Bolton: US troops will not leave Syria till Isis beaten and Kurds protected

Adviser indicates long stay for troops while president claims he never said withdrawal would be quick

US troops will not leave north-eastern Syria until Islamic State militants are defeated and US-allied Kurdish fighters protected, national security adviser John Bolton said on Sunday, signaling a pause to a withdrawal abruptly announced last month and initially expected to be completed within weeks. Achieving such conditions will likely take months or even years.

Related: Trump: US has killed al-Qaida militant tied to USS Cole bombing

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Trump says he may declare national emergency over US-Mexico border wall – video

Donald Trump has threatened a national emergency in the 'next few days' to allow him to build a wall on the US-Mexico border. By doing this, he could unlock money from other sources, thereby avoiding the need for approval from Democrats

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Trump threatens national emergency in ‘next few days’ over wall and shutdown

Donald Trump said on Sunday he may declare a national emergency over immigration, to allow him to build a wall on America’s southern border.

Related: Is Mitt Romney the man to lead a Republican rebellion against Trump?

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Trump tweets ‘not much headway’ on shutdown as key services threatened

Saturday was day 15 of a partial government shutdown that Donald Trump said could go on for months or years, if he is not given funding for a wall on the Mexican border. As new talks were held without result, potentially devastating effects of the shutdown were coming into focus.

Related: Shutdown over border wall is crucial test for Trump's presidency

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Trump confirms he said government shutdown could last months or years

President threatens to declare national emergency and build wall without congressional approval: ‘I can do it if I want’

As a partial US government shutdown hit the two-week mark, Donald Trump told congressional leaders at the White House he was prepared for the standoff to last months or even years.

“Absolutely I said that,” said Trump during a Rose Garden press conference, when asked if Senator Chuck Schumer was correct in his claim that the White House was prepared to continue the shutdown indefinitely.

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Trump is staking his presidency on the shutdown and his wall

As the shutdown’s toll becomes clearer, the president aims to keep his pledge – but Democrats have reason to resist

There are two chants that everyone remembers from Donald Trump’s campaign rallies. One is “Lock her up!”, aimed at Hillary Clinton, a demand not likely to be met unless America becomes a banana republic. The other is “build that wall!”

It is now crunch time for this central, defining promise of the Trump candidacy and “make America great again” movement. The US president says he will not support a bill to fully fund the government until he secures $5.6bn for a wall on the US-Mexico border.

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Trump threatens to declare national emergency to get wall funding – live

President says ‘we can call it a national emergency’ to bypass Congress and build wall ‘quickly’ at press conference

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Asked if he would turn down the automatic raise coming his way during the government shutdown, ⁦@VP⁩ Pence says “yes.” pic.twitter.com/Z6vPc14Cuf

Trump also said he would consider asking his Cabinet officials not to accept the $10,000 raise due to take effect for them tomorrow.

Donald Trump seems to confirm ABC News reporting that his administration is considering building a wall without the consent or appropriation of Congress by declaring a national emergency.

“I can do it if I want,” Trump said. “We can call a national emergency and build it very quickly.”

"I can do it if I want," Trump now saying he is "allowed" to build the wall himself without congressional approval or appropriation. "We can call a national emergency and build it very quickly."

President Trump just said he could declare a national emergency to build the wall unilaterally without Congress. So this whole shutdown is... what, then?

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Senior US official: Saudi version of Khashoggi murder ‘not credible’

Comments come as the US secretary of state embarks on a tour of Arab capitals

The US does not believe the official Saudi version of the murder of the Washington Post columnist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi is credible, a senior administration official has said.

The official was speaking to the press before the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, embarks next week on an tour of eight Arab capitals, seeking to shore up support for US policy, and to reassure allies that the US is not abandoning the region despite Donald Trump’s order for the withdrawal of American troops from Syria.

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‘Congresswomen dance too’: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hits back with new video

The youngest US Congresswoman in history posts a video of herself dancing to Edwin Starr’s War outside her office after an attempt to humiliate her on Twitter backfired, instead prompting an outpouring of support. 'I hear the GOP thinks women dancing are scandalous,' she wrote on Twitter 'Wait till they find out Congresswomen dance too!' However, the original video was posted by a Twitter user called AnonymousQ who does not necessarily represent the Republican party 

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Democrats reclaim power as Nancy Pelosi elected House speaker

House tests new power by passing bills to end the government shutdown, but legislation is unlikely to break impasse

Democrats reclaimed power in the House on Thursday and officially elected Nancy Pelosi to be the next speaker, returning her to a position for which she made history as the first woman elected to the office.

The California Democrat earned 220 votes from a total of 430 members present, while Kevin McCarthy, the Republican leader, won 192.

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‘I love this’: bid to discredit Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with college dance video backfires

Effort to embarrass freshly sworn-in Congresswoman fails after footage endears her to wide audience

An attempt to humiliate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as she was sworn in as the youngest ever US Congresswoman has backfired impressively, prompting a huge outpouring of support for her.

A 30-second video was posted by a Twitter user called AnonymousQ, showing Ocasio-Cortez dancing on the roof of a building while in college.

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Trump blames shutdown on 2020 election despite claiming he would take responsibility – live

Donald Trump tweeted an image mocking Senator Elizabeth Warren’s campaign for president.

It features the slogan “Warren: 1/2020th,” an apparent reference to the much-derided DNA test the Massachusetts Democrat took finding she had a small fraction of Native American heritage.

pic.twitter.com/JzfXMAPwKP

Sen. Dianne Feinstein says former Vice President Joe Biden is her top pick for a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate.

“I’ve watched him as vice president, I’ve seen him operate, I’ve seen him perform,” the California Democrat told Politico. “He brings a level of experience and seniority which I think is really important.”

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Trump and top lawmakers fail to resolve shutdown after meeting

Nancy Pelosi said Democrats will still vote on Thursday despite impasse at ‘border security briefing’

Donald Trump and top congressional leaders failed to resolve a partial government shutdown that has stretched well into a second week as the president refused to back off from his demands for billions of dollars for a long-promised wall along the southern US border with Mexico.

Related: Mitt Romney: Trump's biggest failure is a lack of character in leading 'divided' nation

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Trump to convene border security briefing in bid to reopen government

Democratic and Republican congressional leaders expected to attend session as shutdown enters 12th day

Donald Trump is convening a border security briefing on Wednesday for Democratic and Republican congressional leaders as a partial government shutdown over his demand for border wall funding entered its 12th day.

Related: Mitt Romney: Trump's biggest failure is a lack of character in leading 'divided' nation

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Mitt Romney: Trump’s biggest failure is a lack of character in leading ‘divided’ nation

Incoming Utah senator says president has abandoned allies and failed to lead a ‘divided, resentful and angry’ nation

Mitt Romney, the former Republican presidential candidate and incoming US senator, has sharply criticised Donald Trump both personally and professionally, accusing him of deserting the nation’s allies and lacking the character to lead a “divided” nation.

In a Washington Post essay published on Tuesday evening, Romney said Trump’s presidency “made a deep descent” in December and blamed him for the departures of defence secretary Jim Mattis and White House chief of staff John Kelly.

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Donald Trump ‘ready’ to negotiate on government shutdown – video

Donald Trump tells Fox News he is ready to negotiate an end to the partial government shutdown. In an interview broadcast on Monday night, Trump adds: ‘We have to have border security and the wall is a big part of border security’

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The top Democrats set to make Trump’s life miserable in 2019

With Democrats now in the majority in the House, five committee chairs will wield considerable power to investigate the president

The midterm elections brought an end to a period of one-party rule in Washington. In January, Donald Trump will face a newly empowered House Democratic majority eager to take him on.

The incoming Democratic committee chairs have vowed rigorous oversight of Trump and his administration. Armed with committee gavels, they will now have the power and resources to pursue investigations, issue subpoenas and compel testimony.

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Gov.-elect Tim Walz names first 5 commissioners

From the back left Jennifer Ho, Housing Finance Agency, Margaret Anderson Kelliher, Department of Transportation, Alice Roberts-Davis, Department of Administration, Nora Slawik, Metropolitan Council, and Myron Frans, Department of Management, stood behind Governor-elect Tim Walz and Lt. Governor-elect Peggy Flanagan at the State Capitol in St. Paul Tuesday.

With Senate passage, bill to prevent shutdown goes to House

The Senate approved legislation to temporarily fund the government, a key step toward averting a federal shutdown after President Donald Trump backed off his demand for money for a border wall with Mexico. Senators passed the measure, which would keep government running to Feb. 8, by voice vote without a roll call Wednesday night.