Senate to vote on $40 billion Ukraine aid package
This post was originally published on this siteThe Senate is expected to vote on Thursday to pass a roughly $40 billion bill to send aid to Ukraine as the country fights back against Russia’s brutal and unprovoked attacks.
Domestic Terrorism Bill Passes House, Faces Uncertain Future In Senate
This post was originally published on this siteThe bill was an answer to the growing pressure Congress faces to address gun violence and white supremacist attacks, following two mass shootings over the weekend.
Victory and Defeat Are Hard to Define in Ukraine
This post was originally published on this siteThe variety of outcomes that either Russia or Ukraine could declare as a victory is matched only by the scarcity of outcomes that can last.
Biden invokes Defense Production Act in push to speed baby formula to shelves
President Biden on Wednesday invoked the Defense Production Act to ensure that U.S. baby formula makers get first access to supplies and authorized the Pentagon to use its air cargo contracts to fly approved foreign-made baby formula from overseas to get them on U.S. shelves. “Imports of baby formula will serve as a bridge to this ramped-up production,” Biden wrote in a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
Parents and caregivers in much of the U.S. are struggling to find baby formula amid a nationwide shortage caused primarily by supply chain problems — that’s what the Korean War–era Defense Production Act aims to address — and a recall of baby formula by Abbott Nutrition after the discovery of serious bacterial infections tied to their Sturgis, Michigan, plant.
“I know parents across the country are worried about finding enough formula to feed their babies,” Biden said in a video statement on Wednesday. “As a parent and as a grandparent, I know just how stressful that is.” One of his “top priorities,” he said, is “to ensure there’s enough safe baby formula and that it is quickly reaching families that need it the most.”
Hours after Biden issued his orders, the House approved two bills to address the baby formula shortage. The first, which passed 414 to 9, would allow the state-run WIC programs to give low-income parents access to a greater variety of baby formula. The second Democratic bill, approved on a narrower 231-192 vote, would give $28 million in emergency funding to the Food and Drug Administration to bolster its food safety resources.
Extended Pennsylvania recount could help Democrats win in November: analysis
This post was originally published on this site Donald Trump’s ongoing “big lie” of election fraud could harm the trust of his supporters in election and potentially depress the GOP’s general election support in a battleground Senate race. Dr. Mehmet Oz, who was endorsed by Donald Trump, is narrowly leading...
Senate confirms new U.S. ambassador to Ukraine
This post was originally published on this siteThe Senate confirmed Bridget Brink as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, filling the post as officials plan to return American diplomats to Kyiv.
US reopens embassy in Kyiv
This post was originally published on this siteUS Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Wednesday that the US has reopened its embassy in Kyiv after it closed three months ago ahead of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Kansas Supreme Court upholds GOP-drawn House map
This post was originally published on this siteThe Kansas Supreme Court upheld a Republican-drawn House map that would split a racially diverse county in the state in two, reversing a decision made by a Kansas judge last month to toss out the map. “A majority of the court holds that,...
NATO Acceptance: Why Some Countries Get Fast-Tracked, Others Don’t
Sweden and Finland, two nations that have maintained military neutrality for roughly 200 and 100 years respectively, submitted simultaneous bids Wednesday to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. But while NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is hoping to fast-track their entry process, cutting down the time it takes to get unanimous...