After a long wait, the Senate is launching action on President Donald Trump’s ”“big, beautiful bill” of tax breaks and spending cuts.

The Senate vote is one big step in a long process. And the debate revealed intra-party tension over key issues like Medicaid, tax-cut strategy and the debt.

Senator Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who caucuses with the Democratic Party, sounded the alarm over a Republican budget bill backed by President Donald Trump, warning that the administration is "making it harder" for many Americans to access Social Security.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton are into the second week of their campaigns. Follow our rolling coverage here.

Is a $5000 DOGE stimulus check coming in 2025? Here's what to know about eligibility qualifications and Elon Musk status update

Markets are facing their worst crisis since the COVID crash after China matched President Donald Trump’s big raise in tariffs following the president's "liberation day" announcement.

Combined with earlier buyouts and retirements, the Health and Human Services Department will be left with 62,000 employees, down from around 82,000. Agencies face an April 14 deadline to present details of which employees will be cut in order to comply with Mr. Trump’s government-shrinking objective.

New tariffs cause global stock markets to plunge with U.S. allies expected to retaliate - President Trump says he will impose blanket tariffs on all countries, hitting China and Europe hardest

U.S. markets plunged today after China struck back against new American tariffs, intensifying trade tensions and sparking a global sell-off. The Dow dropped over 2,200 points, its worst two-day streak since early in the pandemic,