Politics

WASHINGTON — House Democrats left the capital on Friday after passing the $2 trillion coronavirus relief legislation without taking up a Senate bill to temporarily revive three expired F.B.I. surveillance tools for terrorism and espionage investigations, ensuring that the laws will remain lapsed at least until the Senate returns from vacation next month. The series […]

Earlier this year, the United States and other countries gave the rebels an ultimatum to meet benchmarks or risk losing some assistance. But only the United States, one of the biggest donors, threatened to halt all funding in Houthi-controlled areas if the rebels failed to meet more than a dozen requirements by Friday, humanitarian officials

This week, as cities and states began locking down, stock markets tumbled and jobless claims hit record levels, Mr. Trump again played down the impact of the pandemic and said, with no evidence and contrary to available research, that a recession would be deadlier than the coronavirus. Overstating potential treatments and policies The president has

John P. Sears, a Republican political strategist who worked for Richard M. Nixon and Ronald Reagan and was fired by both, died on Thursday in Miami. He was 79. His son, James, confirmed the death. He said Mr. Sears had a heart attack. Frequently referred to in the news media as a modern-day Machiavelli or

WASHINGTON — After providing nearly $26 billion in aid to farmers over the past few years to offset losses from President Trump’s trade war with China, the administration now has another giant new pot of money to pass out to them with little or no oversight, courtesy of the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package. The

WASHINGTON — When Representative Thomas Massie heard that House leaders wanted to pass a $2 trillion stimulus measure to respond to the coronavirus without so much as a recorded vote, he swung into outraged action. He got into his black Tesla on Wednesday and began the drive from his home in northeastern Kentucky to the

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has ordered military commanders to plan for an escalation of American combat in Iraq, issuing a directive last week to prepare a campaign to destroy an Iranian-backed militia group that has threatened more attacks against American troops. But the United States’ top commander in Iraq has warned that such a campaign

Gov. Tony Evers of Wisconsin on Friday requested that absentee ballots be sent to every one of the state’s 3.3 million registered voters ahead of its April 7 presidential primary, the latest effort to change how elections are conducted this spring as states across the country scramble to protect voters and poll workers amid the

Congress passed a sweeping $2 trillion stimulus package on Friday, its most drastic measure to date to throw a buoy to the American economy that is sinking under the coronavirus outbreak. Included in the legislation is an expansion of unemployment benefits, lending programs for small businesses and direct support for large and small companies. But

WASHINGTON — President Trump lashed out at General Motors on Friday, blaming it for overpromising on its ability to make new ventilators for critically ill coronavirus patients and threatening to invoke the Defense Production Act to compel the company to do so. In a series of tweets, the president emphasized the urgent need for the