If Donald Trump has achieved anything that could be described as constructive it’s been to help create a political climate that has produced no fewer than 25 declared and likely Democrat contenders for the 2020 election, the opening primaries for which are scheduled for June in Florida.

So that’s Wednesday nearly wrapped up. Here’s some of the stories we published on irishexaminer.com today which we hope will help you make sense of it all this evening.

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said no trade deal between Britain and the United States which undermines the Good Friday Agreement is possible.

Republicans aren’t preparing for another shutdown because they don’t want to believe that one is possible — but that’s what they thought last time too, says Ramesh Ponnuru.

With the longest shutdown in US history officially over, here's a look at how the federal government will get back to regular business:

US President Donald Trump has sent a letter to Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi stating that he will go ahead with his State of the Union address to Congress.

Here's your morning bulletin.

President Donald Trump insists he is "not backing down" on his plan to impose stiff tariffs on imported steel and aluminium despite anxious warnings from House Speaker Paul Ryan and other congressional Republicans of a possible trade war.

Donald Trump has defended his Republican tax cut as a good deal for the middle class while boldly suggesting it could lead to explosive economic growth for the US.

He allegedly urged his lover to have an abortion when he thought she was pregnant.

Senior Republicans are open to considering legislation banning "bump stocks" like the gunman in Las Vegas apparently used to effectively convert semi-automatic rifles into fully automated weapons.

The Trump administration has declared that its relief efforts in Puerto Rico are succeeding, but people on the island said help was scarce eight days after Hurricane Maria devastated the US territory.

Thick black smoke and towering orange flames shot up once again from a flooded Houston-area chemical plant where highly unstable compounds blew up after losing refrigeration.

A combative President Donald Trump has again insisted "there is blame on both sides" for the deadly weekend violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Senators in the US have rejected a measure to repeal parts of former president Barack Obama's healthcare law after a night of suspense, dealing a serious blow to President Donald Trump's agenda.

The co-hosts of a US morning talk show have struck back against abusive tweets from President Donald Trump.

US President Donald Trump has denounced the appointment of a special counsel to investigate his campaign's ties with Russia, calling it an unprecedented "witch hunt" that "hurts our country terribly".

Donald Trump's national security adviser has insisted the US president's revelations to Russian officials about the terrorist threat from Islamic State were "wholly appropriate" and amounted to a routine sharing of information.

Donald Trump has tweeted that the US government "needs a good shutdown" in September to fix a "mess" in the Senate, signalling his displeasure with a temporary spending Bill that Republican congressional leaders - and the president himself - are praising as a major accomplishment.

The chairman of the House intelligence committee has said he is temporarily stepping aside from the panel's probe into Russian meddling in last year's US presidential election.

North Carolina politicians have voted to roll back North Carolina's "bathroom bill" in a bid to end the backlash over transgender rights that has cost the state dearly in business projects, conventions and basketball tournaments.

As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the White House, the Trump administration is going back and forth over whether its vision for Middle East peace includes a Palestinian state.

It has been confirmed President Donald Trump asked his national security advisor to resign.

A racist post about US First Lady Michelle Obama has prompted calls for the director of a West Virginia development group and a mayor to be sacked.

Donald Trump taken aim at "Obamacare" as well as homing in on the FBI's renewed examination of rival Hillary Clinton's emails as the US election campaign enters its final week.

Sexual allegations are not new in US presidential politics, but Ryle Dwyer notes that Donald Trump has plumbed a new low.

An "unshackled" Donald Trump has stepped up his attacks on his own party leaders, promising to teach Republicans who oppose him a lesson and fight for the presidency "the way I want to".

Donald Trump has declared "I was wrong and I apologise" after being caught on tape making vulgar and sexually charged comments about women.

Donald Trump has reshuffled his campaign team for the second time in two months as he trails Hillary Clinton in the polls in most key battleground states.

Good morning. Here’s everything you need to know before you start your day.

Republican frustration with Donald Trump has mounted following a series of startling statements from the nominee, including his refusal to endorse House Speaker Paul Ryan’s re-election.

Several hundred Donald Trump supporters — a few of them openly carrying guns as allowed under Ohio law — gathered for the first major pro-Trump rally of the four-day Republican National Convention.

A closer trading relationship with the United States could be possible as a result of Brexit, George Osborne indicated as he vowed to build a "global-facing Britain".

The director of the FBI has strongly defended the decision not to prosecute Hillary Clinton over her private email set-up.

John Lewis was a disciple of Martin Luther King and marched on Washington in 1963. Last week, he led a sit-down protest in Congress, says Peniel Joseph

Democrats demanding action on gun control continue to stage a sit-in on the floor of the US House of Representatives with one saying she would stay "until hell freezes over".