JOE BIDEN

The major freight railroads now face pressure from investors to add sick days after Congress declined to require them as part of the contracts they imposed last week to avert a potentially devastating nationwide rail strike.

The VA is calling it the “PACT Act Week of Action” at facilities across the country. READ: US stocks slide as investors weigh economic data, Fed policyIt’s the reasoning behind the PACT Act. The VA is going to presume it was caused by your service to our country, which means you get benefits including money, education and healthcare. “Various individuals, various veterans passed away fighting for these benefits,” VA Press Secretary Terrence Hayes, said. “Toxic-exposed veterans have waited entirely too long to receive the benefits that they’ve earned and we’re here to provide those benefits now,” Hayes added.

Zelenskiy and Biden have a common goal for ending the war, but different priorities in how they achieve it.

The long and storied history of Russia being saved by winter is not likely to repeat itself.

Congressional Democrats are hoping to tie legislation spurring oil and gas drilling that is favored by Joe Manchin to the annual must-pass defense policy bill.

The United States and European Union have agreed to intensify talks to resolve EU concerns over major subsidies for American companies contained in a U.S. clean energy law.

On this week's 'Fox News Sunday,' host Shannon Bream welcomed national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin, Fox News contributor Karl Rove and more.

Same-sex couples say they're happy that Congress is moving quickly to ensure nationwide recognition of gay marriage.

This claim is largely based on a highly dubious poll from a right-wing organization. But it also makes no sense on the merits.

Tuesday marks the first-ever U.S. auction for leases to develop commercial-scale floating wind farms in the deep waters off the West Coast.

Time has announced the short list of the people who may be named the publication’s Person of the Year. >> Read more trending newsTen people have been selected as the finalists for the magazine’s honor, the “Today” show reported. Xi had asked President Joe Biden to dissuade Pelosi from making the trip, The Washington Post reported. This is the second time Xi had been on the list for Time’s person of the year. In 2022 as inflation loomed, Yellen was the person who explained the signs of a recession and developed preemptive financial policies.

The FBI was deeply involved in debunking the Hunter Biden laptop story even before the New York Post's bombshell scoop in October 2020. New revelations show how extensive this was.

The comedian killed with a Borat riff on Ye's antisemitism as President Joe Biden and the Kennedy Center honorees looked on.

President Biden eased sanctions on Venezuela. That's a bad energy policy for America. Bad foreign policy. And bad environmental policy.

Despite climate targets set by the Biden administration and corporate executives, the U.S. is still building new natural gas plants that threaten to cause greenhouse gas emissions for decades to come.

Energy companies show neither gratitude for their free-market capitalism windfall made possible by American democracy nor sympathy for their retail customers.

For example, a church that doesn't support same-sex marriage would not be required to rent out space for such a union. It was roughly 25 years ago that a bipartisan majority passed the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, which defined marriage as between one woman and one man. In 2013, the Supreme Court ruled that the part of DOMA that said the federal government wouldn't recognize same-sex marriages was unconstitutional. Two years later, in an opinion known as Obergefell v. Hodges, the court found bans on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. At one point, most people in the U.S. opposed same-sex marriage.

Legislation that ensures same-sex and interracial marriages are recognized as legal unions appears headed for final approval and President Joe Biden’s signature.

The US once championed a simple truth: The world is better off when liberal trade is allowed to do its job.

The extended Senate campaign in Georgia gives Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker a second chance to persuade voters to send them to Washington.

Paul Pelosi, who suffered a fractured skull when his suspected attacker allegedly assaulted him with a hammer, arrived wearing a black hat.

WASHINGTON — Gladys Knight, George Clooney, U2 and more 2022 Kennedy Center honorees joined President Joe Biden at the White House Sunday. The ceremony took place at the White House on Sunday afternoon and Biden paid tribute to the honorees beforehand with a speech in the East Room, according to the AP. President Biden joined the 2022 Kennedy Center Honorees and their families for a wonderful night celebrating the power of the arts. Biden also called the guys of U2 “poets in their own right.”“Congratulations to the 2022 Kennedy Center Honorees and their wonderful families,” said Biden on Twitter. Congratulations to the 2022 Kennedy Center Honorees and their wonderful families.

True, the U.S. Senate is still in the hands of the godless Democrats who want to destroy America, but the House now belongs to Republicans.

This year's Kennedy Center honorees are George Clooney​, Amy Grant, Gladys Knight, composer Tania Leon, and U2.

In a wide-ranging interview, President Macron discusses the impact the war in Ukraine and U.S. domestic policy are having on his country.

The Hunter Biden laptop repairman touted vindication after Musk revealed an internal effort by Twitter to censor the New York Post’s bombshell story by labeling him a hacker.

Recent protests against Beijing’s heavy-handed “zero-COVID” policies seem to present an opportunity for President Biden to reaffirm support for greater freedom in China. But doing so could alienate the government of President Xi Jinping at a time when Washington is desperate to maintain a working relationship.

But doing so could alienate the government of President Xi Jinping when Washington is desperate to maintain a working relationship. "I see a lot of danger and temptation," said China expert Lyle Goldstein of Defense Priorities, a Washington think tank. The protests stem from growing public resistance to the Xi administration's "zero-COVID" approach, which has included three years of deprivation, unpredictability, isolation and hardship. November's protests appear to have rattled Xi, who has just secured a third term as China's leader, cementing his place in the Communist Party firmament. "Bravery is contagious, and whether it comes from Iranian and Chinese protesters or from Ukrainian freedom fighters, I hope the U.S. government catches some."

“Saturday Night Live” poked some rare fun at President Biden by joking that he’s suffering from brain damage during the show’s “Weekend Update” segment.

A heartfelt Patti LaBelle praised her lifelong friend Gladys Knight.

What's crucial in the year ahead is for democracies to unify in a common cause to shape the global future alongside moderate, modern non-democracies.

China, the world's most populous state, has never been more dangerous.

ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT — (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he wants to keep the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate in place to protect the health of the troops, as Republican governors and lawmakers press to rescind it. This past week more than 20 Republican governors sent a letter to President Joe Biden asking that the administration remove the mandate, saying it has hurt the U.S. National Guard’s ability to recruit troops. Those troops are activated by governors to respond to natural disasters or unrest. Congress may consider legislation this coming week to end the mandate as a requirement to gather enough support to pass this years’ defense budget, which is already two months late. So this mandate has kept people healthy.”“I’m the guy” who ordered the military to require the vaccine, Austin added.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is making clear he wants to keep the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate in place to protect the health of the troops, as Republican governors and lawmakers press to rescind it.

Changes will still have to be approved by the full DNC in a vote next year, but it will almost certainly follow the rule-making committee's lead.

Twitter's new CEO released the "Twitter Files" on the platform Friday. Musk and his allies have claimed conservative speech is suppressed online.

The November midterms broadened the party’s bench for potential presidential contenders, though none have said they would challenge Biden if he runs.

ISIS is one widely used acronym for the Islamic State. The United States' Syrian Kurdish allies deny any attacks in Turkey. U.S. Central Command, and many in Congress, praise the Syrian Kurds as brave comrades in arms. That includes supplying armed drones to Ukraine, and helping mediate between Russia and the United States and others. Experts say the Biden administration has plenty of leverage to wield privately in urging Erdogan to relent in the threatened escalated attack on Syrian Kurds.

The Biden administration is toughening its language toward NATO ally Turkey.

Biden administration officials are toughening their language toward NATO ally Turkey as they try to talk Turkish President Recep Erdogan out of launching a bloody and destabilizing ground offensive against American-allied Kurdish forces in neighboring Syria. Since Nov. 20, after six people died in an Istanbul bombing a week before that Turkey blamed, without evidence, on the U.S. and its Kurdish allies in Syria, Turkey has launched cross-border airstrikes, rockets and shells into U.S.- and Kurdish-patrolled areas of Syria, leaving Kurdish funeral corteges burying scores of dead.

The 2022 World Cup group stage kicked off with the United States taking on Netherlands. Here are the top fan moments and social media reactions!

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee is considering introducing express toll lanes on highways and tripling a fee for electric car owners as he looks for ways to pay for tens of billions of dollars in roadway projects.

Voters with no religious affiliation supported Democratic candidates and abortion rights by staggering percentages in the 2022 midterm elections.

More than 1.8 million voters have already cast their ballots in the high-stakes runoff.

The silver lining of today’s bitter partisan warfare is that, for millions of citizens, it has made civic engagement more meaningful.

The Iowa caucuses and their outsize importance have largely been an exercise in myth-making.

We've just been through the November midterms. There were winners and loser. Biden was a surprise winner. It's time for Republicans to wise up and understand what is and isnt working.

Many state and national Republicans have expressed concern that similar defeats could become commonplace without a course correction within the state Republican Party. “It’s hard to think of a state where Republicans lost more than in Michigan,” said Stu Sandler, a national Republican consultant. The state party wasn't the traditional partner it had been in the past, he said, in part due to a chair he described as not very active. Michigan Republican Party spokesperson Gustavo Portela said the party would have no further comment about the chair competition. The former tax lawyer rose to prominence in the party by pushing Trump's lies of a stolen election in the state following the 2020 presidential election.

The Republicans who lost their races for Michigan's top three statewide offices after promoting falsehoods about the 2020 presidential election are not planning to go quietly. Two of the candidates who denied President Joe Biden's victory in the state have announced plans to run for the position that leads the state GOP, while the third has said she is considering a challenge for the top post. Kristina Karamo, a community college professor who lost her race for secretary of state after mounting a campaign filled with election conspiracies, used the same kind of charged language she had throughout her campaign in announcing her intention to run for Michigan party chair.

Many people on the Big Island of Hawaii are bracing for major upheaval if lava from Mauna Loa volcano blocks the quickest route connecting two sides of the island.

Workers and their unions say the deal didn't do enough to address their quality-of-life concerns and didn't add any sick days. The five-year deals that rail workers wound up with include 24% raises and $5,000 in bonuses. The rail unions say they weren’t able to get more concessions out of the railroads because the big companies knew Congress would intervene. But you’re not supposed to miss everything,” said Kurtz, who remains active even in retirement with the Railroad Workers United coalition that includes workers from every union. The unions say they won’t stop fighting for more paid sick leave, but now they may have to wait for negotiations on the next contract beginning in 2025.

Most railroad workers weren't surprised that Congress intervened this week to block a railroad strike, but they were disappointed because they say the deals lawmakers imposed didn't do enough to address their quality of life concerns about demanding schedules and the lack of paid sick time.

When BNSF railroad conductor Justin Schaaf needed to take time off from work this summer, he had to make a choice: go to the dentist to get a cavity in his molar filled or attend a party for his son's 7th birthday. "Ultimately I decided to take the day off for my kid’s birthday party,” Schaaf said. President Joe Biden signed a bill Friday to block a strike and force workers to accept the agreements union leaders made in September, even though four of the 12 unions — which include a majority of rail workers — voted to reject them. Business groups had been urging Biden to intervene for weeks.

Fox News host Tucker Carlson breaks down Elon Musk's expose on how Twitter censored the Hunter Biden laptop story on Friday's "Tucker Carlson Tonight."

The Georgia runoff between Raphael G. Warnock and Herschel Walker caps a turbulent midterm election in which voters rejected many candidates tied to Donald Trump.

Michigan is expected to be the Midwest representative among the first five states selecting the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee.

BOSTON — (AP) — President Joe Biden hit the phones with fellow Democrats Friday for Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock's runoff election. Days before Georgia polls close on Tuesday, Biden still has no plans to visit Warnock's state. “This race in Georgia … it’s really, really critical,” Biden told members of the the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers who were poring over voting lists. Biden told the Boston phone bank workers that an oft-repeated GOP criticism during the 2022 election was that Warnock voted with him 98% of the time. With Biden’s popularity having sagged in Georgia, Warnock framed himself as a bipartisan deal maker in Washington.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — (AP) — A joint venture between General Motors and South Korean battery company LG Energy Solution announced Friday that it will invest an additional $275 million to expand a Tennessee battery cell factory for electric vehicles. Officials with the companies had already pledged to spend $2.3 billion to build a battery plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee. The Tennessee plant is one of three lithium-ion battery factories being built by the joint venture, Ultium Cells LLC. Last year Toyota announced it would build a $1.3 billion battery plant in North Carolina. Tennessee officials announced plans last month to invest $3.2 billion to develop a cathode materials plant for electric vehicle batteries.

A joint venture between General Motors and South Korean battery company LG Energy Solution says it will invest an additional $275 million to expand a Tennessee battery cell factory for electric vehicles.

INDIANAPOLIS — (AP) — An Indiana judge on Friday rejected an attempt to block the state's Republican attorney general from continuing his office's investigation of an Indianapolis doctor who has spoken publicly about providing an abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim who traveled from Ohio after its more-restrictive abortion law took effect. Bernard filed a lawsuit against state Attorney General Todd Rokita last month, arguing his office was wrongly justifying the investigation with "frivolous" consumer complaints submitted by people with no personal knowledge about the girl's treatment. Bernard and her lawyers maintain the girl's abuse had already been reported to Ohio police before the doctor ever saw the child. Marion County Judge Heather Welch turned down Bernard's request for an injunction blocking the investigation, saying the medical licensing board now had jurisdiction over the matter since the attorney general filed the complaint on Wednesday. Welch, however, found that Rokita wrongly made public comments about investigating Bernard before the complaint was filed.

Indiana's Republican attorney general can continue his investigation of an Indianapolis doctor who spoke publicly about providing an abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim.

An Indiana judge on Friday rejected an attempt to block the state’s Republican attorney general from continuing his office’s investigation of an Indianapolis doctor who has spoken publicly about providing an abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim who traveled from Ohio after its more-restrictive abortion law took effect. The ruling comes two days after the attorney general's office asked the state medical licensing board to discipline Dr. Caitlin Bernard, alleging she violated state law by not reporting the girl’s child abuse to Indiana authorities and broke patient privacy laws by telling a newspaper reporter about the girl’s treatment.

In trying to prevent a work stoppage that could've threatened the fragile economy, Biden risks alienating his key allies: labor activists and workers.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — (AP) — The nation's largest public utility on Friday recommended replacing an aging coal burning power plant with natural gas, ignoring calls for the Tennessee Valley Authority to speed its transition to renewable energy. TVA announced the completion of its environmental impact statement for replacing the Cumberland Fossil Plant near Cumberland City, Tennessee. The federally owned utility considered replacing the two coal-fired turbines there with solar panels but instead recommended a combined-cycle natural gas plant. The decision still needs the approval of TVA President and CEO Jeff Lyash, who has previously spoken in favor of natural gas. Those opposing the construction of a new gas plant have pointed out it will likely be around for decades, long past the 2035 decarbonization goal.

The DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee gathered to approve recommendations by President Biden that included making South Carolina Democrats' first to hold its presidential primary contest.

Nevada and South Carolina have gone next since the 2008 presidential election, when Democrats last did a major overhaul of their primary calendar. He told also told party leaders privately that he'd like to see South Carolina go first to better ensure that voters of color aren't marginalized as Democrats choose a presidential nominee. The exception is South Carolina, which hasn't gone Democratic in a presidential race since 1976. That helped Biden shake off early losses in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada and eventually take the White House. “He knows what South Carolina did for him, and he’s demonstrated that time and time again, by giving respect to South Carolina,” Clyburn said.

Democrats have voted to remove Iowa as the leadoff state on the presidential nominating calendar and replace it with South Carolina starting in 2024.

Distaste for Herschel Walker appears to be bolstering Democratic enthusiasm for Sen. Raphael Warnock in Georgia's Tuesday runoff.

The Group of Seven nations and Australia have joined the European Union in agreeing to a $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian oil.

French President Emmanuel Macron has paid a visit to Louisiana, the U.S. state most closely aligned with his country historically and culturally.

Britain's Prince William appears to have taken the baton from his father and become a more vocal advocate about pollution and climate change.

President Joe Biden is assuring the nation that the U.S. economy is chugging along.

Germany has welcomed President Joe Biden’s apparent willingness to discuss tweaking U.S. legislation that European leaders say unfairly discriminates against their industries.

Russia has rejected Western demands that it pulls out completely from Ukraine as part of any future talks to end the war, saying they effectively rule out any talks on settling the conflict.

President Joe Biden made phone calls with fellow Democrats Friday for Sen. Raphael Warnock’s runoff election, delivering hot coffee to volunteers, too, and thanking them for their work.

President Joe Biden says Democrats should give up “restrictive” caucuses and move to champion diversity in the order of their presidential primary calendar.

President Joe Biden is trying to allay concerns raised by French President Emmanuel Macron about a clean energy law that benefits electric vehicles and other products made in North America.

House Democrats unanimously chose Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina for a new role in party leadership next year.

The Supreme Court says the Biden administration program to cancel student loans will remain blocked for now, but the justices have agreed to take up the case in late winter.

President Joe Biden's first White House state dinner has drawn big names from the worlds of entertainment, politics, business and fashion to celebrate French President Emmanuel Macron.

Legislation to avert a freight rail strike in the United States is headed to President Joe Biden's desk.

A House investigations panel says financial technology firms “abdicated” their responsibility to screen out fraud in applications for a federal program designed to help small businesses stay open and keep workers employed during the pandemic.

The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday approved a nearly $700 million plan to remove all lead water pipes in the Denver region, saying the local water utility’s approach for reducing lead levels is succeedings and making swift progress.

Russia’s foreign minister has accused the West of becoming directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine by supplying it with weapons and training its soldiers.

Emboldened by the results of November’s midterms, abortion rights supporters say they are preparing for even bigger fights in state legislatures and pivotal elections to come.

Presidents Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron have vowed to maintain a united front against Russia amid growing worries about waning support for Ukraine in the U.S. and Europe.

Barack Obama is urging Georgia Democrats to keep pushing voting turnout for Sen. Raphael Warnock.

The U.S. Justice Department has received a federal judge’s approval to carry out its proposal to improve the precarious water system in Mississippi’s capital city.

The National Christmas Tree is now blazing with bright color.

The White House says Thursday's state dinner for the president of France is meant to highlight the ties that bind the United States and its oldest ally.

Some homeowners in Volusia whose homes were destroyed along the coast hope a disaster declaration will help them rebuild faster.

Republican Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has been interviewed by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The seditious conspiracy convictions of Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and another leader in the far-right extremist group show that jurors are willing to hold accountable not just the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, but those who schemed to subvert the 2020 election.

American soccer hopes to be ascendant, to challenge the NFL, Major League Baseball and the NBA in the competition for U.S. market share.

A judge says Georgia Republican Party Chairman David Shafer can't share lawyers with 10 other fake electors in matters related to a special grand jury probing possible illegal meddling in the 2020 election.

Indiana’s Republican attorney general has asked the state medical licensing board to discipline an Indianapolis doctor who has spoken publicly about providing an abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim who traveled from Ohio after its more-restrictive abortion law took effect.

President Joe Biden is pledging to give Native Americans a stronger voice in federal affairs.

Democrats gathering to consider shaking up the order of their 2024 presidential primary are waiting on President Joe Biden.

Congress is moving urgently to head off the looming U.S. rail strike.