The Senate confirmed Boston Mayor Marty Walsh to be Labor secretary, elevating the former union boss to oversee the federal department in charge of workplace conditions, benefits and rights. The vote was 68 to 29. Walsh first joined the Laborers’ Union Local 223 at age 21. By 2011, he had risen to lead the Boston
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Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont and the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, is set to unveil a trio of bills designed to lower the cost of prescription drugs and give American consumers access to the competitive global drug market. On Tuesday, Sanders will introduce the three bills ahead of a hearing in
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Republican lawmakers in Georgia are racing to pass sweeping bills that would clamp down on ballot access and give state officials more powers over local elections, following record voter turnout in 2020 that helped Democrats seize the White House and control of the US Senate. Crucial action comes this week. The state’s GOP-controlled General Assembly
Continue Reading House Democrats are facing political backlash from all sides for opening an investigation into a state certified election in Iowa that Republicans narrowly won after railing against former President Donald Trump and his allies for seeking to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The House Administration Committee, blessed by Democratic leadership, according to a senior Democratic
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White House advisers are expected to present a two-part, $3 trillion jobs and infrastructure proposal to President Joe Biden as soon as this week, according to two people familiar with the plan. The proposal, which Biden’s top advisers have been deliberating over for weeks, would be segmented into two separate parts — one focused on
Continue Reading The San Diego Convention Center, best known for hosting the annual Comic-Con International convention, will soon be used to house unaccompanied migrant children, the city and county announced Monday. The use of San Diego’s convention center will assist the Department of Health and Human Services by providing a physical shelter for the children, along with
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Democrats expressed urgency as Congress prepares to once again consider giving statehood to Washington DC, vowing that legislation on the issue would be considered by both chambers. On Monday, the House Oversight and Reform Committee held a hearing on HR 51, the Washington, DC Admission Act, which would grant the nation’s capital statehood, and featured
Continue Reading Several Supreme Court justices seemed sympathetic on Monday to the arguments of a California strawberry grower who is challenging a state law that allows union organizers onto his property to speak to workers unannounced. A ruling against the union position in the case would come after the Supreme Court in 2018 dealt a major blow
Continue Reading A man accused of carrying the bear spray used in the assault of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick during the January 6 insurrection will stay in jail for the time being, a judge decided on Monday in a court hearing that revealed for the first time video of Sicknick and others reacting to being sprayed.
Continue Reading A fresh batch of Covid stimulus payments will be issued this week, the Biden administration announced Monday, including paper checks and debit cards for those whose bank information is not on file with the government. Some of these payments are being sent via direct deposit with an official pay date of Wednesday, March 24. Money
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Reluctance among conservatives to get vaccinated against Covid-19 has caused growing concern inside the White House, according to people familiar with the matter, even as President Joe Biden’s administration rapidly scales up nationwide efforts to administer shots. The topic has been the subject of several high-level conversations between administration advisers and health experts, including at
Continue Reading US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced new sanctions against members of Myanmar’s military on Monday for the ongoing crackdown on pro-democracy protests since the military seized power in a February 1 coup. The penalties were the second set that the US announced in coordination with allies on Monday. Earlier in the day, the US
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The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to review a lower court opinion that wiped away the death sentence of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of the brothers convicted in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three spectators and injured hundreds. Last July, a federal appeals court said that Tsarnaev will remain in prison for the rest
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As the number of unaccompanied migrant children crossing the US-Mexico border continues to rise, hundreds have been kept in US Border Patrol facilities not meant for minors. The Biden administration has not allowed journalists to independently visit the facilities, but several lawmakers have visited sites. Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar provided these photos revealing the conditions
Continue Reading Minority Leader Mitch McConnell explained his support for the legislative filibuster’s 60-vote threshold, making the case in an op-ed in his home state paper, the Courier-Journal, published Monday that the filibuster is actually “Kentucky’s veto” to prevent “radical” changes that would hurt the state. The piece comes a week after a stark warning to Democrats
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Senior Biden administration officials are traveling to Mexico on Monday to discuss managing migration with government officials amid a surge of unaccompanied minors crossing the US-Mexico border. Roberta Jacobson, the Biden administration’s coordinator for the southern border, and Juan Gonzalez, the National Security Council’s senior director for the Western Hemisphere, will be making the trip,
Continue Reading Democratic Rep. Filemon Vela of Texas, who is serving his fifth term in Congress, confirmed to CNN Monday he will not run for reelection for his House seat in 2022. “It has been an honor to represent the citizens of the 34th District of Texas in the United States House of Representatives for the last
Continue Reading The US is expected to announce sanctions Monday against China in coordination with the European Union for Beijing’s ongoing repression of Uyghur Muslims, a campaign that Secretary of State Antony Blinken has described as genocide. The coordinated sanctions announcement, including US penalties that are expected to come Monday, according to an administration official, come days
Continue Reading Former President Donald Trump endorsed GOP Rep. Jody Hice for Georgia Secretary of State on Monday, after attacking incumbent Republican Brad Raffensperger for overseeing his loss in the state last year. “Unlike the current Georgia Secretary of State, Jody leads out front with integrity,” said Trump. I have 100% confidence in Jody to fight for
Continue Reading Sunrise Movement, the progressive youth-led climate activist group, on Monday announced it is endorsing Jennifer Carroll Foy in the Virginia gubernatorial race. If elected, Carroll Foy would be the first Black female governor in the United States. In a statement, Sunrise said it believes that Carroll Foy, a former Virginia delegate, will be a leader
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