Political News

BOISE, Idaho — Idaho Gov. Brad Little and Attorney General Lawrence Wasden filed a lawsuit Tuesday to bring an end to a monthslong protest by campers outside the Capitol Annex intended to bring attention to homelessness in the state. Specifically,... Read More

WASHINGTON — Russia’s unprovoked military assault on Ukraine is driving up the price American farmers pay for fertilizer. One of the little known facts about American agriculture is that while American farmers feed much of the world, the United States... Read More

AUSTIN, Texas — The Travis County District Court issued an injunction on Friday temporarily preventing the enforcement of a directive compelling the state child welfare agency to investigate gender-transitioning medical treatment cases as child abuse. Judge Amy Clark Meachum issued... Read More

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Agriculture Department is confirming two cases of avian flu in Kansas and Illinois among flocks of poultry. So far, no humans have been infected. The flocks are under quarantine and will be depopulated, the Agriculture Department... Read More

WASHINGTON — Patrons enjoying a snow day soup, sandwich and suds at Mr. Henry’s on Capitol Hill were surprised Saturday afternoon by the sudden appearance of musical great Roberta Flack. While Mr. Henry’s is often cited as the place where... Read More

WASHINGTON — Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will deliver a virtual address to members of the House and Senate on Wednesday at 9 a.m. According to a letter sent to members of both chambers by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate... Read More

NEW YORK (AP) — Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is planning trips to Iowa and New Hampshire. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., is considering a rough timeline for a potential presidential announcement. And allies of Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., are openly talking... Read More

FLORENCE, S.C. — Former President Donald Trump has certainly drawn bigger crowds, but those who gathered to see him at Florence Regional Airport Saturday night quite possibly made up in enthusiasm what they lacked in numbers. Trump, still popular in... Read More

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Attorneys for the Republican leaders of the Ohio Legislature have asked the Ohio Supreme Court to "defer any action" on new congressional district maps until after the 2022 election. Ohio House Speaker Bob Cupp and Senate President... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee is considering a draft resolution that would dramatically shake up the party’s nominating process and put an end to Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses. A copy of the draft resolution was obtained... Read More

WASHINGTON – Members of Congress are asking the Justice Department to investigate whether Amazon.com officials lied last year when they denied giving preference to their own offerings on their website. They sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland... Read More

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Supreme Court ruled on Friday that abortion providers cannot sue state medical licensing boards to counteract the state’s law that bans the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy. The case was brought by Whole Women’s... Read More

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced Friday the United States and other allies will move to revoke Russia’s “most favored nation” trade status in response to its unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine, with the U.S. specifically targeting Russian imports such... Read More

WASHINGTON — The American Federation of Teachers is urging its pension trustees to immediately review investments with ties to Russia following the country’s invasion of Ukraine. The AFT, founded in 1916, is an affiliate of the American Federation of Labor... Read More

WASHINGTON — More than 250 lobbying firms, trade groups and individual lobbyists, led by the National Institute for Lobbying & Ethics, have signed a letter urging the leaders of the House and Senate to reopen the Capitol to the public... Read More

LOS ANGELES — GLAAD, the nation’s leading LGBTQ advocacy organization, plans to begin grading film studios on political donations and public advocacy beginning in the 2022 election cycle in response to what the group sees as corporate inaction around anti-LGBTQ... Read More

BATON ROUGE, La. — Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards on Wednesday vetoed the congressional district map approved by Louisiana’s Republican-controlled legislature last month, saying it failed to comply with the Voting Rights Act. In the wake of that decision, a... Read More

WASHINGTON — The mammoth $1.5 trillion omnibus spending package contains something for everybody, just about, but on Capitol Hill itself perhaps the biggest news is the inclusion of a 21% increase in the Members' Representational Allowance, the budget line that... Read More

WASHINGTON — Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., in February introduced a bill which would revise outdated regulations on methadone treatment and allow any pharmacy to dispense methadone for treating opioid use disorders. The bill has since been referred... Read More

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden held an event alongside business leaders, the governors of Michigan and Indiana and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo urging Congress to pass the bipartisan Innovation and Competition Act. The legislation, formally entitled the United States... Read More

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is directing the state education agency to create a task force to help school districts address longstanding staffing shortages. Abbott’s letter, addressed to Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath, compels the agency to... Read More

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan coalition of business and other organizations, calling themselves The Alliance for New Immigration Consensus is urging Congress to advance immigration reform legislation before the 2022 midterms. In a letter to the leaders of both chambers of... Read More

WASHINGTON — A Texas oil rig worker on Tuesday became the first criminal defendant from the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol to be convicted by a jury. Guy Reffitt, 49, was convicted in U.S. District Court in... Read More

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced the U.S. is banning Russian oil imports in the administration’s ongoing bid to increase the toll on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. “Today I am announcing the United States is targeting... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday evening turned back efforts by North Carolina and Pennsylvania Republicans to have the high court throw out new redistricting plans in their respective states. In separate orders, the justices declared the new districts... Read More

WASHINGTON — Hopes for the passage of a revamped version of the Build Back Better Act were renewed last week after Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., indicated he could support a scaled-down version. Manchin’s objections to the version of the bill... Read More

WASHINGTON — Russian and Ukrainian negotiators met again Monday but came away with no binding agreements as their war entered its 12th day. After their meeting ended, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee met to determine the next steps for U.S.... Read More

WASHINGTON — One of my late mother’s favorite stories of my childhood involved my first “vote” in a federal election. It was the fall of 1968 and I was in kindergarten and our teacher, Mrs. Blumberger, decided that in addition... Read More

WASHINGTON — Former Rep. Xochitl Torres Small, D-N.M., makes no effort to hide her enthusiasm for her current job, undersecretary for rural development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Six months after her confirmation, the Democrat from Las Cruces, New... Read More

MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Supreme Court approved a new set of congressional and state legislative district maps on Thursday that had been proposed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. “Hell yes,” said Evers in a statement released by his office... Read More