In The News

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is settling with commercial consulting and engineering firm Booz Allen Hamilton for more than $377 million to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act by billing to its unrelated government contracts. The firm was... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is tapping Shuwanza Goff — a veteran congressional aide who also served as his main point of contact to the House at the start of the administration — as his new director of legislative affairs, making her... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration will hold the first-ever offshore wind energy lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico on Aug. 29. According to the Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the areas to be auctioned have the potential... Read More

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Former New Hampshire U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte on Monday announced she's running for governor, days after fellow Republican Chris Sununu said he's not seeking reelection to a fifth term in 2024. “Gov. Sununu did a great... Read More

WASHINGTON — Historic steps are happening this week in the Indo-Pacific as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will tag-team meetings around the region, in part to counter China's growing influence. Blinken will be... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency disregarded ethanol production's impact on endangered species and other aspects of the environment when it issued the latest iteration of its annual renewable fuel standards, a new lawsuit claims. The agency published its “final... Read More

WASHINGTON — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday celebrated the completion of the state’s largest rooftop solar project. Located in Orange County, New York, or about 62 miles north of New York City, the 7.2 MW community solar project... Read More

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan bill introduced in both the House and Senate this week aims to establish a working group tasked with combating hunger and malnutrition among senior citizens and adults with disabilities. The Senior Nutrition Task Force Act is... Read More

LOS ANGELES — The actor Matthew McConaughey and his wife Camila launched a new initiative Thursday intended to simplify the federal grant application process to support mental health programs and safe learning environments in schools. The couple’s goal in creating... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday advanced legislation that would mandate the Supreme Court to implement a code of ethics and abide by new standards regarding financial disclosure and case recusal requirements.  In an 11-10 vote along partisan... Read More

WASHINGTON — The College Athletes Protection and Compensation Act discussion draft released on Thursday would establish national name, image and likeness standards, cover athletic injury expenses and increase transparency in college athletics. The three U.S. senators behind the act —... Read More

WASHINGTON — Fellow Democrats ripped into presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Thursday during a congressional hearing on whether the Biden administration was trying to censor social media for political gain. They accused him of racism and promoting false conspiracy... Read More

WASHINGTON — As Americans, “the West” has often played a role in our history and national psyche. “Go West, young man,” the newspaper editor Horace Greeley wrote in the New York Daily Tribune on July 13, 1865. Though he may... Read More

WASHINGTON — Youth advocates made their presence felt on Capitol Hill this week, planting signs on the west lawn of the Capitol and visiting lawmakers, in pursuit of greater social media protections for youth.  Design It For Us, a coalition... Read More

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden hosted the annual Congressional Picnic Wednesday evening in an effort to bridge the often contentious divide between Capitol Hill and the White House.  Biden, with First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris... Read More

Every so often, we get a question from a reader that begs for further investigation.  Such was the case recently when a loyal reader of our weekly health newsletter noted that a story we ran on research related to maternal... Read More

STANFORD, Calif. — Marc Tessier-Lavigne resigned as president of Stanford University on Wednesday after an independent review of his research found significant flaws in studies and laboratories he supervised. The review by a special committee of the university’s Board of... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee will convene next week to markup a new health care bill that would invest $20 billion over the next five years in community health centers and the recruitment and retention... Read More

WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia’s attorney general sued 25 chemical companies this week in a lawsuit that adds to a widening array of claims over the production and sale of materials that contain PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals.”... Read More

WASHINGTON — The House Energy and Commerce Committee met Wednesday to markup 15 health-related bills, reviewing and reauthorizing programs dealing with everything from the future of telehealth to a registry for firefighters dealing with cancer to treatment services for sickle... Read More

WASHINGTON — The new Brazilian ambassador to the United States, Maria Luiza Viotti, used her first public appearance in her new role to outline a vision of stability and peace, as well as her nation’s commitment to addressing global issues... Read More

WASHINGTON — As long swaths of smoke from Canada’s wildfires made a second pass over the eastern seaboard this week, workforce advocates were again calling for urgent action to be taken to protect the nation’s workers from the growing effects... Read More

WASHINGTON — Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who is running for the Republican nomination for president, revealed the first plank of his platform at the National Press Club on Monday afternoon — federal law enforcement reform. During an hourlong talk... Read More

WASHINGTON — Artificial intelligence experts warned Tuesday during a congressional hearing of ominous dangers for the United States if it falls behind in developing the technology but a bright future by taking the lead. One of the greatest risks would... Read More

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A Republican-dominated state legislative panel in Alabama on Monday approved a new congressional district map that creates one majority-Black district and one that is 42% Black. The party-line vote by the state Legislature’s reapportionment committee came on... Read More

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose entered the race for U.S. Senate on Monday, joining two other Republicans in a bid to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown. Brown is one of three incumbent Democratic senators up... Read More

NEW YORK — A newly formed nonprofit says it will independently assess emerging digital health technologies in a bid to help patients, insurers and health care providers wade through the scores of products coming into the market. For most consumers,... Read More

WASHINGTON — Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador is being sued over an initiative he filed June 30 to replace partisan primaries with open top-four elections for the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, the state Legislature and other offices. ... Read More

WASHINGTON — The buzz around this fall’s general election is heating up in Virginia as Republicans try to stay in power.  The general election on Nov. 7 will put all 100 seats in the House of Delegates and all 40... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Office of Nuclear Energy, a division of the U.S. Energy Department, has awarded more than $56 million for 68 nuclear energy projects to accelerate research and development and recognize student innovations in the field. The projects will... Read More