In a victory for Democrats, the Supreme Court has turned away efforts from Republicans in North Carolina and Pennsylvania to block state court-ordered congressional districting plans. In separate orders late Monday, the justices are allowing maps selected by each state’s Supreme Court to be in effect for the 2022 elections. Those maps are more favorable…
read moreAn armed Texas militia member led a “vigilante mob” that overwhelmed police officers and became the first group of rioters to breach the U.S. Capitol last year, a federal prosecutor said Monday at the close of the first criminal trial over the riot. A 12-member jury is scheduled to begin deliberating on Tuesday for Guy…
read moreU.S. lawmakers stepped up calls Monday to ban the import of Russian oil, cutting off Russian President Vladimir Putin from a key source of revenue in retaliation for the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. “How can we possibly be importing Russian oil and gas and giving the profits of those transactions to Vladimir Putin to pay…
read moreDemocrats have long dreamed of flipping Texas from a bedrock Republican state to one that elects more Democrats to Congress and awards its mother lode of electoral votes to a Democratic presidential contender, something that hasn’t happened since 1976. That dream has been buoyed by dramatic demographic changes in Texas, where the population has grown…
read moreThe Biden administration is not advocating for regime change in Russia, the White House said Friday, after a U.S. senator called for Russians to assassinate President Vladimir Putin. “That is not the position of the U.S. government and certainly not a statement you’ll hear from — coming from the mouth of — anybody working for…
read morePresident Joe Biden’s announcement that the U.S. would go after Russian oligarchs and close U.S. airspace to Russian planes in response to the Ukraine invasion drew Democrats’ praise, but some Republican lawmakers want even tougher action. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson reports. …
read moreBack at work this week following a holiday recess, U.S. lawmakers are feeling the pressure to agree on legislation sanctioning Russia for its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. While Democratic lawmakers praised the executive actions taken by U.S. President Joe Biden to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin for bombarding the independent Eastern Europe nation, some Republicans…
read moreAS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY Madam Speaker, Madam Vice President, our First Lady and Second Gentleman. Members of Congress and the Cabinet. Justices of the Supreme Court. My fellow Americans. Last year COVID-19 kept us apart. This year we are finally together again. Tonight, we meet as Democrats Republicans and Independents. But most importantly as…
read moreTexas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott easily bested a group of conservative challengers to lock up his party’s nomination Tuesday and will face Democrat Beto O’Rourke in the November general election. O’Rourke, who nearly ousted Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018, will get the chance to try for an even bigger upset in November. He’ll be…
read moreThe Justice Department launched one of the largest and most complex criminal investigations in its history after a mob of Donald Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol over a year ago. Now it’s time for a jury to hear some of the government’s evidence about the unparalleled attack on American democracy. The first trial for…
read moreFace coverings are now optional for President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address Tuesday, as Congress is lifting its mask requirement on the House floor after federal regulators eased guidelines last week in a rethinking of the nation’s strategy to adapt to living with a more manageable COVID-19. Congress’ Office of the Attending Physician…
read moreIn the days since it became clear that Russian President Vladimir Putin was about to order a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many Republican politicians in the United States have taken the opportunity to suggest that if Donald Trump were still president, Putin would not have taken such a cataclysmic step. It’s an argument that…
read morePresident Joe Biden has interviewed at least three candidates for the Supreme Court, according to a person familiar with the matter, and the White House is reiterating that he remains on track to make a final selection by Monday. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that Biden had not decided whom to nominate.…
read moreTop U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday called Russian President Vladimir Putin’s incursion into the occupied regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine an assault on democracy. “It’s stunning to see – in this day and age – a tyrant rolling into a country. This is the same tyrant who attacked our democracy in 2016,” House…
read moreA New York State Supreme Court judge on Thursday ruled that former President Donald Trump and his two oldest children will have to submit to questioning by the state’s attorney general in a civil investigation into potential fraud at the Trump Organization. Attorneys representing Trump, his son Donald Trump Jr. and his daughter Ivanka Trump…
read moreA federal judge on Friday rejected efforts by former President Donald Trump to toss out conspiracy lawsuits filed by lawmakers and two Capitol police officers, saying in his ruling that the former president’s words “plausibly” led to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta said in his ruling that Trump’s words…
read moreClassified information was found in the 15 boxes of White House records that were stored at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, the National Archives and Records Administration said Friday in a letter that confirmed the matter had been sent to the Justice Department. The letter from the agency followed numerous reports about Trump’s handling…
read moreRepublican lawmakers in several states are scaling back access to government business, extending pandemic-era rules that restrict when journalists can report from the floors of state legislative chambers and, in effect, making it easier to dodge the press. As the public returns to the corridors of state capitols, new rules approved in Iowa last month…
read morePresident Joe Biden on Thursday visited a small, deindustrialized Ohio steel town to tout his ambitious multi-trillion-dollar proposed spending plan, to announce a $1 billion initiative for environmental cleanup and restoration, and to court voters in a crucial state ahead of this year’s tightly contested midterm elections. “Today, we’re announcing an investment of $1 billion…
read moreThe Senate gave final approval Thursday to legislation averting a weekend government shutdown, sending President Joe Biden a measure designed to give bipartisan bargainers more time to reach an overdue deal financing federal agencies until fall. Final passage was by a bipartisan 65-27 vote, five more than the 60 votes needed. The House easily approved…
read moreA judge ruled Thursday that former President Donald Trump must answer questions under oath in New York state’s civil investigation into his business practices. Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump and his two eldest children, Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr., to comply with subpoenas issued in December by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Trump and…
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