of a partial government shutdown of the federal government had grown significantly due to the failure of Democrats and Republicans to compromise on federal spending, Wednesday brought reports that Democrats and Republicans stepped away from the brink.Progre

Illinois U.S. Sen.