Luke Vargas

The end of an era as the U.S.

and Russia's final nuclear weapons pact expires.

Plus, a Democratic push to curb ISIS powers and fund DHS meets stiff Republican opposition in Congress.

And why Washington's best efforts are failing to stop the decline of American manufacturing.

It's Thursday, February 5th.

I'm Luke Vargas for The Wall Street Journal.

And here is the AM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories moving your world today.

The last treaty controlling nuclear weapons between the U.S.

and Russia has expired, raising fears of a new arms race.

That's Journal national security correspondent Michael Gordon.

He says that the new strategic arms reduction treaty, or new START, ended overnight because the Trump administration never responded to Russia's proposal to replace it.

The expiration of New START marks an end to the arms control that helped to bring an end to the Cold War.

The treaty had capped the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads for each party to 1,550 and established some transparency between Moscow and Washington, including data transfer, notifications, and on-site inspections.

Yesterday, the Russian Foreign Ministry released a statement in anticipation of the treaty expiring, saying that Moscow intends to act responsibly and in a balanced manner.

Senate negotiations to renew expired Affordable Care Act subsidies have collapsed, leaving approximately 20 million Americans facing higher insurance premiums.

Both parties failed to bridge divides over abortion coverage and plan structures, despite bipartisan attempts to reach a middle ground ahead of the midterm elections.

Meanwhile, a Senate standoff over funding for the Department of Homeland Security is intensifying, with lawmakers warning that it's unlikely they'll reach a deal in just over a week.

Democrats like Illinois' Dick Durbin are demanding stricter oversight.

While Republicans have signaled openness to some ideas, they've rejected others and introduced their own demands, such as an end to so-called sanctuary cities.

Here's Missouri's Josh Hawley.