Biden to Discuss Israel, Ukraine in Thursday Address

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U.S. President Joe Biden is set to address the nation Thursday night and discuss the U.S. response to the recent Hamas attack on Israel as well as Russia’s war in Ukraine. Biden visited Israel Wednesday, bringing a message of support to Israelis while also working to secure humanitarian aid for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The U.S. announced $100 million in aid for Gaza and the West Bank, and the Biden administration is expected to propose $100 billion in supplemental assistance for Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan and security along the U.S.-Mexico border. “My administration was in close touch with the leadershipmore

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Republican Jeff Landry Wins Louisiana Governor’s Race, Reclaims Office for His Party

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Attorney General Jeff Landry, a Republican backed by former President Donald Trump, has won the Louisiana governor’s race, holding off a crowded field of candidates. The win is a major victory for the GOP as they reclaim the governor’s mansion for the first time in eight years. Landry will replace current Gov. John Bel Edwards, who was unable to seek reelection due to consecutive term limits. Edwards is the only Democratic governor in the Deep South. “Today’s election says that our state is united,” Landry said during his victory speech Saturday night. “It’s a wake up call and it’s amore

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Black Queer Leaders Rise to Prominence in US Congress, Activism

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On the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington this summer, a few Black queer advocates spoke passionately before the main program about the ongoing struggle for LGBTQ+ rights. As some of them got up to speak, the crowd was still noticeably small. Hope Giselle, a speaker who is Black and trans, said she felt the event’s programming echoed the historical marginalization and erasure of Black queer activists in the Civil Rights Movement. However, she was buoyed by the fact that prominent speakers drew attention to recent efforts to turn back the clock on LGBTQ+ rights, like the attacks onmore

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US House Deadlocked Over Speaker Vote

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Republicans nominated conservative Representative Jim Jordan by a vote of 124-81 Friday in a chaotic third day of attempting to elect a speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. As VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson reports, Jordan needs substantially more support to win a full floor vote next week to become the person who will be second in the presidential line of succession. …

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Republicans Pick Jim Jordan as Nominee for House Speaker

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Republicans chose Representative Jim Jordan as their new nominee for House speaker on Friday during internal voting, putting the gavel within reach of the staunch ally of Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump.  Jordan will now try to unite colleagues from the deeply divided House GOP majority around his bid ahead of a floor vote, which could push to next week.  Frustrated House Republicans have been fighting bitterly over whom they should elect to replace the speaker they ousted, Representative Kevin McCarthy, and the future direction of their party. The stalemate, now in its second week, has thrown the House intomore

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US House Deadlocked Over Leadership Debate

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Republican Representative Steve Scalise dropped his bid to become speaker of the US House of Representatives late Thursday, after failing to secure enough votes to win election. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson has more on how the US Congress is unable to act on Ukraine and Israel until a new leader is chosen. …

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Scalise Ends Bid to Become House Speaker After Failing to Secure Enough Votes

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U.S. Representative Steve Scalise has ended his bid to become House speaker after failing to secure enough votes to win the gavel.  Scalise told Republican colleagues of his decision during a closed-door meeting late Thursday. The next steps are uncertain as the House is essentially closed while Republicans try to elect a speaker after ousting Kevin McCarthy from the job.  “I just shared with my colleagues that I’m withdrawing my name as a candidate for speaker-designee,” Scalise said as he emerged from the closed-door meeting at the Capitol.  Scalise said the Republican majority “still has to come together and ismore

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Republican Scalise Seeks Votes from Party in Bid for House Speaker

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Lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives are set to meet Thursday as Republican Steve Scalise faces a test of whether he can get enough support from his party to become the next House speaker. Republicans nominated Scalise in a closed-door vote Wednesday to be their choice to replace former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted last week. He won the internal party ballot 113-99, beating out House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan. The 58-year-old Scalise won the backing of Republicans with support primarily coming from long-time and establishment party members. Scalise must now gain approval of the fullmore

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Republicans Nominate Steve Scalise for US House Speaker

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U.S. House Republicans voted 113-99 Wednesday to nominate Representative Steve Scalise to serve as speaker. But their narrow majority in the lower chamber of Congress and divisions within their own party leave it uncertain when and if Scalise will ascend to the leadership post. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson reports. …

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Republicans to Start Voting on House Speaker Candidate

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Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are set to meet Wednesday to start closed-door, internal voting to try to agree on a nominee to be the next House speaker. The two leading candidates, Representatives Jim Jordan and Steve Scalise, addressed members of their party at a forum late Tuesday seeking to make their case to take the job following last week’s ouster of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. McCarthy told colleagues not to nominate him to reclaim the post. Republicans hold a slim 221-212 majority in the House, meaning they will need to unite behind a candidate in ordermore

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VOA Immigration Weekly Recap, Oct. 1–7

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Editor’s note: Here is a look at immigration-related news around the U.S. this week. Questions? Tips? Comments? Email the VOA immigration team: ImmigrationUnit@voanews.com.  US Government to Resume Deportations to Venezuela The Biden administration announced Thursday it will resume the deportation of migrants back to Venezuela in hopes of decreasing the numbers of Venezuelans arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border. On a background call with reporters — a method often used by U.S. authorities to share information with reporters without being identified — Biden officials said Venezuelan nationals who cross into the United States unlawfully will still be processed. But if itmore

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Biden Says He Can’t Stop New Border Barrier Plan

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President Joe Biden said Thursday he was unable to legally divert money away from a plan to build several miles of new barriers along the southern border – directly contradicting his campaign vow to build “not another foot of wall” and drawing harsh criticism from Mexico’s president. A notice to allow construction in Texas was released Wednesday night in the Federal Register, the official U.S. government gazette. “There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in the notice. U.S. Customs and Bordermore

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What Are the Next Steps as US House Searches for New Speaker?

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The U.S. House of Representatives for the first time in its history has booted its speaker out of the job, as infighting in the narrow and bitterly divided Republican majority toppled Kevin McCarthy from the position.  Here is a look at what comes next:  Is there an acting speaker?  Immediately following Tuesday’s 216-210 ouster vote, Republican Representative Patrick McHenry, a McCarthy ally, was appointed acting speaker pro tempore. He can serve for only a very limited time — up to three legislative days in this case.  The acting speaker pro tempore’s duties are vague, according to a guide to themore

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7 Months After Entering Hospice, Former President Jimmy Carter Celebrates 99th Birthday

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Seven months after the Carter Center announced he was entering end of life hospice care, former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn made a rare, surprise appearance during a peanut festival in their hometown of Plains, Georgia. As they waved to bystanders while riding in an SUV that proceeded down the main street of Plains, it marked the beginning of a week celebrating Jimmy Carter’s 99th birthday on Sunday – a milestone few thought the longest living U.S. President might reach. “I think there is a misunderstanding about hospice that its only for people who are days away frommore

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Biden Signs Bill to Fund US Government, Avoid Shutdown

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President Joe Biden has signed a bill to fund the U.S. government through mid-November and avoid a shutdown, less than an hour before money for federal agencies was set to run out. Biden posted a picture of himself signing the bill on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter, late Saturday night. In the message, he urged Congress to get to work immediately to pass funding bills for the full fiscal year. The U.S. Senate, in a rare weekend meeting, approved a funding bill Saturday night, sending it to President Joe Biden for his signature and averting amore

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California Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s Body Returns to San Francisco

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U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein returned Saturday to her hometown for the final time when a military jet carrying the late Democratic senator’s body landed at San Francisco International Airport. The long-serving senator and political trailblazer died Thursday at her home in Washington, D.C., after a series of illnesses. At 90, she was the oldest member of Congress after first being elected to the Senate in 1992. The arrival of her body was not open to the public. No details have been shared about services. The former San Francisco mayor was a passionate advocate for priorities important to her state, includingmore

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With US Federal Shutdown Looming, House Leader Changes Tactics

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U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy dramatically changed tactics Saturday, offering a bill that would fund the government for 45 days, something members of his Republican caucus oppose. To pass the bill, he will need the help of Democratic members of the House. If McCarthy and the Democrats succeed, they would keep the government from shutting down — although only if the Senate goes along and President Joe Biden signs before midnight. McCarthy’s maneuver comes after Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives failed to pass a short-term spending measure Friday, increasing the chances of a government shutdown whenmore

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US Supreme Court Will Take Up Abortion, Gun Cases in New Term

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The Supreme Court is returning to a new term to take up some familiar topics — guns and abortion — while concerns about ethics swirl around the justices. The year also will have a heavy focus on social media and how free speech protections apply online. A big unknown is whether the court will be asked to weigh in on any aspect of the criminal cases against former President Donald Trump and others or efforts in some states to keep the Republican off the 2024 presidential ballot because of his role in trying to overturn the results of the 2020more

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Vowing to Defend Democracy, Biden Hits Hard at Trump

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U.S. President Joe Biden sharpened his attacks against Donald Trump on Thursday, delivering his most forceful assertion to date that the former president and Republican front-runner represents an existential threat to the country’s democratic values and institutions. In a speech in the western state of Arizona, Biden charged that Trump holds the “dangerous notion” that he has unchecked power and is above the law. “Trump says the Constitution gave him, quote, the right to do whatever he wants as president, end of quote. I’ve never heard a president say that even in jest,” Biden said. “Not guided by the Constitutionmore

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US Senator Menendez Pleads Not Guilty to Corruption Charges

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U.S. Senator Bob Menendez pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges of taking bribes from three New Jersey businessman, as calls for his resignation from his fellow Democrats escalated. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan last week accused Menendez, 69, and his wife of accepting gold bars and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash in exchange for the senator using his influence to aid Egypt’s government and interfere with law enforcement investigations of the businessmen. Menendez entered the plea at a hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ona Wang in Manhattan. His wife, Nadine Menendez, 56, and businessmen Jose Uribe, 56, andmore

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Republicans Appeal to Far-Right Conservatives to Avert US Government Shutdown

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With just a week before Washington runs out of money to keep the federal government fully operating, warring factions within the Republican Party in the U.S. Congress on Sunday showed no signs of coming together to pass a stopgap funding bill. Congress so far has failed to finish any of the 12 regular spending bills to fund federal agency programs in the fiscal year starting on Oct. 1. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy will push an ambitious plan this week to win approval of four large bills, including military and homeland security funding, that he hopes would demonstrate enoughmore

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