Politics Election category, Page 123
Voters push to toss Summer Lee challenger Laurie MacDonald from primary ballot
The region’s most contentious primary election race just got spicier. Laurie MacDonald, one of two Democratic challengers trying to unseat a surging U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, is now facing a threat to her place on the ballot. This week four Democratic voters in the 12th Congressional District went to...
Dueling pro-Trump factions in Michigan throw the swing state’s Republicans into disarray
WATERFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. — The Michigan Republican Party was deep in debt when a longtime party donor who had given more than $1 million over the past decade asked for a meeting with its chairwoman. Kristina Karamo turned down the donor. Her reasoning, according to two people familiar with the...
Biden calls Putin a ‘crazy SOB’ and takes aim at Trump during fundraiser for 2024 election
SAN FRANCISCO — During a fundraiser for his reelection campaign Wednesday night, President Joe Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “crazy SOB” and took aim at former President Donald Trump’s comments comparing himself to the Russian opposition leader who died last week in an Arctic prison. Biden was talking...
White House weighing executive actions on the border — with immigration powers used by Trump
WASHINGTON — The White House is considering using provisions of federal immigration law repeatedly tapped by former President Donald Trump to unilaterally enact a sweeping crackdown at the southern border, according to three people familiar with the deliberations. The administration, stymied by Republican lawmakers who rejected a negotiated border bill...
Pennsylvania’s high court throws out GOP lawmakers’ subpoena in 2020 presidential election case
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s highest court ruled Wednesday that Republican state lawmakers can no longer try to enforce a subpoena for a wide range of election records they issued in 2021 in a quest inspired by former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential election. The court,...
James Biden tells GOP lawmakers that Joe Biden had no involvement in the family’s business dealingsVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden “never had any involvement” in the business dealings of other members of his family, his brother James Biden testified Wednesday as he appeared for a voluntary private interview on Capitol Hill as part of House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry. “I have had a 50-year career in...
Student debt wiped clean for 153K borrowers
About 153,000 student borrowers nationwide learned by email this week that their college debt has been wiped clean by the federal government. The U.S. Department of Education says it has discharged or eliminated $1.2 billion in student loans under the Biden administration’s new income-driven student loan repayment plan called Saving...
It’s an election year, and Biden’s team is signaling a more aggressive posture toward the press
NEW YORK — Occupants of the White House have grumbled over news coverage practically since the place was built. Now it’s Joe Biden’s turn: With a reelection campaign underway, there are signs that those behind the president are starting to more aggressively and publicly challenge how he is portrayed. Within...
Nikki Haley vows to stay in Republican primary race against Trump
Nikki Haley on Tuesday insisted she won’t end her long shot Republican primary bid to knock off former President Donald Trump even as she faces daunting odds of winning her home state of South Carolina or anywhere else. Just four days before Saturday’s primary in South Carolina, Haley summoned the...
Alabama Supreme Court rules frozen embryos are ‘children’ under state law
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama Supreme Court has ruled that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law, a decision critics said could have sweeping implications for fertility treatments. The decision was issued in a pair of wrongful death cases brought by three couples who had frozen embryos destroyed...
‘Real results’: VP Kamala Harris visits Pittsburgh to celebrate clean water efforts
Vice President Kamala Harris visited Pittsburgh on Tuesday to celebrate the region’s success in replacing more than 18,000 lead water lines and improving drinking water infrastructure. The trip came 18 months after she came to the city advocating for new funding to replace tens of thousands of lead pipes. “When...
U.S. appeals court hears argument over missing dates on Pennsylvania mail-in ballots
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard argument Tuesday over whether county elections officials in Pennsylvania must count mail-in ballots that are missing the date on their outer envelope. Voting rights advocates argue that the date is irrelevant to whether the ballots are legitimate and cast on time, while...
Biden heads to California to rev up his fundraising in anticipation of a costly rematch with Trump
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden heads to California on Tuesday looking to soak up more cash for his reelection bid during a three-day swing through the state. Going into the trip, Biden’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee announced Tuesday that they had collected $42 million in contributions during January...
GOP Senate contenders aren’t shy about wanting Trump’s approval. But in Pennsylvania, it’s awkward
HARRISBURG — Since he became the single biggest force in Republican politics nearly a decade ago, Donald Trump has figured prominently in U.S. Senate races, using his massive public platform and loyal base of support to shape which GOP incumbents run for reelection and which contenders get nominated. This year,...
Fentanyl killed their kids. Now these moms are supporting Casey’s fight against the deadly opioid
Peggy Heidish’s son, Zachary, died last June of a fentanyl overdose just two months after he completed an inpatient recovery program to combat his opioid addiction. Heidish, of Edgewood, said her 35-year-old son came back home that spring in high spirits and was ready to move on with his life...
Stalled U.S. aid for Ukraine underscores GOP’s shift away from confronting Russia
At about 2 a.m. last Tuesday, Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin stood on the Senate floor and explained why he opposed sending more aid to help Ukraine fend off the invasion launched in 2022 by Russian President Vladimir Putin. “I don’t like this reality,” Johnson said. “Vladimir Putin is...
Wisconsin’s Democratic governor signs his new legislative maps into law after Republicans pass them
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers signed new legislative district maps into law on Monday that he proposed and that the Republicans who control the Legislature passed to avoid having the liberal-controlled state Supreme Court draw the lines. Democrats hailed the signing as a major political victory in...
Trump rails against fraud ruling while campaigning in Michigan
WATERFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Former President Donald Trump railed against the judge who slapped him with a $355 million fine in his New York civil fraud trial and went after the long list of prosecutors with cases against him as he campaigned in Michigan on Saturday night while facing penalties...
Trump pushes $399 branded shoes a day after $355 million ruling against him
PHILADELPHIA — As he closes in on the Republican presidential nomination, former President Donald Trump made a highly unusual stop Saturday, hawking new Trump-branded sneakers at “Sneaker Con,” a gathering that bills itself as the “The Greatest Sneaker Show On Earth!” Trump was met with loud boos as well as...
Analysis: Aid to Ukraine hinges on House Speaker Johnson
WASHINGTON — When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with congressional leaders in Washington late last year, he told them privately what is now public: With U.S. weapons, they could win the war against Russia, but, without them, Russian President Vladimir Putin would be victorious. In a subsequent meeting with new...
Saving democracy is central to Biden’s campaign messaging. Will it resonate with swing state voters?
BETHLEHEM — Just blocks from the shuttered Bethlehem Steel plant, the Hispanic Center Lehigh Valley was bustling on a recent day with scores of older people eating lunch. Downstairs, out of sight, a constant stream of visitors was shopping in its massive food pantry. Over the past seven months, the...
Trump avoids ‘corporate death penalty’ in civil fraud case, but his business will still get slammed
NEW YORK — Donald Trump won’t face the corporate death penalty after all. A New York judge on Friday spared the ex-president that worst case punishment as he ruled in a civil case alleging Trump fraudulently misrepresented financial figures to get cheaper loans and other benefits. Still, Trump got slammed...
Donald Trump heading to Philly on Saturday
PHILADELPHIA — Former President Donald Trump is headed to Philadelphia on Saturday to speak at Sneakercon, a large-scale gathering for sneaker enthusiasts taking place at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Trump announced he would speakat the convention on his social media platform, Truth Social, on Friday, and a spokesperson for the...
House lawmakers unveil $66 billion foreign aid, border plan
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of House lawmakers released a $66.3 billion foreign aid and border package Friday that, backers hope, will be an alternative to the Senate-passed national security supplemental. The newly unveiled legislation includes military-only assistance for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan — a departure from the $95.3 billion...
Hostile reaction greets Biden during East Palestine visit a year after train derailment
Just over a year after a fiery derailment shocked East Palestine, Ohio and the surrounding area, President Joe Biden visited the area for the first time Friday. He received a mostly hostile reaction from the predominantly anti-Biden crowd. Some people in the small town near the Pennsylvania border expressed skepticism...
