Biden signs funding bill after Congress averts government shutdown:
Fencing in front of the Capitol on Sept. 7.Eric Lee / Bloomberg via Getty Images file
On Friday, President Joe Biden signed a funding bill to keep the government running through Dec. 16 into law, just barely meeting the deadline to avert a shutdown. This legislation was passed by the House earlier in the day as a final act of business before both chambers of Congress recess for six weeks until the midterm election. The bill acts as a temporary measure giving congressional leaders additional time to negotiate a full-year funding deal. The legislation also includes a defense authorization bill, a package of changes to election laws, $12 billion in assistance to Ukraine, money for Afghan refugees, enhanced security for US courts, and a five-year reauthorization of user fees for the Food and Drug Administration. The bill highlighted a split in Republican leadership as House Republican leaders pressured their members to vote against the legislation while Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was supportive of it. This suggests that must-pass funding measures could get contentious if Republicans capture the House this fall.
Biden launches $810M Pacific Island diplomatic initiative:
President Surangel Whipps of the Pacific Island nation of Palau meets with Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington. | Pool Photo by Kevin Lamarque
The Biden administration has launched the Pacific Partnership Strategy, a diplomatic initiative meant to counter China’s growing influence in the Pacific. It outlines objectives with the focus of deepening US engagement with Pacific Island countries backed by generous funding commitments and benchmarks to track the Strategy’s rollout. The greatest challenge of this Strategy will be to convince skeptical Pacific Island countries that it reflects a long-term US commitment to the region, rather than temporary panic about Beijing’s intentions. To do this, it identifies key Pacific Island concerns as top priorities for US engagement with the region. These include climate change risks, damage done by illegal factory fishing fleets, and the economic displacement inflicted by COVID-19. The strategy outlines specific benchmarks of US engagement including a stronger US diplomatic presence in the region and support for anti-corruption measures, media development, and human rights programs. This is further strengthened by an explicitly multilateral approach, promising the assistance of allies including France, the European Union, and South Korea in the Strategy’s initiatives.
After Ian, river flooding menaces Florida inland towns:
A car is submerged in flood water in North Port, Fla., on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Adriana Gomez Licon)
Hurricane Ian’s impact is still being felt in Florida as areas outside of the evacuation zone are being flooded. Since Ian’s passage, water levels have risen significantly which has left many families trapped in their waterlogged homes. Now, as days go by, residents of the Sarasota suburb of North Port are beginning to run out of food and water. Dozens of National Guardsmen arrived Friday in North Port to speed up efforts started Wednesday by firefighters from other states and counties as City officials scrambled to open an evacuation center at a high school. The floods in North Port show the impact of Ian has not been confined to the beaches and tourist towns. As rescue efforts wrapped up Friday, local officials recommended that people evacuate neighborhoods that are flooding, saying waters in some areas would continue rising over the next two days. The heavy rains from the storm have ended up flowing into suburban and inland towns not part of hurricane warnings. Floods were reported all across the center of the state, with people living near rivers being hit the worst.
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Biden signs funding bill after Congress averts government shutdown
Biden launches $810M Pacific Island diplomatic initiative - POLITICO
After Ian, river flooding menaces Florida inland towns | AP News