Washington’s political establishment is reeling a day after President Trump blindsided Republican Congressional leaders, siding with Democrats on a three-month debt ceiling extension that puts his own party in an awkward spot with mid-term elections little more than a year away. Republican reaction to the deal has veered from bewilderment to anger to cautious endorsement of an agreement they see as playing into Democratic hands. “It’s just a betrayal of everything we’ve been talking about for years as Republicans,” influential former Senator Jim DeMint said in an interview with Politico. The chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, Rep. Mark Meadows was more conciliatory. At a Bloomberg News breakfast meeting Thursday with Congressional reporters, Meadows said Trump had told him he had cut the debt ceiling deal so he could focus attention on tax reform.  He is “myopically focused on trying to get tax reform,” Meadows said. The deal left …

The United States is expressing deep concerns and says it is in close contact with Myanmar’s government on the situation in that country’s northwestern Rakhine State, where tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims have been forced to flee across the border to Bangladesh.   “We have publicly and privately discussed this issue at the highest levels.  We are also in touch with Burma’s neighbors and other international partners,” a spokesperson from the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific affairs told VOA on Wednesday. Myanmar is also known as Burma.   “We remain deeply concerned by sustained reports of significant violence and the impact on civilian populations, including the Rohingya community,” he added.   The State Department, however, said it welcomed indications Myanmar’s government is committed to providing access to humanitarian aid via the Red Cross.   Fleeing violence   The latest round of violence began August 25 …

Twitter Inc should provide an analysis of recent Russian activity on its social media platform, similar to the one Facebook Inc provided, the top Democrat on the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee told reporters on Thursday. Speaking one day after Facebook said it had uncovered an operation likely based in Russia that bought thousands of U.S. ads with divisive messages, Senator Mark Warner said that finding was likely just the beginning, and that Twitter should also examine the issue.   …

U.S. President Donald Trump told 800,000 young undocumented immigrants in the United States they “have nothing to worry about” being deported during the next six months, while Congress works on a plan to allow them to permanently stay in the country. Trump, in a Twitter comment Thursday, said that for those “concerned about your status,” they need not be concerned, that “no action” would be taken to send them back to their home countries years after their parents illegally brought them into the United States.  Many of the immigrants know only the United States as their home country. Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic minority leader in the House of Representatives, said Trump had called her and she asked him to reassure the immigrants that their status would not change over the next six months, that the time span “is not a period of roundup,” that the program “is frozen and …

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan said on Thursday he hoped to see compromise immigration reform that combines border security measures with protections for immigrants who were brought illegally to the United States as children. President Donald Trump on Tuesday ended a program for so-called Dreamers and gave Congress six months to find a legislative fix. In a New York Times interview on Thursday, Ryan was asked if he would put the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to a vote. “I‘m going to put a consensus plan on the floor, because I want members of Congress in both parties to talk to each other and find consensus on this issue.” Ryan said the DACA issue was a symptom of failure of security at U.S. borders. “It is only reasonable that while fixing this serious real problem, we also try to address the root cause of that problem. …

Kate Millett, the activist, artist and educator whose best-selling “Sexual Politics” was a landmark of cultural criticism and a manifesto for the modern feminist movement, has died. She was 82.   Millett died of a heart attack while on a visit to Paris on Wednesday, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak for the family. The publishing house that carried her books in French also confirmed the death but provided no details.   “Sexual Politics” was published in 1970, in the midst of feminism’s so-called “second wave,” when Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, Millett and others built upon the achievements of the suffragettes from a half-century earlier and challenged assumptions about women in virtually every aspect of society. Millett’s book was among the most talked-about works of its time and remains a founding text for cultural …

Congressional investigators on Thursday questioned Donald Trump Jr. about Russian meddling in his father’s presidential campaign last year, including a meeting the younger Trump held with a Kremlin-linked lawyer who purportedly was going to hand them “damaging information” about Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. The younger Trump told the investigators that he set up the June 2016 meeting because he was intrigued that the lawyer might have “information concerning the fitness, character or qualifications” of Clinton, according to his opening statement, quoted by The New York Times. But the newspaper said that the younger Trump, President Donald Trump’s eldest son, told investigators nothing came of the meeting and that he never colluded with the Russians to interfere in the U.S. election that his father ultimately won. The younger Trump, who now helps run the president’s vast business empire, has emerged as a key figure in numerous Washington probes, with several being …

When in doubt, President Donald Trump has a ready-made response to any questions: “We’ll see.” On Wednesday, Trump delivered his go-to line repeatedly. Asked if he would tie debt ceiling legislation to Harvey relief: “We’ll see.” On his plans for an increasingly aggressive North Korea: “We’ll see.” And on efforts to work with the Chinese president: “We’ll see how that works out.” Trump relies heavily on “we’ll see” in the White House, when parrying questions about national security, policy deliberations and personnel. For the onetime real estate tycoon and businessman who often campaigned as a master deal-maker, the vague phrase is a multitasking placeholder that helps him stall for time, keep his options open and build suspense. “It goes to the overall negotiating strategy of being unpredictable and noncommittal. Everyone stays guessing,” said Sam Nunberg, a former campaign aide. “He’s always used that.” Trump has deployed the line throughout the …

Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon has said he will continue supporting President Donald Trump, despite the fact he was dismissed last month from the White House. In a wide-ranging interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes, Bannon called himself a “fighter” and said he would ensure Trump’s enemies are aware there will be “no free shots on goal.” “I’m a street fighter,” Bannon said. “By the way, I think that’s why Donald Trump and I get along so well. Donald Trump’s a fighter. Great counter puncher. Great counter puncher. He’s a fighter. … I’m going to be his wing man outside for the entire time.” Bannon said he was the only person in the White House that defended comments Trump made following violence at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville that left one woman dead. Bannon criticized other members of Trump’s staff that broke with the president over the issue. …

As Hurricane Irma bears down on Florida, an Associated Press analysis shows a steep drop in flood insurance across the state, including the areas most endangered by what could be a devastating storm surge.   In just five years, the state’s total number of federal flood insurance policies has fallen by 15 percent, according to Federal Emergency Management Agency data.   Florida’s property owners still buy far more federal flood insurance than any other state – 1.7 million policies, covering about $42 billion in assets – but most residents in hazard zones are badly exposed.   With 1,350 miles of coastline, the most in the continental United States, Florida has roughly 2.5 million homes in hazard zones, more than three times that of any other state, FEMA estimates. And yet, across Florida’s 38 coastal counties, just 42 percent of these homes are covered.   Florida’s overall flood insurance rate for …

The U.S. Supreme Court stepped into Texas’ congressional redistricting debate this week, temporarily halting a lower court order to correct two districts found to be drawn with racially discriminatory intent. The Supreme Court’s stay is the latest turn in a contentious six-year battle over accusations of racially motivated redistricting in Texas. Given Texas’ sizable congressional delegation, a resolution to the case could have a significant impact on upcoming 2018 midterm elections, potentially altering the Republican Party’s numbers in the U.S. House of Representatives. As one of eight states nationwide with pending redistricting cases, Texas is a leading example of a broader debate over gerrymandering, which is the manipulation of district boundaries in an age of increasing partisan political tensions. How districts are drawn Congressional districts are based on population, not on physical areas. After the 2010 U.S. Census, congressional districts averaged about 711,000 people, with states gaining or losing seats …

Floodwaters may be slowly receding in Houston, but many freeways and neighborhoods near dams and reservoirs are still under water. Many flood victims are staying in shelters. There are several mosques that have opened their doors to the larger community. The volunteers and temporary residents in one west Houston mosque learned something they didn’t expect. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee reports from Houston. …

Administration officials are defending the president’s proposal to cut federal emergency funds even as the southern state of Texas struggles with the aftermath of the worst flooding in its history. The White House said Thursday that adequate relief funds would be available for disasters under President Donald Trump’s proposal. The White House also announced that President Trump is pledging $1 million in personal funds to Harvey storm relief efforts. VOA’s Zlatica Hoke reports. …