House congressional leaders are toiling on a delicate, bipartisan push towards weekend votes to approve a $95 billion package of foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as well as several other national security policies. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson this week set in motion a plan to advance the package, which has been stymied in Congress since October of last year by a bulk of GOP lawmakers resistant to approving more funding for Ukraine’s fight against Russia. As the Republican speaker faced an outright rebellion from his right flank and growing threats for his ouster, it became clear that Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries would have to lend help every step of the way.

Guitar legend and Allman Brothers Band co-founder Dickey Betts has died at age 80. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer wrote the band's biggest hit, “Ramblin’ Man.” Manager David Spero told The Associated Press that Betts died early Thursday at his home in Osprey, Florida. He says Betts had been battling cancer for more than a year and had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Betts shared lead guitar duties with Duane Allman in the original Allman Brothers Band to help give the group its distinctive sound and create a new genre: Southern rock. Acts ranging from Lynyrd Skynyrd to Kid Rock were influenced by the Allmans’ music, which combined blues, country, R&B and jazz with ’60s rock.

The United States has vetoed a widely backed U.N. resolution that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for Palestine. The resolution that faced a vote Thursday would have raised the Palestinians' status from a non-member observer state to full membership. U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood told the Security Council that the U.S. veto “does not reflect opposition to Palestinian statehood, but instead is an acknowledgment that it will only come from direct negotiations between the parties.” This is the second Palestinian attempt for full membership and it comes as the war in Gaza has put the more than 75-year-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict at center stage.

Legislation that could ban TikTok if its China-based owner doesn’t sell its stake has won a major boost as House Republicans included it in a package of bills that would send U.S. aid to Ukraine and Israel. The bill could be law as soon as next week if Congress moves quickly. The TikTok bill passed the House in March and has widespread support in both chambers. It was included in the House foreign policy package after negotiations with the Senate over how long Chinese technology firm ByteDance Ltd. would have to sell its stake in the app. President Joe Biden has said he would sign it.

Donald Trump has lost a bid to pause a string of lawsuits accusing him of inciting the U.S. Capitol attack, while the former president fights his 2020 election interference criminal case in Washington. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta on Thursday denied a request from the Republican’s lawyers to put the civil cases on hold indefinitely while the criminal case accusing Trump of conspiring to overturn his election defeat to President Joe Biden plays out. The lawsuits brought by Democratic lawmakers and police officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, seek civil damages for harm they say they suffered during the attack.

President Joe Biden has accepted endorsements from at least 15 members of the Kennedy political family. The Kennedy family backing came during a campaign stop Thursday in Philadelphia as the Democratic incumbent aims to undermine Republican Donald Trump and marginalize the candidacy of independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The decision to highlight the Kennedy family endorsement with Election Day more than six months away is an indication of how seriously Biden’s team is taking the threat of a long-shot candidate using the Kennedy name to siphon support. The candidate's sister Kerry delivered the endorsements by calling Biden her hero. Kennedy Jr. writes on social media his campaign is about “healing America.”

HONOLULU (AP) — As unpredictable wildfires roared across Maui last August, the head of the e…