3 h. ago Senate Republicans vote against check on Trump using deadly force against cartels

First vote in Congress on military campaign that White House says has hit four vessels and killed at least 21 peopleSenate Republicans voted down legislation Wednesday that would have put a check on Donald Trump’s ability to use deadly military force against drug cartels after Democrats tried to counter the administration’s extraordinary assertion of presidential war powers to destroy vessels in the Caribbean.The vote fell mostly along party lines, 48-51, with two Republicans, Rand Paul and Lisa Murkowski, voting in favor and the Democrat John Fetterman voting against. Continue reading...

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8 h. ago Indiana Republican senator rips Biden for 2020 census, calling it a ‘fraud.’ Trump was president

Republican senator blamed the Biden administration for using a statistical decision that was enacted under the first Trump administration

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33 h. ago Republican senators keep telling Pam Bondi that Biden ‘tapped’ their phones. Here’s what really happened

‘Arctic Frost’ investigation sought call logs from senators immediately before and after January 6

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42 h. ago Trump threatens to invoke Insurrection Act as Bondi faces Senate – US politics live

Legal wrangles over troop deployments continue with attorney general also likely to face questions over Epstein filesThe US government shutdown entered its second week as the Senate again rejected rival bills to restart funding and Donald Trump suggested he might be open to negotiating with Democrats over the healthcare subsidies they have put at the heart of the stalemate.A fifth Senate vote to advance a Republican-written bill that would reopen the government failed on a 52-42 tally – well below the 60-vote threshold needed for advancement. The Democrats’ proposal was defeated in a 50-45 party-line vote. No lawmakers changed their votes from recent days, though there were a handful of absences.A career federal prosecutor in Virginia has told colleagues she does not believe there is probable cause to file criminal mortgage fraud charges against New York attorney general Letitia James, according to a person familiar with the matter. The prosecutor, Elizabeth Yusi, oversees major cri...

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4 d. ago Trump’s bullying of Latin America isn’t part of any plan – he doesn’t have a clue what he’s doing | Simon Tisdall

The president’s threats to attack Venezuela are regressive, dangerous and almost certain to backfireRunning for president in 2024, Donald Trump vowed to avoid costly, often disastrous overseas US military interventions like Iraq and Afghanistan. This was a key plank in his isolationist “America first” platform. Yet within months of his inauguration, US forces were bombing Yemen and Iran. Looking south, Trump threatened to seize the Panama canal. Now, the Pentagon is gearing up for attacks on “terrorist” drug cartels deep inside Colombia and Mexico. Of most immediate concern is a possible renewed White House effort to forcibly impose regime change on Venezuela.Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s hard-left authoritarian president, believes this effort is already under way. He says the US is waging “undeclared war” on his country after several deadly strikes on Venezuelan vessels in international waters. Trump notified Congress last week that the US is engaged in “armed conflict” with drug car...

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4 d. ago AOC slammed for accusing Trump of killing kids with government shutdown amid desperate fundraising pitch

Ocasio-Cortez's comments came as she looks to keep growing her campaign dollars. She raked in $15.4million this year, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

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5 d. ago Trump and Democrats deadlocked over government funding as shutdown drags on

Senate votes to reopen the federal government failed to pass on Friday

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5 d. ago Senate fails to end the shutdown as both parties aren’t even speaking to each other: ‘I’m not optimistic’

Neither Republicans nor Democrats appear willing to give an inch as Americans pay the price

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5 d. ago US government shutdown: White House halts $2.1bn of Chicago transport funding; ‘I don’t have anything to negotiate’, says Mike Johnson – live

Trump aide Russ Vought said hold would affect work to extend and modernize city’s transit lines amid little hope Senate can agree a way out of shutdownUS government shutdown day three: Republicans and Democrats make little progress on dealTrump administration freezes $2.1bn in funds for Chicago transit projectsAs the world waits for Hamas’s response to Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza, the US president has issued a new deadline for the militant group of 6pm ET on Sunday.Trump, who on Monday gave Hamas “three or four days” to respond to his ultimatum, said they were being given “one last chance”. He wrote on his Truth Social platform this morning:Every Country has signed on! If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas. Continue reading...

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5 d. ago Trump vows ‘all hell’ will break loose if Hamas doesn’t agree to his Gaza peace plan by new deadline

The US president warned Hamas will be ‘quickly extinguished’ if it rejects his peace plan

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5 d. ago Trump gives Hamas deadline of Sunday to agree to Gaza peace plan

US president warns militant group that ‘all HELL . . . will break out’ if it does not sign up to his deal

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5 d. ago Donald Trump issues Hamas with new Gaza peace deadline, or face 'all hell'

The US president has urged Hamas to agree to his 'last chance' deal to end the war in Gaza by the end of this week, days after the White House released Trump's peace plan

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5 d. ago These five Senate Democrats could be the key for Republicans to break Schumer ... and the shutdown standoff

From paying troops to protecting federal jobs in their home state, these Democrats have plenty of reasons to cross the aisle on a continuing resolutiuon, Eric Garcia reports

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6 d. ago Hamas likely to accept Trump Gaza plan with key revisions, experts say

Turkey and Qatar putting pressure on group to make concessions – but condition it disarm a sticking pointMiddle East crisis – live updatesHamas is likely to provisionally accept Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire proposal in the coming days – but only on condition there are significant revisions of some of its key elements, analysts and sources close to the group say.Trump imposed a deadline of “three or four days” from Tuesday for Hamas to give its response to his 20-point plan, which aims to bring the two-year war in Gaza to a close and allow an apparently indefinite international administration of the devastated territory, or “pay in hell”. Continue reading...

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6 d. ago Hamas to demand key revisions to Trump Gaza plan before accepting, sources say

Turkey and Qatar putting pressure on group to make concessions – but condition it disarm is a sticking pointHamas will demand key revisions to Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire proposal but is likely to accept the plan in coming days as a basis for renewed negotiations, analysts and sources close to the group say.Trump imposed a deadline of “three or four days” from Tuesday for Hamas to give its response to his 20-point plan, which aims to bring the two-year war in Gaza to a close and allow an apparently indefinite international administration of the devastated territory, or “pay in hell”. Continue reading...

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6 d. ago Government shutdown live updates: Trump calls to clear ‘dead wood’ in government as he determines which agencies to cut

Trump is set to meet with OMB Director Russ Vought to discuss agency cuts on day two of the government shutdown

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6 d. ago Government shutdown day 2 – live: Trump claims closure will save billions of dollars with ‘dead wood’ cleared out

The shutdown began at midnight Wednesday amid the Senate’s failure to reach a deal on federal spending

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7 d. ago Buckle up, America — Republicans and Democrats appear dug in for a long government shutdown

Republicans say Democrats ‘don't have the high ground in this in this situation,’ Eric Garcia writes. But Democrats are unintimidated by threats from the Trump administration to target their states

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7 d. ago US government shutdown live: Republican stopgap funding bill fails in Senate as White House to hold press briefing on shutdown

Senate votes 55-45 against Republican bill with three Democrats crossing party lines to support measure; Karoline Leavitt to give press briefingUS government shuts downTracker: how each US senator votedThis shutdown is expected to be worse than previous ones. The impact on federal workers could be even more severe.Before Trump’s most recent threat of mass layoffs on Tuesday, a memo released last week by the White House’s office of management and budget told agencies not just to prepare for temporary furloughs but for permanent layoffs in the event of a shutdown. Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago US government shutdown live: Senate votes down Democratic continuing resolution as speaker says House will return next week

Senate votes 47-53, with all Republicans opposed, to reject Democrats’ counterproposal to fund government; Mike Johnson says House will returnUS government shuts downTracker: how each US senator votedThis shutdown is expected to be worse than previous ones. The impact on federal workers could be even more severe.Before Trump’s most recent threat of mass layoffs on Tuesday, a memo released last week by the White House’s office of management and budget told agencies not just to prepare for temporary furloughs but for permanent layoffs in the event of a shutdown. Continue reading...

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