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Misinformation, violence and a paper shortage threaten midterm elections, officials say
Members of a U.S. Senate panel and election administrators raised a bevy of concerns Thursday about the challenges elections officials will face this fall, saying problems ranging from a lack of paper to coordinated misinformation campaigns could affect confidence in U.S. democracy. A bipartisan panel of current and former elections officials and experts told the […]
Senators reach deal on care for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits
The two leaders of the U.S. Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Montana Democrat Jon Tester and Kansas Republican Jerry Moran, have reached a deal with House leaders to pass a bill to extend health care access to veterans for conditions related to exposure to toxic chemicals during their service, the pair announced Wednesday. The consensus bill […]
Biden condemns racist White supremacy theory in visit to Buffalo after mass shooting
President Joe Biden on Tuesday commemorated the victims of last weekend’s mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, and condemned the ideology that drove the killer to “carry out a murderous, racist rampage” at a grocery store in a predominantly Black neighborhood. In a visit to the Upstate New York city, Biden and other New York […]
Biden administration vows to speed up environmental permits needed for infrastructure projects
President Joe Biden’s administration will seek to hasten construction of roads, bridges, wind farms and more by tweaking the federal review process for environmental and other permits, administration officials said Tuesday. On a press call, administration officials said they were seeking to make permitting easier without sacrificing environmental standards. The new permitting plan includes five […]
Vote on abortion rights planned in U.S. Senate next week, but likely will fall short
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will force a vote next week on a bill to codify abortion protections, following the disclosure that the Supreme Court could be ready to overturn a landmark abortion rights ruling, he and other Senate Democrats announced Thursday. The effort appears largely symbolic. Democrats are well short of the 60 […]
Congress expands Brown v. Board of Education historic site to Virginia and other states
The U.S. House cleared a bill Tuesday that would expand the Kansas site honoring the U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning school segregation, adding National Park Service sites in other states to commemorate their roles in the decision as well. The bill would designate sites related to school desegregation cases in Virginia, Delaware, South Carolina and the […]
3 big reasons why the Biden climate agenda is floundering
President Joe Biden’s climate agenda took a hit this month when the Interior Department said it would open 144,000 acres of federal land up for oil and gas development to comply with a court order to restart fossil fuel development. The announcement marked yet another setback for a presidential climate plan that was once seen […]
CDC concludes a mask mandate is still needed for travelers, clearing way for court battle
The Biden administration will fight a court decision for the authority to mandate masks on airplanes, trains and other public transit, following a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation Wednesday night that a mandate was still needed. The CDC said in a statement that the mandate keeps transportation safer for immunocompromised people and the greater public. […]
Federal judge in Florida throws out national mask mandate for travelers
A federal judge in Florida voided the nationwide mask mandate for airline and public transportation passengers Monday, saying the requirement was beyond the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s authority. The legal analysis of U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, whom then-President Donald Trump appointed in late 2020, turned on the language in a federal law […]
At the White House, an emotional Ketanji Brown Jackson says, ‘We’ve made it, all of us’
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson accepted her dual roles Friday as the next U.S. Supreme Court justice and as a symbol of racial progress. Speaking outside the White House with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris looking on, and her voice at times trembling with emotion, Jackson acknowledged the historic milestone her confirmation as […]
Biden goal for U.S. transition to electric vehicles cast into doubt at U.S. Senate hearing
A White House climate goal to transition the United States to electric vehicles is in trouble if the nation cannot produce more minerals that go into those vehicles’ batteries, U.S. senators of both parties said Thursday. Members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee agreed during a hearing that more domestic production of lithium, […]
U.S. House panel grills oil executives at hearing on soaring gas prices
Democrats blamed the oil industry, Republicans blamed President Joe Biden and oil executives blamed global market forces at a U.S. House hearing Wednesday on how to reverse a dramatic increase in gas prices. Over nearly six hours, members of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and executives from six oil companies […]