US Congress Approves Deal, Pushing Shutdown Threat to January

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Ending the threat of a government shutdown until after the holidays, Congress gave final approval Wednesday night to a temporary government funding package that pushes a confrontation over the federal budget into the new year. The Senate met into the night to pass the bill with an overwhelming 87-11 tally and send it to President Joe Biden for his signature one day after it passed the House on an overwhelming bipartisan vote. It provides a funding patch into next year, when the House and Senate will be forced to confront — and somehow overcome — their considerable differences over what fundingmore

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International Students Have Returned to US Colleges, Fueled by a Surge From India

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International students attended U.S. universities in surging numbers last year, rebounding from a pandemic slump with the help of a 35% jump in students coming from India, according to a study released Monday. Overall, the number of international students in the U.S. grew by 12% in the 2022-23 academic year, the largest single-year increase in more than 40 years, according to findings from the State Department and the nonprofit Institute of International Education. More than 1 million students came from abroad, the most since the 2019-20 school year. “This reinforces that the U.S. remains the destination of choice for internationalmore

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Poll: Few Americans Believe Conservatives Can Speak Freely on Campus 

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Americans generally believe liberals have a lot of freedom to express themselves on college campuses, while fewer say the same can be said for conservatives, according to a new poll from University of Chicago and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.   WDEF in Chattanooga, Tennessee, reports that Americans believe conservatives face stronger bias on campus. (October 2023)  …

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US House Speaker Johnson Floats Measure to Avert Gov’t Shutdown

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U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled a Republican stopgap spending measure Saturday, aimed at averting a government shutdown, but the measure quickly ran into opposition from lawmakers from both parties in Congress. “This two-step continuing resolution is a necessary bill to place House Republicans in the best position to fight for conservative victories,” Johnson said in a statement after announcing the plan to House Republicans in a conference call. The House and Democratic-led Senate must agree on a spending vehicle that President Joe Biden can sign into law by Nov. 17, or risk a fourth partial government shutdownmore

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In Veterans Day Tribute, Biden Says US Vets Are ‘Steel Spine’ of Nation

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President Joe Biden said America’s veterans are “the steel spine of this nation” as he marked Veterans Day during a visit to Arlington National Cemetery.  In remarks at the Memorial Amphitheater, the commander in chief recounted famous battles fought by U.S. troops and said those deployments of soldiers are “linked in a chain of honor that stretches back to our founding days. Each one bound by a sacred oath to support and defend. Not a place, not a person, not a president, but an idea, to defend an idea unlike any other in human history. That idea is the Unitedmore

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Trump Pushes for Federal Election Interference Case to be Televised

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Donald Trump is pushing for his federal election interference trial in Washington to be televised, joining media outlets that say the American public should be able to watch the historic case unfold.  Federal court rules prohibit broadcasting proceedings, but The Associated Press and other news organizations say the unprecedented case of a former president standing trial on accusations that he tried to subvert the will of voters — warrants making an exception.  The Justice Department is opposing the effort, arguing that the judge overseeing the case does not have the authority to ignore the long-standing nationwide policy against cameras inmore

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High-Profile Third-Party Candidates Crowd Into US Presidential Field

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When West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin announced Thursday that he will not seek reelection in 2024, speculation immediately turned to whether or not the centrist Democrat is considering a third-party bid for the presidency. If Manchin does decide to mount an outside challenge to the candidates nominated by the Democratic and Republican parties, he won’t be alone. When U.S. voters go to the polls to elect a president in 2024, they may be confronted with more familiar names on the ballot than they are used to seeing, as relatively high-profile third-party candidates seek to take advantage of a year inmore

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US House Republicans Plan Shutdown-Averting Measure Amid Credit Warning

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U.S. House of Representatives Republicans aim to release a stopgap measure to avert a partial government shutdown Saturday, the morning after the Moody’s credit agency lowered its outlook on the government’s credit ratings to “negative.”  A knowledgeable source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said plans for the release of the continuing resolution, or “CR,” were still in flux. It was also unclear what form the measure would take.   U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson has spent days in talks with members of his slim 221-212 Republican majority about several CR options. The Republican-controlled House and Democratic-led Senate must agreemore

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Despite Equity Issues, Internships Are Still Worth It 

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Did you know that undergraduate students who finished a paid internship are more than twice as likely to finish college with a job offer as those without any internship experience? That’s just one of the points raised by Noah Isenberg in his op-ed. Despite persistent diversity issues with internships, especially the fact that poorer students often cannot afford to work for free, they remain an essential “real-world” experience for students, he claims. Read the argument from Isenberg, an associate dean at the University of Texas at Austin, in the Chronicle of Higher Education. (October 2023) …

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Police Investigate Fentanyl-Filled Envelopes Sent to US Election Offices

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Authorities were hunting Thursday for whoever sent suspicious letters — including some containing fentanyl — to elections offices in at least five states this week, delaying the counting of ballots in some local races in the latest instance of threats faced by election workers around the country. The letters were sent to elections offices in the presidential battlegrounds of Georgia and Nevada, as well as California, Oregon and Washington, with some being intercepted before they arrived. Four of the letters contained fentanyl, the FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service reported in a statement to elections officials Thursday. “Law enforcement ismore

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Republican Presidential Candidates Back Israel at Latest Debate

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Five Republicans hoping to be their party’s candidate in next year’s U.S. presidential election debated Wednesday night, expressing support for Israel in its war against Hamas, while clashing over China and Russia. Not appearing on the debate stage in Miami was Republican front-runner Donald Trump, who is seeking to return to the White House after losing the 2020 election. Trump has not appeared at any of the three Republican debates, and while holding his own rally nearby on Wednesday called the event with his competitors “unwatchable.” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who appears a distant second place in opinion polls, saidmore

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Republican Debate Candidates Narrow to 5

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The third Republican presidential debate took place Wednesday in Miami, Florida, featuring fewer candidates than past debates. The candidates tried to set themselves apart from each other and from front-runner Donald Trump with several international issues. VOA’s Senior Washington Correspondent Carolyn Presutti brings us the highlights. …

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Takeaways From the Third 2024 Republican Presidential Debate

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Five candidates seeking to halt Donald Trump’s march toward the 2024 Republican presidential nomination gathered in Miami on Wednesday for the party’s third debate while the former president held a separate campaign rally across town. Here are some takeaways from the debate: Laying blame One night after a stinging series of election losses at the hands of Democrats, the candidates vented their frustrations on the debate stage. “I’m sick of Republicans losing,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said. DeSantis has long contrasted his successful reelection last year in Florida with Republican setbacks in the last few elections, including Trump’s loss inmore

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Minnesota Court Dismisses ‘Insurrection Clause’ Challenge, Allows Trump on Ballot

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Former U.S. President Donald Trump will stay on the Minnesota primary ballot after the state supreme court Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit seeking to end his candidacy under a rarely used constitutional provision that forbids those who “engaged in insurrection” from holding office. The Minnesota Supreme Court declined to become the first in history to use Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to prevent someone from running for the presidency. The court dodged the central question of the lawsuit — does Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol disqualify him from the presidency — by rulingmore

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How Can Colleges Better Support International Students? 

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International students are valued by schools in the U.S., both for the global perspectives they provide, and for the tuition dollars they bring in. Despite this, students often struggle to adjust to the American education system. For Inside Higher Ed, Ashley Mowreader reports on how colleges can culturally integrate students from other countries. (October 2023) …

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Prosecutor Says Politics Didn’t Affect Hunter Biden Investigation

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U.S. Special Counsel David Weiss, who is leading the probe into President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden, told the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday that he faced no political interference, contradicting earlier whistleblower testimony.  Weiss has charged Hunter Biden, 53, with crimes related to owning a firearm while using illegal drugs. The president’s son has said he struggled with addictions to alcohol and crack cocaine.   House Republicans allege the Justice Department improperly interfered with the investigation of Hunter Biden, whose brushes with the law are a central focus of their impeachment inquiry into the president. The White Housemore

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Even at Princeton, International Students Face Legal Obstacles

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The Daily Princetonian, Princeton University’s campus newspaper, spoke with undergraduate students navigating the post-graduation job search. Despite their prestigious degrees, many report limited job options and say they have to apply to in-demand jobs in tech and consulting to have a shot at an H1-B visa. Claire Meng, Sandeep Mangat and Michelle Miao report. (October 2023). …

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