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Senate clears another procedural hurdle on foreign aid package in rare Sunday vote
Washington — The Senate voted on Sunday to advance a foreign aid bill in a rare weekend session that puts the legislation on track for a vote on final passage later this week. But the slog toward approving the bill was expected to continue in the days ahead as some senators seek to slow its path forward.
The procedural vote on the $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific was 67 in favor to 27 opposed on Sunday, as work on the bill was poised to bleed into the chamber two-week recess set to begin on Monday.
“I can’t remember the last time the Senate was in session on Super Bowl Sunday,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said ahead of the vote on Sunday. “But as I’ve said all week long, we’re going to keep working on this bill until the job is done.”
The supplemental funding package that the White House requested has been stalled for months, after Republicans demanded that the foreign aid be tied to enhanced border security measures. A long-sought bipartisan border security agreement was released last week, and then quickly rejected after former President Donald Trump weighed in. And after the chamber rejected even moving forward with the supplemental with the border security elements in a floor vote last week, Schumer pushed to proceed with the aid package without the border provisions.
Still, some Senate Republicans had reservations about moving forward with the aid package without border security provisions, while others rejected the package flat out, throwing the legislation’s path forward into question. And Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, pledged to slow down the bill’s proceedings at every opportunity. Even so, the chamber forged ahead with procedural votes on the legislation on Thursday and Friday.
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Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat and a negotiator in the border security talks, said on “Face the Nation” Sunday that although it’s “been hard to get Republican votes to support Ukraine, made very difficult by Donald Trump’s opposition to Ukraine funding,” he thinks the Senate will get this done in the coming days.
Schumer noted ahead of the vote on Sunday that Democrats remain hopeful that they can reach an amendment agreement with Republicans, which would enable them to speed up the process to get to a vote on final passage. But he noted that either way, “it is essential we finished the work on this bill.”
The New York Democrat argued from the Senate floor ahead of the vote that it’s been years since the Senate has “taken up a standalone bill that so significantly impacts not just our national security, not just the security of our allies, but the very security of Western democracy and our ideals.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, seemed to share the sentiment, saying ahead of the vote that “our partners don’t have the luxury of pretending that the world’s most dangerous aggressors are someone else’s problem. And neither do we.”
“We don’t wield American strength frivolously,” McConnell added. “We do it because it’s in our own interest. We equip our friends to face our shared adversaries, so we’re less likely to have to spend American lives to defeat them.”
NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
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A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
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Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.