Domestic
Facing fresh challenges to his leadership, Speaker Kevin McCarthy is trying to accomplish what at times seems impossible—working furiously to convince House Republicans to come together and pass a conservative bill to keep the federal government open. Whatever Republicans come up with in the House is nearly certain to be rejected by the Senate, where most, Democrats and Republicans alike, want to fund the government. With time dwindling, Congress faces a Sept. 30 deadline to pass the broader government funding legislation and get a bill to President Joe Biden’s desk to become law. Otherwise, the U.S. faces massive federal government closures and disruptions. Plans for another vote Tuesday to advance the overall spending bill were shelved.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) recently “directed the Senate’s Sergeant at Arms to no longer enforce the chamber’s informal dress code for its members,” “Axios” first reported. This means that senators will be able to enter Congress’ upper chamber without the traditional business attire typically worn by politicians. This report was immediately followed by backlash, mostly from the conservative side of the aisle. Many Republicans appeared angry that the dress code, which had been long-standing in the Senate, was being done away with, though some Democrats chimed in with arguments of their own.
International
At a U.N. Security Council meeting on Wednesday, Ukraine’s president accused Russia of waging “a criminal and unprovoked aggression” that undermines all norms of war and the U.N. Charter. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the council that he would not have come if he did not have a proposal to end the 19-month war, starting with adherence to the charter that ensures the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all 193 U.N. member nations. He stressed that the restoration of all Ukrainian territory is the key to peace. Before the meeting started, there was intense speculation about whether Zelenskyy and Russia’s top diplomat, Sergey Lavrov, would clash, speak or totally avoid each other. But no confrontation happened as Zelenskyy left the council soon after his address.
A Dutch art detective has helped recover a missing Vincent Van Gogh painting that was stolen from the Singer Laren Museum, east of Amsterdam, in March 2020. The “Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring,” painted in 1884, was stolen from the famous Dutch museum in a daring overnight smash-and-grab heist during the Coronavirus lockdown. Dutch art crime detective Arthur Brand, who has spent decades tracking down some of the world’s greatest masterpieces, announced on Tuesday he had recovered the stolen masterpiece.
