Tag - us-congress

 
 

US CONGRESS

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in the East Room of the White House during an event to welcome mayors attending the U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting in Washington, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 20, 2024
Biden open to asylum changes to clinch Ukraine and border deals
The U.S. president said he is open to "massive changes” in border policy, including to asylum laws, in order to secure a deal that would unlock Ukraine aid.
David Grusch, former National Reconnaissance Office representative on the Defense Department's Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force, testifies during a House subcommittee's hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington last July.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 13, 2024
UFOs remain a mystery to lawmakers after classified briefing
Members of the House went into a confidential briefing hoping for answers about what the government knows about alien life. They emerged with more questions.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump appears during a campaign event in Durham, New Hampshire on Dec. 16.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 7, 2024
How Trump has used fear and favor to win Republican endorsements
The former president keeps careful watch over his endorsements from elected Republicans, aided by a disciplined and methodical behind-the-scenes operation.
Ukrainian soldier fire a mortar near Kyiv on Nov. 8.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 13, 2023
Pentagon has a workaround to send Ukraine arms despite aid stalemate
The tactic: Continue to provide arms from U.S. stockpiles in hopes of waiting until later for the money to replace them.
U.S. Republican Rep. Jim Jordan speaks during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 21, 2023
New field of would-be U.S. House speakers takes shape
The GOP has dispensed with Jim Jordan as their nominee for the U.S. speakership and now several more representatives are preparing to enter the fray.
Rep. Jim Jordan after a vote for House speaker on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday
WORLD / Politics
Oct 19, 2023
Jordan defeated again for speaker as Republican stalemate deepens
The hard-line Republican from Ohio lost a second bid for speaker after running headlong into opposition from a group of mainstream GOP holdouts.
U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan departs a Republican caucus meeting at the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 14, 2023
U.S. House Republicans nominate Jim Jordan for speaker
The hard-line conservative appears to be well short of the support he would need to seize the speaker's gavel.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is accompanied by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in the Old Senate Chamber, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Sept. 21.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 1, 2023
Ukraine aid falls by wayside as Congress passes spending bill
The Biden administration and lawmakers from both parties sought to reassure Ukraine that assistance may be supplied in a separate bill down the road.
U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy talks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 1, 2023
Last-gasp deal averts U.S. government shutdown
The U.S. Congress passed an 11th-hour funding bill Saturday to keep federal agencies running for another 45 days.
U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, speaks to members of the media at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 30, 2023
GOP rejects own funding bill; U.S. government shutdown imminent
In a 232-198 vote, the House defeated a measure that would extend government funding by 30 days and avert a shutdown.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute 46th Annual Gala at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 24, 2023
Biden allies seize on impeachment as weapon against Republicans
Tapping White House aides and veterans of Donald Trump impeachments, the plan is to paint the picture of an evidence-free stunt.
U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez
WORLD / Politics
Sep 23, 2023
Charged with bribery, U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez vows not to resign
U.S. prosecutors on Friday charged powerful Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife with taking bribes from three New Jersey businessmen, which could complicate Democrats' efforts to keep their slim majority in the U.S. Senate in next year's elections.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks to the media Wednesday after a closed-door Senate meeting on how artificial intelligence should be regulated.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 14, 2023
Tech leaders discuss AI policy in closed-door senate meeting
The meeting included a prestigious, and possibly combustible, mix of personalities with diverging views on how to write the rules for AI.
Sen. Mitch McConnell appears to freeze up for more than 30 seconds during a public appearance before he was escorted away, the second such incident in a little more than a month, after an event with the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce in Covington, Kentucky, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 2, 2023
Mitch McConnell may be experiencing small seizures, doctors say
Two episodes, where the Republican senator froze and did not respond to some questions, may be symptoms of a serious illness.
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell speaks to reporters following the Senate Republicans weekly policy lunch at the U.S. Capitol in Washington in April.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 29, 2023
After McConnell freezes midsentence, U.S. Senate GOP stands by him
Senate Republicans are standing by their longtime leader, brushing off questions about his health after he froze midsentence at the start of his weekly news conference Wednesday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
May 29, 2023
Diane Feinstein, back in the U.S. Senate, relies heavily on staff to function
The California Democrat is surrounded by a large retinue of aides at all times, who tell her how and when to vote and shield her from the press and public.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 28, 2023
White House and Republicans reach tentative deal on U.S. debt ceiling
The deal would raise the debt limit for two years while capping spending over that time, clawing back unused COVID funds and speeding up the permitting process for some energy projects.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
May 21, 2023
Biden seeks to call McCarthy after debt-limit talks hit impasse
The president signaled over the weekend that he remains confident the U.S. government can avoid a catastrophic default.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 16, 2023
U.S. on track for June 1 default without debt ceiling hike, Treasury says
In her second letter to Congress in two weeks, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen confirmed that the agency will be unlikely to meet all U.S. government payment obligations by early June.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
May 7, 2023
What happens if the U.S. fails to raise its debt ceiling?
Time is running short as U.S. policymakers remain at an impasse on lifting the debt ceiling.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’