Ukraine tennis player booed for not shaking hands with Belarusian opponent

The crowd jeered at Marta Kostyuk as she snubbed her rival Aryna Sabalenka.

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Debt ceiling deal includes surprise approval of natural gas pipeline championed by Manchin

The text of the debt ceiling bill released on Sunday would approve all the remaining permits to complete the stalled Mountain Valley Pipeline, delivering a big win for West Virginia Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito.

But the backing of the pipeline that would deliver gas from West Virginia into the Southeast is sure to set off bitter complaints from the environmental groups that have fought its construction for years and turned the project into a symbol of their struggle against fossil fuels.

Manchin hailed the bill's language, saying finishing the pipeline would lower energy costs for the United State and West Virginia.

"I am proud to have fought for this critical project and to have secured the bipartisan support necessary to get it across the finish line," he said in a statement.

The bill agreed by the White House and House Republicans must still be approved by both chambers of Congress, which is expected to happen in the coming week.

“After working with Speaker McCarthy and reiterating what completing the Mountain Valley Pipeline would mean for American jobs and domestic energy production, I am thrilled it is included in the debt ceiling package that avoids default,” Capito, a Republican, said in a statement. “Despite delay after delay, we continued to fight to get this critical natural gas pipeline up and running, and its inclusion in this deal is a significant victory for the future of West Virginia.”

The project has won support from the White House, which argues the controversial project is needed for U.S. energy security. Its approval comes after the approval of the Willow oil project in Alaska, which activists have said undercuts the Biden administration’s climate promises.

Including the project in the debt bill came as a surprise that wasn’t revealed by either negotiating side until the release of the bill text Sunday night.

The bill approves all outstanding permits for the pipeline, which has suffered court setbacks.

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Biden touts bipartisan debt ceiling agreement, but says neither side got everything it wanted

President Joe Biden on Sunday hailed the bipartisan deal he struck with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on the debt ceiling, saying it’s ready to move forward for congressional approval, but he also pushed back against criticism that he made too many concessions in the process.

Speaking from the White House Roosevelt Room, Biden acknowledged that neither side got everything it wanted out of the deal, but he insisted “I did not negotiate on the debt ceiling” with Republicans.

“You want to try to make it look like I made some compromise on the debt ceiling — I didn’t. I made a compromise on the budget,” he told reporters.

Biden said Republicans wanted to pass a debt ceiling on condition of a budget “with all these cuts in it.”

“I said ‘I’m not going to do that. You pass the debt ceiling, period,’” he said, and then he’d negotiate separately on the budget.

The White House and Republican congressional leaders reached a tentative deal late Saturday evening, that was being finalized on Sunday, to raise the nation’s debt ceiling, narrowly averting a default just days before the projected June 5 deadline.

Asked whether he thought it was time to get rid of the debt ceiling, Biden said that doing so would “cause more controversy” but did not rule it out as a future option.

“I am exploring the idea that we would, at a later date — a year or two from now — decide whether or not the 14th Amendment, how that actually would impact whether or not you need to do the debt limit every year,” Biden said.

The agreement lifts the debt ceiling and holds spending flat through the 2024 presidential election, while allowing non-defense spending to increase by 1 percent in 2025. The deal also imposes new work requirements on TANF and SNAP assistance programs, clawbacks billions of dollars in unspent Covid relief funds, pairs down Biden’s plan to dramatically expand the IRS and codifies the administration’s plan to restart federal student loan payments at the end of the summer.

Negotiators worked through the night to finalize the legislative text of the deal and were expected to share it with lawmakers Sunday evening.

Although Biden and McCarthy projected confidence on Sunday that the bill would clear the House, the agreement is facing objections on both sides of the aisle. Conservatives were quick to criticize the agreement for not cutting spending more aggressively, while progressive Democrats have expressed some concerns about work requirements and other spending priorities.

Asked Sunday about criticism from Hill Democrats who said the deal would mean some low-income Americans could go hungry, Biden called that a “ridiculous assertion.” He also said he did not regret starting negotiations with Republicans sooner.

“It wouldn’t have made any difference,” he said.

Top White House aides spent much of Sunday calling Democratic lawmakers to shore up support for the bill. Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young, National Economic Council Deputy Director Aviva Aron-Dine and senior adviser on climate John Podesta virtually briefed House Democrats on the agreement on Sunday evening, while counselor to the president Steve Ricchetti, senior adviser and infrastructure coordinator Mitch Landrieu and National Economic Council director Lael Brainard also called lawmakers individually throughout the day.

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'My fellow Republicans wanted me to lie,' Liz Cheney says in commencement speech

Former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney on Sunday called on graduates to engage in politics and urged them not to waver from the truth, invoking her experience battling against former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

The former Wyoming congresswoman lambasted her former GOP colleagues during a commencement speech at Colorado College, her alma mater.

“After the 2020 election and the attack of January 6th, my fellow Republicans wanted me to lie. They wanted me to say the 2020 election was stolen, the attack of January 6th wasn’t a big deal, and Donald Trump wasn’t dangerous,” Cheney said. “I had to choose between lying and losing my position in House leadership.”

“No party, no nation, no people can defend and perpetuate a constitutional republic if they accept leaders who have gone to war with the rule of law, with the democratic process, with the peaceful transfer of power, with the Constitution itself,” Cheney added.

The daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, she was a member of House Republican leadership until her continued opposition to Trump's actions — and her vote to impeach him — led her colleagues to oust her from leadership. Cheney was the ranking Republican on the high-profile Jan. 6 committee investigating the riot at the Capitol, a position that in part cost her reelection in 2022.

Since her departure from Congress, Cheney has unabashedly called out the events surrounding Jan. 6 and been unrelenting in her criticism of the former president. Though she called Trump out by name Sunday, Cheney did not say anything of his 2024 campaign. But she did repeatedly attack her own party, and warned of efforts by some political operatives to suppress votes in upcoming elections.

“Cleta Mitchell, a political operative and an election denier, told a gathering of Republicans recently that it’s crucially important that they make sure that college students don’t vote,” Cheney said. “Those who are trying to unravel the foundations of our republic, who are threatening the rule of law and the sanctity of elections know they cannot succeed if you vote. So, Class of 2023, get out and vote.”

Cheney also urged the graduates — particularly the women — to consider running for office.

“This country needs more of you in office. You may have noticed that men are pretty much running things these days, and it’s not really going all that well,” she said. “You can change that.”

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Turkey votes again, with Erdoğan poised to extend his rule

After 20 years in power, Turkey's president is favorite to win again in Sunday's election second round.

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Pivotal presidential runoff held in Turkey

ANKARA, Turkey — Voters in Turkey returned to the polls Sunday to decide whether the country’s longtime leader stretches his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade, or is unseated by a challenger who has promised to restore a more democratic society.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been at Turkey’s helm for 20 years, is favored to win a new five-year term in the second-round runoff, after coming just short of an outright victory in the first round on May 14.

The divisive populist finished 4 percentage points ahead of Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the candidate of a six-party alliance and leader of Turkey’s center-left main opposition party. Erdogan’s performance came despite crippling inflation and the effects of a devastating earthquake three months ago.

Speaking to reporters after casting his vote at a school in Istanbul, Erdogan noted that it’s the first presidential runoff election in Turkey’s history. He also praised the high voter turnout in the first round and said he expected participation to be high again on Sunday.

“I pray to God, that it (the election) will be beneficial for our country and nation,” he said.

Kilicdaroglu, a 74-year-old former bureaucrat, has described the runoff as a referendum on the country’s future.

“This election took place under very difficult circumstances, there was all sorts of slander and defamation,” Kilcdaroglu told reporters after casting his ballot. “But I trust in the common sense of the people. Democracy will come, freedom will come, people will be able to wander the streets and freely criticize politicians.” He voted at the same time as Erdogan as local television showed the rivals casting ballots on split screens.

More than 64 million people are eligible to cast ballots. The polls opened at 8 a.m.

Turkey does not have exit polls, but the preliminary results are expected to come within hours of the polls closing at 5 p.m.

The final decision could have implications far beyond Ankara, because Turkey stands at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, and it plays a key role in NATO.

Erdogan turned his country from a mostly inward-looking nation into a geopolitical player with a foothold in hotspots such as Syria and Libya.

His government vetoed Sweden’s bid to join NATO and purchased Russian missile-defense systems, which prompted the United States to oust Turkey from a U.S.-led fighter-jet project. But under Erdogan, Turkey also helped broker a crucial deal that allowed Ukrainian grain shipments and averted a global food crisis.

The May 14 election saw 87% turnout, and strong participation is expected again Sunday, reflecting voters’ devotion to elections in a country where freedom of expression and assembly have been suppressed.

In the mainly-Kurdish populated province of Diyarbakir — one of 11 regions that was hit by the Feb. 6 earthquake — 60-year-old retiree Mustafa Yesil said he voted for “change.”

“I’m not happy at all with the way this country is going. Let me be clear, if this current administration continues, I don’t see good things for the future,” he said. “I see that it will end badly — this administration has to change.”

But Mehmet Yurttas, an Erdogan supporter, disagreed.

“I believe that our homeland is at the peak, in a very good condition,” the 57-year-old shop owner said. “Our country’s trajectory is very good and it will continue being good.”

If he wins, Erdogan, 69, could remain in power until 2028. After three stints as prime minister and two as president, Erdogan is already Turkey’s longest-serving leader. A devout Muslim, he heads the conservative and religious Justice and Development Party, or AKP.

The first half of Erdogan’s tenure included reforms that allowed the country to begin talks to join the European Union, and economic growth that lifted many out of poverty. But he later moved to suppress freedoms and the media and concentrated more power in his hands, especially after a failed coup attempt that Turkey says was orchestrated by the U.S.-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen. The cleric denies involvement.

Erdogan transformed the presidency from a largely ceremonial role to a powerful office through a narrowly won 2017 referendum that scrapped Turkey’s parliamentary system of governance. He was the first directly elected president in 2014 and won the 2018 election that ushered in the executive presidency.

The May 14 election was the first that Erdogan did not win outright.

Critics blame Erdogan’s unconventional economic policies for skyrocketing inflation that has fueled a cost-of-living crisis. Many also faulted his government for the slow response to the earthquake that killed more than 50,000 people in Turkey.

Still, Erdogan has retained the backing of conservative voters who remain devoted to him for lifting Islam’s profile in the Turkey, which was founded on secular principles, and for raising the country’s influence in world politics.

In a bid to woo voters hit hard by inflation, he has increased wages and pensions and subsidized electricity and gas bills, while showcasing Turkey’s homegrown defense industry and infrastructure projects. He also centered his reelection campaign on a promise to rebuild quake-stricken areas, including constructing 319,000 homes within the year. Many see him as a source of stability.

Kilicdaroglu is a soft-mannered former civil servant who has led the pro-secular Republican People’s Party, or CHP, since 2010. He campaigned on promises to reverse Erdogan’s democratic backsliding, to restore the economy by reverting to more conventional policies, and to improve ties with the West.

In a frantic effort to reach out to nationalist voters in the runoff, Kilicdaroglu vowed to send back refugees and ruled out peace negotiations with Kurdish militants if he is elected.

Many in Turkey regard Syrian refugees who have been under Turkey’s temporary protection after fleeing the war in neighboring Syria as a burden on the country, and their repatriation became a key issue in the election.

Earlier in the week, Erdogan received the endorsement of the third-place candidate, nationalist politician Sinan Ogan, who garnered 5.2% of the votes and is no longer in the race. Meanwhile, a staunchly anti-migrant party that had supported Ogan’s candidacy, announced it would back Kilicdaroglu.

A defeat for Kilicdaroglu would add to a long list of electoral losses to Erdogan, and put pressure for him to step down as party chairman.

Erdogan’s AKP party and its allies retained a majority of seats in parliament following a legislative election that was also held on May 14. Parliamentary elections will not be repeated Sunday.

Erdogan’s party also dominated in the earthquake-hit region, winning 10 out of 11 provinces in an area that has traditionally supported the president. Erdogan came in ahead in the presidential race in eight of those provinces.

As in previous elections, Erdogan used state resources and his control of the media to reach voters.

Following the May 14 vote, international observers also pointed to the criminalization of dissemination of false information and online censorship as evidence that Erdogan had an “unjustified advantage.” They also said that strong turnout showed the resilience of Turkish democracy.

Erdogan and pro-government media portrayed Kilicdaroglu, who had received the backing of the country’s pro-Kurdish party, as colluding with “terrorists” and of supporting what they described as “deviant” LGBTQ rights.

Kilicdaroglu “receives his orders from Qandil,” Erdogan repeatedly said at recent campaign rallies, a reference to the mountains in Iraq where the leadership of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, is based.

“We receive our orders from God and the people,” he said.

The election was being held as the country marked the 100th anniversary of its establishment as a republic, following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.

Sunday also marks the 10th anniversary of the start of mass anti-government protests that broke out over plans to uproot trees in Istanbul’s Gezi Park, and turned into one of the most serious challenges to Erdogan’s government.

Erdogan’s response to the protests was a harbinger of a crackdown on civil society and freedom of expression. Eight people, including philanthropist businessman Osman Kavala, architects, and a filmmaker, have been convicted over their alleged involvement in the protests.

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Russia launches major drone attack on Kyiv

The barrage is the biggest air assault on the capital since Moscow started its war, Ukrainian officials say.

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