Author
Government shutdown nears: U.S. House GOP fails to pass one-month spending plan
WASHINGTON — A sweeping government shutdown appeared inevitable on Friday, with the U.S. Senate stuck in a procedural holding pattern on its bipartisan stopgap bill and divided U.S. House Republicans unable to pass their short-term spending bill. Both chambers of Congress must approve and President Joe Biden must sign government funding legislation before midnight on […]
U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California dies at 90
This story was updated at 3:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein died Thursday night in her home in Washington, D.C. The California Democrat was 90 and had announced in February she would not run for reelection in 2024. “She left a legacy that is undeniable and extraordinary,” her chief […]
GOP witnesses at Biden impeachment hearing see insufficient evidence of wrongdoing so far
WASHINGTON — With two days before a partial government shutdown, House Republicans held their first impeachment inquiry hearing Thursday over unproven allegations that President Joe Biden benefited from his son’s business dealings overseas. Witnesses tapped by Republicans for the House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing acknowledged that there was no evidence showing that the president […]
Menendez urged to step down by a growing number of U.S. Senate Democrats
This story was updated at 8 p.m. on Sept. 26, 2023, with additional comment. WASHINGTON — More than two dozen U.S. Senate Democrats, including both of Georgia’s senators, are calling on New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez to resign following his indictment on corruption charges for the second time. Among the 26 senators on the […]
Food benefits for low income families at risk in a government shutdown, White House says
WASHINGTON — As Congress barrels toward a partial government shutdown, the White House Monday warned that a program that helps millions of low income families afford healthy food could see substantial cuts. The White House released a state-by-state breakdown, estimating that nearly 7 million people who rely on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, […]
Biden administration to create new gun violence prevention office
WASHINGTON — The White House Thursday announced the formation of an Office of Gun Violence Prevention that will help states and local governments as they implement a gun safety legislative package President Joe Biden signed into law last year. Lacking additional action in Congress to curb gun violence, “the Office of Gun Violence Prevention along […]
‘If we don’t get the aid, we will lose the war’: Zelenskyy asks Congress to help Ukraine
WASHINGTON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday traveled to Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers to reiterate the need for continued aid to support his country’s fight against the Russian invasion, even as the U.S. faces a partial government shutdown as soon as the end of the month. “If we don’t get the aid, […]
U.S. attorney general defends Hunter Biden investigation under questioning by House GOP
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans led by Ohio’s Jim Jordan on Wednesday grilled U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland about how the Justice Department has handled its investigation and prosecution of Hunter Biden on felony gun charges. The questions about the president’s son came after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last week asked several committees, including the […]
U.S. House GOP spending bills falter as Congress struggles to avoid a shutdown
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats said Tuesday they are preparing their own short-term spending bill that they believe will garner bipartisan support, a decision that could stave off a partial government shutdown — and as House Republicans failed to advance two spending bills. The Senate move would work as long as the House votes to […]
States urged by Biden administration to rectify underfunding of land-grant HBCUs
States engaged in decades of underfunding of land-grant Historically Black Colleges and Universities, leading to a more than $12 billion disparity with comparable white institutions, leaders of the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Monday. “Unacceptable funding inequities have forced many of our nation’s distinguished Historically Black Colleges and Universities […]
Menendez, other U.S. Senate Democrats vent frustrations after new ruling against DACA
WASHINGTON — A federal judge Wednesday declared illegal the Biden administration’s revised version of a program that protects hundreds of thousands of people brought into the country as children from deportation, and U.S. Senate Democrats, advocates and the White House on Thursday decried the decision. “I think that Congress should act, but it has been incapable of […]
U.S. prisons chief insists to Senate panel there’s been ‘visible change’ in the system
WASHINGTON — The head of the Federal Bureau of Prisons on Wednesday outlined to the Senate Judiciary Committee how she has sought improvements in the nation’s troubled prison system, and fielded questions from Republicans about transgender inmates. “Developing meaningful change throughout the agency is not something that happens in a moment,” Colette Peters, the director […]