This Week

WASHINGTON — The months leading up to the coronavirus pandemic already spelled trouble for the Rome Water System and the tiny community it serves in the Mississippi Delta. A tornado tossed around several homes, closed roads and left the community... Read More

WASHINGTON — More than ever, Eric Harris is mindful of the elected officials around him: The school board members deciding whether his children will go back to the classroom, the sheriff influencing how officers interact with people like him, and... Read More

HARRISBURG, Pa. - Things aren't exactly coming up roses for the Green Party and its presidential nominee, Howie Hawkins. For the second time this week a state supreme court has denied the party's bid for inclusion among the contenders on... Read More

WASHINGTON — Florida Republican Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott want to make sure there is plenty of time for wasting away again in Margaritaville in the sunlight this winter. If they get their way, revelers in Key West, Florida,... Read More

WASHINGTON — Attorney General William Barr has repeatedly floated a conspiracy theory that other countries may distribute counterfeit mail-in ballots to sway the November election. That’s virtually impossible, according to election officials, ballot-printing companies and political scientists. Yet it’s a... Read More

The Federal Reserve left interest rates near zero and signaled it would hold them there through at least 2023 to help the U.S. economy recover from the coronavirus pandemic. The Federal Open Market Committee “expects to maintain an accommodative stance... Read More

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Franklin County judge issued a preliminary injunction on Wednesday permitting the installation of more than one ballot drop box per county ahead of the Nov. 3 presidential election. In handing down his decision, however, Franklin County... Read More

WASHINGTON — As the presidential race moves into its final seven weeks, with former Vice President Joe Biden holding a lead that remains steady but not conclusive, he and President Donald Trump face contrasting challenges, new data from a University... Read More

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump contradicted one of his administration’s top scientists and announced Wednesday that widespread distribution of a coronavirus vaccine would begin as early as next month, further rattling the scientific and public health communities and stoking rival... Read More

WASHINGTON - Tom Wickham is stepping down as parliamentarian of the House of Representatives at the end of the month, and will be replaced by Jason Smith, his current deputy parliamentarian. In announcing the change, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.,... Read More

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court will continue to hold oral arguments by telephone for the start of the new term in October in light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, a court spokeswoman said Wednesday. Kathleen Arberg of the court's public... Read More

WASHINGTON -- Congress discussed proposals Wednesday to switch the United States to 100% clean energy as Western governors confronting out-of-control wildfires demand action on global warming. A House Energy and Commerce subcommittee is trying to figure out a way to... Read More

LANSING, Mich. - Michigan's Republican-controlled Senate on Tuesday approved a bill allowing the state's larger municipalities to begin processing an expected surge of absentee ballots prior to Election Day. The legislation, which passed 34-2 with strong bipartisan support, would allow... Read More

WASHINGTON – A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced legislation that would authorize the president to posthumously award U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Alwyn Cashe the Medal of Honor. Cashe was injured in October 2005 while deployed in Iraq when the... Read More

WASHINGTON - The House passed the Equity and Inclusion Enforcement Act (EIEA), legislation on Wednesday that will restore students’ and parents’ right to hold schools accountable for racial discrimination under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The... Read More

WASHINGTON -- A panel of experts, recently convened by The Concord Coalition, a bipartisan political advocacy group, contend that near-term economic and fiscal damage caused by the current health crisis will make living standards more important than ever. They contend... Read More

WASHINGTON - Rep. Anthony Brindisi, D-N.Y., served as moderator last week at a Blue Dog Coalition forum exploring the issue of mental health and addiction in the U.S. and how to deal with it. Brindisi, the coalition's co-chair, has been... Read More

NEW YORK (AP) — When the coronavirus shutdown began, ABC News' Martha Raddatz figured her plan for a cross-country road trip to meet voters would be shelved, too. Instead, this week Raddatz nears the end of a 6,000-mile journey, where... Read More

NEW YORK, N.Y.- The City of New York on Monday implemented a new COVID "Response Team" to monitor the city's schools and hopefully prevent a resurgence of the coronavirus in one of the nation's hardest hit municipalities. The city's new... Read More

A House committee issued a scathing report Wednesday questioning whether Boeing and government regulators have recognized the problems that caused two deadly 737 Max jet crashes and whether either will be willing to make significant changes to fix them. Staff... Read More

WASHINGTON — Generation Z loathes him. Millennials overwhelmingly back his opponent. And even once-supportive seniors have turned away. As his turbulent reelection bid enters its final phase, President Donald Trump has been hindered by lackluster approval from most generations of... Read More

WASHINGTON — Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday headed a call from her members to commit to keeping the House in session until there’s a coronavirus relief deal, but the vow does little to break the stalemate in bipartisan negotiations that... Read More

WASHINGTON — Less than two months before the November election, House Republicans on Tuesday revealed their agenda, which aims to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, rebuild the economy and increase funding for the police. The House GOP’s “Commitment to America” outlines... Read More

Asian American voters prefer Joe Biden to President Donald Trump by 54% to 30% for November’s presidential election, according to a survey released Tuesday by a coalition of Asian American civic engagement groups. It shows Democrats making another strong showing... Read More

ATLANTA — President Donald Trump’s son Eric shared the stage Tuesday with evangelical pastors in Atlanta’s northern suburbs to tout his father’s campaign. A day earlier, Dr. Jill Biden “virtually” traveled to Georgia to talk about her husband Joe’s plan... Read More

WASHINGTON - Today, the House of Representatives passed the Strength in Diversity Act 2020, legislation that will provide funding for voluntary desegregation initiatives across the country. The Strength in Diversity Act was brought to the House by Rep. Marcia Fudge,... Read More

WASHINGTON — The federal courts want Congress to spend $524 million and pass legislation to bolster safety measures for judges at home and at the courthouse, including legislation to make it a crime for anyone to refuse a request to... Read More

WASHINGTON — If the United States has even a typical flu season that collides with a COVID-19 flare, the resulting public health nightmare could swamp the nation’s already strained health system. This year’s flu season could be milder than usual... Read More

School librarian Amanda Brasfield bent over to grab her lunch from a small refrigerator and felt her heart begin to race. Even after lying on her office floor and closing her eyes, her heart kept pounding and fluttering in her... Read More

WASHINGTON - The chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday demanded Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar shed light on how his department has handled coronavirus-related reports. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., sent a strongly worded letter... Read More

WASHINGTON – A vote is expected in the House this week on the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, a bill that would require employers to provide “reasonable workplace accommodations for workers whose ability to perform the functions of a job are... Read More

WASHINGTON - A bipartisan group of 50 centrist lawmakers on Tuesday unveiled a $1.5 trillion proposal they hope will end the current stalemate over new relief to bolster the coronavirus battered economy. The Problem Solvers Caucus, led by co-chairs Reps.... Read More

WASHINGTON — The House returns to Washington this week, joining the Senate for a September legislative sprint in which the only law enacted before the election might be a stopgap bill to fund the government. Floor action on that is... Read More

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service said a judge acted too late when he ordered the agency over the weekend to stop sending notices to Colorado residents about requesting mail-in ballots that state officials claim are misleading. Most of the... Read More

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal appeals court decided 2-1 Monday that the Trump administration may deport hundreds of thousands of immigrants who previously received temporary protected status for humanitarian reasons. The 2-1 ruling by a panel of the 9th U.S.... Read More

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s campaign is scaling back its television advertising spending and in some cases abandoning it altogether for now in key states, facing a cash crunch brought on by huge investments in staff and operations. Trump’s reelection... Read More

MIAMI — If you’re Hispanic and living in the U.S., chances are good that Joe Biden’s campaign knows a lot about you — including your family roots. Ahead of Biden’s first trip to Florida as the Democratic presidential nominee —... Read More

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Macy's and the City of New York on Monday announced that the annual Thanksgiving Day parade will be dramatically different this year as a result of ongoing concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. Instead of holding a... Read More

WASHINGTON - The Smithsonian Institution announced Monday that it will reopen four more of its Washington, D.C., museums to the public on Friday, with new health and safety measures in place due to ongoing concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. The... Read More

WASHINGTON -- A congressional resolution that started Monday as a condemnation of hate crimes against Asians quickly turned into a dispute over who should be blamed for the devastation caused by coronavirus. Democrats blamed President Donald Trump for mishandling the... Read More

WASHINGTON - The Restaurant Law Center wants the Supreme Court to overturn a 9th Circuit ruling that effectively classified calls and text messages to confirm dining reservations as nuisance robocalls. The Center, an industry association representing about 1 million restaurant... Read More

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Conference of Mayors and a coalition of leaders from smaller municipalities are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold protections against discrimination in the delivery of government services. The court is currently scheduled to hear the... Read More

MIAMI — Mike Bloomberg, the billionaire former New York mayor whose self-funded presidential bid fell short this year, says he’ll spend $100 million over the next seven weeks to help Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden win Florida. Bloomberg’s financial commitment... Read More

ATLANTA — Fierce battles over which votes count are already being fought in courts this election season, with armies of voting rights advocates, political parties and attorneys gearing up to bring more challenges to Georgia election laws when ballots are... Read More

WASHINGTON — The controversial new chief of the U.S. Postal Service had not even started his job when a disturbing thing happened to hundreds of thousands of Americans who cast ballots by mail in primary elections this spring. Their votes... Read More

A federal judge ordered the U.S. Postal Service to stop sending a notice advising Colorado residents to request mail-in ballots, saying confusion would result because the state automatically mails ballots to voters. “The notice provides false or misleading information” and... Read More

President Donald Trump is playing into Russia’s hands by claiming that his political adversaries are trying to rig the U.S. election, a former senior intelligence official said. Sue Gordon, who left the second-highest post in the Office of the Director... Read More

WASHINGTON -- Scientists updated a congressional committee Friday on how the U.S. Energy Department is helping to develop a cure and vaccine for COVID-19. They said Energy Department supercomputers are unlocking mysteries about the structure of the virus as they... Read More