Political News

WASHINGTON - Democrat Rita Hart filed a complaint with the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday, challenging the election results in Iowa's 2nd Congressional District. Hart, who trails her Republican opponent, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, by only six votes, has gained votes... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Smithsonian Institution can start the process of building two new museums in Washington honoring the history of women and American Latinos after Congress clears a massive year-end omnibus bill. Separate bills authorizing both museums passed the House... Read More

HOUSTON (AP) — A Tuesday court hearing over a U.S. program shielding immigrants brought to the country illegally as children highlights the peril the program still faces even under an incoming Democratic president who has pledged to protect it. A... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — People with private health insurance will see the nasty shock of “surprise” medical bills virtually gone, thanks to the coronavirus compromise passed by Congress. The charges that can run from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress passed a $900 billion pandemic relief package Monday night that would finally deliver long-sought cash to businesses and individuals and resources to vaccinate a nation confronting a frightening surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths. Lawmakers tacked... Read More

LANSING, Mich. - Today, the Michigan state legislature passed Senate Bill 748, a bipartisan bill that provides $465 million in COVID-19 economic relief from state and federal tax revenues. The spending plan was passed earlier today in Michigan’s state House... Read More

WASHINGTON - A select, bipartisan committee tasked during the 116th Congress with finding ways to make the body more effective, efficient and transparent, got a new lease on life Monday, ensuring its work will last at least two more years.... Read More

WASHINGTON — House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., released the text of a $2.3 trillion omnibus spending bill Monday afternoon consisting of all 12 fiscal year 2021 appropriations bills, $900 billion coronavirus relief, and other authorizations. In addition to... Read More

WASHINGTON - A statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that has represented Virginia in the U.S. Capitol for 111 years was removed from the building Monday morning. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam had requested the removal and a state commission... Read More

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Dozens of journalists at Al-Jazeera, the Qatari state-owned media company, have been targeted by advanced spyware in an attack likely linked to the governments of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, a cybersecurity... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — As COVID-19 cases skyrocketed before the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House coronavirus response, warned Americans to “be vigilant” and limit celebrations to “your immediate household.” For many Americans that guidance has been... Read More

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal advisory panel recommended Sunday that people 75 and older and essential workers like firefighters, teachers and grocery store workers should be next in line for COVID-19 shots, while a second vaccine began rolling out... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Once in office, President-elect Joe Biden will punish Russia for its suspected cyberespionage operation against the United States with financial sanctions and measures to hobble the Kremlin's ability to launch future hacks, his chief of staff said Sunday, as... Read More

ATLANTA (AP) — In 2008, when Barack Obama was under fire for a sermon his former pastor delivered years earlier, the aspiring president distanced himself from the preacher’s fiery words that channeled Black Americans’ anger over racism. The Rev. Raphael... Read More

LONDON (AP) — Trucks waiting to get in and out of Britain backed up for miles and people were stranded at airports Monday as many countries imposed stringent travel restrictions over concerns about a new strain of the coronavirus that... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Top Capitol Hill negotiators sealed a deal on a $900 billion COVID-19 economic relief package, finally delivering long-overdue help to businesses and individuals and providing money to deliver vaccines to a nation eager for them. The package,... Read More

WASHINGTON -- Congress is trying to make sure the lights don’t go dark on Broadway any longer than necessary as the coronavirus pandemic devastates the live entertainment industry. Since quarantine shut down much of the industry last March, actors, singers,... Read More

WASHINGTON - The House and Senate on Friday evening passed a two-day, stopgap spending bill to avert a government shutdown and provide negotiators additional time to resolve differences over a longer-term appropriations bill and COVID-19 relief package. The House passed... Read More

WASHINGTON - Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., is urging House leadership to schedule a classified, bipartisan briefing for members of Congress regarding the recently revealed cyberattack on the networks of the federal government and major American companies. The attack is widely... Read More

WASHINGTON - High-ranking government officials, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Vice President Mike Pence, began receiving their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine Friday, part of an effort to ensure the continuity of the government and reassure hesitant... Read More

Earlier this week, Gov. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., announced his $365 million equity package that is part of his 2021-2023 state budget proposal. The equity package announcement is part of the governor’s weeklong policy rollout initiatives that will be a part... Read More

WASHINGTON - The interior of the Washington Monument will be temporarily closed to visitors over exposure concerns from an earlier visit by Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, who tested positive this week for the coronavirus. The National Park Service initially said... Read More

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a challenge to President Donald Trump's plan to exclude people living in the country illegally from the population count as premature. Trump's insistence that illegal immigrants be excluded from the count could... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Bearing down on a midnight shutdown deadline, top negotiators on a must-pass, almost $1 trillion COVID-19 economic relief package are committed to sealing an agreement Friday as they resolve remaining differences in hopes of passing the legislation... Read More

WASHINGTON -- Members of Congress lashed into the Sackler family Thursday for its pharmaceutical company’s role in promoting a painkiller blamed for killing about 230,000 Americans. Lawmakers on the House Oversight and Reform Committee said the Sacklers and Purdue Pharma... Read More

WASHINGTON - This week, Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, introduced legislation in the House to authorize a public advocacy campaign to promote COVID-19 vaccine participation and provide science-backed information to the public. Joined by Reps. Ron Kind, D-Wis., Roger Marshall, R-Kan.,... Read More

WASHINGTON — A Senate vote on overriding President Donald Trump’s expected veto of a massive defense bill may prove to be a final test of the Republican party’s loyalty to the commander-in-chief. Sen. Jim Inhofe, the Republican chairman of the... Read More

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The federal government granted Florida’s request for wider authority over wetland development, a move announced Thursday that came under immediate fire by environmentalist who worry that the country's largest network of wetlands could be at risk... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence was vaccinated for COVID-19 on Friday in a live-television event aimed at reassuring Americans the vaccine is safe. He celebrated the shot as “a medical miracle” that could eventually contain the raging coronavirus... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — It's a hurry up and wait moment on Capitol Hill as congressional negotiators on a must-pass, almost $1 trillion COVID-19 economic relief package struggled through a handful of remaining snags on Thursday. The holdups mean a weekend... Read More