[2]A debt showdown in the Senate today, lawmakers have made a house bill that will mend a balanced budget and cut trillions in spending. Democrats say the measure will not pass.

 

[3]Minnesota State Police are back on the job today. Some 22 thousand state workers have been laid off for nearly three weeks. Governor Mark Dayton signed a budget deal yesterday that ended the nation's longest state government shutdown in a decade.

 

[4]And a 12-year-old African tortoise that recently had a trans-leg amputated is now moving just fine. The 23 pounds tortoise named Gamera had a swiveling wheel attached to his shell by doctors at Washington State University veterinary hospital. Gamera is gaining weight, thriving with his new appendage.