prepare to watch the show s final episode. the opening ceremony of the 22nd commonwealth games takes place in birmingham tonight. prince charles will represent the queen and 30,000 people will be inside the alexander stadium, with millions more watching around the world. the show will include performances from local music and dance groups, emphasising the city s diversity. more than 5,000 athletes are set to compete over a packed 11 days. they will be representing 72 nations and territories. the queen s baton will also be a key part of that ceremony, after being carried for 294 days through commonwealth countries. athletes will compete in 19 sports and 280 medal events, which will include for the first time women s t20 cricket, 3 on 3 basketball and 3 on 3 wheelchair basketball. also for the first time, there are more medals for women than for men, and para events are all part of the main games. 0ur sports reporterjoe lynsky explains what s in store. they have waited four yea
the bill was passed just before the midnight deadline that would have seen tens of thousands of federal employees placed on furlough and various government services suspended. the issue of more aid for ukraine is something opposed by some hard right house republicans. here s senate majority leader chuck schumer. it has been a day full of twists and turns. the american people can breathe a sigh of relief. there will be no government shutdown. democrats have said from the start that the only solution for avoiding a shutdown is bipartisanship and we are glad speaker mccarthy has finally heeded our message. in the end, more democrats supported this bill in the house than republicans. proving bipartisanship was the best answer all along. i want to thank my colleagues here in the senate, especially our appropriators. madam president susan collins and leader mcconnell. our bipartisanship work in the senate set the tone for the bill we are about to pass. our bipartisanship made this