US Government

The shortfall was more than 8% from the previous year and the third highest on record, the Treasury Department said Friday.

The national debt is the total amount of outstanding debt that the U.S. Federal Government has accumulated. Here’s what you need to know.

Congress on Wednesday passed a temporary measure that keeps government agencies funded into December, avoiding a shutdown for now while punting final spending decisions until after the Nov. 5 election.

House Speaker Mike Johnson will move ahead with a temporary spending bill that would prevent a partial government shutdown when the new budget year begins on Oct. 1.

Surveys show that a third of American adults can’t name the three branches of the federal government. One found that 10% of college graduates think TV’s “Judge Judy” serves on the U.S. Supreme Court.

The U.S. Postal Service is ending discounts that shipping consolidators such as UPS and DHL use to get packages to the nation’s doorsteps, in a move meant to help the Postal Service slow losses but that could see the higher costs passed on to consumers. The changes announced Wednesday affect nearly 2 billion packages each year that consolidators send through...

The U.S. Postal Service hopes to save $3 billion a year through a series of changes reflecting greater reliance on streamlined regional networks.