Right and Left React to the End of the Government Shutdown
The political news cycle is fast, and keeping up can be overwhelming. Trying to find differing perspectives worth your time is even harder.
Category Archives: US News
George W. Bush’s favorable rating has pulled a complete 180
Former President George W. Bush throws out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 5 of the 2017 World Series at Minute Maid Park in Houston on Oct. 29, 2017. Six in 10 Americans, 61%, say they now have a favorable view of the 43rd President of the United States in the latest CNN poll conducted by SSRS, nearly double the 33% who gave him a favorable mark when he left the White House in January 2009.
Shutdown’s political ‘ping-pong game’ frustrates workers
As Congress appeared ready to reopen the government Monday on the third day of a shutdown, some federal workers said they are frustrated over a political battle that put their jobs on hold and left them in limbo.
The Latest: Cornyn says Trump eager to work on immigration
On Monday, The Senate advanced a bill reopening federal agencies through Feb. 8 after Democrats relented and lifted their blockade against the legislation. The shutdown began Saturday after Democrats derailed a Republican measure that would have kept government open until Feb. 16. Democrats wanted to pressure the GOP to cut a deal protecting young immigrants from deportation and boosting federal spending.
Federal workers frustrated by back-and-forth over shutdown
As Congress appeared ready to reopen the government Monday on the third day of a shutdown, some federal workers said they are frustrated over a political battle that put their jobs on hold and left them in limbo.
Trump’s Draft Public Works Plan Asks Cities, States to Pony Up
Half of the federal money in President Donald Trump's promised $1 trillion infrastructure plan would go for a new incentive program to encourage states and localities to secure their own funding for projects, according a draft copy of principles obtained by Bloomberg News. A quarter of the federal funding would provide grants for rural transportation, broadband and other projects, while 10 percent would go for "transformational" projects that can't secure financing because they're so unique.
Schumer’s ‘cave’? Shutdown deal puts spotlight on Dem leader
Republicans tried to make Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer the face of the government shutdown. Now, he's becoming the face of the Democratic retreat.
Alabama seeks approval for execution of 67-year-old inmate
Alabama is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to let it proceed with this week's scheduled execution of a 67-year-old inmate whose lawyers say can no longer remember his crime. The Alabama attorney general's office told justices in a filing Monday that the state's high court last year ruled the execution could proceed and should do so again.
The Latest: GOP to seek a stop to gerrymandering case
Top Republican lawmakers say they are outraged by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's decision to strike down the boundaries of the state's 18 congressional districts and will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to halt it. Pennsylvania's top two Republican state senators, Joe Scarnati and Jake Corman, said Monday that the state court's decision oversteps its legal authority.
Debating Prevaricators
Most all lying has conscious and subconscious elements. When a lie dribbles out of your mouth a little ding goes off in the brain that you might not even be able to articulate, but it informs you that what you just said perhaps was not entirely true, or could be a best guess expressed as if it were fact.
Palestinian Christians slam Pence’s pro-Israel faith
In this Dec. 7, 2017 file photo, a Palestinian defaces a painting on the separation barrier of U.S. President Donald Trump, with a warning that Vice President Mike Pence is not welcome, in Bethlehem, West Bank. Palestinian Christians say Pence's brand of evangelical Christianity, with its fervent embrace of modern-day Israel as fulfilment of biblical prophecy, lacks their faith's compassion and justice, including for those who have endured half a century of Israeli occupation.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court strikes down congressional map as unconstitutional
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Monday that the state's congressional map "clearly, plainly and palpably" violates the state constitution and blocked its use in the May 2018 primaries. In a split decision, the seven-member panel sided with a group of voters who contended the state's 18 U.S. House of Representatives districts were unconstitutionally drawn as a gerrymander that discriminates against Democrats.
Military families cautiously optimistic end of government shutdown in sight
Some military families took a breath of cautionary relief Monday when a deal appeared to have been reached in the Senate to end a short government shutdown. "When this filibuster started we thought, 'oh, no, it's happening all over again,'" said Emily Erickson, the wife of an Air Force staff sergeant stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, a sprawling installation outside Las Vegas.
British Airways Pilot Taken Off Plane in Cuffs – ” ‘FUI’ Avoided?
A British Airways pilot was arrested on Thursday at Gatwick Airport near London after authorities suspected him of being drunk. "Flying under the influence" of alcohol or drugs is now reportedly happening with regularity.
Supreme Court sides with police over partygoers in wild DC bash new
The Supreme Court sided Monday with police over partygoers in a dispute about arrests at a 2008 bash at a vacant home that had been turned into a makeshift strip club. The high court ruled that police had sufficient reason to make arrests at the raucous party, which took place in a District of Columbia duplex furnished only with a few metal chairs and a mattress.
Thornberry: US Military Should Not Be Treated Like Political Pawns
The chairman of the House Armed Services committee on Monday criticized the short-term fix agreed on to end the government shutdown, saying the stopgap spending measures were damaging the military's readiness. "For several months we've had some folks on Capitol Hill who have been willing to hold military funding hostage to some other issue, whether it was increasing funding on a domestic issue or in this case some sort of immigration issue," Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, told Fox News' Harris Faulkner.
Sen. Jeff Flake: Hard Work Remains on Funding, DACA
With the Senate voting to end the government shutdown, there is still work ahead to prepare about what will happen three weeks from now, but meanwhile, the bipartisan agreement that was reached was "really good to see," Sen. Jeff Flake said Monday. "It's a victory for, I think everybody, when the government opens back up," the Arizona Republican, who has often sparred with President Donald Trump, told Capitol Hill reporters following the Senate vote.
Report: Chelsea Manning Could Violate Pentagon Rules in Run for Office
Chelsea Manning, the soldier who spent seven years in prison for leaking sensitive documents to WikiLeaks, could face prosecution over her run for Senate office in Maryland, The Daily Caller reported . Manning remains on active-duty status while she is appealing a general court martial.
Continuing Resolution Proposal to Extend Funding for the Federal Government
On Jan. 16, Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen introduced a continuing resolution , which would fund the federal government until Feb. 16. Congress has until Jan. 19 to agree to a proposal to extend funding for the government. Provided Congress sends an agreement to the President for his signature by the Jan. 19 deadline, Congress would then have less than 10 legislative days between both chambers to either draft an omnibus appropriations bill to fund the government through the end of Fiscal Year 2018 or draft and pass another CR to temporarily fund the government at slightly less than current levels to conform to spending caps under current law.
White House says Trump focused on minimizing shutdown harm
The White House says President Donald Trump is focused on minimizing the harm Democrats are causing through the government shutdown.