Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed legislation into law Thursday that blocks mask mandates from being implemented in K-12 schools and prohibits cities and counties from requiring facial coverings in businesses. Under the new law, public and private schools cannot enforce or implement a policy requiring school employees, students, or visitors to wear a facial covering
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Just south of Tucson, Arizona, lies one of the most treacherous stretches of the US-Mexico border: 262 miles of hot, dry, often mountainous terrain. Patrolling this area — which encompasses some 90,000 square miles — is the responsibility of US Border Patrol Tucson Sector, who we joined for several days of air and ground operations.
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The United Nations refugee agency urged the United States on Thursday to end Trump-era asylum restrictions on the US-Mexico border the Biden administration continues to rely on. The Biden administration has been facing fierce criticism for leaning on a public health authority, known as Title 42, that was put in place under the Trump administration
Continue Reading The White House is backing off a May 25 deadline to pass police reform legislation, leaving timing up to lawmakers who are still engaged in bipartisan negotiations in both chambers of Congress. “We are in close touch and we certainly defer to the expectations of the key negotiators,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said
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Justin Amash, a former Republican congressman, argued that propping up GOP Rep. Liz Cheney as “some sort of hero” for breaking with her party about former President Donald Trump “is a bit misguided,” criticizing her for not speaking up sooner. “We had four years where she could have stood up and said, ‘There’s a problem
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The House of Representatives voted by a thin margin on Thursday to pass a $1.9 billion spending bill to increase security at the US Capitol in response to the deadly January 6 insurrection. The sweeping legislation, introduced by House Appropriations Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro, a Connecticut Democrat, covers a range of priorities, including funding to enhance
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After the House passed a bill to establish a commission to investigate the events surrounding January 6, Senate Republicans look poised to torpedo the commission with few Republicans signaling they’d vote with Democrats to support it. Democrats would need 10 Republican lawmakers to buck their leadership, join Democrats and spend the next several months diving
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The Biden administration announced Thursday that it will stop detaining immigrants at two detention centers that came under investigation over allegations of inadequate medical care and poor conditions. It’s the latest move by the administration to address immigration detention following President Joe Biden’s executive order that called for a review of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s
Continue Reading A bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation on Wednesday that would reform the US Postal Service after the struggling agency made repeated requests to Congress to help its dire financial situation. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Gary Peters of Michigan and top committee Republican Rob Portman of Ohio introduced the measure, which
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A group of Democratic senators are calling on President Joe Biden to take “immediate and decisive action” to end Saudi Arabia’s “blockade tactics” in Yemen that have prevented food, medicine and other crucial supplies from reaching desperate and starving people there. A Saudi failure to meet those demands should result in consequences, the senators wrote
Continue Reading President Joe Biden is scheduled to sign a bill into law on Thursday that’s aimed at countering a rise in anti-Asian hate crimes that’s come during the coronavirus pandemic. Biden has previously urged Congress to pass the legislation, called the Covid-19 Hate Crimes Act. The bill will create a new position at the Justice Department
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National Rifle Association head Wayne LaPierre sent an encouraging email to approximately 5 million members Wednesday assuring them the organization remains “strong and secure” despite their recently dismissed petition for bankruptcy in Texas. LaPierre writes that although the “case for reorganization was dismissed,” the decision has no impact on staffing, programs or advocacy — nor
Continue Reading Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders will introduce a resolution on Thursday disapproving of the US sale of $735 million in precision-guided weapons to Israel, according to a draft obtained by CNN. The sale of the precision-guided weapons was approved by the Biden administration before the latest outbreak of violence between Hamas and the Israeli government. Sanders
Continue Reading Rep. John Katko isn’t used to making headlines. So, when the New York Republican walked into the US Capitol on Tuesday — hours after he became one of the most closely watched Republicans in Congress by brokering a deal to create a commission to investigate the January 6 insurrection — he strategically surrounded himself with
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After the House passed a bill to establish a commission to investigate the events surrounding January 6, all eyes are on the US Senate and whether or not 10 Republican lawmakers will buck their leadership, join Democrats and spend the next several months diving further into the events that shook the Capitol four months ago.
Continue Reading Twenty-nine years ago, less than a year after he had taken the bench, Justice Clarence Thomas joined a dissent calling the landmark opinion Roe v. Wade “plainly wrong” and an “erroneous constitutional decision.” Over the years Thomas would say Roe had “no basis in the Constitution” and call out the court’s abortion precedents as “grievously
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The House of Representatives is expected to vote on Thursday to approve a $1.9 billion spending bill to increase security at the US Capitol in response to the deadly January 6 insurrection. The sweeping legislation, introduced by House Appropriations Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro, a Connecticut Democrat, covers a range of priorities, including funding to enhance security
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In a bid to bolster former President Donald Trump’s lies about widespread fraud in the 2020 election, Trump’s Republican allies are now seeking Arizona-style audits in other swing states — including Georgia, where the former President’s false claims have set off an intraparty war. A day after Trump said in a statement that Georgia should
Continue Reading A federal judge ruled Wednesday that New York Attorney General Letitia James can intervene in a federal proceeding against two notorious right-wing political operatives over what she says were efforts to suppress Black voters ahead of the 2020 election. The operatives, Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman, are accused of orchestrating robocalls aimed at deterring voters
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday, the first high-level encounter between the US and Russia since President Joe Biden took office, which comes amid heightened tensions between the former Cold War foes — friction Blinken acknowledged right away. “It’s also no secret that we have our
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