Johnson strikes his first bipartisan deal — a $1.7T funding accord

Congressional leaders have clinched a deal on overall budget totals that could pave the way for a broader government funding compromise in the coming weeks — further enraging Speaker Mike Johnson’s right flank. The bipartisan agreement sets defense funding at $886 billion for the current fiscal year, in line with the total President Joe Biden and former Speaker Kevin McCarthy...

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Lebanon airport screens display anti-Hezbollah message after being hacked

BEIRUT — The information display screens at Beirut’s international airport were hacked by domestic anti-Hezbollah groups Sunday, as clashes between the Lebanese militant group and the Israeli military continue to intensify along the border. Departure and arrival information was replaced by a message accusing the Hezbollah group of putting Lebanon at risk of an all-out war...

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Biden’s top priority for a second term: Abortion rights

President Joe Biden’s day one priority if he earns a second term? “First of all: Roe,” deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks said Sunday during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “The president has been adamant that we need to restore Roe. It is unfathomable that women today wake up in a country with less rights than their ancestors had years ago,” Fulks said. Biden...

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DNC blasts NH Dems over ‘meaningless’ primary

The Democratic National Committee is blasting New Hampshire Democrats for selecting delegates for the state's “meaningless” unsanctioned presidential primary. The DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee fired off a letter to New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley ahead of the state party’s delegate caucuses Saturday warning that the process had not been approved and that...

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On Jan. 6 anniversary, DeSantis accuses Democrats of waving ‘bloody shirt’

DES MOINES, Iowa — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis chided Democrats and the media on the third anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol by contending they have used the attack as a “bloody shirt” to “impugn” Americans. DeSantis has been repeatedly asked — by the media as well as voters at his campaign stops in the state this week — about Jan. 6. He has called the attack...

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Azerbaijan taps former oil industry leader to head this year's climate talks

Azerbaijan has selected its minister of ecology — a former state oil executive — to helm the United Nations climate talks later this year, in a move that stands to fuel debate about the oil and gas industry's role in international negotiations aimed at reducing fossil fuel use. Mukhtar Babayev worked for the country’s state-owned oil company SOCAR for nearly 25 years before...

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Ramaswamy wants the US out of NATO

Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has told multiple people he would withdraw the U.S. from NATO as president, the furthest anyone vying for the Oval Office has gone on the idea of ending America’s role in the alliance. The remarks made to different groups experts and supporters, detailed to POLITICO by three people familiar with his comments, signal NATO’s days may be...

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