Shutdown less likely as Senate closes in on budget agreement
WASHINGTON (AP) — Buoyed by the sudden likelihood of a budget pact, lawmakers are on track avoid a repeat of last month’s government shutdown — though President Donald Trump unexpectedly raised the possibility of closing things down again if he can’t have his way on immigration.
“I’d love to see a shutdown if we can’t get this stuff taken care of,” Trump declared Tuesday, repeating the sentiment for emphasis.
Trump’s comments were strikingly disconnected from the progress on Capitol Hill, where the House passed a short-term spending measure Tuesday night and Senate leaders were closing in on a larger, long-term pact ahead of a Thursday night deadline. The broader agreement would award whopping spending increases to both the Pentagon and domestic federal programs, as well as approve overdue disaster relief money and, perhaps, crucial legislation to increase the government’s borrowing limit and avoid possible default.
Democratic leaders have dropped their strategy of using the funding fight to extract concessions on immigration, specifically on seeking extended protections for the “Dreamer” immigrants who have lived in the country illegally since they were children. Instead, the Democrats prepared to cut a deal that would reap tens of billions of dollars for other priorities — including combatting opioids — while taking their chances on solving the immigration impasse later.
Tuesday night’s 245-182 House vote, mostly along party lines, set the machinery in motion. The six-week stopgap spending bill contains increases for the military that long have been demanded by Trump and his GOP allies. But the measure appears increasingly likely to be rewritten by the Senate to include legislation implementing the brewing broader budget pact.
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Casino mogul Steve Wynn resigns amid sex misconduct claims
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Casino mogul Steve Wynn resigned Tuesday as chairman and CEO of Wynn Resorts amid sexual misconduct allegations.
“In the last couple of weeks, I have found myself the focus of an avalanche of negative publicity,” Wynn said in a written statement Tuesday. “As I have reflected upon the environment this has created — one in which a rush to judgment takes precedence over everything else, including the facts — I have reached the conclusion I cannot continue to be effective in my current roles.”
The Wall Street Journal reported Jan. 26 that a number of women said Wynn harassed or assaulted them and that one case led to a $7.5 million settlement.
The Las Vegas billionaire has vehemently denied the allegations, which he attributes to a campaign led by his ex-wife.
Last month, Wynn resigned as finance chairman of the Republican National Committee.
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10 Things to Know for Wednesday
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Wednesday:
1. SUNNIER DAY ON WALL STREET
U.S. stocks rally as a late surge helps them regain almost half their losses from the day before, when they had their biggest plunge in 6 1/2 years.
2. STOPGAP SPENDING BILL ADVANCES
Buoyed by the sudden likelihood of a budget pact, U.S. lawmakers are on track avoid a repeat of last month’s government shutdown.
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Pentagon says Trump ordered Washington military parade
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has asked the Pentagon to plan a grand parade of the U.S. armed forces in Washington this year to celebrate military strength, officials said Tuesday.
The Washington Post, which was first to report the plan, said Trump wants an elaborate parade this year with soldiers marching and tanks rolling, but no date has been selected.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed the request Tuesday evening. She said Trump wants the Pentagon to “explore a celebration” that will allow Americans to show appreciation for the military.
A Pentagon spokesman, Charlie Summers, said Pentagon officials are aware of the request and are “looking at options.”
Muscular military parades of the kind that are common in authoritarian countries like China and North Korea are not quintessentially American. The U.S. traditionally has not embraced showy displays of raw military power, such as North Korea’s parading of ballistic missiles as a claim of international prestige and influence.
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2nd man has gene editing; therapy has no safety flags so far
A second patient has been treated in a historic gene editing study in California, and no major side effects or safety issues have emerged from the first man’s treatment nearly three months ago, doctors revealed Tuesday.
Gene editing is a more precise way to do gene therapy, and aims to permanently change someone’s DNA to try to cure a disease.
In November, 44-year-old Brian Madeux became the first person to have gene editing inside the body for a metabolic disease called Hunter syndrome that’s caused by a bad gene. Through an IV, he received many copies of a corrective gene and a genetic tool to put it in a precise spot in his DNA.
“He’s doing well and we were approved to go ahead with the second patient who also is doing well,” said Dr. Paul Harmatz of UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland, who treated both men for the same disease.
At a medical conference in San Diego, Harmatz reported safety results for the first six weeks after Madeux’s treatment. Sangamo Therapeutics, the company that makes the gene editing tool called zinc finger nucleases, is testing them for two metabolic diseases and hemophilia, a bleeding disorder.
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Taiwan quake kills 4, tilts buildings; over 140 missing
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Rescuers were working Wednesday to reach five people trapped and more than 140 people unaccounted for in several buildings damaged by a strong earthquake near Taiwan’s eastern coast.
The shallow, magnitude 6.4 quake late Tuesday night caused at least four buildings in worst-hit Hualien county to cave in and tilt dangerously, killing four people.
Video footage and photos showed several midsized buildings leaning at sharp angles, their lowest floors crushed into mangled heaps of concrete, shattered glass, bent iron beams and other debris. Firefighters could be seen climbing ladders hoisted against windows as they sought to reach residents inside apartments.
The quake injured 225 people, two dozen of them critically, in Hualien county, Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported. The force of the tremor buckled roads and disrupted electricity and water supplies to thousands of households, the National Fire Agency said.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen moved to reassure the Taiwanese public that every effort would be made to look for survivors. In a post on her official Facebook page, Tsai said she arrived in Hualien Wednesday to review rescue efforts.
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SpaceX’s big new rocket blasts off, puts sports car in space
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — SpaceX’s big new rocket blasted off Tuesday on its first test flight, carrying a red electric sports car aiming for an endless road trip past Mars.
The Falcon Heavy rose from the same launch pad used by NASA nearly 50 years ago to send men to the moon. With liftoff, the Heavy became the most powerful rocket in use today, doubling the liftoff punch of its closest competitor.
The three boosters and 27 engines roared to life at Kennedy Space Center, as thousands watched from surrounding beaches, bridges and roads, jamming the highways in scenes unmatched since NASA’s last space shuttle flight. At SpaceX Mission Control in Southern California, employees screamed, whistled and raised pumped fists into the air as the launch commentators called off each milestone. Millions more watched online, making it the second biggest livestream in YouTube history.
Perhaps even more riveting than watching the launch — and simultaneous, side-by-side booster landings — were the video images beamed down of Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster circling the blue planet. A space-suited mannequin was at the wheel, named “Starman” after the David Bowie song.
“It’s kind of silly and fun, but I think that silly and fun things are important,” said the SpaceX chief who also runs Tesla and is keen to colonize Mars. “The imagery of it is something that’s going to get people excited around the world.”
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Asian shares mirror Dow comeback, dollar steady
TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares saw a broad rebound on Wednesday, mirroring the bounce-back rally on Wall Street, though gains were in a modest range and most benchmarks gave up some gains after opening sharply higher.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index surged as soon as trading began as investors sought bargains, finishing morning trading up 3.1 per cent at 22,270.56. South Korea’s Kospi, which saw only modest losses on Tuesday, fell back by midday, losing 0.7 per cent to 2,435.05.
The Nikkei 225 tumbled as much as 7.1 per cent on Tuesday before regaining some lost ground to close 4.7 per cent lower.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 1.0 per cent at 5,889.60. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.2 per cent to 30,953.48, while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.1 per cent to 3,376.36.
U.S. stocks rallied Tuesday as a late surge helped them regain almost half their losses from the day before, when they had their biggest plunge in 6 1/2 years amid heavy trading and huge swings for the market.
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Trump aide: Some immigrants ‘too lazy’ to sign up for DACA
WASHINGTON (AP) — Some immigrants may have been “too afraid” or “too lazy” to sign up for the Obama-era program that offers protection from deportation, White House chief of staff John Kelly said Tuesday as he defended President Donald Trump’s proposal on the divisive issue.
Kelly discounted the possibility that Trump would announce a temporary extension of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program beyond March 5, when its protections could expire. He said the administration would not ask Congress to set a later date to give bargainers more time to reach a bipartisan deal, but said the government would not start deporting “Dreamers” who don’t have criminal records.
“They are not a priority for deportation,” he told reporters.
Kelly spoke as lawmakers have deadlocked in an effort to reach an immigration compromise. Barring an unlikely last-minute agreement, the Senate is expected to begin debating the issue next week, and it is unclear what if any plan will survive.
“We just don’t know where 60 votes are for any particular proposal,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., citing the votes needed for passage. Republicans have a slim majority and any measure will need around a dozen Democratic votes to succeed.
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Pyeongchang Games set to open with Russians still in doubt
PYEONGCHANG, South Korea (AP) — The Pyeongchang Winter Olympics open in two days, but the issue of which Russians are in — and which are out — is dominating the agenda of IOC President Thomas Bach.
As Bach presides Wednesday over meetings with roughly 100 IOC members, the Court of Arbitration for Sport — sport’s top legal body — is expected to decide appeals by 32 Russian athletes seeking spots in the Games.
The 32 failed to pass mandatory International Olympic Committee vetting, imposed as a result of Russian doping at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
The International Olympic Committee expects 168 Russian athletes to compete under the neutral banner of “Olympic Athletes From Russia.” Hundreds more have been barred, and many have gone to court seeking entry and causing last-minute chaos.
