International
Biden says Congress spending talks ‘getting down to the hard spot’
AFP
US President Joe Biden on Friday said he remains confident the two spending bills at the heart of his domestic agenda will pass in Congress but that negotiations have reached crunch time.
“We’re getting down to the hard spot here,” Biden told reporters in the White House. “People are having to get down in detail specifically what they’re for.”
While his Democratic Party remains divided on the size of the proposed spending, which could reach several trillion dollars, Biden said, “I believe we’re going to end up getting both the pieces.”
The coming few weeks are among the most critical of Biden’s tenure as he bids to demonstrate his dealmaking chops with Democrats bidding to hang on to the House and Senate in next year’s midterms.
Democrats are preparing for a frenetic stretch of late nights as they race to finalize their $3.5 trillion social spending plan, dubbed the “Build Back Better Act.”
And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi initially promised the party’s moderates a September 27 vote on a $1.2 trillion Senate-passed infrastructure bill to rebuild the nation’s roads and bridges.
Pelosi told her members on Friday that the House would vote on the two packages next week, although she added that there “may be changes” to the language in Build Back Better as negotiations continue.
Both bills are bogged down internecine rivalries, with moderates nervous about the high ticket price on the larger measure and progressives demanding that that deal be in the bag before they will consider voting for the infrastructure legislation.
Biden invited two dozen lawmakers from the warring center and left wings to the White House this week in a bid to forge a united front on the $3.5 trillion package, which would make for the largest single federal spending spree in US history.
International
Delta Airlines cancels 1,100 flights amid winter storm chaos
More than 3,000 flights were canceled on Friday, and thousands more were delayed due to a winter storm in the southern United States, according to airlines and the flight tracking website FlightAware. Delta Airlines crews expect to return to normal operations on Saturday, the company stated in a release.
“Unforeseen severe winter conditions at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (Georgia) caused the closure of all five runways for more than two hours on Friday morning,” the airline said. Delta canceled about 1,100 flights across its network on Friday due to the “freezing rain that fell throughout the day and early afternoon, leading to diversions.”
Additionally, a Delta Airlines aircraft had to abort its takeoff due to a motor issue, also at Atlanta Airport.
More than 200 passengers and crew members aboard a Boeing 757-300 bound for Minneapolis were evacuated via emergency slides, according to a statement from the airline reported by U.S. media. An investigation is underway.
Airports in Dallas Fort Worth (Texas) and Charlotte Douglas (North Carolina) were also affected by the severe weather, with over 1,200 flights canceled.
International
At least 20 injured in tram collision at Strasbourg Train Station tunnel
On Saturday afternoon, two trams collided in the tunnel leading to the Strasbourg train station in northeastern France, resulting in at least 20 injuries, according to the local prefecture. “The initial assessment indicates that 20 people are in a state of relative emergency,” said a spokesperson, noting that the circumstances of the accident had not yet been determined.
A security perimeter was established in front of the station, where several ambulances arrived, as reported by an AFP journalist.
A video taken by a witness and shared on social media shows a chaotic scene, with two heavily damaged trams in the tunnel near the station. One of the trams appears to have derailed due to the impact.
Since Strasbourg revamped its tram network in 1994, no major accidents had been reported until this incident.
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