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The U.S. State Department has postponed Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to Beijing after American officials said they had found a Chinese spy balloon above the continental U.S., according to multiple published reports. China’s Foreign Ministry said Friday that the balloon the U.S. suspects of conducting surveillance was a civilian “airship” used for research, mainly meteorological purposes.
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A 15th round of voting for speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives looked set to start late Friday, after the chamber failed to select a speaker in its 14th vote. With 432 House lawmakers voting in a 14th ballot, top House Republican Kevin McCarthy got 216 votes, or one vote short of a majority, so a 15th ballot will be needed to select a speaker.
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The U.S. House of Representatives voted Friday to adjourn until 10 p.m. Eastern, as the chamber’s Republican leaders sought a break during their push to get California Rep. Kevin McCarthy elected as speaker. McCarthy picked up some support Friday in the latest rounds of voting for speaker of the House, though it wasn’t sufficient to give him the job so another ballot was expected.
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A ninth round of voting in the U.S. House of Representatives yet again failed to deliver a speaker on Thursday, as top House Republican Kevin McCarthy keeps facing opposition from too many fellow GOP lawmakers. Seventeen Republicans again voted for GOP Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida rather than McCarthy, while Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma and Matt Gaetz of Florida backed Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, who has been supporting McCarthy. Gaetz had backed former President Donald Trump for speaker in Thursday’s prior rounds of voting. GOP Rep. Victoria Spartz of Indiana again voted “present.” The House last had nine rounds of voting for a speaker election in 1923, and the chamber now must vote a 10th time.
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Democratic Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania said Thursday on Twitter that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in December, but he has “an excellent prognosis” and is “expected to make a full recovery” after undergoing surgery in the coming months. “I am confident that my recommended course of treatment will allow me to continue my service in the 118th Congress with minimal disruption, and I look forward to the work ahead,” Casey tweeted.
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White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement Friday that the Biden administration understands that Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s decision to “register as an independent in Arizona does not change the new Democratic majority control of the Senate, and we have every reason to expect that we will continue to work successfully with her.” Jean-Pierre also said the Arizona lawmaker “has been a key partner on some of the historic legislation President Biden has championed over the last 20 months, from the American Rescue Plan to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, from the Inflation Reduction Act to the CHIPS and Science Act, from the PACT Act to the Gun Safety Act to the Respect for Marriage Act, and more.”
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Democrat John Fetterman has defeated Republican Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania’s closely watched Senate race, according to an Associated Press projection. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report had viewed the seat — currently held by retiring GOP Sen. Pat Toomey — as a toss-up, making the battle for it one of nine competitive Senate contests that would help determine which party controls the U.S. Senate.
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Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia has defeated Republican challenger Yesli Vega, according to an Associated Press projection. Their House race has been viewed as a bellwether, with one analyst telling MarketWatch earlier this year that if Spanberger’s seat were to flip red, Republicans would have “probably won a relatively comfortable House majority.”
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President Joe Biden “is disappointed by the shortsighted decision by OPEC+ to cut production quotas while the global economy is dealing with the continued negative impact of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine,” said a White House statement on Wednesday from National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and top economic adviser Brian Deese. “In light of today’s action, the Biden Administration will also consult with Congress on additional tools and authorities to reduce OPEC’s control over energy prices,” the statement also said. In addition, the statement said Biden will continue to direct Strategic Petroleum Reserves releases “as appropriate to protect American consumers and promote energy security,” and he is directing the Energy Department’s secretary to “explore any additional responsible actions to continue increasing domestic production in the immediate term.” Earlier Wednesday, a spokesman for the White House’s National Security Council, John Kirby, defended Biden’s July trip to Saudi Arabia following the news that a key panel has recommended the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies cut oil
CL00,
production.
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