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Senate Republicans and Democrats shattered through partisan rancor and sent a retooled government spending package to the House on Friday evening after President Donald Trump struck a deal to sate Democrats’ demands.  Though lawmakers were able to advance the revamped five-bill package, without the controversial Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill and a two-week funding extension to keep the agency afloat, a partial government shutdown is all but guaranteed.  That’s because modifications to the...

A federal judge on Friday struck down key portions of President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at tightening citizenship verification for voter registration and absentee ballot applications, ruling the White House overstepped its constitutional authority. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said the Constitution gives states and Congress, not the president, the power to set rules for federal elections.  Kollar-Kotelly blocked provisions in the executive order that would have required documentary proof of American citizenship on...

Senate Republicans and Democrats locked in an agreement to move forward with a behemoth funding package, smashing through resistance on both sides of the aisle.  Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., teed up the final vote for the package Friday after hours of quelling resistance among Senate Republicans. Lawmakers will plow through several amendments before voting on the package, which is expected to pass and head to the House.  That also means that, despite their...

Ukraine is racing to reinforce its air defenses as a brief pause in Russian strikes on Kyiv and other cities approaches its expiration, and military and diplomatic experts warn the move may do little to change conditions on the battlefield and could ultimately strengthen Moscow’s negotiating position. Earlier Friday, President Donald Trump said at the White House, ‘I think we’re getting very close to getting a settlement,’ expressing optimism about the upcoming Russia-Ukraine talks. ‘Zelenskyy...

As the threat of a possible U.S. attack against Iran looms, President Donald Trump’s administration has announced additional sanctions targeting Iranian figures. The Treasury Department announced Friday that its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ‘took additional action against Iranian officials responsible for the regime’s brutal crackdown on its own people.’ ‘Among the officials sanctioned today is Eskandar Momeni Kalagari, Iran’s minister of the interior who oversees the murderous Law Enforcement Forces of the Islamic...

Israel announced Thursday that it will reopen the Rafah border crossing for people to travel between Gaza and Egypt for the first time since May 2024.  Israel’s Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), which oversees humanitarian and civil efforts in Gaza, said the crossing ‘will open this coming Sunday (February 1st) in both directions, for limited movement of people only.’  ‘The return of residents from Egypt to the Gaza Strip will be permitted, in...

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., unloaded his frustrations with the latest iteration of a government funding package backed by President Donald Trump and laid out a stark warning to the top House Republican and the White House in the process.  Graham is one of the few remaining holdouts blocking the Senate from moving on to a government funding package brokered by Trump and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., as lawmakers race to beat the government...

Former CNN host Don Lemon retained a high-priced attorney familiar with defending clients against the Trump administration following his arrest related to his involvement in a protest at a St. Paul, Minnesota, church. Lemon is being represented by Abbe Lowell, an attorney well known for taking on cases where a prominent political figure needs legal help; most notably Hunter Biden. Biden, the surviving son of former President Joe Biden, is Lowell’s most visible recent client....

The House of Representatives is preparing a rare weekend meeting as congressional leaders race against the clock on a partial government shutdown. The House Rules Committee, which acts as a gatekeeper before most legislation sees a chamber-wide vote, is expected to meet on Sunday at 4 p.m. to consider a federal funding deal that is poised to pass the Senate on Friday. It means the full House could vote on the bill as early as...

President Donald Trump said Friday that the United States has directly communicated expectations to Iran as pressure mounts for Tehran to accept a nuclear deal, even as Iranian officials publicly signal interest in talks. Asked whether Iran faces a deadline to make a deal, Trump suggested the timeline already had been conveyed privately.  ‘Only they know for sure,’ he said, confirming when pressed that the message had been delivered directly to Iranian leaders. Trump also...