Senate Democrats are looking at potentially using an arcane budget process twice more this year in an effort to ensure they can pass President Joe Biden’s massive infrastructure project with just a simple Democratic majority. The effort underscores the narrow margins Democrats have to pass the Biden agenda, and the move comes as some moderates
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The Biden administration announced the suspension of all trade engagement with Myanmar on Monday following a weekend of violence against pro-democracy protesters and the deadliest day since military seized power in a February 1 coup. The suspension “will remain in effect until the return of a democratically elected government,” a statement from the office of
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Sen. Thom Tillis announced on Monday that he has prostate cancer and will be getting surgery next week. Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who just won reelection last fall, said in a statement that he expects “to make a full recovery.” “Next week, I will have surgery in North Carolina to treat prostate cancer,” he
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Colorado lawmakers are facing pressure to act from constituents and are in the “early stages” of discussing gun reform proposals after a man opened fire at a Boulder supermarket last week, the state’s top Democratic senator told CNN. “We’re talking probably a couple of weeks before we introduce substantial policy, but it’s all very much
Continue Reading Despite the signing of the Doha agreement last February that called for a full drawdown of US troops and personnel from Afghanistan by May 1, the Department of Defense issued nearly a billion dollars in contracts to 17 different companies related to work in Afghanistan past the withdrawal date. There are currently some 18,000 contractors
Continue Reading Despite the signing of the Doha agreement last February that called for a full drawdown of US troops and personnel from Afghanistan by May 1, the Department of Defense issued nearly a billion dollars in contracts to 17 different companies related to work in Afghanistan past the withdrawal date. There are currently some 18,000 contractors
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It has been more than two months since Kamala Harris was sworn in as vice president of the United States, a historic moment for the country, as Harris is the first woman and the first woman of color to hold the second highest office in the land. Yet, Harris — along with her husband, Georgetown
Continue Reading The Biden administration is currently working to develop a system for people to prove they’ve been vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to a senior administration official. Multiple government agencies are engaged in conversations and planning, coordinated by the White House, as this kind of system will play a role in multiple aspects of life, including
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Louisiana Rep.-elect Julia Letlow on Sunday urged Republicans to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, citing her own tragic experience losing her husband to complications of Covid-19. “Look at my family. Use my story,” the Louisiana Republican said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” when asked her message to Republicans, a group that recent polling shows is
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Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska committed on Sunday to supporting Sen. Lisa Murkowski, the state’s other GOP senator, should she decide to mount a reelection bid next year, giving the moderate lawmaker another ally as top party leaders pledge to oust her. “If Sen. Murkowski runs again, I’m going to support her,” Sullivan told
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Dr. Deborah Birx revealed in a CNN documentary clip released Sunday that she received a “very uncomfortable” and “very difficult” phone call from Donald Trump after speaking publicly about the spread of Covid-19 while serving in the former President’s administration. Birx, who had served as the Trump White House’s coronavirus response coordinator, said the phone
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It’s not often that a freshman member of Congress — in office barely two months — gets a shout out from the House Speaker during a congressional signing ceremony for a major piece of legislation. But that’s what happened to Rep. Nikema Williams. Speaker Nancy Pelosi even said that in some ways Williams made passing
Continue Reading Talia Kaganovsky has struggled with her mental health for years. But when Covid-19 hit, “it was almost like a giant slap in the face,” the 18-year-old freshman at University of Pittsburgh said. Kaganovsky, like all Americans, had to readjust her habits and expectations when the pandemic began a year ago. For many high school seniors,
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President Joe Biden and other Democrats could tackle both voting rights and infrastructure legislation at the same time, Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock insisted Sunday, while White House shifts its focus to the country’s infrastructure as his home state of Georgia has enacted a strict new voting law. “We can walk and chew gum at the
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President Joe Biden and other Democrats could tackle both voting rights and infrastructure legislation at the same time, Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock insisted Sunday, while White House shifts its focus to the country’s infrastructure as his home state of Georgia has enacted a strict new voting law. “We can walk and chew gum at the
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested the Biden administration would not take punitive action against China for its handling of the Covid-19 outbreak and instead stressed the importance of planning for and mitigating a future pandemic. The top US diplomat spoke to CNN’s Dana Bash in a wide-ranging inteview on “State of the Union” while
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The former chief of staff to ex-President Donald Trump on Saturday pushed back against his former boss’ recent attempt to whitewash the history of the January 6 Capitol riot. Mick Mulvaney, who stepped down as Trump’s special envoy to Northern Ireland after the insurrection, called Trump’s comments that his supporters were “hugging and kissing” police
Continue Reading The Maine Republican Party’s state committee on Saturday rejected a censure measure against Sen. Susan Collins, following her vote earlier this year to convict former President Donald Trump in his Senate impeachment trial. Collins, who won a competitive reelection last fall in a state that President Joe Biden carried, escapes censure as some of her
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Georgia’s voter restrictions were dashed into law Thursday by Republicans shaken over recent election losses and lies about fraud from former President Donald Trump, yet the measures also developed against a backdrop of US Supreme Court decisions hollowing out federal voting rights protection. In another world, before the 2013 Shelby County v. Holder decision written
Continue Reading The Biden administration could need at least 34,100 additional beds to keep up with the projected number of unaccompanied kids arriving at the US-Mexico border through September, according to internal government estimates obtained by CNN. The uptick in minors crossing the US southern border alone has posed a steep challenge for the administration, as officials
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