AP Top Political News at 11:08 p.m. EST
Congress seals agreement on $900 billion COVID relief bill
Congress seals agreement on $900 billion COVID relief bill
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi holds a press conference in Washington, D.C.
We'll take one in every colour.
‘He’s shining in heaven now,' said Parton
The U.S. House of Representatives has enough votes to approve a waiver for retired Army General Lloyd Austin to serve as defense secretary, a senior House Democrat said in a phone call on Thursday, CNN reported. Austin would require a waiver from Congress since he has not been out of uniform long enough, a rule meant to safeguard civilian control of the U.S. Armed Forces. CNN, citing unidentified sources, said House Majority Whip James Clyburn said in the phone call that the House, which is scheduled vote on the waiver later on Thursday, had enough votes to approve it.
The White House announced President Joe Biden would appoint Dave Uejio to run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on an acting basis after its director, Kathy Kraninger, resigned at the new administration's request. Uejio, whose appointment was announced late Wednesday, will run the watchdog agency pending Senate confirmation of Federal Trade Commission member Rohit Chopra as its permanent director. Uejio is a nine-year CFPB veteran and was most recently its chief strategy officer, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is under pressure from his coalition to quickly broaden his majority but has made little progress since narrowly surviving an attempt to sink the government, political sources said. After scraping through a confidence vote in the Senate on Tuesday thanks to abstentions, Conte appealed to centrist and liberal lawmakers outside the coalition to join his government's ranks. Next week the government faces a vote on an annual report on the justice system.
China's embassy in Washington has now had its Twitter account suspended, over a tweet in which it defends its policy toward Uighur Muslims in China. The decision by the tech giant came just a day after the outgoing Trump administration, in its final hours, accused China of genocide against the minority group - a label that the new Biden administration appears to agree with. The tweet posted earlier this month has been hidden from users. But it originally stated that in China's battle against extremism, the minds of Uighur women in Xinjiang province had been "emancipated," and that they were no longer "baby-making machines" - citing a study by Chinese media. Twitter says the statement was "dehumanizing" toward Uighurs, a violation of its policy. This was the response from the Chinese foreign ministry's spokeswoman, Hua Chunying: "There is a lot of false and ugly information out there about China. The Chinese Embassy in the United States certainly has the responsibility and obligation to clarify the facts and explain the truth. Therefore, we are puzzled that Twitter has imposed restrictions on the accounts of the Chinese Embassy in the United States for this reason. We hope that Twitter can uphold the principle of objectivity and fairness and not show double standards on this issue." China has repeatedly rejected accusations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang province. It says it's conducting rehabilitation and redemption programs for extremists, and allegations otherwise are groundless and false. The United Nations has said that at least a million Muslims are being detained in camps there. Last year a report by a German researcher and Washington think tank claimed that Chinese authorities had subjected Muslims in the province to forced sterilization, abortion, and other abuses. The Trump administration called the claims "horrific" at the time.
Lady Whistledown has made it official to her readers: “Bridgerton” is back for Season 2. To almost no one’s surprise, Netflix has renewed the hit Shondaland series created by Chris Van Dusen after teasing the news in its fourth-quarter earnings report Tuesday. The announcement, in the form of a cheeky little letter from Whistledown herself […]
European Union leaders meet online on Thursday to address the mounting challenge of new and more infectious coronavirus variants and the slow roll-out of vaccines. Germany has said it may need to close its borders if other EU countries are less firm in restricting the spread of the coronavirus, particularly the new more transmissible variants. Luxembourg, with nearly half of its workforce commuting in from other countries, does not want any border closures, while the European Commission says such closures would harm the bloc's treasured single market.
The 19-year-old smoking with friends in a poor district of Tunisia's capital had a simple explanation for night-time clashes between youths and police that have shaken the country - he has nothing to lose. A decade after mass protests toppled Tunisia's long-time president and sparked uprisings across the Middle East, anger is boiling over again amid economic stagnation, the global pandemic and a widening disconnect between people and their leaders.
The Abus StormChaser is a mid-level performance helmet aimed at riders who want to take on all drop-bar racing
The Netflix reality show is officially our new favourite thingFrom Cosmopolitan
Police in Wausau, Wisconsin, took some time out to go tubing down a snowy hill with local children, video posted January 20 shows.Wausau Police said the footage shows officers Nick Stetzer, Mike Horejs, and Claire Aschenbrenner snowtubing with community youth. Credit: Wausau Police Department via Storyful
From Audrey Hepburn to Meghan Markle.From Good Housekeeping
Whether you're looking for originals like 'Mrs. America' or a throwback like 'Community,' this streaming service has even more than you realize.From Esquire
Videos and pictures from Reuters partner ANI showed black smoke billowing from a multi-story building in the SSI's massive complex in the city of Pune. The Maharashtra government said the fire could have been caused by an electrical fault during construction work. Five people have died. SII has licensed the coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, and was also planning to start stockpiling up to 50 million doses a month of a vaccine candidate developed by Novavax Inc from around April.
Wolverhampton Wanderers fans grumbling about their club's drastic loss of form should perhaps consult the history books and check out the last time they played Chorley in the FA Cup. A run of two victories in their last 10 games in all competitions has left Portuguese manager Nuno Espirito Santo under pressure for the first time in his Wolves reign. Last week's defeat by West Bromwich Albion left Wolves 14th in the Premier League with fans venting their frustration on social media, yet the club remains in rude health compared to the sad state of affairs on Nov. 24, 1986.
No one relishes the COVID-19 epidemic and the death it has brought, but Philippe Gallay, boss of one of the world's biggest snowshoe manufacturers, acknowledges it has been good for business. In France, where Gallay's TSL firm is based, and in other countries, officials stung by virus clusters in ski resorts have closed chair lifts, button lifts and cable cars at ski resorts. With no mechanical means to lift them up the slopes, skiers and snowboarders have resorted to an old-school solution: the humble snow shoe.
Michael Milosh’s third full length shows that he is paying attention to our current music moment; even during pandemic times, legions of musicians are taking us back to the dance floor
Wout van Aert extended his contract with Dutch cycling team Jumbo-Visma on Thursday claiming his team had become the best in the world.