Senate Republicans this week adopted rule changes that could make the august upper chamber something like a miniature version of the raucous and deeply partisan House. In a bid to speed confirmation of President Trump’s nominees, Republicans voted Wednesday to cut the debate time for lower-level judicial and administration picks from 30 hours to two. […]

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Israel is holding an election on Tuesday, and Palestinian communities in the occupied territories are not following it with much interest. This is not because whoever is elected will not have a strong impact on our lives. It’s because none of the leading candidates has a program for peace. The main […]

(Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the sign-up.) Good morning, We’re covering a dispute between the attorney general and some of Robert Mueller’s investigators, the return of measles, and a report on the gruesome state of Alabama’s prisons. Breaking Ethiopian officials today called for a review of Boeing Max 8 controls and said […]

Listen and subscribe to our podcast from your mobile device: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | RadioPublic | Stitcher Is Joe Biden the Democrats’ best hope to beat President Trump in 2020? Or is the former vice president woefully behind the times? This week on “The Argument,” Michelle Goldberg says that allegations of […]

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian takeover target GrainCorp Ltd said on Thursday it plans to separate in two, spinning off and listing its global malting unit and restructuring its grain business, whose earnings have been hit by drought. At the same time, GrainCorp said it is still engaging with suitors vying for parts or all of […]

One of the great political themes of the Democratic presidential campaign is how much everybody loves Joe Biden. Really. Just Google “I love Joe Biden.” Go past the T-shirts and memorial coffee cups and you’ll see a ton of stuff. “I love Joe Biden. He’s a great guy and a great politician,” said Jerry Shriner, […]

For 10 weeks now, Venezuela has had two presidents playing a tense game of chicken. The United States and a host of other countries have arrayed themselves behind Juan Guaidó, the young challenger from the opposition, beginning a broad drive to force the disastrously incompetent and dictatorial Nicolás Maduro out of office. But despite threats […]

(Reuters) – U.S. radio company iHeartMedia Inc on Wednesday filed for an initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission to list its Class ‘A’ common shares, as it nears bankruptcy exit and bets on podcast to drive growth. The San Antonio, Texas-based company went belly up last March as it struggled with debt […]

Last Wednesday at midnight, Rockland County, N.Y., did something no municipality had ever done. It barred anyone under age 18 from going to libraries, gyms, supermarkets — any public place where they could expose others to the measles virus. The state of emergency came as a desperate, final effort to stop the spread of the […]

The future success of the Democratic Party depends on the crucial — but unsettled — allegiance of the nation’s growing Hispanic electorate. Fernand Amandi, a Democratic pollster and podcast host based in Miami, addressed the party’s Latino quandary in a December interview with The Associated Press: The question is not are Democrats winning the Hispanic […]