The U.S. Senate has defeated two bills that could have ended a partial government shutdown which is headed into its 35th day.
As AP's Warren Levinson reports, the vote came as 800,000 federal workers faced a second straight payless payday.
First, the Senate voted on a Republican bill that would have committed $5.7 billion to the building of a southern border wall and made some concessions to immigrant groups. It needed 60 votes to pass. It got 50.
Then, the Senate took up a Democratic proposal to reopen the government for two weeks while bargainers work on breaking the stalemate that has kept doors closed since before Christmas. The approach was the same Republicans voted for last month before being undercut by the president. It got 52 votes.
Meanwhile, the shutdown continues as more than 800,000 workers face a second payless payday.
I'm Warren Levinson.
A U.S. Senate committee has subpoenaed President Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen to testify, one day after Cohen said he was postponing an appearance that was scheduled for Feb. 7.
Cohen said Wednesday he was putting off his highly anticipated public testimony in part because of threats by President Donald Trump and his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, against his family.
Lanny Davis is Cohen's attorney. He told ABC's "Good Morning America" that Congress should censure both Trump and Giuliani.
"A resolution of censure when the president of the United States indisputably intimidates and obstructs justice to prevent a witness from testifying is in order. So is a federal criminal investigation of Rudy Giuliani for witness tampering, calling out a man's father-in-law and wife in order to intimidate the witness."
Both Trump and Giuliani have urged the Justice Department to investigate Cohen's father-in-law for crimes they did not specify but allege involvement in organized crime.
For more, visit our website voanews.com. This is VOA news.
The United States is rallying nations in the Western Hemisphere to isolate Venezuela's disputed President Nicholás Maduro as an increasing number of countries declared their support for National Assembly President Juan Guaidó as the country's new leader.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in remarks to the Organization of American States on Thursday, urged all members to recognize Guaidó as Venezuela's new leader and pledge support for the country's democratic transition.
"All OAS member states must align themselves with democracy and respect for the rule of law. All member states who have committed to uphold the Inter-American Democratic Charter must now recognize the interim president."
In a speech to the Venezuelan Supreme Court, a defiant President Maduro said that U.S. President Donald Trump is trying to bring in his own de facto government in Venezuela.
He said "let there be no doubt that Donald Trump in all his madness believes himself to be the world's policeman, believes that he is the boss of Latin America and the Caribbean."
Maduro said he has spoken by phone with Russian President [Vladimidi...] Vladimir Putin, that is, who assured him that, in Maduro's words, "you have the unwavering support of Russia more than ever."
Felix Tshisekedi was sworn in Thursday as the Democratic Republic of Congo's new president, marking the first peaceful transfer of power in the country's history.
In his inaugural address, the new president pledged to build a strong and unified nation.
He said, "We want to build a strong Congo with its cultural diversity and its attachment to the mother land, a Congo turned toward its development in peace and security, a Congo for all in which everyone has a place."
Tshisekedi's victory in the December 30th election was a surprise to many pre-election polls had indicated that businessman Martin Fayulu would be the winner.
Fayulu challenged the official results in court, saying he had won the election, but Congo's Constitutional Court denied his request for a recount.
A new analysis of temperatures showed that last year was cooler than the three provisos years but was still the fourth warmest in history.
AP's science writer Seth Borenstein has details.
Last year was the fourth warmest year on record and records go back 160 some years. It was slightly cooler than 2017, 2016 and 2015 because of natural variabilities, things like El Niño and La Niña.
The trend is still up, up, up over the decades. It's sort of like climbing a mountain. You don't always go up. You chart it. It's going up and down a bit, but overall, you're going up.
AP's Seth Borenstein.
For more, visit our website voanews.com. I'm David Byrd, VOA news.
