Democrats clear the way for the GOP funding bill, ending the threat of a government shutdown.

Plus, with America's commitment to NATO suddenly in doubt, European leaders grapple with the unthinkable, facing Russia alone.

Europe relies on the US for the backbone of fighting, communications, intelligence,

reconnaissance, surveillance, things that it's still possible to fight without them,

but it's kind of like fighting blind.

And the price of gold reaches a record high.

It's Friday, March 14th. I'm Kate Boulavent for the Wall Street Journal filling in for Luke Vargas. And here is the AM edition

of What's News, the top headlines and business stories moving your world today.

Senate Democrats are planning to help advance a Republican measure to fund the government

in a vote this afternoon, ending the threat of a shutdown.

Democrats had struggled for days on how to approach the GOP bill, which gives the Trump

administration more flexibility to downsize

and dismantle federal agencies. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said there was no good option,

adding he would back the GOP measure because the prospect of a shutdown was worse.

Chauvonne Hughes covers Congress for the journal.

Schumer's decision is a politically risky one.

He is set to lose more than half of the Democratic caucus as he votes in favor of the Republican

bill to keep the government open. A shutdown Schumer argued would give President Trump even greater

power to lay off federal workers

beyond those in agencies he has already targeted. Senate Republican leaders have scheduled a procedural

vote for this afternoon. Without action, the government will shut down at one minute past

midnight on Saturday, furlowing hundreds of thousands of workers and stopping non-essential services.

...