House backs $716B defense bill with 2.6% pay raise for troops

The House on Thursday approved a $716 billion defense policy bill that would give the military a 2.6 percent pay hike, the largest in nine years.

The compromise bill, approved by a vote of 359-54, weakens a bid to clamp down on Chinese telecom giant ZTE and allows the president to waive sanctions against countries that have bought Russian weapons but now want to buy U.S. military equipment.