Pandas, fentanyl and Taiwan — takeaways from Biden’s long-awaited meeting with Xi (apnews.com)
WASHINGTON (AP) — It was a meeting a year in the making....
Colorado case using ‘insurrection’ argument to bar Trump from the ballot goes to the judge (apnews.com)
DENVER (AP) — A Colorado judge on Wednesday heard closing arguments on whether former President Donald Trump is barred from the ballot by a provision of the U.S. Constitution that forbids those who “engaged in insurrection” from holding office....
Pennsylvania counties tell governor, lawmakers it’s too late to move 2024’s primary election date (apnews.com)
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Counties in Pennsylvania have told Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and lawmakers that it is too late to move up the state’s 2024 presidential primary date if counties are to successfully administer the election....
Republicans fail to coalesce around speaker choice, leaving House in limbo (www.washingtonpost.com)
House Republicans were on the verge of open revolt Wednesday after the ideologically fractious conference failed to coalesce around a speaker nominee, leaving the chamber rudderless and leaderless for an eighth day....
House Republicans are trying to nominate a new speaker after ousting McCarthy but it could be a wait (apnews.com)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Stalemated over a new House speaker, the Republican majority is meeting behind closed doors Wednesday to try to choose a new leader, but lawmakers warn it could take hours, if not days, to unite behind a nominee after Kevin McCarthy’s ouster....
The power dynamic in labor has shifted and pickets are seemingly everywhere. But for how long? (apnews.com)
NEW YORK (AP) — From auto production lines to Hollywood, the power of labor unions is back in the national spotlight....
US House Republicans eye Scalise, Jordan in speaker race (www.reuters.com)
WASHINGTON, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives met on Wednesday to choose between two candidates - Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan - to lead their narrow majority a week after a small group of dissidents ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy....
Who is Mohammed Deif, the Hamas commander behind the attack on Israel? (www.reuters.com)
DUBAI, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Israel calls last week’s devastating attack by Hamas its 9/11 moment. The secretive mastermind behind the assault, Palestinian militant Mohammed Deif, calls it Al Aqsa Flood....
Exxon Mobil doubles down on fossil fuels with $59.5 billion deal for Pioneer Natural as prices surge (apnews.com)
Exxon Mobil is buying Pioneer Natural Resources in an all-stock deal valued at $59.5 billion, its largest buyout since acquiring Mobil two decades ago, creating a colossal fracking operator in West Texas....
‘Ring of fire’ solar eclipse will slice across Americas on Saturday with millions along path (apnews.com)
Tens of millions in the Americas will have front-row seats for Saturday’s rare “ring of fire” eclipse of the sun....
A riled Trump sounds off outside the New York fraud trial that accuses him of lying about wealth (apnews.com)
NEW YORK (AP) — Aggrieved and defiant, former President Donald Trump sat through hours of sometimes testy opening statements Monday in a fraud lawsuit that could cost him control of Trump Tower and other prized properties....
The Republican case against Biden takes a body blow … from Fox News (www.washingtonpost.com)
There are two central arguments in the Republican effort to impeach President Biden, neither validated....
Trump appears to remain worried that 2024 won’t be rigged to his benefit (www.washingtonpost.com)
Former president Donald Trump has never been particularly adept at masking his true feelings. He feels confident in his ability to close the deal, however robustly he’s previously undermined his position. So if he says something disadvantageous, he seems to believe that saying more things can get him back on track. So he just...
US FCC chair to seek reinstating net neutrality rules rescinded under Trump (www.reuters.com)
WASHINGTON, Sept 25 (Reuters) - U.S. Federal Communications Commission chair Jessica Rosenworcel plans to begin an effort to reinstate landmark net neutrality rules rescinded under then-President Donald Trump, sources briefed on the matter said Monday....
Trump opposes US request to limit his comments on election case (www.reuters.com)
WASHINGTON, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Donald Trump pushed back at U.S. prosecutors’ request to curb some of his public statements about people involved in the federal court case accusing him of attempting to subvert the results of the 2020 presidential election....
Russia seeks to rejoin UN's human rights council (www.bbc.com)
Russia is seeking to rejoin the United Nations human rights council in an election that will be seen as a key test of its international standing....
Trump fights Jack Smith request for narrow gag order in Jan. 6 case (www.washingtonpost.com)
Attorneys for former president Donald Trump on Monday blasted U.S. prosecutors’ request for a narrow gag order that would bar him from attacking participants in the criminal case charging him with conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election, claiming he must be free to campaign for the Republican nomination in 2024....
Watchdog files open meetings lawsuit against secret panel studying Wisconsin justice’s impeachment (apnews.com)
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A liberal watchdog group on Monday sued a secret panel investigating the criteria for impeaching a liberal Wisconsin Supreme Court justice, asking a judge to order the panel to stop meeting behind closed doors....
Hollywood's video game performers authorize strike if labor talks fail (www.reuters.com)
LOS ANGELES, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Video game voice actors and motion capture performers have voted to authorize a strike if negotiations on a new labor contract fail, setting the stage for another possible work stoppage in Hollywood....
CEO of Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin rocket company resigns (www.washingtonpost.com)
Bob Smith, chief executive of Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin, announced to staff in an email Monday that he was resigning, six years after he was hired to lead the space company....
Ford pauses construction of Michigan battery plant amid contract talks with UAW union (www.npr.org)
DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. said Monday that it’s pausing construction of a $3.5 billion electric vehicle battery plant in Michigan until it is confident it can run the factory competitively....
How could hardline US House Republicans strip Kevin McCarthy of his speakership? (www.reuters.com)
WASHINGTON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - As Republican U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy struggles to negotiate a deal to keep the government open, he faces a challenge from his right flank, with hardline members of his caucus threatening to oust him as their leader....
With a government shutdown just days away, Congress is moving into crisis mode (apnews.com)
WASHINGTON (AP) — With a government shutdown five days away, Congress is moving into crisis mode as Speaker Kevin McCarthy faces an insurgency from hard-right Republicans eager to slash spending even if it means curtailing federal services for millions of Americans....
Black student sues governor after school suspended him for his hair (www.washingtonpost.com)
The family of a Black student suspended from his Texas high school over the way he wears his hair is suing the state’s governor and attorney general, arguing that they have failed to enforce a new law prohibiting hair discrimination....
TurboTax Parent Company's Latest Argument Against Free Tax Filing: It Will Harm Black Taxpayers (www.propublica.org)
For the past quarter century, Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, has worked to thwart one clear threat to its profits: a free, publicly funded tool to file taxes online. The company’s success at preventing that threat was near total — until earlier this year, when the IRS announced a plan to test such an approach. Advocates...
