First Run News

WASHINGTON — Congress approved a two-week stopgap measure on Thursday that will avoid a government shutdown this weekend, pushing until just before Christmas a broader possible showdown over spending priorities, immigration and health care. The measure, which the House and Senate passed in quick succession, would fund the government through Dec. 22. President Trump is expected to sign it. “Along with enacting historic tax reform, we’ll be working together in the next two weeks to find a long-term solution to our funding needs while maintaining fiscal discipline,” said Speaker Paul D.

The Senate and House may spend most of the month ironing out the differences in their tax bills. Or they may be delayed by other legislation and not enact a new tax code until the new year. Either way, high-earning taxpayers cannot afford to wait and see what happens; they need to act this month before certain opportunities go away. And betting on a delay in a final vote is not wise planning: Accountants predict that the new code will take effect on Jan.

ALBANY — The five House Republicans have heard the calls for their heads, the references to them being traitors, hypocrites and worse for supporting a tax plan backed by their party, but harmful to the states they represent. Not content to merely defend their votes, the five representatives from New York and New Jersey have begun a

When President Trump returned to his hometown on Saturday for a day of fund-raisers, his third and final check-collecting stop was the Park Avenue home of Stephen A. Schwarzman, where the crowd included some of Mr. Trump’s old New York friends and real estate colleagues. Some in the group, including Mr.

WASHINGTON — The Republican tax bills moving through Congress could significantly hobble the United States’ renewable energy industry because of a series of provisions that scale back incentives for wind and solar power while bolstering older energy sources like oil and gas production. The possibility highlights the degree to which the nation’s recent surge in renewable electricity generation is still sustained by favorable tax treatment, which has lowered the cost of solar and wind production while provoking the ire of fossil

JERUSALEM — Palestinians clashed with Israeli forces in the West Bank and along the border with Gaza on Thursday, as widespread predictions of unrest were realized a day after President Trump took the high-risk move of recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Hundreds of youths clashed with Israeli forces at checkpoints.

All but two of 11 former United States ambassadors to Israel contacted by The New York Times after President Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital thought the plan was wrongheaded, dangerous or deeply flawed. The 11 ex-envoys all closely followed Mr. Trump’s announcement on Wednesday, in which he also set in motion a plan to move the American Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. Even those who agreed that Mr.

WASHINGTON — President Trump, in formally recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel on Wednesday, declared that the United States still supported a two-state solution to settle the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians, provided it was “agreed to by both sides.” For the first time in his 26 years as a peacemaker, the chief negotiator for the Palestinians did not agree. Saeb Erekat, the secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization and a steadfast advocate for a Palestinian state, said in an interview on Thursday that Mr.

WASHINGTON — Representative Trent Franks of Arizona, one of the House’s most ardent social conservatives, said Thursday night that he would resign after the House Ethics Committee began an investigation into complaints that he had asked two female staff members to be a surrogate to bear his child. In a statement, Mr. Franks said the discussion about surrogacy came up with “two previous female subordinates” because he and his wife, who have struggled with fertility, wanted to have a child.

WASHINGTON — Senator Al Franken of Minnesota, in an emotional speech on the Senate floor, announced on Thursday that he would resign from Congress, the most prominent figure in a growing list of lawmakers felled by charges of sexual harassment or indiscretions. At turns defiant and mournful but hardly contrite, Mr. Franken called it “the worst day of my political life,” as he denied allegations of groping and improper advances from at least six women. Instead, as his Democratic colleagues looked on, he took a parting shot at President Trump and Roy S.