In The News

The National Restaurant Association is urging Congress not to increase the federal minimum wage as part of President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID relief package. The association said in a letter sent to congressional leaders Tuesday that fast-tracking a minimum... Read More

WASHINGTON - The White House urged asylum-seekers to be patient and to abide by proper procedures as the United States readies itself to begin processing their claims on Friday. In a joint statement released Tuesday, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan... Read More

WASHINGTON — Since the earliest days of the pandemic, the CDC has said COVID appeared to have a disproportionate impact on those negatively affected by social determinants of health. These conditions in the environments in which people are born, live,... Read More

WASHINGTON - Representatives from a DC non-profit say the coronavirus has severely increased the reliance of underprivileged communities on their services, which emphasizes the socially destabilizing impacts of the virus. The DC neighborhoods around the headquarters of Martha's Table, a... Read More

WASHINGTON - The Wilson Center, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, on Wednesday morning hosted an event explaining the complexities of measuring the presence of marine debris in the environment, focusing on the need to collect more data.  Measuring the problem... Read More

President Joe Biden is extending a ban on housing foreclosures to June 30 to help homeowners struggling during the coronavirus pandemic. The moratorium on foreclosures of federally guaranteed mortgages had been set to expire on March 31. On his first... Read More

A report in a major peer-reviewed journal described the effects of the Trump administration's policies on public health in the US as devastating, virulently racist, and lethally bad for public health. The report, which was published on Feb. 10 by... Read More

As panicked Americans cleared supermarkets of toilet paper and food last spring, grocery employees gained recognition as among the most indispensable of the pandemic's front-line workers.A year later, most of those workers are waiting their turn to receive COVID-19 vaccines,... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new-old ritual is taking shape in the Biden White House, one that starts with bulky briefing packages, war-gaming the "what-ifs," and Oval Office discussions about how to talk to this or that particular U.S. ally or... Read More

BOSTON (AP) — The right-wing friendly social network Parler, which was forced offline following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, says it is re-launching.The Twitter alternative has been struggling to return online... Read More

Title 13 of the United States Code requires the secretary of commerce to provide governors and the officials responsible for redistricting in each state with the census results. As a general rule, legislative and congressional redistricting must be completed before... Read More

WASHINGTON – This week, Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., Mark Warner, D-Va., Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.V., Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Tim Kaine, D-Va., Bob Casey, D-Pa., Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Pa., introduced the bipartisan, bicameral COVID-19 Mine Worker Protection... Read More

The pandemic has made clear that broadband access goes hand-in-hand with economic opportunity, exposing the inequities and lack of resources for black-owned businesses across the country, according to Commissioner Geoffrey Starks of the Federal Communications Commission. Since the onset of... Read More

WASHINGTON - There's no question that the once-every-10-year process of redistricting is off to a slow start.  Though the U.S. Census Bureau ended its collection of data for the 2020 census on Oct. 15, 2020, it missed the December statutory... Read More

Cryptocurrencies have the potential to decentralize systems of commerce across the world, leading to vast peer-to-peer markets absent of manipulation.   In order for this to come to fruition, Sheila Warren, head of data, blockchain and digital assets and member of... Read More

WASHINGTON — The work environment during COVID has demonstrated an increased need for technical expertise in the workforce. A report from the World Economic Forum offers that by 2022 — just next year — half of employees will require significant... Read More

ATLANTA - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday released its long-awaited guidance on safely reopening schools, emphasizing that it is"critical for schools to open as safely and as soon as possible." The top recommendations are what one... Read More

WASHINGTON - On Wednesday, Feb. 3, the Congressional "Afghanistan Study Group" released its report on unwinding American commitments in that country, recommending that diplomatic efforts attempt to delay the May 2021 withdrawal date of American troops from the region to... Read More

WASHINGTON -- Former Fox News television host Gretchen Carlson advocated during a congressional hearing Thursday against employment arbitration contracts that limit workers’ rights to sue their employers. She said they often force employees into silence about misdeeds of their bosses,... Read More

WASHINGTON - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that the next COVID-19 relief bill is on pace to reach the House floor the week of Feb. 22. "We hope to have this all done by the end of February, certainly... Read More

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. (AP) — After nearly a year of being trapped in pandemic isolation, some people just want to pick up a sledgehammer and smash something to smithereens."That felt good," sweating insurance executive Josh Elohim said after reducing a... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats pushed half of President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan through a House committee Thursday, advancing $1,400 payments for millions of Americans and other initiatives that Republicans call too costly, economically damaging and brazenly partisan.The... Read More

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Biden administration on Friday announced plans for tens of thousands of asylum-seekers waiting in Mexico for their next immigration court hearings to be allowed into the United States while their cases proceed.The first of an... Read More

WASHINGTON - Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District of Columbia's delegate to Congress, says the fencing and razor wire currently wrapped around the U.S. Capitol should not be allowed to become a permanent feature. On Thursday she introduced the No... Read More

WASHINGTON - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Thursday that she will soon bestow the Congressional Gold Medal on the Capitol Police and other law enforcement personnel who protected the Capitol when it was attacked by rioting Trump supporters on Jan.... Read More

Earlier this week, the Census Bureau released a report brief that shows higher education attainment levels have increased for Americans over the past 15 years. Data gathered for the report was sourced from the American Community Survey, an ongoing survey... Read More

State and local government revenues were not hit as hard as expected by the pandemic, but the looming uncertainty of its long-term impact points to the need for more federal aid, leading economists say..  At the start of the pandemic,... Read More

WASHINGTON - Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., led a group of 10 lawmakers this week in a bipartisan call for $100 million in funding for the National Sea Grant College Program in the next COVID relief package. Since the beginning of... Read More

WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden on Thursday rescinded the emergency order used by former President Trump to justify construction of the border wall between the United States and Mexico. “I have determined that the declaration of a national emergency at... Read More

TOPEKA, Kan. – This week, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly announced legislation to expand Medicaid, known as KanCare, and provide health insurance for 165,000 Kansans. The legislation also establishes a regulatory framework to make Kansas the 48th state to legalize medical... Read More