Senate Democrats are ready to break a fragile truce that would avert a partial government shutdown after a Minneapolis man was fatally shot by a border patrol agent Saturday.

With a series of candidate recruiting successes, Democrats have established a plausible, if still difficult, path to recapturing the Senate this year. But to regain the majority, the party will need to overcome the blue-collar barricade.

Senators are facing the potential for a weather-shortened week as they sprint to pass the final six government funding bills — and leaders from both parties may need to do some arm-twisting to avoid a partial shutdown come Jan.

The New Mexico Senate handed the governor an early legislative victory Friday, passing three priority bills she had set a goal of getting through the chamber in the first week of the legislative session.

The House voted to repeal a Senate GOP measure allowing lawmakers to sue the government for $500K, attaching it to a funding bill that could keep the government open.

The four bills total about $1.2 trillion in spending and now move to the Senate, with final passage needed next week before a Jan. 30 deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown. Three of the bills had broad,