By Richard Cowan and Susan Heavey WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Bipartisan talks in the U.S. Senate to end the federal shutdown have taken a positive turn, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said on Saturday,

Turek, a state representative from Council Bluffs, said the country is seeing "the beginnings of another farm crisis."

Republican senators joined the Democrats' effort to end President Donald Trump's tariffs on Canadian, Brazilian and global imports.

Democrats face an uphill battle to recapture a U.S. Senate majority in the November 2026 midterm elections, as Republicans are defending just two seats seen as competitive by nonpartisan analysts and hold a 53-47 majority.

Kentucky Congressman Andy Barr has officially filed to run for U.S. Senate. The Republican submitted his candidacy paperwork Friday morning at the Kentucky Secretary of State’s Office, making his Senate campaign for 2026 formally underway.

El-Sayed, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow of Royal Oak and U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens of Birmingham are vying for the Democratic nomination in the August primary. Former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers of White Lake Township is considered the favorite for the GOP nomination.

This year's election year battle for control of the U.S. Senate is intensifying, as voter disaffection for President Donald Trump's response to the COVID-19 pandemic weighs on a growing number of Senate races in the South and Midwest.

Mallory McMorrow is currently the state’s 8th district senator and seeks to fill Senator Gary Peters’ (D-Michigan) seat. She talked with Yoopers during her statewide brewery tour. McMorrow says she discussed access to healthcare, agriculture and education in the U.P.

But the workday ended with no bipartisan deals announced on reopening the government and no release to the public of full-year funding bills.