MIKE LEE

For months, President Joe Biden has taken it on the chin from Republicans over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Senate has passed a stopgap spending bill that avoids a short-term shutdown and funds the federal government through Feb. 18 after leaders defused a partisan standoff over federal vaccine mandates.

President Joe Biden has signed into law the stopgap spending bill that will keep the federal government running through Feb. 18.

The House struck a deal to prevent a government shutdown, but the funding bill could face opposition in the Senate.

The federal government could be heading for a temporary shutdown.

Conservative Senate Republicans reportedly plan to force a government shutdown over vaccine rules

The report represents the latest attempt by the Republican party to highlight the risks of rising prices less than one year before the 2022 midterm elections.

Lucas Sin's innovation at Nice Day represents a generation push for reimagining Chinese-American takeout menus.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says he will not again help Democrats extend the government’s borrowing authority.

The independent former Republican who gave Donald Trump a headache in Utah in 2016 will be back on the ballot against Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah). And there's a compelling argument for Democrats to line up behind him.

On Wednesday, former President Donald Trump trashed Sen. Lindsey Graham. Three days later, the South Carolina lawmaker sung Trump's praises.

Lindsey Graham told Trump over the summer 'you f---ed your presidency up,' book claims. Trump hung up.

A significant majority of Americans doubt that the war in Afghanistan was worthwhile, even as they are more divided over President Joe Biden’s handling of foreign policy and national security.

The senators who spent months stitching together a nearly $1 trillion infrastructure package are now trying to sell it to the American people.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell had vowed to be “100% focused” on stopping President Joe Biden’s agenda.

The Biden administration is encouraging Senate lawmakers to finally repeal an Iraq war authorization crafted when Saddam Hussein was still alive.

The bipartisan group of senators who crafted the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is preparing to take a victory lap as the Senate moves toward passing the bill in the coming days.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is looking to speed up consideration of a nearly $1 trillion bipartisan national infrastructure package.

The U.S. Supreme Court will decide a major abortion rights case next year that could allow Missouri to implement its controversial 2019 law.

A U.S. Senate panel has deadlocked on President Joe Biden’s pick to oversee vast government-owned lands in the West amid bitter opposition from Republicans.

Bill would cut funding to any military action after 20 days if Congress doesn’t sign off

The bill seeks to reclaim Congress' power over three areas: war powers, arms exports and national emergencies.

The hanging death of a 21-year-old Black man three years ago is still haunting a county in Mississippi.

"We are deeply troubled by Match Group's claims that Google may have attempted to influence another witness's testimony," they wrote.

Apple says the social networking site's updated content moderation policy is now compliant.

Apple says the social networking site's updated content moderation policy is now compliant.

A Houston area man whose family says had a history of mental illness was fatally shot by a deputy after authorities allege he threatened the officer with a knife.

Apple agreed to send a top executive to testify about its app store before a Senate panel on antitrust after leading senators urged it to make one available.

Klobuchar, who heads the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on competition policy, has launched a broad examination by the panel of monopoly concerns. The current drift toward bigness began with a merger boom in the 1980s in corporate America that fattened profits for the dominant companies. But hold on, some are saying, let’s not punish bigness for its own sake; better to look at each case individually. They say big companies can bring efficiencies of scale, reduce prices and create jobs. He said as a candidate that breaking up Big Tech companies was something that should be considered.

(Senate Television via AP)WASHINGTON – The massive coronavirus relief plan making its way to President Joe Biden’s desk includes a plan to temporarily raise the child tax credit that could end up permanently changing the way the country deals with child poverty. The American Rescue Plan, expected to receive final approval this week, temporarily raises the child tax credit, now at a maximum of $2,000, to as much as $3,600 per child annually. Indeed, Biden himself told House Democrats during a private call last week that he supports legislation that would permanently increase the child tax credit to $3,000 per child. That's the case made by some Republican lawmakers in offering an alternative to the Biden proposal. Because the benefit currently expires after a year, the Biden plan essentially creates a potential fiscal cliff for child poverty.

(Senate Television via AP)WASHINGTON – The massive coronavirus relief plan making its way to President Joe Biden’s desk includes a plan to temporarily raise the child tax credit that could end up permanently changing the way the country deals with child poverty. The American Rescue Plan, expected to receive final approval this week, temporarily raises the child tax credit, now at a maximum of $2,000, to as much as $3,600 per child annually. Indeed, Biden himself told House Democrats during a private call last week that he supports legislation that would permanently increase the child tax credit to $3,000 per child. That's the case made by some Republican lawmakers in offering an alternative to the Biden proposal. Because the benefit currently expires after a year, the Biden plan essentially creates a potential fiscal cliff for child poverty.

Employees with the McKesson Corporation scan a box of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine while filling an order at their shipping facility in Shepherdsville, Ky., Monday, March 1, 2021. AdThe push to reopen comes as COVID-19 vaccine shipments to the states are ramping up. Johnson & Johnson shipped out nearly 4 million doses of its newly authorized, one-shot COVID-19 vaccine Sunday night to be delivered to states for use starting on Tuesday. The company will deliver about 16 million more doses by the end of March and a total of 100 million by the end of June. White House vaccination coordinator Jeff Zients also acknowledged that scheduling of vaccination appointments “ remains too difficult in too many places."

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., walks on Capitol Hill after the Senate acquitted former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial in the Senate at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021. Trump was accused of inciting the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and the acquittal gives him a historic second victory in the court of impeachment. Investigations into the riot were already planned, with Senate hearings scheduled later this month in the Senate Rules Committee. We needed more senators with spines.”AdMcConnell told Republican senators shortly before the vote that he would vote to acquit Trump. Beutler's statement late Friday that Trump rebuffed a plea from House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy to call off the rioters was ultimately entered into the trial record.

Reporters vie for a response from Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, as Senators take a dinner break while arguments continue in former President Donald Trump's impeachment trial, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON – For 90 tense minutes, members of the Senate relived the horror. The rioters were “58 steps” from senators at one point, impeachment manager Eric Swalwell told them. Senators were silent afterward, some sitting quietly and alone, as if to process it all. He walked out of the room in the middle of the presentation, as impeachment manager Stacey Plaskett detailed the threats to Pence’s life.

(Senate Television via AP)WASHINGTON – The Latest on former President Donald Trump's second Senate impeachment trial (all times local):8:20 p.m.House Democrats have wrapped up their first full day of arguments at the historic second impeachment trial of Donald Trump. The impeachment trial is set to resume at noon Thursday. Lisa Murkowski and Mitt Romney say they are deeply disturbed by the evidence shown by Democrats against former President Donald Trump at his second impeachment trial. Prosecutors at Trump’s impeachment trial on Wednesday played security footage from inside the Capitol on Jan. 6. ___2:20 p.m.Democrats are arguing that former President Donald Trump “built” the mob that attacked the Capitol.

SALT LAKE CITY – Supporters of President Donald Trump heckled Republican U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah in an airport, illustrating divisions in the Republican Party between Trump loyalists and those ready to accept the results of the presidential election. Romney has been considered Trump’s sharpest GOP critic and is among a group of senators who called for an end to an effort to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s win. Video of the airport confrontation posted online Tuesday night came as Trump backers around the U.S. traveled to Washington, D.C., for demonstrations as Congress meets to accept the Electoral College vote. It's being contested by some GOP lawmakers, but the effort is all but certain to fail. His counterpart, Sen. Mike Lee, is a staunch Trump supporter but called for civility after the video made the rounds.

Eleven Republican senators saying they will not be voting Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, to confirm President-elect Joe Biden's victory include Wyoming's newly sworn in Sen. Cynthia Lummis, a Cheyenne-area rancher and former congresswoman. It is unclear just what the Republican senators will do, but the process could drag into the night as the two chambers will have to consider each objection individually. And more than a dozen Republican senators have said they will not support the effort. Facing the criticism from many in his own party, Cruz has attempted to put a finer point on his challenge. The commission remains his focus, he has said, not to undo the election results, even though that would be the practical effect of a successful objection.

On Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020, President Donald Trump pardoned 15 people, including Collins. Papadopoulos was the first Trump aide to plead guilty as part of Mueller’s investigation – pleading guilty to lying to the FBI – and served a nearly two-week sentence in federal prison. The White House said Stockman had contracted coronavirus while in federal prison and has served more than two years of his 10-year sentence. Esformes’ prison sentence was commuted by the president on Tuesday, but other aspects of his sentence, including supervised release and millions in restitution, remained intact. The White House said the commutation was supported by a number of former attorneys general and said Esformes is in declining health.

Papadopoulos was the first Trump aide to plead guilty as part of Mueller’s investigation – pleading guilty to lying to the FBI – and served a nearly two-week sentence in federal prison. The White House said Stockman had contracted coronavirus while in federal prison and has served more than two years of his 10-year sentence. Esformes’ prison sentence was commuted by the president on Tuesday, but other aspects of his sentence, including supervised release and millions in restitution, remained intact. The White House said the commutation was supported by a number of former attorneys general and said Esformes is in declining health. The White House said Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson and former NFL football player Jerome Bettis had requested clemency for Costa and said Costa devoted much of his adult life to serving his community.

(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)WASHINGTON – Congress passed a $900 billion pandemic relief package that would finally deliver long-sought cash to businesses and individuals and resources to vaccinate a nation confronting a frightening surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths. The bill approved Monday night went to President Donald Trump for his signature, which was expected in the coming days. The relief package, unveiled Monday afternoon, sped through the House and Senate in a matter of hours. The bill combines coronavirus-fighting funds with financial relief for individuals and businesses. Democrats and Senate Republicans prevailed in a bid to use bookkeeping maneuvers to squeeze $12.5 billion more for domestic programs into the legislation.

In 2022, the center plans to inaugurate a dedicated gallery to U.S. Latino history within the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. The artist is one of the few Latino artists to ever have a solo show at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. No Latina had a solo show at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in the period examined. Leonard Castellanos’s “RIFA, from Méchicano 1977 Calendario,” from an exhibition of Chicano graphics at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Latin American history and Latino history are inextricably connected with U.S. history.

A single Republican senator blocked bipartisan legislation Thursday to create Smithsonian museums for American Latinos and women, claiming such institutions would "further divide" the nation. The senator also suggested that Latino Americans hadn't faced the same kind of systematic exclusion as other ethnic groups that already have Smithsonian museums. The House this year passed bills to create the National Museum of the American Latino and the American Women's History Museum, each with more than 290 cosponsors. He argued that the stories of America's women and Latinos should instead be part of the National Museum of American History. In a separate debate, Senator Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, pushed to approve legislation to create a Smithsonian museum for women's history.

WASHINGTON – A lone senator from Utah has singlehandedly blocked the bipartisan approval of two new national museums to honor American Latinos and women, arguing that “last thing we need is to further divide an already divided nation.”Republican Sen. Mike Lee objected Thursday to the creation of the two proposed Smithsonian museums, stalling two projects that have been in the making for decades and enjoy broad bipartisan support. Senate approval would have sent the legislation approving the Latino museum to President Donald Trump for his signature. The Senate was attempting to pass the measures by voice vote, which requires every senator's consent. Lee said he sees an exception for museums dedicated to American Indians and African Americans that already sit on the National Mall. “We have been systematically excluded, not because this senator said so but because the Smithsonian itself said so,” Menendez said.

Trump did not back up his claims with any details or evidence, and state and federal officials have not reported any instances of widespread voter fraud. Counting votes is often “long” and “frustrating,” Romney said. Most in the GOP take pains to avoid directly criticizing Trump, even when they find his conduct unhelpful or offensive to their values and goals. But one of Trump’s top congressional supporters said he supports efforts to question the vote counting process and is donating money to shore up legal challenges. Chris Christie, a Trump ally who is an analyst for ABC News, said there was no basis for Trump's argument.

Barrett was confirmed to be a Supreme Court justice by the Senate earlier in the evening. It's been only a month since President Donald Trump's Rose Garden event to announce he was nominating Amy Coney Barrett to serve on the Supreme Court. Mike Lee and Thom Tillis — tested positive after attending the earlier White House celebration. Indiana Sen. Todd Young told reporters that he had told the White House he would attend, but was reconsidering. She said people need to be careful about gatherings as illnesses have been rising, but stopped short of calling the White House event a mistake.

Never has the Senate confirmed a Supreme Court nominee so close to a presidential election. As the Senate committee met, protesters, some shouting “Stop the confirmation!” demonstrated outside the Capitol across the street from the Supreme Court. Unable to stop the confirmation, Democrats have been trying unsuccessfully to stall the process so the winner of the White House race could name the new nominee. With Republicans holding a 53-47 majority in the Senate, Trump’s pick for the court is almost certain to be confirmed. Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, called Barrett a “clear and present danger” to the values Ginsburg fought for on the court.

“I think Amy’s doing incredibly well,” he said at the White House departing for a campaign rally. Allowing Trump to fill the seat with Barrett “poses a threat to safe and legal abortion in our country," Harris said. Democrats warn that she would be a vote to undo the law and strip health coverage from millions of Americans. "I'm not hostile to the ACA,” Barrett told the senators. “You would not be getting Justice Scalia, you would be getting Justice Barrett,” she declared.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut was among several Democrats demanding that Barrett pledge not to take part in any election case. “Health care coverage for millions of Americans is at stake with this nomination,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the committee’s senior Democrat. Among Republicans, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, dismissed warnings Barrett will undo the law as “outrageous.”Trump himself seemed to be watching, tweeting several times about the hearing. In one message, he tweeted that he’d have a “FAR BETTER” health care plan, with lower costs and protections for preexisting conditions. But he has not, as yet, discussed an actual health care plan.

Hearings before the Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee will begin Monday, Oct. 12, for President Donald Trumps Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett. SEN. KAMALA HARRIS, D-CALIF.Harris, Joe Biden's running mate in the presidential election, will again be in the spotlight as Democrats question a Trump nominee for the Supreme Court. Harris and other key Democrats said the hearings should not move forward without plans to test people attending, including senators, for coronavirus. In a sign of the heightened scrutiny, Vice President Mike Pence tried to get Harris to reveal whether she and Biden support expanding the Supreme Court, as many liberals advocate. In just three years on the 7th Circuit, Barrett has twice argued for approval of abortion restrictions that violated Supreme Court precedent, Hirono said.

White HouseCounselor to the president Hope Hicks : Tested positive: Tested Director of Oval Office operations Nick Luna : Tested positive on Saturday, October 3.: Tested positive on Saturday, October 3. Senior adviser Stephen Miller : Tested positive on Tuesday, October 6.: Tested positive on Tuesday, October 6. Assistant press secretary Jalen Drummond : Tested positive, CBS News reported Tuesday, October 6.: Tested positive, CBS News reported Tuesday, October 6. Vice President Mike Pence : Tested negative on Thursday, October 8.: Tested negative on Thursday, October 8. Chief of staff Mark Meadows : Tested negative on Thursday, October 8.: Tested negative on Thursday, October 8.

The Democrat from Santa Barbara said in a statement that he sought a test “after discovering I was exposed to an individual who tested positive for COVID-19." But a second test administered Tuesday was positive. He said he has “mild symptoms.”“I hope this serves as a reminder of how easily this virus can spread,” Carbajal said. Lee and Carbajal live next door to each other in the same building, said Conn Carroll, a spokesman for Lee. Lee, who attended the Sept. 26 White House Rose Garden announcement for President Donald Trump's nominee for U.S. Supreme Court, disclosed last week that he had tested positive for the coronavirus, soon after Trump said he and the first lady had tested positive.

And variations on that message were the White House ready response any time critics questioned the president's lax approach to following guidelines for avoiding the novel coronavirus. Trump demonstrated in dramatic fashion that relying on testing alone isn’t enough to create a safe bubble. Mask wearing and social distancing are other key ingredients for preventing the spread of COVID-19, and both have often been in short supply at the White House. The White House says the president is also tested regularly, as are his most senior aides. There were also several indoor receptions, where Barrett, her family, senators and others gathered in the close quarters inside the White House.

Many alumni have posted a letter on social media expressing their opposition to Barrett's nomination to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the U.S. Supreme Court after Ginsburg's death last month. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via AP, Pool)WASHINGTON – Shuttered by COVID-19 infections, the Republican-led Senate is refusing to delay confirmation of President Donald Trump's pick for the Supreme Court. With Trump trailing Democrat Joe Biden in polls and their own Senate majority at risk, Republicans hope a Supreme Court vote in the week before Election Day will save their jobs. The Judiciary Committee is planning four days of hearings ahead of a final Senate vote by Oct. 29. However, McConnell could have the full Senate vote to force the committee to discharge the nomination to the floor for final voting.

Doctors say that Trump will continue to receive his treatments from the White House. WHAT WE DON’T KNOWWe don’t know how sick Trump got. With treatment still evolving in the pandemic, Trump’s doctors concede they themselves don’t know everything about the interplay of the medications he is taking. The White House also is withholding details on what steps it is taking to stop the spread of the outbreak underway in Trump’s circle. Trump on Sunday insisted on a drive outside Walter Reed to wave to supporters, heightening risk of infection for those guarding and driving him.

Conley was evasive when asked whether Trump’s blood oxygen level had dropped below 90%: “We don’t have any recordings here on that.” The level currently stands at 98%, Trump’s medical team said. WHAT WE DON’T KNOW: TRUMP’S MEDICAL CONDITIONTrump's medical team continued to dodge many questions Sunday, such as the specific timing of the president’s dip in oxygen and the impact of the disease on his lungs. WHAT WE DON’T KNOW: WHEN TRUMP FELL ILLConley declined to say when Trump had last been tested before Thursday’s test confirmed COVID-19. WHAT WE DON’T KNOW: HOW TRUMP WAS INFECTEDThere's no way to know for sure if the Rose Garden event was where Trump — who typically shuns a mask and has kept holding big public gatherings during the pandemic — was exposed. The administration says a White House medical team is tracing contacts.

Still, the doctors said Trump’s health is improving and that he could be discharged as early as Monday. In a short video released by the White House on Sunday, Trump insisted he understood the gravity of the moment. It was the second straight day of obfuscation from a White House already suffering from a credibility crisis. He was evasive about the timing of Trump oxygen drops. At the time of the briefing, Trump’s blood oxygen level was 98% — within normal rage, Trump’s medical team said.

WASHINGTON – WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans on Saturday sought to call off legislative work in the Senate until Oct. 19 as the coronavirus reached into their ranks. But they vowed that hearings for President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee would push ahead as planned. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the confirmation hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett will still begin Oct. 12, even if Democrats agree to cancel the regular Senate session to avoid further spread of COVID-19. “Certainly, all Republican members of the committee will participate in these important hearings.”There was no immediate word on whether Senate Democrats would agree to shutter Senate business as McConnell requested. With three Republican senators infected and others awaiting results, McConnell is without a fully working majority of 50 senators.

WASHINGTON – The coroniavirus reached further into Republican ranks on Saturday, forcing the Senate to call off lawmaking as a third GOP senator tested positive for COVID-19. “The Senate’s floor schedule will not interrupt the thorough, fair and historically supported confirmation process,” McConnell wrote Saturday. Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who like McConnell is running for reelection, added that senators can attend the hearings remotely. Republicans in the Senate who had attended GOP events began announcing that they too had tested positive. The news about Covid's march into the White House didn't let up and wasn't flattering after months of complaints that Republicans weren't approaching the pandemic in a serious or organized way.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump testing positive for the coronavirus and being hospitalized (all times EDT):10:25 p.m.President Donald Trump’s former adviser Kellyanne Conway said late Friday that she has tested positive for the coronavirus, days after attending a White House event with several others who have since come down with COVID-19. Conway attended the Rose Garden announcement Saturday where President Donald Trump announced his nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. Mike Lee and Thom Tillis, the president of the University of Notre Dame, as well as Trump himself tested positive Friday for the coronavirus. __8:35 p.m.Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina has tested positive for the coronavirus. He issued the statement as President Donald Trump was being treated at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for the same illness.

Senator Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, speaks during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020. Toni Sandys | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesRon Johnson of Wisconsin is the third Republican senator to test positive for Covid-19 after President Donald Trump announced early Friday that he and the first lady had a positive diagnosis. Both are members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is the panel that will hold hearings on her nomination. It is unclear where Johnson contracted the virus, but he was exposed earlier this week to someone who has since tested positive for the virus, according to his office. "If It's too dangerous to have the Senate in session it is also too dangerous for committee hearings to continue."

President Donald Trump has been hospitalized with the virus and Biden was potentially exposed during Tuesday night’s presidential debate in Cleveland. ___6 p.m.President Donald Trump has told his longtime friend and sometimes lawyer Rudy Giuliani that he’s “going to beat” the coronavirus. ___5:30 p.m.With President Donald Trump in the hospital, his campaign is launching an effort it’s calling “Operation MAGA” to maintain momentum. One by one, President Donald Trump and a series of GOP lawmakers have fallen ill with the virus that has killed more than 208,000 Americans. ___12 p.m.President Donald Trump’s doctors say the president is doing well, is fever-free and isn't having difficulty breathing after contracting the coronavirus.

And yesterday with the team, while we were all here, he was not on oxygen,” Conley said. Meadows himself had insisted Friday morning that Trump had only “mild symptoms" as the White House tried to project an image of normalcy. “President Trump remains in good spirits, has mild symptoms and has been working throughout the day,” press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said late in the day on Friday. The first word that a close aide to Trump had been infected came from the media, not the White House. R-Wis.,One of the president’s personal assistants, Nick Luna, tested positive after having traveled with Trump several times recently, a White House official said Saturday night.

Victoria reported only 12 new coronavirus cases and one death Sunday, well down on the peaks of winter. ___MILAN — New coronavirus cases in Italy maintained a trajectory above 2,500 on Saturday, with about 119,000 people tested. ___SKOPJE, North Macedonia — North Macedonia has recorded 243 new coronavirus cases, the highest daily number since the pandemic began. Facing a recent spike in cases, health authorities are considering imposing new restrictions, including banning public gatherings and limiting working hours for bars. ___ATHENS, Greece — Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis says authorities would use local lockdowns to keep a recent surge in coronavirus cases under control.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump testing positive for the coronavirus and being hospitalized (all times EDT):10:25 p.m.President Donald Trump’s former adviser Kellyanne Conway said late Friday that she has tested positive for the coronavirus, days after attending a White House event with several others who have since come down with COVID-19. Conway attended the Rose Garden announcement Saturday where President Donald Trump announced his nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. Mike Lee and Thom Tillis, the president of the University of Notre Dame, as well as Trump himself tested positive Friday for the coronavirus. __8:35 p.m.Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina has tested positive for the coronavirus. He issued the statement as President Donald Trump was being treated at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for the same illness.

Lee, who did not wear a mask at the White House event, said he had “symptoms consistent with longtime allergies." "We now have two members of the Senate Judiciary Committee who have tested positive for COVID, and there may be more," tweeted Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. Blackburn said she tested negative after the event. Graham was not at the White House on Saturday but sees Trump frequently. He feels healthy, hasn’t exhibited any COVID-19 symptoms, and has tested negative.

White HouseCounselor to the president Hope Hicks : Tested positive: Tested Director of Oval Office operations Nick Luna : Tested positive on Saturday, October 3.: Tested positive on Saturday, October 3. Senior adviser Stephen Miller : Tested positive on Tuesday, October 6.: Tested positive on Tuesday, October 6. Vice President Mike Pence : Tested negative on Thursday, October 8.: Tested negative on Thursday, October 8. Chief of staff Mark Meadows : Tested negative on Thursday, October 8.: Tested negative on Thursday, October 8. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar : Tested negative on Friday, October 2.: Tested negative on Friday, October 2.

Chris Christie, seen in an AP photo with his arm around another guest while chatting up several face to face, announced his positive virus test this weekend. Trump’s campaign manager, Bill Stepien, who attended the debate and helped him prepare with Christie, has tested positive for COVID-19. White House officials said they began learning of Hicks’ positive test after Trump boarded Marine One to start his journey to New Jersey. Despite the abject failure to keep the president protected from the virus, White House officials defended their current protocols as well thought out. And masks still won't be required on the White House grounds for all West Wing employees.

Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., became the latest members of Congress to test positive for the virus that has killed more than 205,000 Americans. All three attended the White House Rose Garden introduction Saturday of Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barrett. Nationally and on Capitol Hill, there are no comprehensive plans requiring testing or wearing masks. House members can vote by proxy through their colleagues, to cut down on the number of people milling around. Lee, Tillis and other Republican members of the panel were among those who attended the Rose Garden event on Saturday.

Hours after President Donald Trump announced he had tested positive for the coronavirus, Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee revealed he too had been infected with the disease. Trump disclosed that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive overnight; Lee tweeted his own diagnosis mid-morning Friday. It's unclear when and how the Utah Republican caught the virus, but Lee said he had tested negative ahead of the Saturday visit to the White House. Lee previously self-quarantined for two weeks in late March and April, after his colleague Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky tested positive for the coronavirus. Lee rode back to Utah then with fellow Utah Sen. Mitt Romney on a plane chartered by the former presidential candidate.

On Saturday, another Republican senator, Ron Johnson on Wisconsin, announced he has tested positive for the virus, the third GOP senator this past week. With Trump in Walter Reed military hospital for treatment and quarantine, the virus seemed to spill into every corner of the party. The pandemic even spread to a subject the GOP hoped to be its safe harbor in the campaign's closing weeks — the looming confirmation of Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in a GOP case seeking to overturn the health care law shortly after the election. In fact, Goeas argued that Trump’s belligerent performance during Tuesday’s debate did more to hurt his chances of recouping wayward Republicans and hesitant independents, a development that could hurt GOP Senate candidates in tight contests.

MIAMI Tropical Storm Arthur moved out to sea Monday after dumping heavy rain on North Carolina as forecasters warned that the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season could continue to whip dangerous surf and rip currents for another day or more along the U.S. East Coast. By late Monday, storm watches and warnings that had been in effect for parts of the North Carolina coast were canceled. The Hurricane Center said Arthur was moving northeast at 16 mph (26 kph) Monday afternoon as its center pulled away from the U.S. mainland. At 5 p.m. EDT, the storms center was located about 110 miles (175 kilometers) northeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. North Carolina Emergency Management Director Mike Sprayberry said that over-wash or standing water had closed a highway on the Outer Banks and another on the mainland.

Sen. Mitt Romney has tested negative for coronavirus, but will remain quarantined for a 14-day period, he announced in a post on Twitter on Tuesday. "Nevertheless, guidance from my physician, consistent with the CDC guidelines, requires me to remain in quarantine as the test does not rule out the onset of symptoms during the 14-day period." Romney announced on Sunday that he had entered into self-quarantine after Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said that he had tested positive. At least two lawmakers in the House of Representatives, Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla. and Ben McAdams, D-Utah, have tested positive for coronavirus. Romney was an early proponent of using direct cash payments to ease the economic pain caused by the unfolding public health crisis.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. government surveillance tools fiercely opposed by privacy advocates and defended by intelligence agencies will expire after legislation renewing them stalled in the Senate on Thursday, although passage is expected next week. But the measure, which renews and updates domestic surveillance rules under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), must pass the Senate and be signed by President Donald Trump to become law. Republican Senator Mike Lee spoke against FISA in the Senate on Thursday, as an effort to quickly pass the House bill fell short. Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he was confident the Senate would pass the bill. I hope we dont have an attack this weekend, Burr told reporters after the debate in the Senate with Lee.

The bill extends provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, which sets rules for surveillance and collection of information between foreign powers or agents of foreign powers suspected of espionage or terrorism. To address privacy concerns, the bill sets new restrictions to the FISA court system, which oversees requests for surveillance warrants. Representative Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said the bill provides greater transparency and increased oversight of the system, without compromising counterterrorism efforts. He said the surveillance system had flaws, but the bills reforms were significant. Privacy advocates, including liberal Democrats and libertarian-leaning Republicans, are fiercely critical of the surveillance program.

FILE PHOTO: Brian Hook, U.S. Special Representative for Iran, speaks at a news conference in London, Britain June 28, 2019. Trumps special representative for Iran, Brian Hook, will lead the Tuesday briefing. Senate leaders had said they expected to vote as soon as this week on an Iran war powers resolution, but there had been no word on when that vote might take place. The resolution faces an uphill battle in the Republican-controlled Senate, which has been conducting Trumps impeachment trial this week. Trump administration officials, including Pompeo, at a briefing earlier this month failed to convince Democratic U.S. lawmakers, and some Republicans, that an imminent threat had justified the killing of Qassem Soleimani.

Lee called it "worst briefing" he's received on a military issue in his nine years in the Senate. Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, has also introduced a war powers resolution in the Senate. The official added the White House hoped to come back to answer questions. The White House on Saturday notified Congress of the strike under the War Powers Act. On Tuesday, Iran launched ballistic missiles against Iraqi military bases that house U.S. forces in retaliation for the strike that killed Soleimani.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg makes rounds of meeting in Russell Building where he discussed technology regulations and social media issues with senators on Thursday, September 19, 2019. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)Two senators are asking Facebook to "respect" users' decisions to keep their location data from the company. Both Google and Apple updated their operating systems earlier this year to give users more control and insight into which apps can access their location data. "If a user has decided to limit Facebook's access to his or her location, Facebook should respect these privacy choices," the senators, members of the Judiciary Committee, wrote in the letter to Zuckerberg. "The language in the blog post, however, indicates that Facebook may continue to collect location data despite user preferences, even if the user is not engaging with the app, and Facebook is simply deducing the user's location from information about his or her internet connection.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg makes rounds of meeting in Russell Building where he discussed technology regulations and social media issues with senators on Thursday, September 19, 2019. He was making his way from a meeting with Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, to one with Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)Last week, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg made a trip to Washington, D.C., to hold court with some of his most vocal critics on Capitol Hill. According to the leaked recording, Zuckerberg blasted Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren's plan to break up Facebook and other Big Tech companies. But Zuckerberg did share The Verge's transcript on his Facebook page, calling it an "unfiltered" look at his thoughts.

Authorities said the suspect shot Harris County Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal in the back of the head as he walked back to his patrol car during a routine traffic stop. In this Aug. 30, 2015, photo, Harris County Sheriff's Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal, center, grieves with Deputies Dixon, left, and Seibert, right, at a memorial for Deputy Darren Goforth, at the Chevron where he was killed, in Houston. (Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP) Jon Shapley / AP"It was senseless," said Harris County Sheriff Major Mike Lee. "To be shot so violently ambush-style is just beyond words," said Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez. CBS NewsLaw enforcement officers were seen saluting in tribute after efforts to save the deputy failed at a Houston hospital.