Republicans were able to make it easier for veterans deemed mentally incompetent to buy guns – a provision that provoked some Democrats to vote against the measure.
The US Senate has approved economic assistance for three Pacific island nations seen as pivotal to resisting China’s influence in the contested region.under the Compacts of Free Association was approved as part of a US$460 billion appropriations package passed by the US Senate hours before a midnight on Friday , averting a federal government shutdown.All the island nations are considered critical as tensions grow between Washington and Beijing.
The US Senate voted 75 to 22 to approve the package, negotiated by congressional leaders from both the Democratic and Republican parties. The US House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed it earlier this week.