Politics Election category, Page 151
FBI Director Chris Wray defends the ‘real FBI’ against criticism from House RepublicansVideo
WASHINGTON — FBI Director Chris Wray defended the “real FBI” during a contentious congressional hearing Wednesday, rejecting a litany of grievances from angry Republicans who are harshly critical of the bureau, threatening to defund some operations and claiming the Justice Department is unfair to political conservatives, including Donald Trump. Wray...
Senators call for Supreme Court to follow ethics code like other branches of government
The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, responding to Associated Press investigative stories on the Supreme Court, said Tuesday it was time for the justices to bring their conduct in line with the ethical standards of other branches of government. “If they just establish the basic standards of every other...
U.S. formally rejoins UNESCO after 5-year absence
WASHINGTON — The U.S. on Tuesday formally rejoined the U.N.’s scientific, educational and cultural organization after a five-year absence. The U.S. return to the Paris-based UNESCO was based mainly on concerns that China has filled a leadership gap since the U.S. withdrew during the Trump administration. UNESCO’s governing board voted...
Iowa Legislature considers 6-week abortion ban in special session
DES MOINES, Iowa — Protesters gathered in the Iowa Capitol rotunda as the Legislature began a special session Tuesday focused exclusively on abortion restrictions, where Republican lawmakers will work to push through a new ban on abortion after roughly six weeks of pregnancy. The day will be a marathon of...
Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor’s staff prodded colleges and libraries to buy her books
WASHINGTON — For colleges and libraries seeking a boldfaced name for a guest lecturer, few come bigger than Sonia Sotomayor, the Supreme Court justice who rose from poverty in the Bronx to the nation’s highest court. She has benefited too — from schools’ purchases of hundreds, sometimes thousands, of the...
Rep. George Santos compares himself to civil rights hero Rosa Parks because he refused to sit in the back of CongressVideo
Rep. George Santos says he’s the new Rosa Parks — because he wouldn’t go sit in the back of Congress. The controversial Long Island Republican absurdly compared himself to the civil rights icon, who famously challenged segregation by refusing to move to the back of a public bus in Montgomery,...
Republican’s hold on nominations leaves Marines without confirmed leader for 1st time in 100 yearsVideo
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Marine Corps is without a confirmed leader for the first time in a century as Gen. David Berger stepped down as commandant on Monday and a Republican senator is blocking approval of his successor. Berger took over as the 38th commandant in July 2019, and is...
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene ousted from far right Freedom Caucus after fight with Lauren Boebert
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has been kicked out of the biggest conservative club in Congress over her nasty feud with fellow MAGA stalwart Rep. Lauren Boebert. The right-wing House Freedom Caucus ousted Greene in large part for calling Boebert a “little b——” in a quarrel that erupted on the House...
Pennsylvania governor calls on divided Legislature to finalize budget past deadline
HARRISBURG — Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro called on the Republican-controlled Senate on Thursday to return to the Pennsylvania Capitol to finalize a state spending plan, as the state government neared a week without full spending authority. He disputed Republican accusations that he went back on his word about the $45...
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey’s campaign says incumbent raised $4M in second quarter
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey’s campaign raised more than $4 million during the second quarter of this year, a quarterly fundraising record for the incumbent Democrat who plans to seek reelection next year. Casey, a Democrat from Scranton, announced April 10 that he is seeking a fourth term in Washington. Casey’s...
With lawsuit dismissed, Pa. Republicans file appeal to try and overturn mail-in voting law
Unhappy with their latest legal setback in trying to have Pennsylvania’s mail-in voting law thrown out, Republicans are now appealing to the state Supreme Court. On June 27, a state Commonwealth Court judge denied the request of 14 current and former GOP legislators to invalidate Act 77, which 11 of...
Pennsylvania House approves state budget after Gov. Shapiro backs off voucher plan
HARRISBURG — Late Wednesday night, the Democratic-controlled Pennsylvania House approved a new state spending plan after a days-long stalemate in Pennsylvania’s politically divided Legislature. The chamber approved the main bill in a $45 billion spending plan, 117-86, as the state government plowed through its fifth day without full spending authority....
Judge’s order limits government contact with social media operators, raises disinformation questions
NEW ORLEANS — An order by a federal judge in Louisiana has ignited a high-stakes legal battle over how the government is allowed to interact with social media platforms, raising broad questions about whether — and how — officials can fight what they deem misinformation on health or other matters....
Pennsylvania governor backs off $100M private schools program in budget stalemate
HARRISBURG — Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro on Wednesday backed off his insistence on money for a new private-school funding program after it became a sticking point in a budget stalemate between Pennsylvania’s politically divided Legislature. Shapiro’s shift in position came as state government plowed through its fifth day without full...
Exonerated member of ‘Central Park Five’ wins primary, nearly assuring seat on NYC Council
NEW YORK — Yusef Salaam, one of the exonerated “Central Park Five,” has won the Democratic primary, all but assuring him a seat on the New York City Council. It’s an improbable feat for a political novice who was wrongly accused, convicted and imprisoned as a teenager for the rape...
Any progress made toward settling Pa.’s state budget dispute? It’s hard to tell
Pennsylvania enters the Fourth of July holiday with a budget agreement still a work in progress — if there is even any progress. The state Capitol was a near-ghost town on Monday, the third day of the new fiscal year. Neither spokeswomen for the Democratic-controlled House nor Republican-controlled Senate offered...
Arkansas governor names state GOP chairman, former federal prosecutor to Supreme Court seat
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Monday named state Republican Party chairman and former federal prosecutor Cody Hiland to the Arkansas Supreme Court, giving it a conservative majority as justices prepare to take up a challenge to her education overhaul. Hiland was appointed to fill the vacancy...
What’s ‘Bidenomics’? The president hopes a dubious nation embraces his ideas
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has long struggled to neatly summarize his sprawling economic vision. It’s been hard for voters to digest the mix of roads-and-bridges spending, tax hikes on big companies, tax credits for parents, tax breaks for renewable energy, grants to build computer chip factories, insulin price caps...
Moms for Liberty’s focus on school races nationwide sets up political clash with teachers unions
PHILADELPHIA — Moms for Liberty, a “parental rights” group that has sought to take over school boards in multiple states, is looking to expand those efforts across the country and to other education posts in 2024 and beyond. The effort is setting up for a clash with teachers unions and...
In 370 days, Supreme Court conservatives dash decades of abortion and affirmative action precedents
WASHINGTON — Overturning Roe v. Wade and eliminating affirmative action in higher education had been leading goals of the conservative legal movement for decades. In a span of 370 days, a Supreme Court reshaped by three justices nominated by President Donald Trump made both a reality. Last June, the court...
Georgia launches Medicaid expansion in closely watched test of work requirements
ATLANTA — Georgia is offering a new bargain to some adults without health insurance beginning Saturday: Go to work or school and the state will cover you. But advocates decry the plan, which will insure far fewer people than a full expansion of the state-federal Medicaid program, as needlessly restrictive...
Cuban boy castaway Elián González becomes a lawmaker
HAVANA — Elián González has the same big, expressive eyes he did 23 years ago when an international custody battle transformed him into the face of the long-strained relations between Cuba and the United States. Now 29, González is stepping into Cuban politics. He recently entered his country’s congress with...
DeSantis signs controversial ‘radioactive roads’ bill lobbied by fertilizer giant Mosaic
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday signed a bill that will allow the Florida Department of Transportation to study the use of phosphogypsum, a mildly radioactive byproduct of the phosphate manufacturing process, in road construction. The measure — dubbed the “radioactive roads” bill by critics — was lobbied by Tampa-based...
Changing their tune? Pennsylvania lawmakers consider replacing the state’s official song
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania may soon be changing its tune. A proposal to establish a new state song got a positive vote Thursday in the House of Representatives, although there was some discord. The resolution to establish an independent commission to review the history, solicit suggestions from the public and make...
Pennsylvania budget agreement is elusive as fiscal-year deadline nears
HARRISBURG — Gov. Josh Shapiro and Pennsylvania’s politically divided Legislature appeared on track Thursday to start the state’s fiscal year without a spending plan in place, with closed-door talks yielding optimism from Republicans, but discontent from Democrats. For Shapiro, getting his first budget across the finish line is perhaps the...
