2024-01-14 00:01

WASHINGTON, Jan 13 (Reuters) - U.S. congressional leaders have agreed on a two-tranche stopgap spending bill to keep the federal government funded into March and avert a partial government shutdown starting late next week, a source familiar with the measure told Reuters on Saturday. Politico, CNN and Punchbowl first reported that congressional leaders had agreed on what is called a "continuing resolution" or "CR," that would fund the government - extending two deadlines through March 1 and March 8. A spokesperson for the Senate's Democratic majority leader, Chuck Schumer, said a text of the spending deal is expected to be posted online on Sunday. A second source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the earlier reports were accurate. Funding expires on Jan. 19 for some federal agencies, including the Department of Transportation, while others like the Defense Department face a Feb. 2 deadline. The top Democrat and Republican in Congress reached a $1.59 trillion deal on Jan. 7 to fund the government through the current fiscal year, but if they fail to pass it by Jan. 19, parts of the federal government would begin to shut down. Some lawmakers have said a short-term funding bill was needed to allow bipartisan negotiators from the House and Senate time to agree on full-year fiscal 2024 spending bills and for Congress to enact the legislation. On Thursday, Schumer took the first procedural step to pass a stopgap funding bill through the Senate early next week to give lawmakers more time to pass the full-year bill. The U.S. came close to a partial government shutdown last autumn amid opposition by the hardline House Republicans who ousted former Speaker Kevin McCarthy over reaching a bipartisan stopgap spending deal with Schumer. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-congressional-leaders-agree-stopgap-funding-bill-reports-2024-01-13/

2024-01-13 20:59

BOGOTA, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Officials were scrambling to free survivors Saturday after a mudslide brought on by heavy rains in northwest Colombia killed at least 34 people and injured dozens on a busy highway. The mudslide, which happened Friday afternoon, covered a roadway that connects the cities of Quibdo and Medellin in the Pacific province of Choco, authorities said in a statement. Rescuers and canines from across Colombia were dispatched to the scene to search for injured people, the statement added. Mud had completely engulfed several cars on the road. "We lived a very sad weekend for Choco, our people feel the pain of the victims," said Choco Governor Nubia Cordoba Curi in the statement. Images on social media showed the moment a large piece of land dislodged from a mountain and fell on top of several cars that were moving along the flooded road below. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/death-toll-rises-23-after-mudslide-northwest-colombia-2024-01-13/

2024-01-13 20:34

WASHINGTON, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Former U.S. senator and secretary of state John Kerry will leave his post as President Joe Biden's special climate envoy after three years but will help Biden's re-election campaign, two administration sources said on Saturday. The decision by Kerry, 80, comes a month after he played an instrumental in helping broker an international agreement announced in Dubai for nations around the world to transition away from fossil fuels. He informed his staff on Saturday about his decision after speaking with Biden on Wednesday, one of the sources familiar with the situation told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. The administration has made no decisions about who may be selected to replace Kerry, the source said. The sources said Kerry would leave the position later this winter. Kerry, as secretary of state under Democratic former President Barack Obama, also helped broker the 2015 Paris climate agreement in which nations committed to steps to combat climate change. Kerry previously served as a Democratic senator from Massachusetts and was his party's 2004 presidential nominee, losing to Republican incumbent George W. Bush. Axios first reported Kerry's plans. Kerry, a long-time advocate on climate issues, was among the first senior officials who Biden, a Democrat, appointed after winning the 2020 presidential election. Biden, seeking re-election in November, tasked Kerry with restoring American engagement in international climate negotiations after Republican former President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris agreement. Kerry, whose appointment as special envoy on climate change did not require U.S. Senate confirmation, has a seat on the National Security Council in the White House, marking the first time an official on that body was dedicated to the climate issue. In an interview with Reuters in December after COP28, Kerry said he had not made up his mind about his future but said no matter what, he would not take his eyes off of climate advocacy. "I will continue as long as God gives me the breath and work on it one way or the other," Kerry said of climate advocacy. Among Kerry's top priorities as Biden's special envoy had been to maintain close diplomatic ties with China on climate change, even as numerous other political and trade tensions simmered. Kerry and his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua were instrumental in getting nearly 200 countries to agree to the Paris agreement and UAE Consensus through bilateral agreements they reached. The two worked through some of the thornier issues such as whether developing countries should be responsible for reducing emissions and how countries should commit to moving away from fossil fuel use. China on Friday announced it had named Liu Zhenmin, a former vice foreign minister, as its new special envoy for climate change after Xie, 74, stepped down due to health reasons. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-climate-envoy-john-kerry-leave-biden-administration-2024-01-13/

2024-01-13 18:56

SANTIAGO, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Protesters agreed to end demonstrations that had blocked access to the Atacama salt flat in Chile, the world's largest lithium deposit, with the promise of a visit by President Gabriel Boric. Indigenous groups had for days blocked public roads that lead to mining operations in the south of the salt flat, where domestic producer SQM (SQMA.SN) and U.S. firm Albemarle (ALB.N) extract the metal, preventing workers, supplies and lithium from entering or leaving. The demonstrations were sparked by an agreement signed last month between SQM and state-run copper firm Codelco, which indigenous leaders said sidelined local communities despite a recent government promise of a dialogue table to discuss lithium mining in the Atacama. The Atacama Indigenous Council said in a statement shared on the social media platform X on Friday that protesters would end the occupation over the coming hours after the mining ministry promised Boric would come to the area. No timing was given for the visit. The protest underscored a serious challenge to a plan by Chile, the No. 2 lithium producer, to impose more state control over the metal needed for batteries used to power the world's growing electric vehicle fleet. "The president of Chile must know the Atacama salt flat before specifying... the policy," the council's statement said. Albemarle said earlier its operations continued as normal during the protest while SQM did not respond to a request for comment. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/protest-ends-chiles-lithium-salt-flats-with-promise-boric-visit-2024-01-13/

2024-01-13 17:53

Jan 13 (Reuters) - The NFL playoff game between the Buffalo Bills and visiting Pittsburgh Steelers has been postponed until Monday due to a winter storm, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said on Saturday. The game, originally scheduled to kick off at 1:00 p.m. ET (1800 GMT) on Sunday, will now begin on Monday at 4:30 p.m, Hochul wrote on social media. Hochul said she was in communication with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell regarding what are expected to be dangerous conditions in Buffalo this weekend. "In consultation with our emergency response teams, @BuffaloBills leadership, and the NFL, the Bills game will be postponed to 4:30 pm Monday," said Hochul. In a separate post, Hochul said travel was going to be "extremely dangerous" in Western New York and that she is implementing a full travel ban in Erie County starting later on Saturday. The Bills (11-6) won their final five games of the regular season to clinch the AFC East division title while the Steelers (10-7) are riding a three-game win streak. In anticipation of the storm, the Bills on Friday had asked anyone interested in shovelling snow at their stadium -- for $20 an hour and with complimentary food -- to arrive there at 10:00 p.m. on Saturday to get the venue ready for the game. https://www.reuters.com/sports/nfl/buffalo-playoff-opener-postponed-until-monday-due-winter-storm-2024-01-13/

2024-01-13 16:55

NEW DELHI, Jan 13 (Reuters) - India and the United States have agreed to bolster trade ties and deepen cooperation in areas such as critical minerals, the United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai said on Saturday. India's trade minister Piyush Goyal and Tai held their annual trade policy talks in New Delhi on Jan. 12. Tai is on a three-day visit to India. The two nations are pushing to improve bilateral trade prospects, overcoming diplomatic tensions after Washington late last year alleged that an Indian official was linked to a foiled plot to murder a Sikh separatist leader on U.S. soil. India has said any such action was contrary to government policy and launched its own investigation into the allegations. During talks between Tai and Goyal, India said it was interested in a bilateral critical mineral partnership. Washington and New Delhi would exchange information to deepen their partnership in this area, said an Indian official, who didn’t wish to be named as discussions are not public. "In terms of the roadmap (for critical minerals), we are going to begin with fact-finding, exploring and establishing a common vocabulary and then develop our tools and ideas from there," Tai told a news briefing in New Delhi. India also asked the United States to improve its visa processes for business professionals from India and requested Washington restore duty-free access to some goods under the so-called generalized system of preferences, according to a joint statement issued after the Jan. 12 meeting. A U.S. trade preference program, which India had access to for decades, was ended by former President Donald Trump in 2019. During her talks in New Delhi, Tai asked India to ensure that New Delhi’s policies on laptop imports do not restrict trade. https://www.reuters.com/business/india-us-seek-bolster-trade-ties-work-together-critical-minerals-2024-01-13/