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A GOP showdown over the debt limit could grip Congress and the nation next year
WASHINGTON — Republicans are eyeing the debt limit and government funding deadlines as a way to force Democrats to the negotiating table for spending cuts, should the GOP regain control of Congress following the midterm elections. Republicans unhappy about government spending could move to shut down the government, a tactic unsuccessful for the GOP in […]
Paul Pelosi, U.S. House speaker’s husband, attacked inside their San Francisco home
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, was recovering in the hospital Friday morning after an unidentified individual broke into their San Francisco home in the early morning and “violently assaulted” the 82-year-old, according to a statement from spokesman Drew Hammill. Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat who has a U.S. Capitol Police […]
More than 9 million voters already have cast their ballots in November elections
WASHINGTON — Roughly 9.4 million Americans have already voted in the midterm elections, casting a combination of in-person early votes and mail-in ballots, according to data compiled by the United States Elections Project. Florida as well as Georgia, Michigan and Pennsylvania are among the top states in terms of early voting so far. The initiative, headed […]
Monkeypox cases are in sharp decline. Could the outbreak be over?
WASHINGTON — New monkeypox cases have been trending downward nationwide for more than two months, giving some hope the decades-old virus that had its first major outbreak in the United States this year is nearly under control, or even on its way out. However, experts caution that Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data broken […]
FDA, CDC greenlight updated COVID-19 booster for kids 5 to 11
WASHINGTON — The federal government on Wednesday recommended an updated COVID-19 booster for kids between 5 and 11, expanding use of the new bivalent shots beyond people 12 and older. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration first authorized the updated vaccines use in the morning before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended them […]
Women could claim the most governors’ seats in U.S. history in November
WASHINGTON — Women running in governors’ races throughout the country are potentially set to break records if elected this November. In total, there are 25 women governor candidates nominated by the two major political parties this election cycle, sharply up from 16 in 2018. Democrats hold 16 of those nominations, with nine GOP women candidates […]
Biden to pardon all federal offenses for simple marijuana possession, review criminalization
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday announced executive actions that would pardon thousands of people with prior federal offenses of simple marijuana possession. He will also direct U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra and Attorney General Merrick Garland to review how marijuana is classified under federal law as a Schedule I drug, the Drug Enforcement […]
Government shutdown shut down
WASHINGTON — U.S. House members, mostly along party lines, cleared a spending package Friday that would bolster funding for natural disaster response, though with Hurricane Ian still battering the Southeast, lawmakers will likely need to approve another aid bill later this year. The measure would provide $2.5 billion in assistance for the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon […]
U.S. Senate approves stopgap spending bill with disaster relief, heating aid
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate approved broadly bipartisan legislation Thursday that would provide billions for natural disaster relief, military and economic aid to Ukraine and funding to help low-income families offset the rising costs of heating and cooling their homes. It includes $2.5 billion in assistance for the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire that burned large swaths of […]
Manchin seeks bipartisan ‘sweet spot’ for a new try at his energy permitting bill
WASHINGTON — U.S. senators from both parties said Wednesday they hope to negotiate an energy permitting reform bill yet this year, reviving efforts to streamline the process after West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin III had to pull back his plan amid broad opposition. The Manchin proposal was attached to a must-pass government funding bill […]
Stopgap spending bill advances in U.S. Senate after Manchin pulls his energy plan
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate advanced a catchall spending package Tuesday that would provide billions to aid Ukraine’s war effort, help communities throughout the country recover from natural disasters and keep the federal government funded through mid-December. Democrats and Republicans voted 72-23 to move the measure toward a final vote later this week—a success that […]
Republicans in Congress say they’d keep federal abortion funding in cases of rape, incest
WASHINGTON — A nearly 50-year-old federal law backed by Republicans allows the use of federal dollars for abortions in cases of rape, incest or the life of the pregnant person. That so-called Hyde Amendment, which is folded into spending bills, is less stringent than new or planned abortion bans in some GOP-led states, where governors […]