Senate Democrats are staring down one of the thorniest negotiations they’ve faced in recent years as they push for a deal to fund essential programs at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) while trying not to squander a major opportunity on immigration, an issue that has bedeviled them for a decade. Lawmakers are struggling to… Source link
Sophia Chikirou, lead candidate for La France Insoumise (LFI, radical left) in the Paris municipal elections, at a campaign event, on November 14, 2025. THIBAUD MORITZ/AFP In 2022, La France Insoumise (LFI) saw its presidential candidate, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, claim second place in Paris with 30% of the vote, compared to 21.9% and third place nationwide. Then, as part of the Nouveau Front Populaire left-wing alliance in 2024, the radical movement secured four of the capital’s 18 constituencies, with all four directly elected in the first round of the snap parliamentary elections. Now, for the Paris mayoral election in March, LFI intends to capitalize on its previous strong electoral showings in the French capital. “The only elections we haven’t really thrown ourselves into, where we haven’t really invested until now, were the municipal elections. It’s not right that our ideas aren’t represented at the local level, when so many things are decided locally!” said Sophia Chikirou, LFI’s candidate for mayor of Paris, in a January 19 interview on the YouTube channel of journalist Alexis Poulin, a …
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi dissolved the lower house of parliament on Friday, paving the way for an early election on Feb. 8. The move is an attempt to capitalize on her popularity to help the governing party regain ground after major losses in recent years, but it will delay parliamentary approval for a budget that aims at boosting a struggling economy and addressing soaring prices. Takaichi, elected in October as Japan’s first female leader, has been in office only three months, but she has seen strong approval ratings of about 70%. Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party could still face some challenges as it reels from a series of scandals about corruption and the party’s past ties to the Unification Church. But it’s not clear if the new opposition Centrist Reform Alliance can attract moderate voters, while opposition parties are still too splintered to a pose a serious threat to the LDP. Takaichi is also seeing rising animosity with China, since making remarks on Taiwan. And U.S. President Donald Trump wants her to …
