
4 battleground members of Congress will face voter questions Thursday
CNN
Four House lawmakers from battleground districts will field questions from American voters Thursday.
Four House lawmakers from battleground districts will field questions from American voters Thursday. Republicans Mike Lawler and Ryan Mackenzie and Democrats Jahana Hayes and Derek Tran will address a live studio audience made up of Republicans, Democrats and independents that includes constituents from each member’s district. Lawler and Mackenzie are part of a Republican majority in the House that is attempting to pass President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda, which includes new money for immigration enforcement, a sweeping overhaul of the tax code, steep spending cuts and more energy drilling. Both voted in favor of adopting a budget blueprint earlier Thursday – a critical first step toward advancing the president’s legislative priorities. Hayes, a former educator, and Tran, a military veteran, are among Democrats opposed to Trump’s cuts to government agencies and the federal workforce. Here’s a look at the lawmakers and the districts they represent: Lawler is a two-term Republican congressman representing New York’s Hudson Valley, one of just three across the country that backed former Vice President Kamala Harris for president and sent a Republican to the US House.

Cuba is going dark under US pressure. How the crisis unfolded and why its troubles are far from over
Almost three months after the US effectively imposed an oil blockade on Cuba that worsened its energy crunch, nearly every aspect of Cuban society has been feeling the strain.

The Department of Homeland Security has been ensnared by a partial government shutdown as Congress did not act to fund the agency by the end of Friday. But nearly all DHS workers will remain on the job — even if many won’t get paid until the lapse ends — and the public probably won’t notice much of a change.











