Intensity and insults rise as lawmakers debate debt … WASHINGTON (AP) — Fights over increasing the nation’s borrowing authority have been contentious in Congress, yet follow a familiar pattern: Time and again, lawmakers found a way to step back from the brink before markets began to panic and the nation risked a dangerous default on its debt. But this year’s fight has a different […]
Here’s what 2024 Republicans have said about Trump’s … The field of declared and prospective 2024 Republican presidential candidates on Thursday decried the indictment of former President Donald Trump on criminal charges for his alleged role in organizing hush money payments made to an adult film star during his 2016 campaign. Trump is one of a handful of declared GOP candidates running for the […]
Ahead of Transgender Day of Visibility, Democrats … Congressional Democrats on Thursday plan to reintroduce a landmark resolution to strengthen civil rights protections for transgender and nonbinary Americans amid a tidal wave of state and federal measures that target them. The Transgender Bill of Rights, slated to be introduced by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) ahead of Transgender Day […]
Ukraine by rail: Inside Zelenskyy’s efforts to buoy … ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine (AP) — The caravan of unmarked vehicles tears across the muddy grass next to the playground. On the merry-go-round, the children stop swinging and spinning. The curious — parents and other residents of this southeastern town — gather around. Car doors swing open, and heavily armed security guards in battlefield fatigues spill out. […]
‘Not trying to ban booty videos’: Paul blocks Hawley’s … Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ken.) blocked a move Wednesday by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) to pass his bill that would ban the embattled social media platform TikTok in the U.S., saying the legislation violated First Amendment rights. “The company has bent over backwards to work with our government,” Paul said on the Senate floor. “I will […]
GOP lawmakers override veto of transgender bill in … FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Republican lawmakers in Kentucky on Wednesday swept aside the Democratic governor’s veto of a bill regulating some of the most personal aspects of life for transgender young people — from banning access to gender-affirming health care to restricting the bathrooms they can use. The votes to override Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto […]
Most gig workers paid sick leave under new Seattle … SEATTLE (AP) — Most gig workers in Seattle will be permanently entitled to paid sick leave and safe time under a first-in-the-nation law signed by Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell on Wednesday. The measure expands pandemic-era protections and strengthens labor rights for app-based workers. Seattle previously allowed food delivery workers to accrue paid sick and safe […]
Remembrances, calls for reform at Irvo Otieno’s funeral NORTH CHESTERFIELD, Va. (AP) — Family, friends and other mourners gathered Wednesday at a Virginia church to remember Irvo Otieno at a funeral service, celebrating his life and calling for mental health care and policing reforms after the 28-year-old Black man’s death earlier this month while in custody at a state psychiatric hospital. “He had […]
Mass shootings seldom shift partisan policies despite … Public outrage is swift following mass shootings, such as the killing of six people at a Christian elementary school in Nashville. Sorrow and sympathy are widespread. But what comes next from policymakers is likely to depend on which political party is in charge of a state. Don’t expect new gun controls in Republican-led states, such […]
Police: Nashville shooter fired indiscriminately … NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The shooter who killed three students and three staff members at a Christian school in Nashville legally bought seven weapons in recent years and hid the guns from their parents before carrying out the attack by firing indiscriminately at victims and spraying gunfire through doors and windows, police said Tuesday. The […]
Boy Scouts’ $2.4 billion bankruptcy plan upheld by … DOVER, Del. (AP) — A $2.4 billion bankruptcy plan for the Boy Scouts of America has been upheld by a federal judge, clearing an important hurdle in the legal challenge by certain insurance companies and dissenting sex abuse survivors. The plan would let the Texas-based organization keep operating while it compensates tens of thousands of […]