Biden, Congressional Democrats Continue Tough Negotiations Over Massive Social Safety Net Bill

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Democrats in the U.S. Congress continued to be mired in negotiations on President Joe Biden’s major social safety net and climate control spending plan, particularly which  programs to keep and which ones to remove as well as the means to pay for them. The president held talks at the White House Tuesday night with Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, two moderate lawmakers in Biden’s own Democratic party who have staunchly opposed much of his original $3.5 trillion Build Back Better plan that would provide the biggest expansion of government benefits to American families inmore

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Senate Confirms Cindy McCain, Jeff Flake to Ambassador Posts

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The Senate confirmed two prominent anti-Trump Republicans to serve in the Biden administration on Tuesday with former Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona approved to serve as the ambassador to Turkey, and Cindy McCain, the wife of the late Senator John McCain, approved to serve as the ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture.  The Senate also voted to confirm former Democratic Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico to serve as ambassador to New Zealand, and Victoria Reggie Kennedy of Massachusetts, the widow of former Senator Ted Kennedy, to serve as ambassador to Austria.  The nominations were approvedmore

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Treasury Department Names First Counselor for Racial Equity

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The Treasury Department has hired a former JPMorgan Chase executive to head a new government program aimed at combating racial inequality issues in banking and other financial-services industries. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Monday that Janis Bowdler will be the department’s first counselor for racial equity, part of a multipronged strategy by the Biden administration to deal with systemic racism found in many parts of the economy. Banking and finance have long had issues with racial inequity, from the lack of representation of Blacks and other minorities at the highest levels of companies to ongoing issues of getting equal accessmore

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Biden: ‘Very Optimistic’ on Approval for Social Safety Net Spending Plan

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U.S. President Joe Biden said Monday he is “very optimistic” on completing a deal this week on his pared-down social safety net spending plan, an assessment echoed by one of the centrist Democratic lawmakers who has been holding back on his support.  Biden told reporters in Delaware that his Sunday meeting with West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, who has sought sharp cuts in Biden’s original $3.5 trillion package, “went well.”  They discussed final details in the package that could be trimmed to about half that amount, with Manchin insisting on a $1.5 trillion figure.  “A few more things to workmore

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Biden Trying to Finalize Social Safety Net Spending Plan

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U.S. President Joe Biden is meeting Sunday with two key senators at his home in Delaware to try to complete details of a pared-down social safety net and climate control spending plan set for introduction in Congress as soon as Monday.  Biden is hosting Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, along with Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, one of two pivotal lawmakers who has called for sharp cutbacks in the president’s original $3.5 trillion plan proposing the biggest expansion of government benefits to American families in five decades.  With the 100-member Senate equally split between Republicans and Democrats, the policymore

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‘Strategic Ambiguity’ on Taiwan Apparent as White House Walks Back Biden Comments 

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White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Friday appeared to walk back President Joe Biden’s statement on Thursday that the United States was committed to defending Taiwan should it come under Chinese attack. “The president was not announcing any change in our policy, nor has he made a decision to change our policy,” Psaki said during a White House news briefing. “Our defense relationship with Taiwan is guided by the Taiwan Relations Act.” The 1979 Taiwan Relations Act states that the U.S. will provide arms for Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability. It does not say the U.S. wouldmore

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Confirmation Backlog Leaves Biden’s State Department Badly Understaffed

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Nine months after taking office, President Joe Biden has seen only 20 of his appointments to the State Department confirmed by the Senate, with nearly half of the 167 American ambassadorships empty and dozens of key policy positions staffed by unconfirmed officials serving in an “acting” role.  The number of empty desks at the State Department is partly Biden’s own fault, according to analysts. He was slow to nominate candidates for dozens of the 264 positions at State that require confirmation by the Senate, and still hasn’t named 57 of them. However, many of the key positions remain unfilled becausemore

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Biden Ties Legislative Agenda to MLK Push for Racial Justice

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President Joe Biden on Thursday tied his legislative priorities on voting rights, police reform and climate change to Martin Luther King Jr.’s push for racial justice as he marked the 10th anniversary of the opening of the civil rights leader’s memorial on the National Mall.  Biden, introduced by Vice President Kamala Harris, sought to reassure his supporters that he wouldn’t let up the fight as he works to muscle his massive social spending bill through a divided Congress. Invoking King, Biden said the country was still working to live up to those ideals as a nation and had reached anmore

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US House Votes to Hold Trump Adviser Bannon in Contempt

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The U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday to hold Steve Bannon, one of former President Donald Trump’s longtime advisers, in contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate with a congressional inquiry into the January 6 rioting at the U.S. Capitol.  The House voted 229-202, with a handful of Republican lawmakers, including Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, both members of the panel conducting the investigation, joining the Democratic majority in the House in voting against Bannon.  The citation will now be sent to the federal prosecutor in Washington for presentation to a grand jury for possible indictment of Bannon. Hemore

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Neuroscientist Leaves Rich Legacy for Students From Diverse Backgrounds

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A Pakistani neuroscientist who came to the U.S. as an international student has died at 43, leaving behind a movement of support for diverse and nontraditional young scientists. “My campaign will provide awards to young scientists from backgrounds that are diverse, under-resourced, marginalized or traditionally under-represented in psychological and neural sciences,” Nadia Chaudhri wrote in May, when she started a GoFundMe page to help students pay to attend the annual conference for the Research Society on Alcoholism. “I am targeting funds to these groups to provide a specific leg up to young scientists who may face hardship due to systemicmore

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US House to Decide Whether to Hold Bannon in Contempt

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The U.S. House of Representatives is due to vote Thursday on a contempt citation against Steve Bannon, one of former President Donald Trump’s longtime advisers, for refusing to cooperate with a congressional inquiry into the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. The Democrat-majority House is expected to approve the contempt measure, with most House Republicans expected to vote against it. If approved, the citation would be sent to the federal prosecutor in Washington for presentation to a grand jury for possible indictment of Bannon. He could, if convicted, be sentenced to up to one year in prison, but suchmore

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Lone Democratic Senator Blocks Biden’s Climate Agenda as COP26 Nears

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With the U.N. Climate Change Conference set to begin in less than two weeks, a vital piece of the Biden administration’s climate agenda is in danger of dying in the U.S. Senate, at the hands of a member of the president’s own party. Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat who represents the state of West Virginia, has said he will not support the most important clean energy provisions in the administration’s “Build Back Better” package of infrastructure and social spending programs. Because the Democrats have only 50 seats in the 100-member Senate, and expect zero votes from Republicans, Manchin can killmore

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US Senate Republicans Block Democrats’ Voting Rights Bill

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A bill aimed at thwarting restrictive new voting laws enacted in Republican-led states failed to advance in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, as Republican lawmakers blocked a Democratic effort to begin debating the measure. It was the third time this year Senate Democrats tried to advance a voting rights bill in reaction to new state balloting restrictions that were fueled by Donald Trump’s false claims of a stolen election. Enough of the chamber’s 50 Republicans had voted to block the measure from advancing, a move that could bring new pressure on Democrats to change the Senate’s filibuster rule that requiresmore

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Caste System Seen as Diversity Issue on US Campuses

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Colby College is banning discrimination based on caste, a system of inherited social class, becoming one of the nation’s earliest colleges to do so. The private liberal arts college revised its nondiscrimination policy to add caste to its list of protections for the campus community. The efforts were led by a professor who took an interest in caste discrimination across the country and realized the college needed to recognize it as a form of discrimination, the Bangor Daily News reported. “You have to first name what it is to say: This exists, we name it, we stand against it,” saidmore

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Poll: US Global Standing Rebounds Under Biden

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Approval of U.S. leadership around the world rebounded during the first six months of President Joe Biden’s term, after a record low in the last year of President Donald Trump’s administration. This according to a new Gallup survey of people in nearly 50 countries. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this report. Produced by: Barry Unger …

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Biden, Democrats Aim for Deal on Spending Package in Coming Days 

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U.S. President Joe Biden and Democratic lawmakers are edging toward a deal on the scope of their cornerstone economic revival package and hope to reach a compromise as soon as this week, people briefed on the negotiations said Tuesday.  Scrambling to broker an agreement, Biden met with 19 lawmakers on Tuesday in an unusually busy day of legislative negotiations. He aimed to secure what may be the signature effort of his administration, a multitrillion-dollar, two-bill legislative package that expands social safety net programs and infrastructure spending.  One source said a deal could be announced midweek if things go well; twomore

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Indictment Accuses US Congressman of Lying to FBI

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A federal grand jury on Tuesday indicted U.S. Representative Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska, accusing him of lying to the FBI and concealing information from federal agents who were investigating campaign contributions funneled to him from a Nigerian billionaire.  The U.S. attorney’s office announced that the grand jury in Los Angeles had indicted the nine-term Republican on one charge of scheming to falsify and conceal material facts and two counts of making false statements to federal investigators. Fortenberry is expected to appear for an arraignment Wednesday afternoon in federal court in Los Angeles.  The indictment stems from an FBI investigation intomore

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US Student Faces Prison for Helping Islamic State

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A former Chicago college student was convicted Monday of attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State group. Thomas Osadzinski, 22, wrote a computer code to help IS bypass programs designed to block the group’s propaganda, prosecutors said. The former DePaul University student, who was born in a Chicago suburb, was living in the city when he was arrested in 2019 during an FBI sting. He faces up to 20 years in prison. His attorney, Joshua Herman, said during closing arguments that the case centered on the right to free speech and that Osadzinski had the right to watch and share themore

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US House January 6 Probe Set to Advance Bannon Contempt Citation

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The House of Representatives committee investigating the rioting at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 appears headed Tuesday to initiating contempt of Congress charges against Steve Bannon, one of former President Donald Trump’s longest-standing advisers, for refusing to cooperate with the probe. The Democratic-controlled panel, investigating how and why hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building as lawmakers were certifying that Democrat Joe Biden had defeated Trump in last year’s presidential election, is expected to approve the contempt citation against the 67-year-old Bannon, sending it to the full House for a vote. If the House also votes to holdmore

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Rastafarian Teen Fights to Keep Dreadlocks

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Tyrone Iras Marhguy had to make a difficult decision after being accepted to the high school of his choice: his faith or his education. An official at the academically elite Achimota School in Ghana told the teen he would have to cut his dreadlocks before enrolling. For Marhguy, who is a Rastafarian, cutting his dreadlocks is non-negotiable, so he and his family asked the courts to intervene.  “I manifest my faith through my hair,” Marguy, 17, told The Associated Press. “I assume it to be like telling a Christian not to read the Bible or go to church.” Hair ismore

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Gallup Surveys Show Rebound in Approval of US Leadership

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Approval for U.S. leadership rebounded during the first six months of President Joe Biden’s administration, according to a Gallup survey of people in nearly 50 countries.  The increase came after median approval of U.S. leadership in 108 countries where Gallup conducted surveys hit a record low of 30% in 2020, the last year of President Donald Trump’s administration. Gallup, a Washington, D.C.-based analytics company, said its 2021 data is not yet complete, but in 46 countries where data was available as of early August, approval for U.S. leadership was up to 49%.  Approval numbers fell in three countries, declining from 18% to 13% inmore

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US House Committee Rejects Bannon ‘Privilege’ Argument in January 6 Inquiry

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The U.S. congressional committee investigating the deadly January 6 attack on the Capitol said Monday that it rejected Steve Bannon’s arguments for failing to cooperate with the inquiry, as the panel pursues a contempt of Congress charge against the longtime adviser to former President Donald Trump.  Trump has claimed that materials and testimony sought by the House of Representatives Select Committee are covered by executive privilege, a legal doctrine that protects the confidentially of some White House communications.  Bannon, through his lawyer, has said he will not cooperate with the committee until Trump’s executive privilege claim is resolved by amore

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Case for COVID Boosters and Vaccine Mandates in US

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Recently, a U.S. advisory panel unanimously endorsed booster shots of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine for adults over the age of 18. The move comes as vaccines and public health protocols in the United States remain politically charged issues. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi reports.  Produced by:  Arash Arabasadi …

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‘Democracy Survived’ Capitol Riot Because of Police, Biden Says

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Framed by the Capitol, President Joe Biden paid tribute Saturday to fallen law enforcement officers and honored those who fought off the Jan. 6 insurrection at that very site by declaring “because of you, democracy survived.”  Biden spoke at the 40th Annual National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service to remember the 491 law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty in 2019 and 2020.  Standing where the violent mob tried to block his own ascension to the presidency, Biden singled out the 150 officers who were injured and the five who died in the attack’s aftermath. “Nine months ago,more

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