Chuck Hagel, bracing for a bruising Senate confirmation as the next US defense secretary, pledged "total support" for Israel on Monday after lawmakers criticized his Middle East views.
The House of Representatives will vote late Tuesday on a bill already approved by the Senate to avert huge New Year tax hikes and spending cuts known as the "fiscal cliff".
The Senate approved a five-year extension Friday of a George W. Bush-era surveillance law that allows US spy agencies to conduct wiretapping on foreign citizens without a warrant.
A son of late political icon Edward Kennedy said Monday he will not run for the US Senate in Massachusetts -- the same state his father represented for nearly five decades -- US media reported.
Democrats were projected to hold onto the Senate and Republicans were to retain the House of Representatives on Tuesday, raising the likely prospect of more partisan gridlock in a divided US Congress.
A US Senate hearing Wednesday highlighted concern over the growing use of facial recognition technologies, both for law enforcement use and in big social networks like Facebook.