Gina Haspel confirmed as first female CIA chief despite interrogation row

The US Senate has confirmed Gina Haspel as the CIA's first female director despite her role in one of the darkest chapters in the spy agency's history. Ms Haspel was a controversial choice because of her role in a former CIA programme to brutally detain and interrogate terror suspects at covert sites abroad following the 9/11 attacks.

Conservatives See Farm Bill’s Sugar Program as Too Sweet

An amendment to the farm bill by Rep. Virginia Foxx would end the requirement that at least 85% of the U.S.'s sugar purchases must come from domestic processors. WASHINGTON-House Republican leaders have scheduled a vote on the farm bill for Friday, but haven't yet resolved lingering GOP concerns over major planks of the legislation, including its support for the U.S. sugar industry.

US lawmakers push back on Trump talk of helping China’s ZTE

U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday rejected any plan by President Donald Trump to ease restrictions on China's ZTE Corp , calling the telecommunications firm a security threat and vowing not to abandon legislation clamping down on the company. A sign of ZTE Corp is pictured at its service centre in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China May 14, 2018.

Trump defends decision to save Chinese telecommunications company

President Donald Trump on Monday defended his efforts to help a Chinese telecommunications company that violated U.S. sanctions "get back into business, fast," despite criticism from Democrats and Republicans that the company poses a national security risk. "ZTE, the large Chinese phone company, buys a big percentage of individual parts from U.S. companies," Trump tweeted Monday.

Too few pols understand the internet age

In this Aug. 16, 2016 photo, attendees walk past a live visualization of internet attacks across China during the 4th China Internet Security Conference in Beijing. A Chinese technology regulator has announced Sunday, Jan 23, 2017 a year-long campaign to root out services that allow people in the country to circumvent the government's Internet censorship.

Haspel Won’t Condemn Waterboarding But Says It’s Over

Gina Haspel, President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the CIA, promised she wouldn't resort to waterboarding and other harsh techniques that she once helped supervise, but she repeatedly refused to disavow their past use as immoral or ineffective. "Having served in that tumultuous time, I can offer you my personal commitment, clearly and without reservation, that under my leadership, on my watch, CIA will not restart a detention and interrogation program," Haspel told the Senate Intelligence Committee at her confirmation hearing on Wednesday.

School shooting suspect was referred to discipline program

Florida school officials now say school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz was referred during middle school to a mentoring program aimed at steering children away from the criminal justice system, a shifting explanation that critics are calling a reversal of earlier statements. Following the Valentine's Day shooting that killed 17 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Broward County School Superintendent Robert Runcie had said that Cruz hadn't been in the program.

The Republican Party Is Exposing Its Own Policy-Making Screw-Ups

But the truth former health and human services secretary Tom Price and Sen. Marco Rubio exposed in their respective criticisms is not what many Democrats would like voters to think. The problem, they suggest, is not with the merits of the bill, but with the failure of the Republican Party to level with the public about the tradeoffs involved in getting there.

Sen. Marco Rubio’s cozy relationship with Democratic Sen. Bill…

GOP Sen. Marco Rubio's cozy relationship with Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson may be issue in Nelson re-election campaign. Sen. Marco Rubio's cozy relationship with Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson could sway Nelson's re-election bid GOP Sen. Marco Rubio's cozy relationship with Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson may be issue in Nelson re-election campaign.

Commission begins probe into Florida high school massacre

In this Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018, file photo, a family reunites following a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. A commission tasked with investigating government actions surrounding the Florida high school massacre and the state's other mass shootings is set to hold its first meeting, Tuesday, April 24. A commission tasked with investigating government actions surrounding the Florida high school massacre and the state's other mass shootings is set to hold its first meeting.

Parkland parents urge steps to improve school safety

In this Tuesday, April 3, 2018 photo, Max Schachter, whose son Alex was killed during the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, speaks to the audience during a congressional town hall on gun violence in Coral Springs, Fla. Schachter has formed the Marjory Stoneman Douglas School Safety Commission to find ways to make schools safer.

The Latest: Rubio calls pick of new Cuba leader a ‘charade’

In this Jan. 25, 2018 file photo, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., speaks with reporters as he leaves the office of Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who is moderating bipartisan negotiations on immigration, at the Capitol in Washington. When presidents gather on April 13, in Peru at the Summit of the Americas, they may be tempted to walk past Vice President Mike Pence and make a beeline for the person who has President Donald Trump's ear on Latin America: Sen. Marco Rubio.

Republicans move to force vote on Trump pick to head NASA Source: Cox Media Group

After waiting for months to get enough votes to win confirmation, Senate Republicans have decided to press ahead this week with the nomination of Rep. Jim Bridenstine to lead NASA, as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell took the first procedural step on Monday evening to force a final vote on President Trump's pick to lead the space agency by late in the week. "Congressman Bridenstine was encouraged to see a cloture petition filed in regard to his nomination as NASA Administrator," said his spokeswoman Sharyl Kaufman, referring to a Senate effort to end debate, and spur a vote on Bridenstine, who was nominated in September.

Chinese ambassador warns U.S. not to drag Latam into trade dispute

China's ambassador to Peru warned on Wednesday that it would be disrespectful for the United States to drag Latin America into its trade dispute with Beijing, but told Reuters a potential trade war between the world's top two economies could bolster the region's exports. Jia Guide, China's ambassador to Peru, speaks during an interview with Reuters at the Chinese embassy in Lima, Peru April 11, 2018.