washington
As Deadline looms, Budget talks run into some snags
Capitol Hill Democrats have rejected a White House bid to extend protections for so-called Dreamer immigrants in exchange for $25 billion in funding for President Donald Trump's long-sought border wall as Washington talks on a $1.3 trillion catchall spending bill hit a critical stage on Monday. Disputes remain over immigration enforcement and a smaller infusion of wall funding, as well as a major rail project that pits Trump against his most powerful Democratic adversary, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. Monday's developments were described by congressional aides in both parties who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks remain secretive. All sides pressed toward an agreement by Monday night, though aides said it appeared more likely that the measure would be unveiled today for a House vote Thursday. House and Senate action is needed by midnight Friday to avert another government shutdown.
mississippi
Strict abortion rule put into effect
Republican Gov. Phil Bryant signed the nation's tightest abortion restrictions into law Monday. It becomes law immediately and bans most abortions after 15 weeks' gestation. The only exceptions are if a fetus has health problems making it "incompatible with life" outside of the womb at full term, or if a pregnant woman's life or a "major bodily function" is threatened by pregnancy. Pregnancies resulting from rape and incest aren't exempted.
washington
Supreme Court won't review Pa. districts
The Supreme Court on Monday turned down a request from Republican legislative leaders in Pennsylvania to block a redrawn congressional map that creates more parity between the political parties in the state. The practical impact is the 2018 elections are likely to be held under a map much more favorable to Democrats, who scored an apparent victory last week in a special election in a strongly Republican congressional district. The 2011 map that has been used this decade has resulted in Republicans consistently winning 13 of the state's 18 congressional seats. Monday's action was the second time that the court declined to get involved in the partisan battle that has roiled Pennsylvania politics. The commonwealth's highest court earlier this year ruled that a map drawn by Republican leaders in 2011 "clearly, plainly and palpably" violated the free-and-equal-elections clause of the Pennsylvania Constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court deliberated nearly two weeks before turning down the request to stop the map from being used in this fall's elections.
new york
Investigation starts
on Kushner Cos.
A New York City council member launched an investigation Monday into the Kushner Cos.' routine filing of paperwork falsely claiming zero rent-regulated tenants in its buildings, saying that the deception should have been uncovered long ago because the documents are online for all to see. Councilman Ritchie Torres said the city's buildings department should have spotted the falsified numbers because they were contradicted by tax documents filed with another city agency. The Associated Press reported Sunday that a tenants' rights watchdog found that the Kushner Cos. had filed more than 80 documents for 34 buildings across the city between 2013 and 2016 stating it had no rent-regulated units. But tax documents showed more than 300 rent-regulated units. The falsified documents allowed the Kushner Cos. to escape extra scrutiny during construction projects, when the family real estate developer was run by Jared Kushner, who is now senior adviser to his father-in-law, President Donald Trump.
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Explore all your optionspennsylvania
FBI hunt — maybe for gold — finds nothing
The FBI has come up empty at the rural Pennsylvania site where Civil War gold is rumored to be buried. State officials and members of a treasure-hunting group joined the FBI at the site where local lore has it a gold shipment was lost or hidden during the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The FBI said in a statement Monday night that it conducted a "court-authorized excavation" at Dents Run, a heavily forested area about 135 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. The FBI isn't confirming that its dig had anything to do with the legendary Civil War treasure. But the agency says it didn't find whatever it was looking for.
Austria
Court will consider option of third gender
Austria's Constitutional Court says it will consider whether a third gender should be an option for official records, taking up the case of a person who unsuccessfully sought to have their entry changed to "inter" or a similar word. The court said in a statement Monday that an initial review raised concerns that having to list one's gender as female or male contravenes the privacy protections enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights. The highest court in neighboring Germany ruled in November that people must be allowed to appear in official records as neither male nor female. It said authorities should create a third identity or scrap gender entries altogether.
indonesia
Ban on headdress doesn't take hold
When the head of an Islamic university banned the face-concealing niqab headdress on campus this month, calling it out of step with the country's true culture, it seemed a significant pushback against the conservative drift of Islam. Perhaps more significant is that the ban lasted just a week. A string of protests broke ou. And at the start of last week, the rector's office at the university, the Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta, confirmed that the niqab ban had been rescinded. No reason was given.
Times wires