General U.S. NewsJul 14, 2026·3 min read

McConnell’s absence creates new farm bill roadblock

Politico – Congress

1h ago

McConnell’s absence creates new farm bill roadblock

Summary

Sen. Mitch McConnell ’s (R-Ky.) ongoing absence from the Capitol is threatening to derail Senate Republicans’ hopes of advancing a long-awaited farm bill before the August recess. Senate Agriculture Chair John Boozman (R-Ark.) has promised a committee markup within the four weeks before lawmakers leave Washington, but attendance concerns and a narrow window to advance legislation are raising doubts about that timeline. McConnell’s weekslong hospitalization presents a unique challenge for Boozman’s plans: Republicans won’t have enough votes without McConnell to advance the legislation out of committee along party lines, and Democrats have vowed to oppose the bill because it does not include their top policy demands. “We're concerned about Senator McConnell, and so hopefully that will be such that he can participate in the markup,” Boozman said Tuesday, adding that he was still “working on” scheduling the committee’s markup. McConnell has been hospitalized for nearly a month after falling and suffering from what he described as a mild case of pneumonia. In a statement released Sunday, McConnell said that he will return to the Senate after his recovery but did not specify when that could occur. Senate Republicans are also dealing with scheduling limits due to a packed policy agenda that leaders have lined up for the next four weeks. “McConnell’s vote is needed, but that is not the only reason we haven’t scheduled a markup,” said one person close to the conversations, who was granted anonymity to discuss the behind-the-scenes talks. Negotiations are also still ongoing to find a bipartisan path forward for the legislation that Boozman released in June , and Republicans have billed the package as a necessary group of policy updates that could help shore up rural support ahead of November's midterms. Boozman told POLITICO on Tuesday that he’s “trying to see if we need to modify” the bill to include Democrats’ SNAP cost-share delay and talking to state officials and Senate leadership about the potential change. Boozman has been a key player in the negotiations and has looked to include the financial support in a military supplemental package the White House has requested from Congress.

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Over 47% schools already comply with 3-language policy, CBSE tells Supreme Court

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has defended its revised three-language policy before the Supreme Court, stating that 47.3 per cent of its 28,848 affiliated schools already offer two or more Bhartiya Bhashas to Class 9 students and therefore comply with the new framework without requiring any additional teachers. The figures were placed before the court in a counter affidavit filed by the CBSE . Separate affidavits have also been submitted by the Ministry of Education and the NCERT , together forming the Centre's defence against petitions filed by parents and foreign-language teachers challenging the policy. According to the CBSE affidavit, 99.19 per cent of affiliated schools already have at least one teacher for an Indian language, while schools that require more time to build teaching capacity have been allowed flexible staffing arrangements as an interim measure. The petitions, filed by parents from Delhi, Gurugram, Noida and Chennai along with foreign-language teachers, challenge the Board's May 15 circular, which made the study of three languages compulsory for Class 9 students from July 1, 2026. The matter is scheduled to be heard by the Supreme Court on Tuesday. The petitioners have argued that the circular is unconstitutional, arbitrary and violative of Articles 14, 19, 21 and 21A of the Constitution. They contend that the Board reversed its own notification issued just 36 days earlier, which had stated that the third language requirement would not apply to Class 9 until the 2029-30 academic session. They have further submitted that schools have been asked to implement the policy despite the absence of textbooks, trained teachers and a board assessment framework, forcing students to rely on Class 6 textbooks while permitting teachers of other subjects with only "functional proficiency" to teach the third language. CBSE has disputed the petitioners' central argument that foreign languages are being removed from schools.

Sweden prides itself on equality – so why is its political gender gap growing?

As general election looms, survey shows twice as many men as women support far-right Sweden Democrats One is led by Sweden’s first female prime minister, Magdalena Andersson , and has promised smaller school-class sizes, more housing and free dental care for young people. The other, led by Jimmie Åkesson , has neo-Nazi roots and has pledged to lower taxes, improve public safety and treat “anti-Swedishness” as a hate crime. In the run-up to Sweden’s general election in September, the Social Democrats and the Sweden Democrats are placed first and second respectively in the polls, and between them are expected to scoop up more than 50% of the vote. But which party Swedes are most likely to back could depend in part on their gender, amid a widening gap between male and female voters. The 2022 election brought a record-breaking gender gap between men and women, and the latest statistics show that in September the gulf is likely to be even wider: a recent survey by Statistics Sweden found that twice as many men as women support the far-right Sweden Democrats, while female support for the Social Democrats is 10 percentage points higher than its male equivalent. If only women voted, the left-leaning bloc, led by Andersson’s party, would gain 64% of the vote, the survey found. If only men voted, the right-leaning parties, with the current prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, of the Moderates at the helm, would get 51%. Her research showed that men in the private sector were most inclined to vote rightwing, driven by support for lower taxes, a smaller public sector and less immigration, she said. “The fact that women have not shifted to the right to the same extent, regardless of whether they work in the public or private sector, stems from their greater reliance on a well-functioning welfare state, given that they still bear the primary responsibility for caregiving in the private sphere.” Nelly Ailo, 41, a pharmacy assistant who was having her lunch just off the main shopping street in Södertälje, a city near Stockholm, had a similar take on what motivates male voters. “First it is economics – what is better for them,” she said. “They vote about economics. If the centre-right coalition, known as the Tidö parties, win the next general election, Kristersson has pledged to allow the far-right Sweden Democrats into government for the first time , promising them “big political influence and important ministerial posts within immigration and integration”. This is particularly stark in some of the policies of the supposedly centre-left Social Democrats, who are, like Åkesson’s far right, hardline on immigration, integration and crime.

Trump formally notifies US Congress of renewed war with Iran as Washington hits targets in Tehran

US President Donald Trump has formally notified Congress that the country is once again at war with Iran, granting his administration another 60-day window to use military forces in the region without obtaining congressional approval first. In a letter to the US Congress dated 10 July, Trump informed the lawmakers that the strikes, which began on 7 July, represent “military action consistent with my responsibility to protect Americans and the United States’ interests both at home and abroad,” CBS News reported. In last week's letter to the US Congress, the US President wrote that Washington had engaged in "productive, good-faith efforts to achieve a diplomatic solution to Iran's malign behavior," which led the two nations to sign a memorandum of understanding ( MoU ) last month. Earlier in May, the Trump administration formally notified Congress that the war, which was launched in late February, had "terminated," thereby avoiding the 60-day deadline under which Washington's military operations must halt without congressional approval. The War Powers Resolution of 1973 establishes the timeframe within which the president must notify Congress after introducing US forces into hostilities and sets a deadline for withdrawing those forces if lawmakers do not grant authorisation. In the absence of explicit congressional approval, the law states that once the deadline expires, the president “shall terminate any use of the United States Armed Forces.” Last month, the US Senate voted to end hostilities with Tehran, in what was considered a largely symbolic rebuke of the conflict. In a 50-48 vote, the Senate passed the war powers resolution after the House of Representatives approved the measure earlier in June. Her work focuses on foreign policy, global power shifts, and the political and economic forces shaping international relations, with a particular emphasis on how global developments affect India. Covering multiple beats early in her career has helped her be informed about her current work, allowing her to connect domestic developments with wider international trends.<br><br> At Live Mint, she focuses on international and geopolitical issues through a business and economic lens, examining how global political developments, foreign policy decisions, and power shifts impact markets, industries, and India’s strategic and economic interests.<br><br> She holds a Bachelor’s degree in English (Honours) from the University of Delhi and a Master’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University. Stay updated with the latest Trending , India , World and US news.

McConnell’s absence creates new farm bill roadblock

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Over 47% schools already comply with 3-language policy, CBSE tells Supreme Court

Sweden prides itself on equality – so why is its political gender gap growing?

Trump formally notifies US Congress of renewed war with Iran as Washington hits targets in Tehran