Politics & Government

NSC spokesperson John Kirby says Biden-Xi meeting 'very productive'

10:02am November 16, 2023

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with John Kirby, President Biden's spokesman on the National Security Council, about Biden's meeting Wednesday with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

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Giant panda Xiao Qi Ji plays at his enclosure at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington in September.

More pandas will be coming to the U.S., China's president signals

8:55am November 16, 2023

by The Associated Press

After meeting with President Biden in California, President Xi Jinping signaled that he will send new pandas to the U.S., calling them "envoys of friendship between the Chinese and American peoples."

Congress may have agreed to avoid a shutdown this week but the path to long-term funding is filled with landmines.

Politics & Government

Up First briefing: Congress avoids government shutdown; Biden and Xi meeting takeaways

7:45am November 16, 2023

by Suzanne Nuyen

The Senate passed a stopgap bill that funds the government through early 2024. President Biden and China's Xi Jinping announced new agreements on fentanyl and military communications.

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Politics & Government

Bill to keep the government running doesn't include aid to Israel or Ukraine

7:25am November 16, 2023

NPR's A Martinez talks to Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware about additional funding for Israel and Ukraine amid a divided Congress. He supports funding for both without delay.

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Politics & Government

Passions between lawmakers spilling into violence are nothing new on Capitol Hill

5:14am November 16, 2023

NPR's A Martinez speaks with Yale historian Joanne Freeman, author of The Field of Blood, about recent altercations between lawmakers in Congress.

Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to attendees at the Republican Party of Florida Freedom Summit on Nov. 4, 2023 in Kissimmee, Fla.

Once Florida's favorite son, Floridians turn on DeSantis in his bid for president

5:14am November 16, 2023

by Ashley Lopez

Gov. Ron DeSantis won a decisive reelection in 2022, in a year when Republicans elsewhere didn't fare as well. But now that he's running for president, some in Florida wish he'd do his job at home.

Wildland firefighters on the Spring Creek Fire in Colorado on July 2, 2023.

A massive pay cut for federal wildland firefighters may be averted. But not for long

5:14am November 16, 2023

by Kirk Siegler

A long running effort to permanently boost pay for thousands of federal wildland firefighters is finally gaining traction in Congress but fire managers warn it could be too little too late.

Veterans John Follmer, right, and Alejandro Rocha, left, do outreach on on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. They met Chris Brown, center, and offered to connect him with veterans services.

The answer to veterans homelessness could be one of LA's most expensive neighborhoods

5:01am November 16, 2023

by Quil Lawrence

A massive VA campus in West Los Angeles is finally housing hundreds of vets, and may finally change the city's worst-in-the-nation status on veterans homelessness.

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The Senate has approved a short-term spending bill to extend government funding into early next year.

Politics & Government

Senate passes stopgap spending bill, avoiding the threat of a shutdown

11:36pm November 15, 2023

by Kelsey Snell

The Senate has approved a stopgap spending bill to fund the government into early next year.

President Joe Biden arrives at San Francisco International Airport for the APEC summit on Tuesday.

Politics & Government

Biden announces new agreements with China on fentanyl and resuming military talks

10:22pm November 15, 2023

by Deepa Shivaram

President Biden announced new agreements on fentanyl, AI and resuming military talks with China following his first meeting in a year with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the APEC summit.