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Biden to meet with congressional leaders on national security package
Washington — The White House announced that President Biden will meet Wednesday with congressional leaders to urge them to pass a national security supplemental package that includes funding for Ukraine, Israel, border security and more.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the president will host the leaders, along with key committee chairs and ranking members, “to discuss the critical importance” of Mr. Biden’s $106 billion funding request. Jean-Pierre did not specify which lawmakers were invited.
The spending package has been in flux for months after congressional Republicans demanded that the Ukraine aid be tied to enhanced border security measures and immigration policy changes. Senate negotiators have been seeking middle ground on immigration issues, looking to attract a group of moderates from both parties to back the aid package. They’ve touted progress in recent weeks, circling a deal that would be a major breakthrough for one of the most intractable issues in Congress.
Still, the funding package’s prospects in the GOP-controlled House appear shaky. Many House conservatives oppose additional funding for Ukraine and have made clear that they won’t accept anything less than a House-passed border security bill known as H.R. 2, a demand that is dead on arrival in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Over the weekend, House Speaker Mike Johnson added to the apparent disjointedness between the two chambers, writing “absolutely not” on social media in a response to a graphic outlining potential provisions of a Senate immigration agreement.
Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, who’s been leading the talks for Senate Republicans, later said in a social media post that he encourages people “to read the border security bill before they judge the border security bill.”
“I also advise people not to believe everything you read on the internet,” he wrote on X.
The supplemental package has taken a backseat amid broader spending talks as lawmakers look to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the week. But with the White House meeting, the president may be seeking to inject new energy into the effort.
Jean-Pierre said the supplemental funding package continues to be a “top priority” for the White House, noting that the negotiations on border security are ongoing and will continue at the Senate level and are headed in “the right direction.”
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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.
CBS Philadelphia
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.