List of All Articles with Tag 'am'

The House of Representatives has voted to raise the debt limit, thereby ensuring the United States will avoid defaulting on its debt, despite vocal opposition from many Republicans in the House majority. The legislation had resulted from negotiations between lieutenants of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the White House. The passage of the legislation is the first major hurdle to be cleared for Mr McCarthy, who made a series of concessions on how to negotiate the debt limit during the marathon 15 votes it took for him to become speaker in January. The Senate will take up the legislation for a vote and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has pledged it will pass before 5 June, when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned that the United States will run out of options to maintain its debt obligations. Multiple Republicans vehemently criticised the bill, saying it did not go far enough in its spending cuts as well as highlighting the fact it raised the debt limit until January 2025, rather than raising it a certain dollar amount. Rep Garret Graves (R-LA), one of the chief negotiators with the White House, said that conservative criticism ignored the fact that had it not been for the agreement, the White House would have likely raised the debt limit unilaterally or Democrats would have teamed up with moderate Republicans to raise the debt limit without spending cuts. “So by doing so all you're doing is playing into the hands of the White House,” he told The Independent. “Because if you keep going down this road, if you keep trying to sew this line, that's simply not true that there's some other option out there to save a gazillion dollars, all you're doing is you're moving towards default.” But several House conservatives criticised the bill for multiple provisions, including the fact it did not put in place work requirements for Medicaid. The agreement increases the age for work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, for able-bodied adults without dependent children from 50 to 54. That earned the criticism of many progressive Democrats and led to them opposing the bill. At the same time, the agreement would exempt youth in the foster care system, veterans and people experiencing homelessness from work requirements for SNAP and the Congressional Budget Office estimated that approximately 78,000 would gain benefits in an average month as a result of the deal. But Rep Byron Donalds (R-FL) criticised the legislation for not going far enough in work requirements such as including them for Medicaid. “And I think that's just a smart and prudent thing to do,” he told The Independent. “But when you expand eligibility for the program, at least the way CBO is putting it we're actually taking a step backwards.” Read More What’s in the cliffhanger deal struck by Biden and McCarthy to raise the debt limit? Anti-poverty groups and progressives blast work requirements for aid to poor Americans in debt ceiling deal

Republican lawmakers who oppose the debt-ceiling bill argue it doesn’t do enough to cut spending or reduce the

The House began voting Wednesday evening on the deal struck by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Joe

As frustration over China’s equity performance increases, some of Asia’s other major markets are emerging as more attractive

Peru could issue more local currency bonds as soon as this year after raising 9.2 billion soles ($2.5

Marie Bolden, a black teenager, won the first US spelling bee in 1908. Her win was eclipsed by racism.

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON U.S. passenger railroad Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner will testify on June 6 before a

Five teenagers were arrested in connection with the beating of three US Marines by a crowd of young people they had asked to stop lighting fireworks. The violent incident, which was captured on video, took place at Southern California‘s San Clemente Pier over Memorial Day weekend. The suspects, four of whom are boys and one girl, face felony charges of assault with a deadly weapon, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. The city also says that four other local students were identified and have been citied with misdemeanour assault charges. First responders gave medical aid to two Marines, who refused to go to the hospital, and investigators later found a third Marine who had also been attacked. The video seemingly shows that the incident started when a teenage male punched a man in the back of the head. The man then charged the teenager before being surrounded by a group of people who hit him until the fight was broken up by a man and woman. One of the Marines, Hunter Antonino, told KCAL that he and his two friends were at the pier when 30 teenagers arrived and began to set off fireworks He said that when he was hit in the face by debris he asked the group to leave. “They were lighting off fireworks, they were being belligerent, they were being obnoxious and annoying other people, so I went up to them and told them to stop,” he said. San Clemente mayor Chris Duncan told The Los Angeles Times that the incident was unacceptable. “The barbaric assault on off-duty Marines at the San Clemente Pier goes against everything we stand for in San Clemente, and it’s no excuse that teenagers were involved,” he said. “I want to assure our community, especially our military and veteran community, that we take this matter with the utmost seriousness and will not tolerate this kind of behavior in our city. The fact that this incident occurred over Memorial Day weekend is particularly tragic.” Read More Video shows mob attack US marines who asked them to stop lighting fireworks Highly decorated Marine officer nominated to be next commandant Critics say Biden is lying about how his son Beau died in Iraq – they are ignoring the full story

C3.ai Inc. plunged 20% in extended trading after providing a fiscal-year revenue outlook that fell short of analysts’

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis sought to court Iowa voters as the best alternative to Donald Trump, continuing the

Weeks before the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade last year, Oklahoma’s Republican governor vowed to “outlaw” abortion in the state entirely, and pledged to sign any legislation that promised to do just that. Governor Kevin Stitt signed several anti-abortion bills into law, including a measure that outlaws abortion at roughly six weeks of pregnancy, and another banning all abortions with exceptions only to save the patient’s life in a medical emergency or if the pregnancy is the result of rape, sexual assault or incest that has been reported to law enforcement. On 31 May, the highest court in the state struck down both of them. But abortion access remains out of reach for most patients in the state, after that same court upheld a far-reaching abortion ban from more than 100 years ago earlier this year. A state law from 1910 makes it a felony punishable up to five years in prison for anyone to perform or help someone seek an abortion unless to save the patient’s life. “This ruling, while providing clarity in emergency situations, does not change the landscape of care significantly,” Emily Wales, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, said in a statement. Oklahoma was the first state in the US to successfully outlaw abortion despite a constitutional right to abortion care that was affirmed by Roe v Wade. But in March, the state’s Supreme Court ruled that the state’s constitution “creates an inherent right of a pregnant woman to terminate a pregnancy when necessary to preserve her life,” though the court declined to weigh in on whether the constitution protects abortion access in other circumstances. The court also ruled that doctors should be able to use their own medical judgment to determine whether to provide an abortion when a patient’s life is at risk “due to the pregnancy itself or due to a medical condition that the woman is either currently suffering from or likely to suffer from during the pregnancy.” But it also preserved the 1910 law, a 113-year-old ban on abortion care that threatens providers with prison. The court’s decision on 31 May reaffirmed its decision recognising a right to abortion care in life-threatening cases, and struck down two the overlapping bans. In the months after the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which struck down a constitutional right to abortion care, clinics in Oklahoma have been forced to close, and patients have traveled thousands of miles for legal abortion care in a region surrounded by states where abortion is severely restricted or effectively outlawed. Even in cases of emergencies, there appears to be no hospital in Oklahoma that provides “clear, consistent policies for emergency obstetric care to pregnant patients,” according to an April report from Physicians for Human Rights, Oklahoma Call for Reproductive Justice and the Center for Reproductive Rights. Oklahoma hospitals “offered opaque, contradictory, and incorrect information about abortion availability and approval processes in obstetric emergencies, as well as little reassurance that clinicians’ medical judgment and pregnant patients’ needs would be prioritized,” according to the report. Only two out of 24 hospitals described providing legal support for providers in such situations, and representatives for three hospitals claimed their facilities do not provide abortions at all, the report found. Abortion rights advocates welcomed the court’s decision on 31 May, which abortion rights advocates said will at least allow doctors to clearly rely on their own medical judgment to provide care when a patient’s life is in jeopardy. “After months of uncertainty and chaos, Oklahomans should finally be able to access the life-saving care they need in their home state,” according to Dr Alan Braid, an abortion provider and plaintiff in the case challenging the overlapping abortion bans. “Heartbreakingly, we were forced to close our Tulsa clinic due to Oklahoma’s abortion bans, but I will continue to serve patients in the region at clinics in Illinois and New Mexico,” he added. “While we are relieved the court upheld the right to abortion in medical emergencies, this does not diminish the fact that care remains out of reach for the majority of Oklahomans,” according to Ms Wales. Following the state Supreme Court decision on 31 May, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond clarified that “except for certain circumstances outlined in that statute, abortion is still unlawful in the state of Oklahoma” because of the 1910 law. Governor Stitt accused the court of using “activism to create a right to an abortion in Oklahoma.” “This court has once more over-involved itself in the state’s democratic process, and has interceded to undo legislation created by the will of the people,” he said in a statement. Within the last year, more than a dozen states – including most of the entire US South – have outlawed abortion care for most pregnancies. Read More ACLU sues Nebraska over combined law targeting abortion and gender-affirming care: ‘Egregious overreach’ South Carolina judge halts six-week abortion ban as state Supreme Court set to review new law Doctor who provided abortion care to 10-year-old rape survivor reprimanded in case that drew national scrutiny Anti-abortion laws harm patients facing dangerous and life-threatening complications, report finds

A new oral history project focused on former President Barack Obama's administration was released on Wednesday, with the first installment centering on climate.