U.S. CAPITOL, seat of Congress (Shutterstock).

UPDATE: The U.S. Senate passed the temporary debt ceiling late Thursday night, ending – for a while – the prospect of the federal government running out of money to pay its bills.

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A rare bipartisan deal to extend the federal government’s buying authority could push the deadline for the debt limit decision into December, instead of the original Oct. 18 date.

According to the Associated Press, Democratic and Republican leaders in the U.S. Senate have agreed to the move in order to stave off potential financial chaos if Uncle Sam no longer was able to pay bills.

“It’s our hope that we can get this done as soon as today,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York), the Senate majority leader. “The Senate is moving forward,” said Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), the minority leader.

The agreement would raise the legal debt limit by $480 billion, according to The New York Times. A total of 60 votes – all 50 Democrats and at least 10 Republicans – may be needed to approve it.

Report: Trump urged overturn of 2020 election

FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP (RNC image).

A report from the Democratic majority on the Senate Judiciary Committee released on Thursday alleged that President Donald Trump tried to invalidate the results of the 2020 presidential election won by Joe Biden.

Trump sought to get Justice Department officials to declare that the election was “corrupt” and allow him to remain in office, the report indicated.

His efforts were unsuccessful as those official refused to accept Trump’s unsupported claims of widespread fraud. The report added that some top government officials threatened to resign en masse in protest.

Also in the News …

• New unemployment claims fell in Thursday’s weekly report from the Labor Department, declining to 330,000. That’s the first decrease in four weeks, according to United Press International.
• Some abortion operations have resume in Texas after a federal judge issued a temporary order blocking enforcement of a new state law drastically limiting the termination of pregnancy, reports the AP.

Sports: Stafford leads Rams past Seattle, 26-17

Matthew Stafford passed for 365 yards and a touchdown as the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Seahawks in Seattle Thursday night. The win over their NFC West rivals improved their record to 4-1. Seattle QB Russell Wilson left the game in the second quarter with a finger injury on his throwing hand. The Seahawks fell to 2-3.

The Los Angeles Dodgers will once again face off against the San Francisco Giants, this time in the National League Division Series beginning on Friday.

That’s because Chris Taylor hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to dispatch the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1 p.m. on Wednesday.

Two American League Division series started today (Thursday) with the Houston Astros defeating the Chicago White Sox 6-1 and the Tampa Bay Rays beating the Boston Red Sox 5-0.

Weather: Rainy day Friday forecast

Most of us take a morning shower, but – according to The Weather Channel – we will all be taking a morning shower on Friday as rain comes down. The high will be 69 with an overnight low of 55. Sunny skies will return on Saturday with a high of 73 (54), warming up to 83 (56) on Sunday.