President Trump on Tuesday promised to not cave in on his demand for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border as the longest-ever partial government shutdown in U.S. history extended now into a second month.
On Twitter, Trump wrote "Without a Wall our Country can never have Border or National Security. The Dems know this but want to play political games. Must finally be done correctly. No Cave!"
Republicans in the U.S. Senate have released a spending proposal intended to end the now [30-day-long partial] 32-day-long partial government shutdown. The proposal takes direction from President Trump's so-called compromise plan, one that Democrats say will go nowhere.
Associated Press Washington correspondent Sagar Meghani reports.
Senate GOP chief Mitch McConnell says the president's proposal that includes money for his border wall and temporary protections for some immigrants can break the stalemate, with the shutdown now in its 32nd day.
"It's a proposal that the president will support."
As written, though, the bill is a non-starter for Democrats and it cannot pass without at least some of them supporting it.
McConnell appease hopeful it could be a starting point for negotiations.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the shutdown needs to end first.
"Open the government, let's talk."
Some 800,000 federal workers now ??? to miss a second paycheck Friday.
The shutdown has been in effect since December 22nd and from the rhetoric of Republican and Democratic leaders, it doesn't appear to be on the verge of a resolution.
The Taliban says its representatives resumed peace talks with American officials in Qatar on Tuesday to negotiate the withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan.
The dialogue was scheduled to last for two days. The Taliban says it has extended it for third.
This is VOA news.
Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan has made his first public appearance in a court in Moscow to hear the appeal of his arrest on suspicion of spying.
Associated Press correspondent Charles De Ledesma reports.
At the appeal, the judge upheld a previous ruling for Whelan to be kept behind bars at least until the end of February.
Whelan's lawyer has told Russian news agencies when his client was detained at the end of December he had something with him that contained "state secrets."
Whelan had been a frequent visitor to Russia and he asked an unnamed person to email him something about travel around the country. Whelan reportedly was not able to download it and asked the person to put it on a flash drive.
There is speculation that the Russians might be trying to use Whelan as leverage for the release of Russian spy Maria Butina who pleaded guilty to infiltrating America's conservative political movement as a Kremlin-directed agent.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the Pentagon can move [toward a plan] forward with plan to limit transgender military service while lawsuits continue.
Associated Press correspondent Mark Sherman reports.
The policy had been on hold for the better part of the year while the matter plays out in the courts. Those appeals are still continuing but the court's action today allows the policy to take effect and generally bars transgender people from serving in the military with some exceptions.
Vice President Mike Pence sent a video message to Venezuelans on Tuesday encouraging those who are protesting against President Nicholás Maduro. He said the U.S. supports opposition leader Juan Guaidó.
"Nicholás Maduro is a dictator with no legitimate claim to power. He's never won the presidency in a free and fair election, and has maintained his grip of power by imprisoning anyone who dares to oppose him."
Pence called the National Assembly, which Guaidó leads, the "last vestige of democracy."
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has revoked special visas for European Union diplomats and officials travelling regularly between Beirut and Damascus. Three senior EU diplomats say that will complicate their efforts to distribute aid to civil war victims.
Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir traveled to Qatar Tuesday. It's [first] his first trips outside Sudan since widespread anti-government protests rocked the nation.
Qatar state news agency said Bashir will meet the country's ruler, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, on Wednesday to talk about ways of improving relations.
Many Sudanese are calling for an end to Bashir's now three-decade-long rule.
You can find more on these and other late breaking and developing stories, from around the world, around the clock, at voanews.com and on the VOA news mobile app. I'm Christopher Cruise, VOA news.
