Senate pushes back against Trump over Syria troop pullout
The Senate voted Monday to oppose the withdrawal of US troops from Syria and Afghanistan, breaking with President Donald Trump as he calls for a military drawdown in those countries.
Senate
Border security talks begin with no sign of compromise to avert another government shutdown
With just 16 days before temporary government funding runs out once again for a quarter of the U.S. government, talks between House and Senate negotiators showed little sign of progress on the stickiest of issues: border wall funding.
Spy chief says Russia will attempt to interfere in 2020, contradicts Trump on North Korea’s denuclearization, ISIS defeat
Russia and other actors will attempt to interfere in the 2020 elections, U.S. intelligence agencies told Congress on Tuesday, saying such actors will use the tactics they deployed in the 2016 and 2018 campaigns.
Senate rebukes Trump, advances measure on Syria troops
In a rebuke of President Donald Trump, the Republican-led U.S. Senate advanced largely symbolic legislation on Thursday opposing plans for any abrupt withdrawal of troops from Syria and Afghanistan.
US spy agencies doubt North Korea will give up its nukes
In an assessment casting doubt on US President Donald Trump’s goal of a nuclear-disarmed North Korea, US intelligence agencies told Congress on Tuesday that the North is unlikely to entirely dismantle its nuclear arsenal.
Senate advances bill that allows states to penalize companies boycotting Israel
After weeks of a shutdown-inspired filibuster, some Senate Democrats relented Monday and joined Republicans to advance a bill to give state and local governments a green light to penalize companies that boycott Israel.
Senate rejects dueling proposals to end the shutdown
The Senate blocked two proposals on Thursday to reopen the government, but amid the ongoing stalemate, there’s some hope that Washington might be inching closer toward ending a shutdown now on its 34th day.
New York Legalizes Abortion Up to Baby’s Birth Day on Anniversary of Roe v. Wade
New York legislators cheered and applauded Tuesday night after the state Senate removed restrictions on late-term abortions, allowing unborn babies to be aborted up until the day of birth.
Shutdown shrinks as thousands more employees called in to work without pay
Thousands of aviation safety inspectors and hundreds of food, drug and medical inspectors are heading back to work without pay — and so will tens of thousands of Internal Revenue Service employees if the government shutdown is still in place when tax season begins Jan. 28.
Leaders nix recess with no shutdown deal in sight
Senate and House leaders said Tuesday they will cancel the Martin Luther King Day recess unless there is a sudden resolution to the 25-day partial government shutdown, which appears unlikely given a breakdown in high-level talks.
Trump’s full court press fails to sway voters on border wall, earns him credit for shutdown
President Trump’s prime-time plea to Americans to support his plans for a border wall fell flat, and the public increasingly blames him for the government shutdown.
AG nominee Bill Barr says Robert Mueller will be allowed to complete his probe
Attorney General nominee William P. Barr will promise senators Tuesday that if he is confirmed, he will ll allow special counsel Robert Mueller to finish his probe, now in its 20th month, into Russian election meddling.
New York Gov. Cuomo: No budget unless abortion made legal for any reason until birth
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is refusing to sign the state’s budget unless the legislature passes a bill that makes abortion up until birth for any reason legal in the state. He is also calling on the legislature to enshrine abortion as a right guaranteed in the state constitution.
Senate Democrats back BDS anti-Israel movement with filibuster of Mideast partnership bill
Angry at the government shutdown and peeved over attempts to stifle anti-Israeli boycotts, Senate Democrats on Tuesday filibustered a bill that would have strengthened U.S. relationships in the Middle East while punishing the anti-Israel boycott movement.
Pew reports, ‘Christians overrepresented in Congress’: 55 percent Protestant, 30 percent Catholic, 6 percent Jewish
The new Congress that was sworn in Thursday afternoon is significantly more religious and Christian than the nation it represents, according to an analysis of religions claimed by House and Senate members.
Ohio fails to override Kasich’s veto of 6 week heartbeat abortion ban
The Ohio state legislature has failed by one vote to override Gov. John Kasich’s veto of a bill banning abortion as early as six weeks, which is when a baby’s heartbeat can first be detected.
Ugandan Christians live in fear of minority Muslims on quest for conversions
Christians in eastern Uganda are among those in their faith who face the most serious dangers in the world, according to World Watch Monitor, a group that tracks persecutions of Christians. The charity counted at least two incidents of Muslims killing Christians as well as vandalism of at least two churches.
Partial Government Shutdown Expected to Last Through Christmas
The federal government remains in partial shut down after Congress and President Donald Trump failed to reach an agreement on $5 billion in spending for his border wall.
House passes stopgap bill with funding for border wall in bid to avert a shutdown
Under pressure from conservatives, President Trump said Thursday he would veto a stopgap spending bill unless Congress added money for his border wall — dooming a bipartisan compromise worked on in the Senate, and putting the government careening toward a partial shutdown.
President Trump signs $867B farm bill without food stamp program cuts
President Donald Trump has signed a massive $867 billion farm bill that reauthorizes agriculture and conservation programs without any cuts to the food stamp program.