New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez says he won't run in Democratic primary
U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey says he will not run in the Democratic primary as he faces federal corruption charges, but he is leaving open the possibility that he would reenter the race as an independent later this year if he is exonerated at a trial.
Sen. Bob Menendez says gold bars and cash at his residence were illegally found and seized
New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez is asking a judge to toss out much of the evidence in the prosecution against him, saying investigators illegally searched his residence to get back at him for defeating a prior prosecution.
Prosecutors say Sen. Menendez cashed in by linking Qatari royal family member with NJ businessman
Federal authorities say U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez used his international clout to help a friend get a multimillion-dollar deal with a Qatari investment fund, partly by taking actions favorable to Qatarโs government.
NJ attorney general looking into 2018 investigation of crash involving Nadine Menendez
The New Jersey attorney generalโs office has opened an inquiry into how local law enforcement handled an investigation into a December 2018 car crash that involved Sen. Robert Menendezโs wife Nadine, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the situation.
Menendez gains a primary opponent as calls for his resignation grow after indictment
Rep. Andy Kim of New Jersey has announced that he will run against Sen. Robert Menendez in the stateโs Democratic primary for Senate next year, saying he feels compelled to run against the three-term senator after he and his wife were indicted on sweeping corruption charges.
Takeaways from investigation that turned up gold bars, a luxury car and cash at a US senator's home
Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife are accused of taking bribes of gold bars, a luxury car and cash in exchange for using his outsized sway in foreign affairs to help the authoritarian government of Egypt as well as others.
Lawmakers press for more scrutiny over China's 'malign influence' at development bank
Lawmakers intent on reducing Chinaโs influence on the U.S. economy are seeking to push the Treasury Department to reduce the scale of Beijingโs influence at the Inter-American Development Bank, which supports economic and social development in Latin America and Caribbean.
Trumpโs Ukraine impeachment shadows war, risks GOP response
Even the staunchest defense hawks in the Republican Party stood virtually united by Donald Trumpโs side when the then-president was impeached in late 2019 after pressuring Ukraineโs leader for โa favorโ and withholding $400 million in military aid.
China stages military exercises as US lawmakers visit Taiwan
China says its military has staged exercises to reinforce its threat to use force to bring Taiwan under its control, as U.S. lawmakers visiting Taiwan made a pointed and public declaration of support for the self-governing island democracy while issuing a warning to China.
Democrats blast Mexico's president for assailing judiciary
Democrats in Congress are sounding the alarm over what they claim is mounting evidence that Mexicoโs chief prosecutor is assailing the nationโs independent judiciary and selectively targeting for prosecution opponents of President Andrรฉs Manuel Lรณpez Obrador.
American freed from Venezuela says his โnightmareโ has ended
An American oil executive freed from custody in Venezuela says that even as he celebrates with his family the end of a long โnightmare,โ heโs praying for the release of five colleagues who are still imprisoned and โdeserve the same blessings.โ.
Senate confirms big slate of Biden ambassadors to end 2021
The Senate has confirmed more than 30 ambassadors and other Biden administration nominees after Majority Leader Chuck Schumer agreed to schedule a vote on sanctions on the company behind the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that will deliver natural gas from Russia to Germany.
Senate Democrats urge Biden to deny funds for Brazil Amazon
More than a dozen Senate Democrats have sent a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden complaining of a woeful environmental track record by his Brazilian counterpart and urging him to condition any support for Amazon preservation on significant progress reducing deforestation.
Cyber attack tied to China boosts development bank's chief
Claver-Carone was elected as the new president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in the fall of 2020. (AP Photo/Juan Karita, File)MIAMI โ The cyberattack crested just as finance officials from across Latin America were descending on Washington to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Inter-American Development Bank. On Sept. 24, 2019, requests from more than 15,000 internet addresses throughout China flooded the bankโs website, knocking part of it intermittently offline. Details of the attack, which has not been previously reported, are contained in an IDB internal document reviewed by The Associated Press. But membership has been a cheap way for China to expand its reach in Latin America.
Leading Senate Dem says outlook bleak on immigration bills
WASHINGTON โ A leader of Senate Democrats' drive to help millions of immigrants become citizens cast severe doubt on its prospects Monday, as one of President Joe Biden's early priorities seemed in danger of running aground in a Congress his own party controls. A top Republican senator who's been pivotal in past efforts to find bipartisan compromise on the issue also expressed pessimism. AdโI don't see a means of reaching that,โ Durbin, a veteran of past efforts to strike an immigration deal, said of a comprehensive bill in this two-year Congress. Durbin spoke three days before the House plans to approve a pair of bills that would advance pieces of Democratsโ immigration agenda. Both face uphill fights in the Senate, where Democrats would likely need at least 10 GOP votes in the 50-50 chamber.
In early foreign policy tests, Biden takes on world as it is
Biden in his early days in office has vowed a dramatic reordering of U.S. foreign policy from his predecessor. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)WASHINGTON โ President Joe Biden in his early days in office has vowed a dramatic reordering of U.S. foreign policy from his predecessor. The early preference for caution and incrementalism comes as Biden has repeatedly declared that โAmerica is back.โ But in early foreign policy tests, Biden has demonstrated, as many of his predecessors have experienced, that a push away from the previous commander-in-chief's policies is easier said than done. AdSullivan pushes back against the notion that Biden's foreign policy approach has been modulated from his candidacy. On China, Biden has been clear-eyed in seeing Beijing as the United States' most significant competitor.
Democrats consider piecemeal approach to immigration reform
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)WASHINGTON โ After decades of failed attempts to pass comprehensive immigration legislation, congressional Democrats and President Joe Biden are signaling openness to a piece-by-piece approach. They unveiled a broad bill Thursday that would provide an eight-year pathway to citizenship for 11 million people living in the country without legal status. โEven though I support full, comprehensive immigration reform, Iโm ready to move on piecemeal, because I donโt want to end up with good intentions on my hands and not have anything,โ said Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin has said that any final Senate bill likely โwill not reach the same levelsโ as Bidenโs proposal. But multiple immigration organizations said administration officials had signaled in recent conversations that they were open to a multilevel approach in which lawmakers would press forward on the comprehensive bill while also pursuing individual pieces.
Epstein warden now running new prison despite ongoing probe
FILE - This March 28, 2017, file photo, provided by the New York State Sex Offender Registry, shows Jeffrey Epstein. The Epstein Victims Compensation Program said Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021, it has temporarily run out of funds. AdThe Justice Departmentโs inspector general has not completed an investigation into lapses that allowed Epstein to end his life. AdHis suicide cast a spotlight on the federal prison agency, which has been plagued for years by a staffing shortage and violence, and on safety lapses inside one of the most secure jails in America. NโDiaye is being placed at a prison where more than 61% of the inmates have tested positive for the virus.
EXPLAINER: Why is the military taking control in Myanmar?
Myanmar military television said Monday, Feb. 1, 2021 that the military was taking control of the country for one year, while reports said many of the countrys senior politicians including Suu Kyi had been detained. โThereโs internal military politics around that, which is very opaque,โ said Kim Jolliffe, a researcher on Myanmar civilian and military relations. AdMyanmar's military leaders โmust immediately free the democratic leaders of Myanmar and remove themselves from government,โ said Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, the incoming chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. โIf not, the United States and other countries should impose strict economic sanctions, as well as other measuresโ against the military and military leaders, he said. He also questioned Suu Kyi's ability to lead given her defense of the military's actions against ethnic Rohingya Muslims.