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Railroads and unions reached a tentative contract agreement Thursday morning, averting the threat of an imminent strike that would have ravaged the nation’s economy. The Biden administration intervened in negotiations to push both parties toward a compromise ahead of Friday, the first day that workers could legally walk out. The two largest rail unions said Thursday that the deal provides key wins for workers that weren’t included in the previous contract proposals. Here are five key gets in the agreement, according to the unions.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) signaled Wednesday that she could back a side deal between Democratic leaders and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) if it is included in a Senate bill funding the government, setting up a potential clash with liberals in the debate over climate change. “If the Senate passes a CR, we have to keep government open,” Pelosi told The Hill, referring to a continuing resolution — a stopgap funding measure to prevent a shutdown.

Nearly a third of House Democrats warned Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday against tying this month's must-pass government funding bill to legislation spurring oil and gas drilling that is desired by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. Seventy-one House Democrats penned a letter to Pelosi, D-Calif., warning that the bill's inclusion will force them to seriously consider voting against the short-term government funding measure, known as a continuing resolution. "In the face of the existential threats like climate change and MAGA extremism, House and Senate leadership has a greater responsibility than ever to avoid risking a government shutdown by jamming divisive policy...

Elon Musk has notified Twitter and the SEC [SEE LETTER HERE] that he is exercising his “right to terminate the merger agreement and abandon the transaction contemplated” due to the social media company not providing transparent access to background data that would allow authentication of “monetized daily active users” (mDAUs). It appears that Twitter Inc did not want to reveal how Jack’s Magic Coffee Shop was able to sustain operations, at an extremely high cost, without making money. That’s the essential source of the issue. The social media company did not want anyone looking at the data stream inside the...

The negotiations for bipartisan gun control ended with an agreement on Sunday, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is making clear he wants a floor vote as soon as possible. Politico reports that Schumer has already said he will “put this bill on the floor as soon as possible.”

Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal didn’t have many concrete answers for staff about what will happen once Elon Musk takes over the company later this year. During a virtual all-hands call Monday, hours after the company announced it had agreed to be bought by Musk for $44 billion, Agrawal fielded questions on the future of his job, the company’s board, and possible layoffs. Layoffs aren’t planned “at this time,” Agrawal said, according to a person who heard the remarks and who asked to remain anonymous. Agrawal also said that he’d remain as CEO until the deal’s close, but he didn’t comment...

Republicans on Tuesday blocked the Senate from advancing a $10 billion deal on coronavirus aid amid a stalemated fight over whether to attach a Trump-era immigration policy to the agreement. Absent a breakthrough, the stalemate would delay the coronavirus bill until after a two-week break that is expected to start by Friday. To pass the deal before that, they would need buy-in from all 100 senators. Senators voted 47-52 to advance legislation that’s being used as a vehicle for the coronavirus agreement, falling short of the 60 votes needed to move forward.

After weeks of pleas from the White House for Congress to approve more money toward COVID-19 programs that were at risk of being cut, senators have put forward a new bill for $10 billion. The package, which sets aside money to support the nation's testing infrastructure and the development of new, variant-specific vaccines, falls far short of the initial $22.5 billion requested by the White House.

CNN)Utah GOP Sen. Mitt Romney said Thursday that Republicans have struck an "agreement in principle" with Democrats on a $10 billion package to help US efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, a breakthrough that could pave the way for new funds to help the United States' response efforts amid growing fears that critical resources are being depleted. Romney, the lead GOP negotiator, told reporters the plan is "entirely balanced by offsets." He said the bill text still needs to be drafted and there needs to be a cost estimate from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office before the Senate can vote...

Nikki Haley, who served as President Donald Trump’s U.N. ambassador at the time the U.S. withdrew from the Iran deal, blasted President Joe Biden for “rewarding terrorists” through a new “illegitimate” deal with Iran over its nuclear program as reports swirl of an imminent revival of the 2015 nuclear pact, only weaker than the original. In an exclusive statement to Breitbart News on Sunday, Haley claimed that “a new Iran [nuclear] deal would be a disaster.”

On Tuesday’s broadcast of CNBC’s “Closing Bell,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said that it’s possible Iranian oil might come back on the global market if a nuclear deal is reached, and if increased Iranian oil is a byproduct of the deal, “so be it.” Granholm stated, “I know that the Biden administration has conversations with allies and adversaries all the time. I know that we are looking to create partnerships with countries that may be unusual in the broader spectrum of energy, including energy technologies. I’ve been meeting with folks…who are from all manner of countries who also want to...

Administration has held secret talks with Russians to preempt future Trump-like exit from accord, experts and former officials warn.President Biden condemns Russia's invasion of Ukraine and publicly threatens Moscow with escalating punitive measures, his administration is quietly collaborating with the Russians to revive the Iran nuclear deal and undermine future U.S. presidents who might withdraw from it, according to experts and former U.S. officials."The U.S. has partnered with Russia to get a new nuclear deal with Iran," said Fred Fleitz, a former CIA analyst who also served as a senior staffer on both the House Intelligence Committee and the National...

Maxwell is facing up to 65 years in prison Ghislaine Maxwell, the alleged former madam of the late billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, has just gotten a huge offer from prosecutors, who are saying they will drop two perjury charges if she is sentenced for the sex-related crimes she was convicted of last month. The Hill reported that this comes as Maxwell’s attorneys are arguing that she should be given a new trial after one of the jurors in her case told reporters that he had been a victim of sexual assault as a child, something he did not disclose during...

Sino-U.S. trade tensions could flare up again as it appears China will miss its obligations under a nearly expired agreement that emerged from a dispute during the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump, analysts said. The Economic and Trade Agreement signed by the two superpowers in January 2020 is set to end December 31. Trade observers say China has not complied with a clause that obligates it to buy imports of manufactured goods, farm products, energy products and certain services from the U.S. at a total of $200 billion more than the 2017 total. China purchased $186 billion in...

Top Senate Republicans are predicting that they'll get enough GOP support to help advance a deal on the debt ceiling, as GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) pitches his caucus on the agreement. Under the deal, the House and Senate will first need to pass a bill that sets up a subsequent one-time simple-majority vote to raise the debt ceiling. Though Democrats would then be able to raise the debt ceiling on their own, they would still need 10 GOP votes to advance the initial legislation that lays out how the debt ceiling vote will work.

The Senate cut a deal on Thursday night to pave the way for passing a short-term government funding bill to avert a shutdown. Under the deal, the Senate will first vote Thursday night on an amendment from conservatives to defund President Biden’s vaccine mandate for larger employers, which is expected to fall short. Democrats agreed to allow the amendment vote at a simple-majority threshold. That means if every Republican and one Democrat voted for the amendment it would be added to the funding bill.

Former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows has reached an initial deal to cooperate with the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, providing documents and agreeing to testify before the panel. “Mr. Meadows has been engaging with the Select Committee through his attorney. He has produced records to the committee and will soon appear for an initial deposition,” Chair Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said Tuesday. “The Select Committee expects all witnesses, including Mr. Meadows, to provide all information requested and that the Select Committee is lawfully entitled to receive. The committee will continue to assess...

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) predicted Tuesday that a long-sought Democratic agreement on President Biden's domestic policy agenda is imminent, saying a deal could be announced as soon as Tuesday afternoon. "The president's working very hard on this, and the Speaker's been working very hard on it," Hoyer said during a press call. "And so there's a lot of work that's been done and I think it could come together relatively quickly in the next few hours." Such a timeline appears highly optimistic — some lawmakers said improbable — given the number of sticking points remaining as Democratic leaders...

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Friday that Democrats are within striking distance of winning a long-sought agreement on President Biden's sweeping domestic agenda. Returning to the Capitol from a White House breakfast with the president, the Speaker said there are "a couple outstanding issues" to iron out in the health care arena, but the environmental aspects of the bill "are resolved" and she's "optimistic" that a deal is close. "We're in good shape. We're moving along," Pelosi said.

Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-VW) office on Thursday, ahead of when the House is supposed to vote on the “bipartisan” infrastructure bill, denies the reports that claim a deal has been made with the senator on a path to a reconciliation package. A spokesperson from the senator’s office told Politico, “There is no agreement, Manchin stands by his statement yesterday and reports of a number are completely inaccurate. He will continue to work in good faith.”