• chevron_right

      Joe Lieberman, former US senator and vice-presidential nominee, dies at 82

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Yesterday - 21:59


    Lieberman, Connecticut senator for four terms, was Al Gore’s Democratic running mate in 2000

    The former US senator Joe Lieberman, who ran as the Democratic nominee for vice-president in the 2000 election and became the first Jewish candidate on a ticket for the White House, alongside presidential candidate Al Gore, has died at the age of 82.

    Lieberman died in New York, according to a statement from his family. He was a Connecticut senator for four terms.

    Continue reading...
    • chevron_right

      US Senate passes $1.2tn spending package to avert government shutdown

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · 5 days ago - 06:28 · 1 minute

    Vote of 74-24 came after Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer announced a breakthrough shortly before midnight

    The Senate has passed a $1.2tn package of spending bills, a long overdue action nearly six months into the budget year that will push any threats of a government shutdown to the fall. The bill now goes to President Joe Biden to be signed into law.

    The vote was 74-24. It came after funding had expired for government agencies at midnight, but the White House sent out a notice shortly after the deadline announcing the Office of Management and Budget had ceased shutdown preparations because there was a high degree of confidence that Congress would pass the legislation and the president would sign it on Saturday.

    “Because obligations of federal funds are incurred and tracked on a daily basis, agencies will not shut down and may continue their normal operations,” the White House statement said.

    Prospects for a short-term government shutdown had appeared to grow Friday evening after Republicans and Democrats battled over proposed amendments to the bill. Any successful amendments to the bill would have sent the legislation back to the House, which had already left town for a two-week recess.

    But shortly before midnight Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer announced a breakthrough.

    “It’s been a very long and difficult day, but we have just reached an agreement to complete the job of funding the government,” Schumer said. “It is good for the country that we have reached this bipartisan deal. It wasn’t easy, but tonight our persistence has been worth it.”

    Continue reading...
    • chevron_right

      Netanyahu addresses Senate Republicans days after Schumer calls for his ouster

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Wednesday, 20 March - 20:38

    Israeli PM spoke via video link and answered questions, after his request to similarly speak with Democrats was turned down

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu virtually addressed Republican senators in Washington on Wednesday, days after the chamber’s majority leader, Democrat Chuck Schumer, called him an impediment to peace in an unsparing floor speech.

    Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell told reporters, shortly after leaving the Senate Republicans’ policy lunch, that Netanyahu joined the gathering via video link, delivered a presentation, and answered questions.

    Continue reading...
    • chevron_right

      Trump sparks outrage saying Jews who vote for Democrats ‘hate’ Israel – US politics live

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Tuesday, 19 March - 13:05 · 1 minute

    Democrats hit back, saying former president ‘should be ashamed of himself’ after divisive comments

    Good morning, US politics blog readers. Campaigning for the November election is in full swing, and true to form, Donald Trump is saying things that people find outrageous and offensive. The latest: his comments on Monday that Jews who voted for Democrats “hate” their religion and Israel. America’s relationship with Israel is a major political issue, with Congress deadlocked over approving aid to the country as well as Ukraine and Taiwan despite months of negotiations , and Joe Biden showing signs of exasperation with Benjamin Netanyahu ’s handling of its invasion of Gaza. Democrats pilloried Trump for his comments, with a party spokesman saying the former president “should be ashamed of himself”.

    Perhaps. But Democrats are also grappling with the uncomfortable reality that Biden is stubbornly unpopular, and that Trump has a track record of saying offensive things and yet maintaining Republicans’ loyalty. But Biden’s not Hillary Clinton , it’s not 2016 any more , and we’ll see if this comment lands among voters any differently. Trump is also dealing with his own problems, namely the bond he is so far unable to secure to cover New York’s $454m civil fraud judgment against him.

    The supreme court will issue opinions at 10am ET. We don’t know what they’ll decide, but one case pending will determine whether South Carolina’s congressional map was an illegal racial gerrymander.

    Biden heads to Nevada and Arizona, two swing states that will be important to his re-election prospects. In the latter, he’ll launch Latinos con Biden-Harris to attract voters from the demographic that’s well represented in both states.

    Republicans have an idea for breaking the logjam on Ukraine aid: make it a loan. We’ll see if any Democrats think that’s a good idea.

    Continue reading...
    • chevron_right

      US government faces another shutdown: what you need to know

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Tuesday, 19 March - 11:00

    Congress needs to pass legislation by Saturday to avert another government shutdown – will it happen?

    Congress faces its third shutdown deadline of the month this week, as much of the federal government is expected to run out of funding by Friday at midnight.

    Both chambers of Congress must approve six appropriations bills before Saturday to get the legislation to Joe Biden’s desk and avert a partial shutdown. Although the current fiscal year started more than five months ago, House Republicans have struggled to pass appropriations bills due to demands from hard-right members to include controversial provisions in the legislation.

    Continue reading...
    • chevron_right

      Congress scrambles to avert shutdown as deadline looms again – US politics live

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Monday, 18 March - 13:11

    Agreement looked close on Friday but disagreements over border and immigration spending are stalling a deal

    The supreme court will hear oral arguments on Monday in Murthy v Missouri, a case with the potential to radically redefine how the US government interacts with social media companies.

    Central to the case is whether the White House violated free speech protections during the Covid-19 pandemic, when government officials requested that Twitter, Facebook and other social networks remove misinformation about the coronavirus.

    11.30am. Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden and Kamala Harris will speak at a Women’s History Month reception.

    1.30pm. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and national security adviser Jake Sullivan will brief.

    Continue reading...
    • chevron_right

      Vermont senator Bernie Sanders introduces four-day workweek bill

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Friday, 15 March - 13:36

    Independent lawmaker says it’s time for workers to have a better quality of life with a 32-hour workweek without loss of pay

    Bernie Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont who twice ran for the Democratic presidential nomination, introduced a bill to establish a four-day US working week.

    Studies and pilot programmes have shown that four-day workweeks can increase productivity and happiness. Given Republican control of the House and a Senate split 51-49 in favour of Democrats, however, the legislation stands little chance of success.

    Continue reading...
    • chevron_right

      Chuck Schumer calls on Israel to hold new elections during Senate speech

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Thursday, 14 March - 15:27

    The majority leader signaled his impatience with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in face of growing Gaza death toll

    The Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, called on Israel to hold new elections, saying he believed the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, had “lost his way” in the Israeli bombardment of Gaza and a growing humanitarian crisis there.

    Schumer, the first Jewish majority leader in the Senate and the highest-ranking Jewish official in the US, strongly criticized Netanyahu in a lengthy speech on Thursday morning on the Senate floor.

    Continue reading...
    • chevron_right

      House to vote on bill that would force TikTok sale or US-wide ban – US politics live

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Wednesday, 13 March - 13:23

    Future of app used by about 150 million Americans hangs in balance but if House passes bill, it is unclear how it will progress in the Senate

    Donald Trump ’s newfound support of TikTok, and by extension its Chinese owner ByteDance ByteDance, came soon after Joe Biden said he’d sign legislation making its way through Congress that could ban the app.

    It also came after the former president met with the Republican mega-donor, Jeff Yass, who reportedly has a major financial stake in the popular social media platform.

    If you get rid of TikTok, Facebook and Zuckerschmuck will double their business. I don’t want Facebook, who cheated in the last Election, doing better.

    There’s a lot of good and there’s a lot of bad with TikTok. But the thing I don’t like is that without TikTok you’re going to make Facebook bigger, and I consider Facebook to be an enemy of the people, along with a lot of the media.

    I think Facebook has been very bad for our country, especially when it comes to elections.

    Continue reading...