Shahid Beheshti University in the Velenjak district of Tehran, Iran, after a US military strike on 6 April.Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked a Democratic effort to end the US war with Iran, voting down a House-passed war powers resolution as the conflict that has killed 19 American service members passed the 200-day mark. The measure, which passed the House last week with bipartisan support, failed in the Senate by a 49-50 vote. Senate Democrats, led by the minority leader, Chuck Schumer, and the senator Andy Kim of New Jersey, forced the vote under the War Powers Resolution, which allows lawmakers to bring such measures to the floor. The proposal attracted some Republican support, but not enough to pass. For the first time, Thom Tillis of North Carolina voted for the resolution, as did Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Susan Collins of Maine, who had backed previous efforts. But Bill Cassidy of Louisiana – whose vote was key to passage of a resolution in June – voted no, as did John Fetterman a Democratic senator of Pennsylvania, ensuring the measure’s defeat. Ron Wyden, the Democratic senator from Oregon, acknowledged the uphill fight for the minority. “We’re going to stay at it until we win,” he said. Democrats have kept up a steady pace of war powers resolutions ever since Trump ordered the US military to attack Iran in conjunction with Israel at the end of February. While one proposal passed in June, support for others has oscillated – in July, after a ceasefire in the conflict collapsed, the Senate voted 47-49 against advancing a war powers resolution, with Collins the only Republican in support. Tim Kaine, a Democratic senator from Virginia, who has been a leader of the war powers push in the Senate, said: “We’re going to keep doing them every week because we see Republican candidates out in the field now starting to change their position.” In recent days, Republicans running for key congressional and gubernatorial races in the 3 November midterm elections have called for an end to the conflict, which has worsened the inflation that Trump campaigned on ending. “They recognize how bad this is,” Kaine said of the Republicans. Yet most congressional Republicans remain unconvinced by the campaign to end the war. Dan Sullivan, the Republican senatorfacing a tough re-election contest in Alaska, said: “The war powers vote is about removing American forces from the region, and when there are troops in contact, I don’t believe in doing it.” Speaking before the vote, Kim, a former state department official who served in the Middle East, said Americans were “sick and tired of this reckless and expensive war”. “Democrats have taken action. We’ve come to this chamber 11 times in the past 208 days to try to bring this war to an end,” Kim said. He cited a congressional budget office report estimating the war cost nearly $40bn in its first four months, and said at least 19 US service members had been killed and more than 750 injured. Kim also said estimates showed higher petrol prices had cost American households about $900 each since the war began. “Chaos is not a negotiating tactic,” Kim said. “Trump is simply over his head here.”This article originally appeared on The Guardian at https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/senate-republicans-block-democratic-effort-190639145.html

Tel Aviv — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday as his country faces broad condemnation and growing isolation over Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank.As Netanyahu took the stage, many attendees walked out. “If there are any other moral cowards who haven’t yet left this hall, please do so now,” Netanyahu began. Netanyahu arrived in New York early Thursday morning and is due to leave just a few hours after his speech.Leaders from Europe and the Middle East, including France, the U.K., Jordan, Syria, Qatar and Turkey, devoted at least some of their time at the U.N. podium Wednesday to harshly denounce Israel.Analysts expected Netanyahu would take advantage of the critical focus on Israel to demonstrate his ability to defend his country on the international stage just weeks before a tightly contested Israeli election.   It’s an unusually brief trip to New York for Netanyahu during the General Assembly. He has often capitalized on the autumn visits to meet with other world leaders, particularly the American president and secretary of state.Referring to the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack carried out by Hamas, Netanyahu said that instead of collapsing, “we rose and fought like lions.” “With our great American friends, we crushed Iran’s army, navy, air force and nuclear facilities,” he said, later thanking President Trump for his “bold leadership.” “We will continue to defend our state. We will continue to win because we have no other choice,” he said. His office said he would meet Thursday with the presidents of Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Panama and Ethiopia, the vice president of Colombia, and the prime ministers of Greece, Slovenia, and Papua New Guinea. He is not due to meet with Mr. Trump. Netanyahu’s office said this year’s trip would be so brief because the prime minister needs to return to Israel for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, which begins Friday evening.In his speech, Netanyahu was expected to focus primarily on Iran, according to a person familiar with the matter. He will also likely defend Israel’s ongoing military campaigns in Gaza and in neighboring countries such as Syria.Netanyahu has used past General Assembly addresses to make claims about Iran’s military and nuclear efforts, and he has promised surprises in his upcoming speeches.Netanyahu’s beef with MamdaniNetanyahu also vowed to respond in his U.N. address to the latest criticism from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.In a video responding to Mamdani calling him a “war criminal” earlier this week, Netanyahu said he would use his speech at the U.N. to “tell the truth about” the mayor, whom he accused of supporting Hamas.Netanyahu’s response came nearly 30 minutes into his address, where he accused Mamdani of spreading “lies” about Jews and called him “antisemitic.” “Shame on you,” Netanyahu said. “Shame on you for distorting the facts, shame on you for inverting victim and aggressor, shame on you for spitting in the face of truth.” “You falsely, repeatedly accuse Israel of genocide,” he continued. “You try to stop me from coming here. You try to silence me. Well, you can’t silence me. You can’t silence the truth. Here’s a simple truth: Israel didn’t commit genocide. Israel prevented genocide.” During his election campaign, Mamdani had threatened to have New York authorities act on an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for Netanyahu, should he attend the U.N. gathering.The mayor later recognized that he couldn’t have Netanyahu detained, but he urged federal U.S. authorities to detain him instead and noted that New Yorkers would still have an outlet to express their feelings about the Israeli leader, calling the act of protest “one of the bedrocks of our city.”Nearly two dozen were taken into police custody in protests in New York on Thursday, including of Mamdani’s ally, House Democratic nominee Darializa Avila Chevalier. Netanyahu rebuked the planned protests in a video earlier this week.”Shame on you for inciting riots against New York Jews. I’m coming to the U.N. I’m going to tell the truth about our heroic soldiers, and I’m going to tell the truth about you,” Netanyahu said.Condemnation of Israel, and Israeli pushbackNetanyahu spoke after a spate of speeches condemning his government’s policies.British Prime Minister Andy Burnham told the leaders gathered at the U.N. on Wednesday that while Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel was “utterly horrific,” the scale of the Israeli response has been unjustified.”Far too many people have died — including so many children. Far too little aid is getting in, and it has gone on for far too long,” Burnham said of Gaza, where Israeli forces have occupied more than half of the Palestinian territory since the war with Hamas.The speech by France’s President Emmanuel Macron sparked ire in Israel after he accused the country of daily violations in the other Palestinian territory, the Israeli-occupied West Bank. “Look at what is happening in West Bank, where there are violations every day. In the name of what? Hamas has never struck in the West Bank,” said the French leader. “This every day makes it more impossible to achieve respect for the Palestinian people’s legitimate right to exist.”Netanyahu called Macron’s statement about Hamas a “grotesque absurdity,” noting that on Sunday, French citizen and father of six Netanel Shukrun was killed in an attack that Netanyahu said was carried out by a Hamas terrorist.Hamas issued a statement praising the attack, but it did not claim responsibility. The group, long designated a terrorist organization by the U.S., Israel and the European Union, has not been part of the Palestinian administration in the West Bank since 2007. It has, however, maintained its own militant network in the West Bank for decades, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials. “Hamas terrorists carry out attacks against Jews almost every day. They have murdered countless Israeli civilians in Judea and Samaria,” Netanyahu added Wednesday, using the official Israeli name for the West Bank.King Abdullah of Jordan, which signed a peace agreement decades ago with Israel, told the U.N. on Wednesday that Israel should be hit with sanctions, asset freezes, embargoes and diplomatic isolation.This article originally appeared on CBS News at https://www.cbsnews.com/news/netanyahu-un-speech-israel-criticism-mamdani-protests/

US President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping stand in the Cross Hall of the White House before delivering remarks (Brendan SMIALOWSKI)Xi Jinping told Donald Trump on Thursday that Beijing and Washington must peacefully manage their superpower rivalry, as the US president gave his Chinese counterpart a lavish welcome to the White House.While Trump hailed their “truly great friendship” on a day of sweeping pomp and circumstance, Xi used his state visit to lay down China’s red lines on AI, Taiwan and the Iran war.Behind the pageantry — and symbolic gestures like Trump taking Xi inside his Marine One helicopter — the talks were focused on tensions that continue to divide the world’s two largest economies.In his opening remarks with Trump, Xi said the two countries must ensure there is “no conflict and no confrontation between us.”Xi also warned that the development of artificial intelligence should be “always under human control” — in contrast to Trump, who has repeatedly dismissed warnings that AI could threaten humanity itself.Trump’s remarks struck a warmer tone, underscoring the US president’s long-term efforts to woo the Chinese leader.”President Xi and I have made tremendous strides on the issues facing our two countries,” Trump said after greeting Xi for his first visit to the White House in over a decade.The 80-year-old Trump said that the pair would “discuss pressing issues concerning security, technology, and super intelligence — SI,” his name for artificial intelligence.- ‘Prudence’ -But later as they met in the Oval Office, Xi urged Trump to show “prudence” and oppose independence for the flashpoint of Taiwan, the self-governing island that Beijing claims.The Chinese leader — whose country has reportedly shared intelligence with Tehran — also urged Trump to end the Iran war “through negotiation as soon as possible.” Few breakthroughs are expected during Xi’s state visit. Instead the trip is more about the spectacle as the world’s two biggest economies seek manage points of friction.A formal welcome on the White House South Lawn launched Thursday’s events, before Trump and Xi inspected a military parade on the newly paved-over Rose Garden. American military jets — including a B-2 bomber of the type that bombed Iranian nuclear facilities last year — then staged a flyover as US and Chinese flags flew over the West Wing.In the Oval Office, Trump joked that the Chinese had the friendliest press corps.His comment came days after he barred outlets CNN, MS Now and Politico from the White House — although they returned on Thursday after a court order.Trump later walked Xi out to see the new helipad he has built at the White House, and took the Chinese leader aboard his helicopter — one of the most exclusive and sensitive pieces of US military equipment.- ‘Great meeting’ -“We had a great meeting,” Trump said, as the pair ignored questions on subjects including Iran, Taiwan, fentanyl trafficking and jailed Hong Kong pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai.Trump added that Xi was an “expert on stone aside from many other things and he loves good granite,” referring to the material used for the helipad, which he has boasted will last a million years.Trump will later throw a state dinner for Xi attended by top US tech CEOs. The menu features yellow squash veloute, sesame crusted sea bass, and vanilla cremeux with White House honey ice cream, the White House said.The charm offensive began Wednesday as Trump personally greeted Xi at the airport — the first time in more than six decades that a US president welcomed a foreign head of state in person at Joint Base Andrews near Washington.Trump said that the 73-year-old Xi looked “strong, vibrant, and fit,” following recent rumors about the Chinese leader’s health.But the flattery masked tensions over thorny topics including the trade war between the world’s top two economies sparked by Trump’s tariffs.In a small sign of progress, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday announced a two-month extension of a trade truce that was due to expire in November.burs-dk/bgsThis article originally appeared on AFP at https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/chinas-xi-heads-us-talks-091955961.html

By Ahmed Aboulenein WASHINGTON, Sept 24 (Reuters) – Dr. Heidi Overton, US President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the embattled FDA, told senators on Thursday that all US vaccines are safe and effective, as the health committee’s Republican chairman pressed her during a contentious confirmation hearing. US Senator Bill ‌Cassidy of Louisiana asked Overton to affirm the safety of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine and to keep politics out of agency decisions. He ‌criticized Overton for standing behind Trump as he signed an executive order splitting the childhood vaccine schedule into more doses, a move physicians’ groups and vaccine makers strongly oppose. Cassidy, himself a physician, said ​the order rested on “zero scientific evidence” and would raise costs for families. Noting Overton’s presence when Trump called the MMR shot “potentially quite lethal”, Cassidy asked her whether she would break with the president’s characterization as the country experiences its worst measles outbreak in decades due to declining vaccination rates. “The MMR vaccine is not lethal,” Overton said, adding that “every vaccine on the US market right now are safe and effective according to the FDA,” when Cassidy asked her if any were not. That was one of several such exchanges with lawmakers ‌that underscored tensions over vaccine policy as measles cases surge ⁠nationwide. TRUMP’S ‘AMERICA FIRST’ PICK Overton repeatedly declined to say Trump had been wrong on health matters. Democratic Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts asked why she had not corrected him at the order signing. He noted that the conservative America First Policy Institute, where she once ⁠held a leadership role, had said Overton played an important role in shaping the executive order. Overton had stood beside Trump, calling it “a historic day,” Markey said, adding that she then took the microphone without challenging his suggestion that the combined shots could be “quite lethal,” saying parents should have “the option to separate them.” Asked why, Overton said only that the MMR shot was ​safe ​and effective and that Trump wanted to give parents “an additional option,” not remove the vaccine. She did ​contradict Trump’s false claim linking Tylenol to autism, but would ‌not fault him for telling pregnant women to avoid it. Trump nominated Overton, a preventive medicine physician and deputy director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, in August, turning to an “America First” ally to steady a Food and Drug Administration that has lost more than 4,500 staff over the past year and faces pressure to rebuild confidence among industry and public-health groups. DEMOCRATS CHALLENGE ABORTION PILL STANCE Her anti-abortion views drew Democratic scrutiny. Overton had called the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade “a huge victory for life.” Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington repeatedly asked whether Overton personally believed the abortion pill mifepristone is safe and effective. Overton did not answer directly, saying ‌only that it had met FDA safety standards. Murray said Overton had published an article three years ​ago calling medication abortion dangerous to women. Overton said she had always been driven by data. Overton ​twice declined to say whether an intrauterine device, or IUD, is birth ​control rather than an abortion, saying she would be “fully briefed” on the agency’s prior decisions if confirmed. Murray called the non-answer “outrageous.” If confirmed, ‌Overton would inherit an FDA review of mifepristone that abortion-rights groups ​call politically motivated and warn could tighten ​restrictions on a drug used by millions since its US approval 26 years ago. The agency must update a federal court on its progress by October 7. SENATORS PRESS ON FLAVORED VAPES Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine pressed Overton on the FDA’s authorization of new flavored nicotine pouches and vapes, calling it ​a “terrible decision” that could reverse progress on youth e-cigarette ‌use. Overton did not disavow the approvals, saying career FDA staff recommended them because many adults who quit smoking use flavored products. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy ​of Connecticut alleged political interference, saying tobacco company Reynolds donated $8 million to the president days before a rule change. Overton rejected “the framing of ​that question.” (Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein; Additional reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Bill Berkrot) This article originally appeared on Reuters at https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/trumps-fda-pick-face-vaccine-100120873.html

Reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico had their access to the White House restored on Thursday after temporarily being barred from entering despite a federal judge’s order demanding that a ban imposed by the Trump administration be lifted. Earlier on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee, ordered the White House to “immediately return, reinstate, and restore” access to the news outlets for a period of 14 days, saying their lawsuit against the president was likely to succeed in showing that their press passes were revoked without due process.But hours after the ruling was issued, some reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico were still denied access to the White House grounds, and the outlets requested an immediate hearing. “This morning journalists from each of CNN, MS NOW, and POLITICO attempted to enter the White House and were turned away, and Secret Service agents confiscated the hard pass of journalists whose hard passes had not previously been confiscated,” the outlets said in a court filing early Thursday. Kelly ordered the administration to respond to the accusations of noncompliance by midday Thursday. Within hours, each of the banned news organizations reported that their staffers had been allowed back into the White House. The administration also submitted a filing saying that all confiscated press passes had been returned.With the reporters’ access now restored, Kelly denied the media’s request for an emergency hearing. He also gave them until Monday to submit a motion for a preliminary injunction that could block the ban from being enforced while the court considers the underlying legal questions at play in the dispute. MS Now White House correspondent Laura Barrón-López reports from a street corner near the White House on Thursday.MANDEL NGAN via Getty ImagesTrump announced the ban on reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico on Sept. 18, saying the outlets “constantly write or report fiction or lies” about his administration.The three news organizations filed a lawsuit in federal court Monday, alleging that Trump had violated their First Amendment rights by retaliating against them for coverage he didn’t like. “President Trump has said in no uncertain terms that he would prefer only to be covered by news organizations and reporters who praise his administration,” the complaint stated. “But the Constitution does not allow a president or any other government official to deprive the press of their First Amendment rights and liberty and property interests with no notice or process based solely on his dislike of the content of their reporting.” The organizations argued that their reporters were not afforded due process and are asking a federal judge to quickly rule that Trump’s ban is unconstitutional. The filing cites a 1977 ruling by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, which found that the White House cannot arbitrarily deny a journalist a press pass without due process.”This ban could not be a more direct assault on the First Amendment nor a more blatant violation of our most fundamental constitutional principles,” the filing stated.Dozens of media organizations signed an amicus brief in support of CNN, MS NOW and Politico.The Trump administration filed a response to the suit on Tuesday, arguing that “access to the White House is a privilege — not a right.”It said that Trump concluded that the three news outlets violated “the standards of professionalism and decorum expected of those given access to the White House Complex, including by trafficking in verifiable falsehoods about national security and other issues, and publishing sensitive or classified information.” Trump had previously indicated that he would appeal any ruling against him.How the ban unfoldedA view of the White House Briefing Room on Sept. 19.Graeme Sloan/Getty ImagesOn Friday afternoon, Trump announced the ban in a Truth Social post, saying it was not prompted by any particular stories but was “a result of their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!””It’s really just cumulative stories over the last few years. You get sick of it,” Trump said at an Oval Office event an hour later while explaining his decision to enact “the ban on the free press.””There’s something wrong with a country that can allow people to write purposely negative stories,” the president said. “If they want to write them, that’s fine, but I don’t have to let them into my, into the people’s house.”According to CNN, Trump’s close aide Natalie Harp showed him clips of media coverage shortly before he announced the ban.On Saturday, reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico were turned away from the White House by members of the Secret Service and had their credentials — so-called hard passes needed for access — confiscated.The journalists — CNN’s Betsy Klein, MS NOW’s Akayla Gardner and Politico’s Cheyenne Haslett — are listed as plaintiffs in the court filing.MS NOW’s Akayla Gardner, CNN’s Betsy Klein and Politico’s Cheyenne Haslett are seen near the White House after all were denied entry on Sept. 19.AP Photo/Jose Luis MaganaThe news outlets are longstanding members of the White House press pool that provides rotating coverage of the administration and travels with the president. The White House Correspondents’ Association condemned the move, saying it violates the First Amendment.”The American people, through a free and independent press, must be able to scrutinize those elected to power, regardless of whether government officials view it favorably,” Jacqui Heinrich, Fox News senior White House correspondent and WHCA president, said in a statement. “That’s why courts have repeatedly held that once the White House provides access to journalists, it cannot deny that access arbitrarily or based on the content of their reporting.” In response to the ban, four major TV networks — ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News — refused to participate in the White House pool, the rotating group of reporters, photographers and videographers that document the president’s public events. CNN had been scheduled to serve as the television pool on Monday, including his trip to New York City for the United Nations General Assembly.As a result, Trump was largely inaudible during a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the White House’s new helipad on Monday, where he gave a brief speech without the microphone that the pool would typically provide. Speaking with reporters after arriving at the United Nations on Tuesday, Trump appeared to take issue with the presence of CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, saying he was “surprised” to see the journalist.”You should not be here covering me,” Trump said. “You said you weren’t going to be covering me.”In a post on X, Collins said she was credentialed by the United Nations to cover the General Assembly.CNN is scheduled to serve as the television pool Chinese President President Xi Jinping’s visit to the White House on Thursday night.Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the ban in an appearance on NBC’s Today show earlier Tuesday.”We’re not closing CNN,” Rubio said. “There aren’t a bunch of police officers or soldiers kicking down the doors of MSNBC or MS NOW, whatever it’s called, and arresting people and unplugging it from the grid. They’re just not allowed to work from the workspace at the White House.”The president vs. the pressA White House staff member reaches for the microphone held by CNN’s Jim Acosta as he questions President Donald Trump during a news conference on Nov. 7, 2018.Jonathan Ernst/ReutersU.S. presidents throughout history have complained about negative coverage of their administrations. In 2009, the Obama administration sought to exclude Fox News from a series of interviews with a Treasury Department official in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, but backed down when the other major television networks objected.During his first term in office, Trump continued the Oval Office’s adversarial relationship with the media, referring to the press as “fake news” and the “enemy of the people.” It has escalated in his second.In 2018, Trump administration officials revoked the press pass of then-CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta after they said that he had interrupted the president during a news conference. The network sued, and Kelly, the D.C. federal judge, ordered Acosta’s credentials restored.A similar situation played out the following year when the White House revoked Playboy correspondent Brian Karem’s press pass over a verbal argument between Karem and Sebastian Gorka, a former White House aide, at a Rose Garden event. A different federal judge ordered the White House to restore Karem’s pass.Last year, Trump barred Associated Press journalists from the Oval Office, Air Force One and some official events after the news service declined to refer to the Gulf of Mexico by Trump’s preferred name, the Gulf of America. The AP filed suit and the case is ongoing.In December, the Pentagon announced new restraints on journalists, who were asked to sign a pledge affirming that they would not gather unauthorized information for publication. New organizations refused to sign the pledge, and temporarily lost their credentials. The New York Times filed suit, and in March, a federal judge ruled that the Pentagon restrictions were unconstitutional. The Pentagon restored press credentials to the journalists who refused to sign the pledge, while imposing a new rule that they can only enter the Pentagon with an escort. The Times again filed suit and the case is ongoing.The White House has also made attempts to circumvent traditional broadcast television models. On Monday night, it launched a YouTube stream branded “TRUMP TV: The Essentials Station” that the White House said would showcase “the Trump Administration’s biggest moments all in one place.” Since its launch, Trump TV has featured a rotating stream of Trump’s speeches, Oval Office gatherings and other White House events from throughout the president’s second term. The first video showed Trump’s remarks on July 3 at Mount Rushmore.In March, the White House launched an official app that is now the No. 2 most popular news app in the App Store. “The American people are not waiting on those cameras,” the White House said in a press release touting the app’s ranking. “They are going straight to the Presidency.”In his first event without a network TV pool on Monday, Trump unveiled the White House’s new helipad before departing for New York. His remarks were nearly inaudible on the White House video feed. Joe Reberkenny, a White House correspondent for the Washington Blade who was serving as the in-town pool reporter, said he couldn’t hear Trump “over the sound of the helicopter.”This article originally appeared on Yahoo News at https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/article/judge-orders-white-house-to-lift-trumps-ban-on-cnn-ms-now-and-politico–but-reporters-say-they-were-still-denied-access-155420637.html