In The News

WASHINGTON (AP) — Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, the longest-serving Republican senator and third in the line of presidential succession, said he has tested positive for the coronavirus. Grassley, 87, had announced earlier Tuesday that he was quarantining after being exposed... Read More

DETROIT (AP) — In an abrupt about-face, Michigan's largest county on Tuesday night unanimously certified election results showing Democrat Joe Biden defeating President Donald Trump, hours after Republicans first blocked formal approval of voters' intentions. The initial move was quickly... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. regulators on Tuesday allowed emergency use of the first rapid coronavirus test that can be performed entirely at home and delivers results in 30 minutes. The announcement by the Food and Drug Administration represents an important... Read More

WASHINGTON - A Senate committee left little doubt Tuesday that changes are coming to social media giants Facebook and Twitter for their policies on controlling content posted on their websites. Democrats and Republicans at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing accused... Read More

WASHINGTON - The abbreviated transition caused by the Trump administration's refusal to recognize President-elect Joe Biden's victory could impair the new president's ability to fill the more than 1,200 executive branch jobs requiring Senate confirmation, a new report says. The... Read More

When we were kids on the playground and there was an angry dispute, someone would always shout “majority rules.” And we’d vote. If the losers didn’t like the outcome, there were two options: punch the winners in the stomach or... Read More

It's the time of year when many of us start to think "it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas," but for residents of an ever-growing number of states, this November is starting to look an awful lot like March... Read More

WASHINGTON — The recent U.S. election left much for both Americans and European allies to process in terms of the shaping of U.S. politics and global affairs.  President-elect Biden, historically a committed trans-Atlanticist, has reaffirmed his commitment to European allies... Read More

WASHINGTON - Rep. Gary Palmer has been elected chairman of the Republican Policy Committee for the 117th Congress. This is the Alabama Republican's second consecutive term as chairman, his having held the post in the 116th Congress. “I’m grateful to... Read More

Richmond, Va. - Virginia could reap more than $300 million in tax revenue a year if lawmakers were to legalize recreational marijuana, according to the Commonwealth's legislative watchdog. In a new report, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission says... Read More

WASHINGTON - President-elect Joe Biden announced several appointments to his White House senior staff on Tuesday, assembling his administration even as President Donald Trump continues to refuse to acknowledge the Democrat's election victory. Mike Donilon, the chief strategist for Biden's... Read More

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced more than $1.9 million in matching grants will be awarded to 161 local tourism initiatives as part of Virginia Tourism Corporation’s Recovery Marketing Leverage Program.  The tourism body revised its traditional marketing program, creating the... Read More

Of all the classes of workers who have come to be highlighted as “essential” during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, one group that is often, unfairly overlooked are those who keep the infrastructure of high rise offices and residential buildings functioning... Read More

WASHINGTON - It's the election insiders were talking about while most of America was still wondering what would happen on Election Day. Every two years, the election of a new Congress is followed closely by caucus leadership elections. On Tuesday,... Read More

ATLANTA — Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham asked him if he had the power to reject more absentee ballots as election officials are conducting a recount and audit of the presidential race. Raffensperger, in an interview with The Washington Post on Monday, said the South Carolina senator... Read More

Behind President-elect Joe Biden's plans to drive the U.S. back to full employment after the coronavirus slump lies a long-lost idea: The unemployed need jobs, not skills. That "run it hot" recipe for recovery is back in favor among policymakers — including, crucially, at... Read More

WASHINGTON — Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Monday she would press ahead early next year with a campaign finance and elections overhaul, even as the measure may face the same Senate fate it did this Congress: doom. House Democrats passed their signature overhaul measure in March 2019 and dubbed it... Read More

WASHINGTON — Amid indications President Donald Trump will move to slash the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq before he leaves office, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell attacked the idea in a blistering Senate floor speech Monday. McConnell has been almost unfailingly loyal to Trump, but the Kentucky Republican has openly pushed back... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is rushing to issue permits, finalize major environmental regulations and even sell the rights to drill for oil in Alaskan wilderness before Inauguration Day in a push that could complicate Joe Biden's climate and conservation agenda. The eleventh-hour regulatory race... Read More

CHICAGO — Democratic U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos of Illinois said Monday she had tested positive for COVID-19 and is isolating at home with mild symptoms. Bustos, 59, who survived a closer-than-expected bid for reelection to a fifth term earlier this month, announced her diagnosis on Twitter, saying... Read More

Eight months into the pandemic, the coronavirus is infecting Americans at an increasing pace no matter where they live. The seven-day average of new cases was climbing in every state in the U.S. on Sunday, a shift from earlier waves of the... Read More

WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden, faced with worsening economic and health crises, on Monday called for action from two political forces beyond his control: Congress, which is deadlocked over economic relief, and President Donald Trump, who refuses to concede the election and share information... Read More

Joe Biden may have ended the hurricane-force presidency of Donald J. Trump, but his victory extends a broader trend away from relative stability to a time of remarkable political upheaval. From 1960 to 1978, there were three elections in which control of... Read More

Moderna Inc. said its COVID-19 vaccine was 94.5% effective in a preliminary analysis of a large late-stage clinical trial, another sign that a fast-paced hunt by scientists and pharmaceutical companies is paying off with potent new tools that could help control... Read More

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Gov. Mark Gordon recently directed federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act funds to assist Wyoming residents in signing up for health insurance. Governor Gordon allocated $600,000 for the effort, which will be directed to the... Read More

WASHINGTON – Reps. Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., Anthony G. Brown, D-Md., Austin Scott, R-Ga., and Richard Hudson, R-N.C., have introduced the Africa Foreign Relations, International Cooperation, and Assistance Act, H.R. 8186, to enhance security and economic partnerships between the United States... Read More

WASHINGTON — Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wisc., announced nearly $2,000,000 in grants to support telehealth services and distance learning in Wisconsin.  The grants, approved by the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development, were awarded to St. Vincent Hospital and the... Read More

ATLANTA — Georgia Republicans still aren't acknowledging President-elect Joe Biden's victory. But they are raising the specter of his incoming administration's agenda to rally conservatives ahead of the high-stakes Jan. 5 runoffs. At a joint event Friday, U.S. Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue promoted the same message about the battle for control... Read More

LOS ANGELES — Business is booming for Maria Mir. Under normal circumstances, she takes little time off in November and December; the holidays are her busy season. But this is 2020. Nothing is normal. And everyone seems to need her at once.... Read More

NEW YORK — Gov. Andrew Cuomo repeated his threat to sue the Trump administration as he invoked Martin Luther King, Jr. during Sunday remarks about the COVID outbreak at historic Riverside Church in Manhattan. "The Rev. Dr. King, who spoke in this magnificent church, said of all... Read More