Politics Election category, Page 156
Senate just barely confirms Bernstein as Biden’s economic adviser
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Tuesday narrowly confirmed Jared Bernstein to be the chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. A longtime aide to President Joe Biden and an economist focused on workers, Bernstein was confirmed by a vote of 50-49. Republican lawmakers were critical of his...
Mexican president picks veteran diplomat to be next foreign minister
MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s president on Tuesday named Alicia Bárcena, the country’s current ambassador to Chile, as the next foreign relations secretary, replacing Marcelo Ebrard who resigned to pursue the presidential nomination. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador noted the solid background of the Harvard-educated Bárcena, who served for almost 14...
Lower house of Japan’s parliament passes bill to promote LGBTQ+ awareness, but not guarantee rights
TOKYO — The powerful lower house of Japan’s parliament on Tuesday passed a bill to promote understanding of LGBTQ+ issues amid protests by activists that last-minute revisions by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s conservative party favored opponents of sexual equality instead of guaranteeing equal rights. The passage followed only a few...
California Gov. Newsom spars with Fox News host Hannity over Biden, immigration and the economy
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom sparred with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Monday night, insisting President Joe Biden is physically fit for a second term as president while refusing to say whether supporters have urged him to run against Biden on the 2024 ballot. Asked if he...
Biden determined to say as little as possible on Trump’s indictment
WASHINGTON — It’s rare for the leader of the free world to be rendered silent, but President Joe Biden is clearly determined to say as little as possible about his predecessor Donald Trump’s federal indictment. Biden’s White House dodges questions about the matter. His campaign doesn’t respond to them. And...
Pa. House advances bill establishing state earned income tax credit to aid working poor
Working Pennsylvanians may be able to get a state earned-income tax credit under a bill that passed the state House of Representatives on Monday. “For every dollar spent on the state earned income tax credit by the commonwealth, we will receive $4 back on economic growth and save $3 in...
Moms for Liberty rises as power player in GOP politics after attacking schools over gender, race
NEW YORK — To its members, it’s a grassroots army of “joyful warriors” who “don’t co-parent with the government.” To anti-hate researchers, it’s a well-connected extremist group that attacks inclusion in schools. And to Republicans vying for the presidency, it has become a potential key partner in the fight for...
U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis censured at N.C. GOP convention for bipartisan work with Dems
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Delegates at the Republican convention in Greensboro voted Saturday to censure U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, the state party confirmed. The vote to censure the senior Republican senator from North Carolina took place on Saturday morning, ahead of speeches later in the day by former Vice President Mike...
Trump’s GOP defenders in Congress leap into action on charges after months of preparation
WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump’s indictment on charges of mishandling classified documents is set to play out in a federal court in Florida. But about a thousand miles away, part of Trump’s defense is well underway in a different venue — the halls of Congress, where Republicans have been...
Trump blasts federal indictment as ‘baseless’ at first events since charges were unsealed
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Former President Donald Trump blasted his historic federal indictment as “ridiculous” and “baseless” Saturday during his first public appearances since the charges were unsealed, painting the 37 felony counts as an attack on his supporters as he tried to turn dire legal peril to political advantage and...
DeSantis faces balancing act in backing Trump, experts say
ORLANDO, Fla. — Given the chance to pounce, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is instead backing his rival Donald Trump, accusing the U.S. Department of Justice of partisan bias in charging the former president. For political analysts, DeSantis’ unwillingness to attack Trump over his legal problems showcases the influence Trump retains...
Trump faces unprecedented legal peril, but will it hurt his standing with Republican voters?
DES MOINES, Iowa — In March, when Donald Trump became the first former president in U.S. history indicted on criminal charges, his reelection campaign saw a huge surge in donations. Even political rivals rushed to support him. There was no dent in his front-runner status after the state charges in...
Supreme Court rules in favor of Black Alabama voters in unexpected defense of Voting Rights ActVideo
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday issued a surprising 5-4 ruling in favor of Black voters in a congressional redistricting case from Alabama, with two conservative justices joining liberals in rejecting a Republican-led effort to weaken a landmark voting rights law. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh...
Republican Joe Rockey picks up key labor endorsements in Allegheny County executive race
The Republican candidate for Allegheny County executive picked up a rare, but not unprecedented, endorsement from a large labor union on Thursday. The Pennsylvania District Council of the Laborers International Union of North America endorsed Republican Joe Rockey, a retired chief risk officer at PNC. He is facing state Rep....
Republican presidential field is largely set. Here are takeaways on where the contest stands
NEW YORK — After a trio of new announcements this week, the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential field is all but set. A handful of stragglers may jump in later, but as of now there are at least 10 high-profile Republican candidates officially seeking their party’s nomination. And with the announcement...
House Republicans pull back contempt charge against FBI director Wray over Biden doc
WASHINGTON — The Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday called off a vote on a contempt of Congress charge against FBI Director Christopher Wray, accepting a last-minute offer by the bureau to allow the full committee access to a confidential document of an unverified tip about President...
Biden vetoes effort to block student loan forgiveness
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden vetoed legislation on Wednesday to block his attempt to grant student debt relief through executive action. The measure, which the Senate cleared last week, will now go back to Capitol Hill for a possible override attempt, which would be unsuccessful based on the support it...
Pennsylvania looking to charge electric vehicle owners a $290 annual fee
Pennsylvanians who own electric vehicles may soon be required to pay an annual fee to help pay for road and bridge improvements. The Senate Transportation Committee on Wednesday approved a bipartisan-backed bill by a 13-1 vote that would charge owners of non-commercial passenger electric vehicles a $290 fee annually —...
Pennsylvania House OKs $100 million for adult mental health services
HARRISBURG — A proposal to allocate $100 million in federal funds to pay for adult mental health programs easily passed the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Wednesday, a plan built on the recommendations of a state commission charged with issuing suggestions for coordinated care. The bill passed 173-30 and was...
LBJ’s daughter Luci watched him sign voting rights bill, then cried when Supreme Court weakened it
AUSTIN, Texas — Luci Baines Johnson was a somewhat impatient 18-year-old on Aug. 6, 1965, when she happened to be on what she called “daddy duty,” meaning “I was supposed to accompany him to important occasions.” The occasion that day was President Lyndon Johnson’s scheduled signing of the Voting Rights...
Voting rights marcher recalls being clubbed, hearing fatal gunshot during pivotal day of protests
MARION, Ala. — Della Simpson Maynor was just 14 when she marched for voting rights in her hometown of Marion, Alabama. Her most distinct memory of that evening is of the police attacking the demonstrators. She recalls one officer, on horseback, swinging at her head with a club. “I remember...
Activist’s fight against segregation evolved into political action to push for voting rights
NEW YORK — Norman Hill was at the AFL-CIO office in Washington, D.C., in August 1965, and recalls cheering when he learned the Voting Rights Act had passed Congress. He then took a moment to remember the people “who were killed, literally, struggling to try to get Blacks registered to...
Voting activist killed during Freedom Summer in Mississippi believed country should be integrated
NEW YORK — Stephen Schwerner doesn’t remember how he learned that his younger brother Michael, nicknamed Mickey, was missing in Mississippi along with colleagues Andrew Goodman and James Chaney. What he remembers is that as soon as the family heard the news, they were certain of the young men’s fate....
Andrew Young was at Martin Luther King’s side throughout often violent struggle for civil rights
ATLANTA — Andrew Young’s first thought when he heard the Voting Rights Act had been signed into law was not celebratory. It was strategic. “Where are we going to get the money to get the country mobilized to register these voters?” he recalled thinking at that momentous time nearly 60...
For many Southern Baptists, the only campaign question is which Republican candidate to support
Southern Baptists form a core part of the white evangelical Christian bloc that has reliably and overwhelmingly voted Republican in recent elections, and is expected to again in 2024. But Southern Baptists are weighing their options in the GOP presidential primary field — some already lining up behind Donald Trump,...
