Page 9 - Us Senate

Longtime US Representative Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas dies at 74 years

Longtime US Rep Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, who helped lead federal efforts to protect women from domestic violence and recognise Juneteenth as a national holiday, has died. She was 74. Lillie Conley, her chief of staff, confirmed Friday night that Jackson Lee, who had pancreatic cancer, had died. The Democrat had represented her Houston-based district and the nation's fourth-largest city since 1995. She had previously had breast cancer and announced the pancreatic cancer diagnosis on June 2. The road ahead will not be easy, but I stand in faith that God will strengthen me, Jackson Lee said in a statement then. Jackson Lee had just been elected to the Houston district once represented by Barbara Jordan, the first Black woman elected to Congress from a Southern state since Reconstruction, when she was immediately placed on the high-profile House Judiciary Committee in 1995. They just saw me, I guess through my profile, through Barbara Jordan's work, Jackson Lee told the Houston ..

African-American lawmakers support Prez Biden, but some express concern

The Congressional Black Caucus prides itself on its authority among Democrats and its influence with President Joe Biden in particular. So far, only one of its roughly 60 members have joined calls for Biden to drop his reelection bid due to concerns over his age and ability to win. But the caucus' broad backing of the president varies widely, ranging from enthusiastic support to outright skepticism. And a small but growing number are publicly expressing doubts about Biden's candidacy. Black voters are credited with helping Biden clinch the Democratic nomination four years ago and defeat Donald Trump. Whether Black lawmakers stick with the president now, and how fervently they do so, could be critical in the coming days as pressure builds from the highest levels of the Democratic Party for Biden to end his campaign. Biden's approval ratings with Black Americans are down from when he took office, reflecting weakened enthusiasm. Among Democrats nationwide, nearly two-thirds say Biden .

US Sen Menendez convicted of taking bribes & acting as an agent for Egypt

US Sen. Bob Menendez was convicted on Tuesday of all the counts he faced at his corruption trial, including accepting bribes of gold and cash from three New Jersey businessmen and acting as a foreign agent for the Egyptian government. The jury's verdict followed a nine-week trial in which prosecutors said the Democrat abused the power of his office to protect allies from criminal investigations and enrich associates, including his wife, through acts that included meeting with Egyptian intelligence officials and helping that country access millions of dollars in US military aid. As the verdict was read in court, Menendez, 70, looked toward the jury at times as he appeared to mark a document in front of him. Afterward, he sat resting his chin against his closed hands, elbows on the table. He and his lawyers vowed to appeal as they left the courthouse. I have never been anything but a patriot of my country and for my country. I have never, ever been a foreign agent, Menendez ...

Pressure on Joe Biden mounts as Senate Democrat calls for new ticket

Allies remain deeply concerned about Biden's campaign's viability and the risk it poses to other elected Democrats

US Senate passes bill to accelerate advanced nuclear energy deployment

A version of the bill had already passed in the House of Representatives and it will now go to President Joe Biden for a signature to become law. It passed the Senate 88-2 votes

Boeing CEO Calhoun apologises to relatives of 737 Max crash victims

US lawmakers prepared to press Boeing's chief executive Tuesday about the company's latest plan to fix its manufacturing problems, and relatives of people who died in two crashes of Boeing 737 Max jetliners were in the room to remind him of what was at stake. CEO David Calhoun appeared before the Senate investigations subcommittee, which is chaired by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., a Boeing critic. Blumenthal opened the hearing by recognising the relatives of the crash victims and the family of a Boeing whistleblower who died by suicide earlier this year. This hearing is a moment of reckoning, the senator said. "It's about a company, a once iconic company, that somehow lost its way." Calhoun's appearance before Congress was the first by a high-ranking Boeing official since a panel blew out of a 737 Max during an Alaska Airlines flight in January. No one was seriously injured in the incident, but it raised fresh concerns about the company's best-selling commercial aircraft. Calho

Boeing mishandled, lost track of up to 400 bad 737 parts: Whistleblower

The claims were detailed in a June 11 complaint by Boeing inspector Sam Mohawk with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and were made public by a US Senate subcommittee on Tuesday

737 MAX case: Boeing CEO to testify before US Senate panel on June 18

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in February barred Boeing from boosting 737 MAX production after a door panel blew out during a Jan 5 flight on a 737 MAX 9 operated by Alaska Airlines

30 yrs in prison for man who attacked Nancy Pelosi's husband with hammer

The man who broke into the home of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi seeking to hold her hostage and bludgeoned her husband with a hammer was sentenced Friday to 30 years in prison. But prosecutors later filed a motion saying the court failed to offer the defendant, David DePape, an opportunity to speak or present any information to mitigate the sentence" as required by federal rule. They asked the court to reopen the sentencing portion to allow him that option. The court did not immediately respond. A jury found DePape, 44, guilty in November of attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official. Prosecutors had asked for a 40-year prison term. The attack on Paul Pelosi, who was 82 at the time, was captured on police body camera video just days before the 2022 midterm elections and sent shockwaves through the political world. He suffered two head wounds including a skull fracture that was mended with plates and screws he will

House rejects Greene's effort to oust Speaker Mike Johnson, chaos lingers

Hardline Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene tried and failed in a brazen push to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson, but the resounding rejection by Democrats and Republicans does not guarantee an end to the political chaos. One of Donald Trump's biggest supporters in Congress, Greene stood on the House floor late Wednesday and read a long list of transgressions she said Johnson had committed as speaker, from his passage of a $95 billion national security package with aid for Ukraine to his reliance on Democrats to wield power. Colleagues booed in protest. But Greene soldiered on, criticizing Johnson's leadership as pathetic, weak and unacceptable. After Greene triggered the vote on her motion to vacate the speaker from his office, Republican Majority Leader Steve Scalise quickly countered by calling first for a vote to table it. An overwhelming majority, 359-43, kept Johnson in his job, for now. As I've said from the beginning, and I've made clear here every day, I intend to do my job, Joh

Pete McCloskey, congressman who once challenged Nixon, dies at 96

Pete McCloskey a pro-environment, anti-war California Republican who co-wrote the Endangered Species Act and co-founded Earth Day has died. He was 96. A fourth-generation Republican "in the mold of Teddy Roosevelt," he often said, McCloskey represented the 12th Congressional District for 15 years, running for president against an incumbent Richard Nixon in 1972. He battled party leaders while serving seven terms in Congress and went on to publicly disavow the GOP in his later years. He died at home Wednesday, according to Lee Houskeeper, a family friend. Years after leaving Washington, McCloskey made one last bid for elective office in 2006 when he challenged Richard Pombo of Northern California's 11th District in a primary race that McCloskey described as "a battle for the soul of the Republican Party." After losing to Pombo, who had spent most of his tenure in Washington attempting to undo the Endangered Species Act, he threw his support behind Democrat Jerry McNerney, the ...

Democratic Arizona guv signs bill repealing 1864 ban on most abortions

Democratic Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has relegated a Civil War-era ban on most abortions to the past by signing a repeal bill Thursday. Hobbs says the repeal, signed Thursday, is just the beginning of a fight to protect reproductive health care in Arizona. But the repeal may not take effect until 90 days after the end of the legislative session, in June or July. Abortion rights advocates hope a court will step in to prevent that outcome. The effort to repeal the long-dormant law, which bans all abortions except those done to save a patient's life, won final legislative approval Wednesday in a 16-14 vote of the Senate, as two GOP lawmakers joined with Democrats. The vote extended for hours as senators described their motivations in personal, emotional and even biblical terms including graphic descriptions of abortion procedures and amplified audio recordings of a fetal heartbeat, along with warnings against the dangers of legislating religious beliefs. At the same time Wednesday, ..

US Senate approves legislation to ban imports of Russian uranium

The Senate passed the measure by unanimous consent, meaning that no senators objected to it. The House of Representatives passed the bill in December.

TikTok owner ByteDance would rather shut down app in US than sell it

US President Joe Biden signs bill that would ban TikTok if its parent company ByteDance did not divest the app within 270 days

Senate passes bill forcing ByteDance to divest TikTok's US ops or face ban

TikTok, which says it has not shared and would not share US user data with the Chinese government, has argued the law amounts to a ban that would violate the US free speech rights of its users

US Senate votes in favor of bill to force TikTok divestment or face ban

The measure, passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on Saturday, has been driven by concerns that China could access Americans' data or surveil them with the app

Now go win the fight: US Congress passes Ukraine aid after months of delay

The four bills were combined into one package in the Senate, which President Joe Biden said he would sign into law on Wednesday

Senate passes $95.3 bn package for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and Indo-Pacific

The Senate has passed USD 95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars. The bill passed the Senate on an overwhelming 79-18 vote late on Tuesday after the House had approved the package on Saturday. Biden, who worked with congressional leaders to win support, said in a statement immediately after passage that he will sign it on Wednesday and start the process of sending weapons to Ukraine, which has been struggling to hold its front lines against Russia. "Tonight, a bipartisan majority in the Senate joined the House to answer history's call at this critical inflection point," Biden said. The legislation would also send USD 26 billion in wartime assistance to Israel and humanitarian relief to citizens of Gaza, and USD 8 billion to counter Chinese threats in Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific. US officials said about USD 1 billion

Aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan advances in Senate for final approval

The Senate voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to move ahead with USD 95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, bringing the bill to the brink of passage after months of delays and contentious internal debate over how involved the United States should be abroad. The vote to end a filibuster drew the support of 80 senators -- 10 more than supported the bill when the Senate first passed it in February -- virtually guaranteeing that the bill will soon reach President Joe Biden's desk. A final vote could come as soon as Tuesday evening. The USD 61 billion for Ukraine comes as the war-torn country desperately needs new firepower and as Russian President Vladimir Putin has stepped up his attacks. Ukrainian soldiers have struggled to hold the front lines as Russia has seized the momentum on the battlefield and gained significant territory. Biden told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday the US will send badly needed air defence weaponry as soon as the legislation is ...

Aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan heads to Senate for final approval

The Senate is returning to Washington on Tuesday to vote on USD 95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, taking the final steps in Congress to send the legislation to President Joe Biden's desk after months of delays and contentious internal debate over how involved the United States should be abroad. The USD 61 billion for Ukraine comes as the war-torn country desperately needs new firepower and as Russian President Vladimir Putin has stepped up his attacks. Soldiers have struggled to hold the front lines as Russia has seized the momentum on the battlefield and forced Ukraine to cede significant territory. Biden told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday the US will soon send badly needed air defence weaponry. The House approved the package Saturday in a series of four votes, sending it back to the Senate for final approval. The President has assured me that the package will be approved quickly and that it will be powerful, strengthening our air defense as .