United News of Bangladesh

Republicans inched closer to a narrow House majority Wednesday, while control of the Senate hinged on a few tight races in a midterm election that defied expectations of sweeping conservative victories driven by frustration over inflation and President Joe Biden’s leadership. Either party could secure a Senate majority with wins in both Nevada and Arizona — where the races were too early to call. But there was a strong possibility that, for the second time in two years, the Senate majority could come down to a runoff in Georgia next month, with Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker failing to earn enough votes to win outright. In the House, Republicans on Wednesday night were within a dozen seats of the 218 needed to take control, while Democrats kept seats in districts from Virginia to Pennsylvania to Kansas and many West Coast contests were still too early to call. In a particularly symbolic victory for the GOP, Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, the House Democratic campaign chief, lost his bid for a sixth term. Control of Congress will decide how the next two years of Biden’s term play out, and whether he is able to achieve more of his agenda or will see it blocked by a new GOP majority. Republicans are likely to launch a spate of investigations into Biden, his family and his administration if they take power, while a GOP takeover of the Senate would hobble the president’s ability to appoint judges. “Regardless of what the final tally of these elections show, and there’s still some counting going on, I’m prepared to work with my Republican colleagues,” Biden said Wednesday in his first public remarks since the polls closed. “The American people have made clear, I think, that they expect Republicans to be prepared to work with me as well.” Also read: GOP, Democrats notch victories in competitive midterm races Democrats did better than history suggested they would. The party in power almost always suffers losses in the president’s first midterm elections, though even if the GOP ultimately wins the House, it won’t be by a margin as large as during other midterm cycles. Democrats gained a net of 41 House seats under then-President Donald Trump in 2018, President Barack Obama saw the GOP gain 63 in 2010 and Republicans gained 54 seats during President Bill Clinton’s first midterm. A small majority in the House would pose a great challenge for the GOP and especially California Rep. Kevin McCarthy, who is in line to be House speaker and would have little room for error in navigating a chamber of members eager to leverage their votes to advance their own agenda. In the fight for Senate control, Pennsylvania was a bright spot for Democrats. Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who suffered a stroke five months ago, flipped a Republican-controlled Senate seat, topping Trump-endorsed Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz. Georgia, meanwhile, was set for yet another runoff on Dec. 6. In 2021, Warnock used a runoff to win his seat, as did Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff — which gave Democrats control of the Senate. Both Warnock and Walker were already fundraising off the race stretching into a second round. Also read: US midterm election: Democrats repel Republicans backed by Trump in several left-leaning states Both Republican and Democratic incumbents maintained key Senate seats. In Wisconsin, Republican Sen. Ron Johnson prevailed over Democratic Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, while in New Hampshire, Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan beat Don Bolduc, a retired Army general who had initially promoted Trump’s lies about the 2020 election but tried to shift away those views closer to Election Day. AP VoteCast, a broad survey of the national electorate, showed that high inflation and concerns about the fragility of democracy were heavily influencing voters. Half of voters said inflation factored significantly, with groceries, gasoline, housing and other costs that have shot up in the past year. Slightly fewer — 44% — said the future of democracy was their primary consideration. Biden didn’t entirely shoulder the blame for inflation, with close to half of voters saying the higher-than-usual prices were more because of factors outside of his control. And despite the president bearing criticism from a pessimistic electorate, some of those voters backed Democratic candidates. Democrats counted on a midterm boost from the Supreme Court’s decision to gut abortion rights, which they thought might energize their voters, and the bet paid off. In four states where the issue was on the ballot, voters backed abortion rights. VoteCast showed that 7 in 10 national voters said overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision was an important factor in their midterm decisions. It also showed the reversal was broadly unpopular. And roughly 6 in 10 said they favor a law guaranteeing access to legal abortion nationwide. In the first national election since the Jan. 6 insurrection, some who participated in or were in the vicinity of the attack on the U.S. Capitol were poised to win elected office. One of those Republican candidates, Derrick Van Orden in Wisconsin — who was outside the Capitol during the deadly riot — won a House seat. Another, J.R. Majewski, lost to Ohio Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur. Republicans had sought to make inroads in liberal New England but were shut out of House contests, with one Maine race still set to be determined by ranked choice voting. Governors’ races took on outsized significance this year, particularly in battleground states that could help decide the results of the 2024 presidential election. Democrats held on to governors’ mansions in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, defeating Republicans who promoted Trump’s lies about a stolen 2020 election. Republicans held on to governors’ mansions in Florida, Texas and Georgia, another battleground state Biden narrowly won two years ago. Trump found some success as well. He lifted Republican Senate candidates to victory in Ohio and North Carolina. JD Vance, the bestselling author of “Hillbilly Elegy,” defeated 10-term congressman Tim Ryan, while Rep. Ted Budd beat Cheri Beasley, the former chief justice of the state Supreme Court. Trump had endorsed more than 300 candidates across the country, hoping the night would end in a red wave he could ride to the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. After summoning reporters and his most loyal supporters to a watch party at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on Tuesday, he ended the night without a triumphant speech. Still, the former president insisted on social media that he’d had “A GREAT EVENING.” Hours later, Palm Beach County issued an evacuation order for an area that included Trump’s club with Hurricane Nicole approaching.

Dhaka University Senate has expunged the words 'Bangladesh Zindabad' spoken by a member of the BNP-backed White panel of teachers at the annual session. The issue came to light when some teachers of Awami League backed Blue panel raised their voice against  Prof. Obaidul Islam ending his speech with 'Bangladesh Zindabad' at the annual session of DU Senate. DU Pro- Vice Chancellor Prof. Mohammad Samad in his remarks strongly protested the address of Dr. Obaidul Islam. Senate chairman, DU VC also protested and expunged that part of the address of Prof. Obaidul Islam, saying that "any word that is contradictory with the sense and value of Liberation War" shall not be uttered in such a place. But Dr. Obaidul Islam defended himself saying that he has freedom of speech and it is not unethical to use the word 'Zindabad' as Bangladeshi law and constitution do not ban using this word. He also asked DU VC to show him if it is illegal to use the word 'Zindabad' and when it was banned? ”Zindabad is related to anti-liberation forces and Pakistanis used to use this word, (so) we shall avoid this word," VC replied. "Freedom of speech does not mean to say anything you want. Freedom of speech does not give you the right to use words that are contradictory to the values of our liberation," he added. Also read: Embattled ex-BCL chief resigns from DU Senate

The ruling Awami League-backed Blue panel of Dhaka University teachers has bagged victory in the Senate elections held today at the university's Nawab Ali Chowdhury building. Blue panel bagged 32 votes out of a total of 35 votes, whereas BNP-backed White panel secured only 3 votes. Elected teachers will be valid as Senate members for next three years. The voting procedure started at 9 am and ended at 2 pm today. READ: Counter-protest: DU admission seekers block Dhaka-Aricha highway Treasurer of University of Dhaka Prof. Momtaz Uddin was in-charge of the election as commissioner and he declared the results around 4.30 pm today. The DU Senate is the highest policymaking body of the University where its policies are determined and enacted. The total number of Senate members is 105 of which 35 seats are reserved for the teachers. The last election for teachers' seats in the Senate body was held in 2017.

The Senate will take up legislation Thursday to end normal trade relations with Russia and to ban the importation of its oil, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Wednesday. Both bills have been bogged down in the Senate, frustrating lawmakers who want to ratchet up the U.S. response as the Ukraine war enters a gruesome new phase. “It’s a big, big deal that we are finally getting them done,” Schumer said. “Now, I wish this could have happened sooner, but after weeks of talks with the other side, it’s important that we have found a path forward.” It’s been three weeks since the House passed the trade suspension measure that paves the way for President Joe Biden to enact higher tariffs on certain Russian imports. At the time, the legislation was billed as sending a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his allies about the economic isolation Russia will face for invading Ukraine. The House vote in mid-March came one day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Congress in a virtual speech that “new packages of sanctions are needed constantly every week until the Russian military machine stops.”  “They cannot just go kill a bunch of people, destroy cities, kill women and children, and then go back and have business as usual,” Ukrainian-born U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz, a Republican from Indiana, said as the trade bill was debated in the House. Reports of civilians being tortured and killed in Ukraine, with streets on the outskirts of Kyiv being strewn with corpses, had some lawmakers this week questioning why the Senate had not yet taken action on the bill. “What I’m telling the senators is that all this foot-dragging in the face of the atrocities that everybody saw this weekend is just really beyond imagination,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. House lawmakers concurred. “It sends a message of weakness,” said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, on the Senate’s inaction. “It seemed like a pretty bipartisan, easy thing to do, just like not importing Russia energy, so it’s disappointing.” There is overwhelming support for suspending preferential trade treatment for Russia. But Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has objected to speedy consideration of the bill over concerns that its language on who can be sanctioned for human rights abuses is too broad, leaving it ripe for abuse. He blocked a request for a voice vote on the bill, which requires consent from all 100 senators. Schumer opted to let senators work it out rather than chew up floor time to overcome the filibuster. Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., said, practically speaking, the impact of the delay on the trade bill is minimal “because there’s virtually no trade right now coming in from Russia.” Still, he said passage is important. “Messaging is important here and showing action is important,” Cardin said. “You’ve got the Ukrainians on the battlefield every day. The least we can do is get these bills passed.” Sen. John Thune, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, said the delay in the Senate was hard to explain. But he placed the onus on Schumer. Read: Ukraine war fuels global economic downturn “I think part of it really is just having leadership in the Senate that is going to manage the floor and is willing to do what it takes to get this thing done,” Thune said. “If this had been a priority, I think it would have been done.” Democrats counter that going the route Thune suggested requires dedicating precious floor time for a bill that passed 424-8 in the House. Rep. Kevin Brady, the ranking Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over trade, said it was important for Schumer to get senators together and get the bill passed. “We’ve been watching these atrocities. America needs to weigh in now and stop funding the war,” Brady said. “President Zelenskyy asked a month ago for this and here we are — still fussing around.” The House also passed the oil ban about a month ago. The bill would codify restrictions on Russian oil that Biden has already put in place through executive action. Schumer said Putin needed to be held accountable for what he said were war crimes against Ukraine. He also said Putin was guilty of genocide. “Formally revoking normal trade relations with Russia is precisely the right thing for the Senate to do because it will land another huge blow to Putin’s economy,” Schumer said. “It’s a key part of any strategy for holding Putin accountable for his savage attacks on innocent civilians.”

Controlling Congress and the White House for the first time in a decade, Democrats were hopeful that this would be the year they finally secured civil rights protections for LGBTQ Americans. Then came a new debate over women’s and girls sports. Legislation that would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is running aground in the Senate, partly knocked off course by the nationwide conservative push against transgender participation in girls and women’s athletics that has swept state legislatures and now spilled into the halls of Congress. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said the House-passed legislation would “in effect repeal Title IX” by making it easier for transgender women to play on girls teams. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., said that allowing “male-bodied athletes” to compete against females would “totally undermine” girls basketball. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Mo., said the bill would “decimate” female athletic competition. Also read: LGBTQ Catholics stung by Vatican rebuff of same-sex unions Democrats are frustrated by the shift in the debate, saying there’s ample evidence that the Republican claims are false and overblown. The International Olympic Committee has allowed transgender athletes to compete for years under specific parameters, and, to date, there have been no known transgender women compete in the Olympics. Only one known transgender woman has competed at the Division I level in the NCAA. And though legislators in around 30 states have introduced legislation to ban or limit transgender athletes from competing on teams that align with their gender identity, few lawmakers have been able to cite specific cases in their home states where it became an issue. “We are waiting for this avalanche of problems,” said the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, characterizing the Republicans’ argument. “They haven’t really surfaced.” But Republicans are unyielding in their opposition to the legislation, spurred on by conservative groups who are pushing anti-transgender laws nationwide. With no Republicans signed on, for now, Democrats are unlikely to win the 60 votes needed to pass the Equality Act, potentially putting the issue in limbo indefinitely. “It’s very discouraging, but in many ways not surprising, that Republicans are so focused on the trans community to build up opposition,” said Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I. He called the GOP arguments over sports a solution in search of a problem. Also read: In blue and red states, milestone wins for LGBTQ candidates Sports are just the latest front in the decadeslong GOP culture war over LGBTQ rights that has focused increasingly on transgender Americans since 2015, when the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage. Conservative groups including The Heritage Foundation, Family Policy Alliance and the Christian legal network Alliance Defending Freedom have been engaged for much of the past two decades in advocacy against the LGBTQ rights movement. An earlier push by those groups to enact laws requiring transgender people to use public bathrooms corresponding to the sex on their birth certificate sputtered amid backlash.   Republicans contend the Equality Act would open the floodgates for transgender girls and women to play on female sports teams and hurt others’ chances to compete. While the bill does not explicitly mention sports or touch Title IX protections against sex-based discrimination, they say extending the protections to gender identity would eliminate “private spaces” for cisgender women, including sports teams. They have repeatedly pointed to one example in Connecticut, where two transgender high school runners in Connecticut won several championships. A lawsuit filed by the runners’ teammates was recently thrown out. “I have to say, as the father of two young girls, that girls sports has had a profound impact in their lives,” Cruz said at a hearing on the bill. “The discipline, the teamwork, the camaraderie, the competitiveness, that girls sports teaches, is effectively destroyed from this bill.” Christiana Holcomb, a lawyer with Alliance Defending Freedom, contends that the Equality Act would supersede Title IX “and force vulnerable girls to share intimate spaces with men who identify as female.” GOP opposition to the bill goes beyond sports, however. Republicans have stalled earlier iterations of the legislation while making different arguments, including that it would infringe on religious freedom. Also read: LGBTQI facing discrimination, harassment amid Covid-19 lockdown in Myanmar: UN Democrats say that none of those objections hold weight and that it’s long past time to make clear that the nation’s civil rights laws explicitly include sexual orientation and gender identification. Passage of the law would outlaw discrimination in employment, housing, loan applications, education, public accommodations and other areas, as it did for women and racial minorities in an earlier era. President Joe Biden pushed for the bill in his address to Congress last month, speaking directly to transgender Americans “watching at home, especially young people, who are so brave. I want you to know, your president has your back.” The lead sponsors of the bill, Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Cicilline, say they know they have work to do. Merkley says he is working with Republicans and civil rights organizations “to find a path forward that will bring senators together behind a vision of full equality for LGBTQ Americans.” The legislation has support from the Women’s Sports Foundation, a group that has advocated for women’s and girls sports for more than 40 years. The group says the GOP narrative on transgender athletes is a distraction from more important issues, including pay inequity and the harassment and abuse of female athletes. “Let us be clear, there are many real threats to girls’ and women’s access and opportunity in sports,” the group said. “However, transgender inclusion is not one of them.” Many of the state legislators who have pushed the bills to ban transgender girls from competing on girls sports teams couldn’t cite any local examples, according to a review by The Associated Press in March. The AP reached out to two dozen state lawmakers sponsoring such measures as well as the conservative groups supporting them and found only a few times it’s been an issue among the hundreds of thousands of American teenagers who play high school sports. Stella Keating, a 16-year-old transgender girl from Washington state, testified to the Senate that she wanted to join her school’s bowling team because her friends were on it. “I can tell you that the majority of transgender people who join sports just want to hang out with their friends,” Keating said. “And that’s basically it.”

The Democratic-led House on Tuesday approved legislation that would invigorate workers’ unions, following decades of court defeats and legislative setbacks that have kneecapped the labor movement’s once formidable ability to organize.

House Democrats passed sweeping voting and ethics legislation over unanimous Republican opposition, advancing to the Senate what would be the largest overhaul of the U.S. election law in at least a generation.

House Democrats delivered the impeachment case against Donald Trump to the Senate late Monday for the start of his historic trial, but Republican senators were easing off their criticism of the former president and shunning calls to convict him over the deadly siege at the U.S. Capitol.

 So what does a 50-50 Senate get President-elect Joe Biden?

Voters cast their ballots for president more than a month ago, but the votes that officially matter will be cast Monday. That’s when the Electoral College meets.