Political News

DENVER (AP) — Anxiety in the United States over COVID-19 is at its highest level since winter, a new poll shows, as the delta variant rages, more states and school districts adopt mask and vaccination requirements and the nation's hospitals... Read More

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., is the lead sponsor of the Native American Voting Rights Act of 2021, landmark legislation intended to ensure equal access to the electoral process for Native Americans, Alaska Natives and voters living on... Read More

Republicans in the Illinois General Assembly say newly released census numbers reveal the legislative maps that Democrats pushed to complete in the spring are unconstitutional. The Census Bureau released the data Thursday, Aug. 12, months later than usual, due to... Read More

WASHINGTON -- The Senate has passed both the $1.5 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and the framework of the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill made up largely of potential investments in social programs and climate policy. While these massive budgetary items... Read More

The once-a-decade battle over redistricting is set to be a showdown over the suburbs, as new census data showed rapid growth around some of the nation's largest cities and shrinking population in many rural counties.  From Texas to Florida, some... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden says even with the Taliban in power in Afghanistan, he sees a greater threat from outposts of al-Qaida and its affiliated groups in other countries, and that it was no longer "rational" to continue... Read More

WASHINGTON -- The Department of Education will invoke its civil rights enforcement authority to prevent states from imposing universal bans on wearing face masks in classrooms, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said on Wednesday. The decision represents a dramatic escalation of... Read More

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Defense Department officials on Wednesday afternoon acknowledged the kind of surprise about the fall of Afghanistan mentioned in a new inspector general’s report. “No, I did not see a collapse of an army of that size in... Read More

Costs associated with the United States' “Global War on Terror” have mounted significantly in the nearly 20 years following the Sept. 11 World Trade Center attacks. The underlying mission of the Global War on Terror in 2001 was to fortify... Read More

While suburban congressional districts are swelling with new residents, lawmakers in large swaths of rural America and some Rust Belt cities are in need of more people to represent.  In rural Illinois, Republican Rep. Mary Miller's district is short 73,000... Read More

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Two California voters are suing to block a recall vote against Gov. Gavin Newsom that they say violates the U.S. Constitution. The planned Sept. 14 vote comes amid a backlash against some Democrats, such as New York... Read More

MADISON, Wis. -- Congressional and legislative district maps that have been used in electoral contests for the past decade should not be used as the starting point for drawing new boundaries using 2020 census data, Wisconsin Democrats say in a... Read More

Seven diversity organizations have joined the call for Congress to revive a tax certificate program intended to encourage minority and women ownership of broadcast stations. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., and Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., introduced the bill to reestablish the... Read More

A recently released report on the status of illegal online wildlife trafficking has revealed thousands of endangered or illegal animals, parts and trophies are being digitally advertised in the U.S. The report, dubbed Digital Markets: Wildlife Trafficking Hidden in Plain... Read More

AUSTIN, Texas -- The Supreme Court of Texas issued a ruling on Sunday voiding temporary restraining orders issued by separate District Court judges that impeded Gov. Greg Abbott’s edict prohibiting local officials from requiring masks to be worn indoors. Local... Read More

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban declared an "amnesty" across Afghanistan and urged women to join their government Tuesday, seeking to convince a wary population that they have changed a day after deadly chaos gripped the main airport as desperate... Read More

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A group of more than 100 former and current prosecutors and law enforcement officials is calling on President Joe Biden to prioritize criminal justice reform and make good on his campaign promise to form a task force... Read More

FIREBAUGH, Calif. (AP) — As temperatures recently reached triple digits, farmer Joe Del Bosque inspected the almonds in his parched orchard in California's agriculture-rich San Joaquin Valley, where a deepening drought threatens one of the state's most profitable crops. Del... Read More

WASHINGTON  — President Joe Biden said Monday that he stands “squarely behind” his decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan and that the government's collapse was quicker than anticipated. Speaking about the chaotic situation in Afghanistan, Biden said that he... Read More

WASHINGTON — A high-ranking Justice Department attorney urged Congress Monday to clamp down on new state laws that she claims shut out some low-income persons from participating in elections. She described voting rights as more at risk now than any... Read More

WASHINGTON -- Federal courts continued their struggle with state and federal eviction moratoriums in separate rulings Thursday and Friday. A federal judge in Washington ruled Friday that her “hands are tied” to halt the federal eviction moratorium that the Centers... Read More

Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin has been elected president of the National Association of Secretaries of State. His selection took place at the organization's summer conference in Des Moines, Iowa. “As the job of Secretary of State continues to... Read More

President Joe Biden cut short what was to have been a five-day stay at Camp David Monday and is slated to address the nation this afternoon on the stunning and still unfolding events in Afghanistan. Biden is scheduled to speak... Read More

As the looming bipartisan infrastructure plan awaits its final approval, states are beginning to find out what the bill has in store for them. In the state of Texas, infrastructure investment has been a looming issue for some time. The... Read More

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghans rushed onto the tarmac of the capital's airport on Monday as thousands tried to flee the country after the Taliban seized power with stunning speed. Some clung to the side of a U.S. military transport... Read More

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — There are plenty of places to turn for accurate information about COVID-19. Your physician. Local health departments. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control. But not, perhaps, your local government's public comment session. During a meeting... Read More

Rep. Cheri Bustos, the Illinois Democrat who led her party’s House campaign arm in the 2020 cycle, has some advice for swing-district Democrats on how they can win in communities that tilted for former President Donald Trump the last two... Read More

Cubans have taken to the streets since July demanding a democratic life, and violence against exerting their civil rights will not be tolerated under the U.S. Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. Friday saw the third set of sanctions by... Read More

WASHINGTON -- A lawsuit by Rep. Devin Nunes against The Washington Post for defamation is proceeding after a judge this week declined to dismiss it. The Post reported that Nunes accused the Obama administration of spying on Trump Tower in... Read More

Data released by the U.S. Census Bureau to jump start the redistricting process across the country reveal an America that’s grown more diverse over the past decade. The largest demographic increases came in the number of people who identified themselves... Read More