Updated: US House in limbo as Republican Scalise appears short of votes for speaker
Updated: 12:20pm (AEDT)Washington DC, USReuters Republicans who control the US House of Representatives on Wednesday nominated Steve Scalise to serve as speaker following last week’s ouster of Kevin McCarthy, but delayed further action when he appeared to be short of the support needed to win a vote of the full chamber. Scalise, now number two […]
Biden, McCarthy reach tentative US debt ceiling deal
Washington DC, USReuters US President Joe Biden and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy reached a tentative deal to suspend the federal government’s $US31.4 trillion debt ceiling on Saturday evening, ending a months-long stalemate. However, the deal was announced without any celebration, in terms that reflected the bitter tenor of the negotiations and the difficult path […]
Essay: Playing chicken over debt and spending bills
As the US debt ceiling crisis continues, US Catholic commentator THOMAS REESE expresses his hope that US Congress could look seriously at government programs to make them better and more efficient rather than grandstanding for the media and their partisan base…
Airman suspected of leaking secret US documents hit with federal charges
Boston, US Reuters A 21-year-old member of the US Air National Guard accused of leaking top secret military intelligence records online was charged on Friday with unlawfully copying and transmitting classified material. Jack Douglas Teixeira of North Dighton, Massachusetts, who was arrested by heavily armed FBI agents at his home on Thursday, made his initial […]
Trump says he expects to be arrested on Tuesday, calls for protests
New York, USReuters Former US President Donald Trump on Saturday said he expects to be arrested on Tuesday as New York prosecutors consider charges over a hush money payment to a porn star, and called on his supporters to protest. “Illegal leaks from a corrupt & highly political Manhattan district attorney’s office…indicate that, with no […]
Biden tells duelling prayer breakfasts that “diversity is one of our greatest strengths”
Washington, US RNS Speaking to a refashioned National Prayer Breakfast gathered at the Capitol with a new board and in a new location, President Joe Biden encouraged leaders of Congress to find ways to unify despite their political and religious differences. “My prayer for this prayer breakfast is to start to see each other again, […]
Essay: Kevin McCarthy – why Republicans are preventing their own leader becoming US speaker
RICHARD HARGY, of Queen’s University Belfast, explains in an article first published on The Conversation…
US cardinal asks bishops to challenge lawmakers who want to cut Ukraine aid
Baltimore, USRNS America’s newest cardinal called on his fellow bishops to challenge lawmakers who want to cut Ukraine aid, urging prelates to speak out against leaders of a Republican majority in the next Congress angling to reduce US support for the country as it battles Russian invaders. Cardinal Robert McElroy of San Diego, who was elevated […]