BENJAMIN L. CARDIN

A section of the new $1.7 trillion spending bill from Congress has been billed as a dramatic step toward shoring up retirement accounts of millions of workers.

A Ukrainian volunteer medic captured by Russian forces during their deadly siege of the port city of Mariupol has told U.S. lawmakers how Russians routinely tortured her and other prisoners, killing many.

Senators say legislation designed to prevent a repeat of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol probably won't come to a vote until the lame-duck session after Nov. 8.

Ukraine's first lady has emerged from her seclusion at the start of Russia’s invasion to lay the bloody images of the war’s child victims directly before U.S. lawmakers.

The U.S. House has given final passage to legislation that would streamline a World War II-era military lend-lease program to help Ukraine fight the Russian invasion.

Legislation punishing Russia for the war in Ukraine is finally getting a vote in the U.S. Senate.

Congress has overwhelmingly voted to suspend normal trade relations with Russia and ban the importation of its oil, ratcheting up the U.S. response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine amid reports of atrocities.

Democrats in Congress are sounding the alarm over what they claim is mounting evidence that Mexico’s chief prosecutor is assailing the nation’s independent judiciary and selectively targeting for prosecution opponents of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Congressional leaders have reached a bipartisan deal to provide $13.6 billion to help Ukraine fend off its invasion by Russia and assist European allies coping with the continent's worst refugee crisis since World War II.

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham is facing pushback from the White House and all corners of Washington after calling for the assassination of President Vladimir Putin by the Russian people.

After Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva’s fate is determined at the Olympics, legal trouble for her coach and others in her orbit could emerge in the United States.

The nomination of a Pakistani-born businessman who'd be the highest-ranking Muslim in the U.S. government is in jeopardy because Senate Republicans have repeatedly blocked his confirmation.

President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting with lawmakers on investments in infrastructure, in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021, in Washington. Carper pledged to work on a transportation bill that will focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions by cars and trucks and boosting electric cars. AdInhofe later told reporters that the meeting with Biden was "very good, very good. During the presidential campaign, Biden committed to deploying $2 trillion on infrastructure and clean energy investments over four years. Ad“Mayors and other local regional leaders around the country are very much in alignment with what President Biden has talked about, especially with climate change," said Bill Fulton, director of the institute.

NEW SURVEILLANCE FOOTAGETo reconstruct the siege for senators, Democrats aired never-before-seen security footage from inside the Capitol that showed the attack unfolding. Ad“Vice President Pence had the courage to stand against the president, tell the American public the truth and uphold our Constitution. Many Republicans had been appalled by Trump's treatment of his most loyal soldier during his final days in office. REPUBLICANS HOLD FIRMThere appears little chance enough Republicans will break with Democrats to convict Trump at the end of the trial. AdThe video evidence was “nothing new here, for me, at the end of the day,” said Hawley, who maintains the trial is unconstitutional.

WASHINGTON After more than a weeks worth of meetings, at least some clarity is emerging in the bipartisan Washington talks on a huge COVID-19 response bill. Postal Service on Wednesday indicates a long slog remains, but the White House is offering some movement in House Speaker Nancy Pelosis direction on aid to states and local governments and unemployment insurance benefits. The aides were unauthorized to discuss the private talks and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Very tricky talks remain, and Republicans are carping that Pelosi is being too greedy. NON-CORONAVIUS ITEMSThe competing bills from House Democrats and Senate Republicans include a fair amount of money for non-coronavirus-related items.

FILE - In this Nov. 1, 2017, file photo, traffic along Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington streaks past the Federal Bureau of Investigation headquarters building. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters he opposes inclusion of the FBI money and all other measures not related to the government's response to the virus. More than 150,000 Americans have died from coronavirus, millions are unemployed ... and Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump are more concerned about protecting Trump Hotel. "Some of the Virginia people want to build in Virginia and Maryland Democrats want the new FBI building built there,'' he said Tuesday before McConnell spoke, citing an earlier, failed proposal to move the FBI building from downtown Washington. Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham said he did not know why money for the FBI building was included in the virus relief bill.