Friday morning news: September 22, 2023

AUDIO: On this vote the yeas are 212. The nays are 216. The resolution is not adopted.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, NEWS ANCHOR: Congress Funding » The House of Representatives is no closer to passing a spending plan after lawmakers voted yesterday not to debate a yearly defense appropriations bill.

Five GOP lawmakers joined Democrats in voting against the procedural bill. It’s the second time this week lawmakers have halted the debate.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy:

MCCARTHY: It’s frustrating in the sense that I don’t understand why anybody votes against bringing the idea up and having the debate.

Republicans who voted no want to curb spending levels and rein in unconditional support for Ukraine.

Congress must take action on the budget by Sept. 30 to avoid a government shutdown.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman confirmation » The Senate approved new leaders for the Army and the Marines and a new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Thursday.

Each leader was approved in a separate floor vote.

GOP Senator Tommy Tuberville has kept the Senate from approving military officer promotions in batches for over six months.

TUBERVILLE: The hold will remain in place as long as the Pentagon's illegal abortion policy remains in place. If the Pentagon lifts the policy, then I will lift my hold. It's easy as that.

The Pentagon pays for female service members to cross state lines for abortions.

More than 300 members of the military await confirmation, including the acting chief of naval operations.

Rupert Murdoch retires » The creator of Fox News is stepping down from his leadership position. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has more.

JOSH SCHUMACHER: Rupert Murdoch founded Fox News in 1996 after decades of managing and owning newspapers and television stations.

The 92-year-old is retiring as chairman of Fox Corporation and News Corp, which owns outlets such as The Wall Street Journal and New York Post.

Murdoch says he is in good health and will transition to a new role as Chairman Emeritus in November.

Murdoch’s son, Lachlan, will take his father’s place.

For WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

Texas Border » In Texas, the city of Eagle Pass has declared a state of emergency as thousands of migrants cross the U.S. southern border daily.

Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan:

PHELAN: It is a human, humanitarian, and legal and constitutional crisis, where 10s of 1000s of people come on over every single day, and there's nowhere to put them there's nowhere to house them there's nowhere to feed them, whether it's Eagle Pass or there's Del Rio, this is, this is a day in the life.

The city’s state of emergency will last a week. It allows local officials to get resources from the state of Texas to help manage the influx of immigrants.

Hundreds of military personnel and thousands of National Guardsmen are stationed at the border.

Venezuelan migrants work permits » Meanwhile, the Biden administration has responded to pleas from cities throughout the country to help them care for impoverished migrants. WORLD’s Anna Johansen Brown has more:

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN: The Biden administration said it would offer work permits to hundreds of thousands of migrants from Venezuela who previously couldn’t work legally in the country.

Tens of thousands of immigrants are living in New York City homeless shelters, and many of them are from Venezuela.

The policy change could ease the burden on city social services, but it might also grant work permits to some who came to the country illegally. And critics say that could encourage more unlawful migration.

For WORLD, I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

Zelenskyy Biden/Congress » Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington yesterday asking U.S. leaders for support.

He answered questions from Congress about how Ukraine has used American funds and weapons in the war.

House Speaker McCarthy:

McCARTHY: I think he was very direct about where the where the war currently stands and where and what the plan is going forward.

The White House says that Biden will soon announce a new package of military assistance for Ukraine.

National security advisor Jake Sullivan:

SULLIVAN : These capabilities will help Ukraine harden its defenses ahead of what is likely to be a tough winter, filled with renewed Russian attacks on Ukrainian critical infrastructure to try to deprive innocent people of necessities like heat and electricity.

Last month Biden requested an additional $24 billion from Congress in aid to Ukraine. But some Republicans are reluctant, saying the funds would be better used for domestic needs.

Congress has so far approved more than one-hundred-billion dollars in military, financial, and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine.

I'm Kristen Flavin.

Straight ahead: Culture Friday with Katie McCoy. Plus, a trip back to the Shire in Return of the King.

This is The World and Everything in It.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.