Renegade Republicans who are trying to force a vote on immigration reform in the House of Representatives survived an attempt by leaders of their party to block their efforts. The renegades, a group of moderate Republicans, are five signatures short of the 25 needed to bypass leadership and force floor votes on several immigration proposals through a rare procedural tactic known as a discharge petition. Speaker Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, has described the discharge petition as "futile" because it lacks any guarantee that a bill would become law in the face of a threatened presidential veto. But it was House conservatives who defeated the $867 million farm bill Friday when their own move to get an immigration bill to the House floor failed. The House Freedom Caucus a conservative voting bloc in the U.S. House had offered to vote for the farm bill in exchange for a promise that one immigration bill would be brought up for a vote. The hope was that the offer would be enough to keep some Republican House members from signing the discharge petition. The immigration bill, known as the Goodlatte Bill, is a conservative approach to immigration that would provide legal status to undocumented young people brought to the U.S. as children in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, but only in addition to changes in the U.S. legal immigration system. The Goodlatte Bill is opposed by many moderate Republicans. For them, the deal offered an opportunity to negotiate on legislation that might win the support of President Donald Trump and resolve the status of DACA recipients. The deal fell through, and the farm bill failed to pass by a 193-213 vote Friday. "It's not a fatal blow it's just a reorganize," House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows told reporters shortly after the vote, "At this point, we really need to deal with immigration in an effective way." Meadows said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy negotiated in good faith on the immigration issue, but would not elaborate on why a deal was elusive. How does Paul Ryan feel about the petition? Pick the correct answer from the following options: - not enough information - He is sure that Trump will sign it - He is doubtful that it would pass - He is sure that it would be too expensive
He is doubtful that it would pass

I've been to Key West several times, but for some inexplicable reason 1, I never visited the Hemingway House (or the Truman Little White House 2 for that matter but that's a topic for a different post). As expected, it was about 1,000 degrees there (Celsius or Fahrenheit, you pick either way, that's way too hot). Welcome to Florida in July. 😀 We would have melted completely but fortunately, the house was air conditioned and they had some fans outside. I really wanted to see a few of the polydactyl cats 3 who live there and sure enough, there are plenty roaming around the place and by "roaming", I mean laying around sleeping as cats do. Cats normally have 4 toes on their back feet and 5 on the front but these polydactyl cats mostly have 5 on the back and 6 on the front, thanks to a genetic mutation. Their front paws are noticeably larger and look like they have mittens on. In addition to extra toes, they also have cat condos, complete with shutters on the windows for decorative purposes to match the main house and there are tiny cat houses scattered around the property for shelter and privacy. And if that's not enough, they have free reign over the main house too and clearly don't read the signs that say not to sit or lay on the furniture. These cats have a good deal. Hemingway bought this enormous home sitting on prime real estate for a whopping $8,000 back in the early 1930s in the middle of the Great Depression. At 16 feet above sea level, it sits on the second-highest point on the island and was the first house to have indoor plumbing and a swimming pool. Today, it serves as a historical site, tourist attraction, and most ironically, a wedding venue. It's a gorgeous piece of property but I'm not sure that getting married at the home of a serial philanderer who had 4 marriages and 3 divorces is exactly a good omen. About how long ago did Hemingway buy the house? Pick the correct answer from the following options: - About two decades ago. - not enough information - Close to a century ago. - Almost a half-century ago.
Close to a century ago.

Q: President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made history with their summit meeting in Singapore. But beyond the handshakes, casual strolls and shared asides, many analysts and experts are already wondering what exactly the enduring substance of the summit will be and whether it could boost Trump's political rating at home. For Trump, the great political disrupter, it was the most significant foreign policy move of his presidency. It comes at a time when he looks to turn around his often weak polls and bolster his political standing at home in advance of midterm congressional elections in November, where Democrats are poised to make gains. From the images of their historic first handshake to signing an agreement on denuclearization, Trump and Kim took the first steps toward writing a new chapter in relations between their two countries. "People are going to be very impressed, people are going to be very happy, and we are going to take care of a very big and very dangerous problem for the world," Trump said sitting alongside Kim after both men signed the joint agreement. It was Trump's biggest moment on the world stage, and an opportunity he was eager to seize. "We got along really well.We had a great chemistry.You understand how I feel about chemistry.It is very important," Trump told VOA contributor Greta Van Susteren immediately after the summit. "I mean, I know people where there is no chemistry. We had it right from the beginning. We talked about that and I think great things are going to happen for North Korea." It was the first ever meeting between a U.S. president and a North Korean leader. The two men signed an agreement that committed both countries to work toward the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, but the details remain vague. The United States offered unspecified security guarantees and a halt to military exercises with South Korea. Trump also said he raised the issue of human rights with Kim, but added that most of the meeting focused on the nuclear issue. Why did Trump and Kim Jong Un meet in Singapore Pick the correct answer from the following options: - to take casual strolls together - not enough information - Because they were bored - To sign an agreement committing both countries to work toward the denuclearization of the Korean penninsula
A: To sign an agreement committing both countries to work toward the denuclearization of the Korean penninsula