Congress is allocating more than $100 billion in emergency aid to address extensive damage caused by hurricane and other disasters

Musk’s role in government shutdown drama could be a preview of role he plays for incoming president next yearDonald Trump’s relationship with Elon Musk is showing no signs of fraying, even after at times he appeared to eclipse the president-elect’s influence as he bullied House Republicans into paring down their bipartisan spending deal to avert a government shutdown with just hours to spare.The move by Musk to detonate the political equivalent of a nuclear bomb – by demanding that Republicans sink the deal or face a primary challenge – was viewed as a test run of the kind of role Musk might play to pressure Congress once Trump takes office, people familiar with the matter said. Continue reading...

In the biggest overhaul of local government in more than 50 years, ministers want to scrap hundreds of small local authorities as part of Angela Rayner 's 'devolution revolution'.

Frustrated House Speaker Mike Johnson forced to return to drawing board once again after second bill defeated in House of Representatives by 235 votes to 174

Barry Manners says when British Airways crew discovered his partner had Aids they were both forced out of hotel where other hostages were being heldA man who was among British Airways passengers and crew taken hostage in Kuwait and used as human shields during Saddam Hussein’s invasion and who are suing the airline said his ordeal was made worse by its staff’s homophobia.On Friday, more than 100 claimants served legal papers on BA and the government, who they say both knew the invasion had taken place hours before flight BA149 landed in Kuwait in 1990. Continue reading...

Rejection of the bill shows that Trump’s grip on the Republican party is not quite as iron-clad as usually thoughtUS politics – live updatesDonald Trump repeated his demand for the suspension – or even elimination – of the federal borrowing limit and continued a political crisis which threatens a US government shutdown on Friday at midnight.In an early morning post on his Truth Social social media platform Trump said: “Congress must get rid of, or extend out to, perhaps, 2029, the ridiculous Debt Ceiling. Without this, we should never make a deal. Remember, the pressure is on whoever is President.” Continue reading...