Senate approves interim spending bill by voice vote, aligns with House

The House voted overwhelmingly Monday to increase COVID-19 relief checks to $2,000, meeting President Donald Trump’s demand for bigger payments and sending the bill to the GOP-controlled Senate, where the outcome is uncertain. Democrats led passage, 275-134, their majority favoring additional assistance, but dozens of Republicans joined in approval.

On Jan. 5, Georgians have a clear choice to make when they vote in the Senate runoff elections.

President Trump’s Sunday night decision to sign the combination COVID relief/government spending plan averts a shutdown tomorrow night.The government was funded through 11:59 p.m. Monday. But Mr.Trump’s signature means the government is now funded through September 30, 2021.

COVID-19 is keeping the royal family apart on Christmas.

Lori Loughlin‘s daughter Bella Giannulli is sporting a totally new hair color — and her inspiration is way too funny!On Tuesday, December 22, the 22-year-old showed off her new ‘do in an Instagram Story. With a filter over the mirror selfie, Bella embraces a beautiful new auburn hue.

direct to your inboxA new coronavirus vaccine could be approved just after Christmas, scientist claims.Regulators could approve the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine "shortly after" Christmas by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), said Professor Sir John Bell. Approval of the Oxford vaccine would be a major boost to efforts to control Covid-19 due to it being easier to distribute than the Pfizer/BioNTech jab.

San Francisco Mayor Lundin Breed said that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s pick to fill the Senate vacancy of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is "a real blow to the African-American community." Newsom tapped Calif.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media WriterAlex Padilla has been appointed to replace Kamala Harris in the U.S. Senate, becoming the first Latino senator from California.Gov.

A Taco Bell employee in Florida was brought to tears when he was given a massive tip this week.  Joe DeCicco, 70, has been working at a Taco Bell in South Daytona, Fla., for the last 20 years, according to local TV station WESH 2. On Friday, DeCicco -- known in the drive-thru as "Taco Bell Joe" -- received a $6,095 check from a local group.

Mark David Over the summer, at the apex of the summer wave of the ongoing COVID pandemic, rapidly up-and-coming alt-R&B/neo soul singer Jhené Aiko, whose full name is Jhené Aiko Efuru Chilombo, plunked down $1.95 million for a freshly rehabbed home in the well-to-do guard-gated Bell Canyon neighborhood that’s laced into the mountainous western edge of L.A.’s vast San Fernando Valley.The L.A.

EXCLUSIVE: Tehran star Navid Negahban and Pej Vahdat (Empire) are set for recurring roles opposite Jeff Bridges in FX on Hulu drama The Old Man, from Black Sails co-creators Jon Steinberg and Robert Levine.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIn a two-hour hearing on Tuesday morning, representatives for the concert industry, which has been ravaged by the pandemic shutdown, made a passionate and compelling case for federal aid before the U.S. Senate.“We’re here before you with our hats in our hands,” said witness Michael Strickland, owner of the lighting company Bandit Lites in Knoxville, TN.“Please don’t let the music die,” said Adam Hartke, who owns two independent venues in Wichita, KS.

The GOP-led Senate overwhelmingly approved a $740 billion major national defense bill on Friday, defying President Trump's veto threats.

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Democratic-controlled House easily approved a wide-ranging defense policy bill, defying a veto threat from President Donald Trump and setting up a possible showdown with the Republican president in the waning days of his administration.

The House of Representatives will debate and vote on the final version of the defense policy bill Tuesday. This could tee up a nasty veto override fight between President Trump and Congress.

President Trump urged his supporters to vote for Republican Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue to prevent the "socialists" and "communists" from gaining control of the U.S.