Politics Election category, Page 167
Trump indictment throws 2024 race into uncharted territory
NEW YORK — The historic indictment of former President Donald Trump thrust the 2024 presidential election into uncharted territory, raising the remarkable prospect that the leading contender for the Republican nomination will seek the White House while also facing trial for criminal charges in New York. In an acknowledgment of...
Fetterman released from Walter Reed, home in Braddock
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman was released Friday from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after being treated for clinical depression. Dr. David Williamson, Walter Reed’s neuropsychiatry chief and medical director, said Fetterman’s depression is now in remission. Fetterman is back home in Braddock. “I’m excited to be the father and...
Campaign finance, lobbying reform still receiving little attention in Pa. legislature
This story first appeared in The Investigator, a weekly newsletter by Spotlight PA featuring the best investigative and accountability journalism from across Pennsylvania. Sign up for free here. HARRISBURG — As lawmakers gathered in Harrisburg this week for another round of budget hearings, both legislative chambers got the chance to...
Biden’s strategy on Trump’s indictment: No comment
WASHINGTON — Does President Joe Biden have any reaction to the indictment of former President Donald Trump? Is he concerned about possible protests or that the unprecedented indictment could further divide the nation? What does the indictment mean for the rule of law in the United States? Biden’s answer on...
Senators reintroduce bipartisan journalism antitrust bill
Two U.S. senators are reviving a bipartisan effort to allow local news outlets to negotiate for fair compensation from large digital platforms that use their content. Senators Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, and John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana, on Friday announced they have reintroduced the Journalism Competition and...
Republicans show widespread support for Trump amid indictment
In the hours since the news broke that former President Donald Trump has been indicted by a New York state grand jury, top Republicans lawmakers took to social media quickly showing their support for the former president. Trump was indicted Thursday on charges involving payments made during his 2016 presidential...
Trump’s indictment in New York: Here’s what to know
NEW YORK — Donald Trump has become the first former U.S. president to be charged with a crime, the culmination of a political rise defined by unprecedented scandal. The vote of a Manhattan grand jury to indict the Republican former president on charges related to hush money payments made on...
Bill to criminalize help for Idaho minors’ abortions passes
BOISE — A bill that would criminalize helping minors obtain an abortion without parental consent won final passage in Idaho’s legislature on Thursday and is headed to the desk of Republican Gov. Brad Little. The measure would be the first of its kind in the U.S. It seeks to restrict...
Western Pa. political leaders react to Trump indictment
Some called the criminal charges long overdue. Others called for caution. Still, others described the indictment of former President Donald Trump as “partisan” and unfair. Western Pennsylvania political leaders on Thursday had various takes on the historic indictment. Trump was indicted by a New York state grand jury Thursday on...
Florida OKs bill to carry concealed guns without a permit
TALLAHASSEE — Floridians will be able to carry concealed guns without a permit under a bill the Legislature sent to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday. The governor said at a suburban Atlanta gun store that he will sign the bill. The Senate passed the bill on a 27-13 vote....
Congresswoman Summer Lee speaks out on House floor about hoax shooting reports
U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, decried Wednesday’s hoax shooting reports that shut down schools in Pittsburgh and other Pennsylvania communities in remarks on the House floor. “Active shootings aren’t normal. Shooting hoaxes aren’t normal. The evacuations and drills are not normal. There’s nothing about this that’s normal,” Lee said Wednesday....
House GOP pushes sprawling bill to ‘unleash’ American energy
WASHINGTON — House Republicans are set to approve a sprawling energy package that seeks to undo virtually all of President Joe Biden’s agenda to address climate change. The massive GOP bill up for a vote Thursday would sharply increase domestic production of oil, natural gas and coal, and ease permitting...
West Virginia bans marriage for children age 15 or younger
CHARLESTON — West Virginia will no longer allow children under 16 to marry, after the governor signed a compromise bill Wednesday. The law signed by Republican Gov. Jim Justice continues allowing children ages 16 and 17 to get married with restrictions. Under the new law, those minors must get parental...
Idaho law could criminalize helping minors get abortions
Idaho lawmakers are considering making it illegal for an adult to help a minor procure an abortion without parental consent. The measure would create a new crime of “abortion trafficking,” barring adults from obtaining abortion pills for a minor and “recruiting, harboring, or transporting the pregnant minor.” To sidestep violating...
Florida Gov. DeSantis’ board says Disney stripped them of power
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Board members picked by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to oversee the governance of Walt Disney World said Wednesday that their Disney-controlled predecessors pulled a fast one on them by passing restrictive covenants that strip the new board of many of its powers. The current supervisors...
GOP lawmakers override veto of transgender bill in Kentucky
FRANKFORT, Ky. — 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...
Congress approves measure to toss Biden’s water protections
WASHINGTON — Congress on Wednesday approved a resolution to overturn the Biden administration’s protections for the nation’s waterways that Republicans have criticized as a burden on business, advancing a measure that President Joe Biden has promised to veto. Republicans have targeted the Biden administration’s protections for thousands of small streams,...
Senate votes to repeal 2 Iraq military authorizations
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Wednesday passed a bill that would repeal two decades-old authorizations to use military force against Iraq after supporters of the legislation had fended off floor efforts to amend it, including proposals that would have singled out Iran as a threat in the Middle East. Sens....
Debt ceiling impasse: Kevin McCarthy presses Biden to negotiate
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said Tuesday he’s increasingly concerned about President Joe Biden’s unwillingness to negotiate on lifting the nation’s borrowing authority, saying in a letter to the president that the White House position could “hold dire ramifications for the entire nation.” Rather than open direct talks...
North Hills GOP committee mounts write-in campaign for Democratic DA Zappala
Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. has taken some hits from his fellow Democrats recently, but some local Republicans are working to help him. An email obtained by the Tribune-Review shows that a GOP committee in the North Hills is encouraging Republican primary voters to write in Zappala’s...
Election Day ballot problems in Pennsylvania county examined
Election Day shortages of the paper needed to run voting machinery caused significant problems in a northeastern Pennsylvania county in November, but the extent of the problem or what caused it are still unclear, witnesses told a congressional committee Tuesday. The three-hour hearing of the U.S. House Administration Committee into...
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp could sign measure to give state new power over DAs
ATLANTA — Gov. Brian Kemp could soon sign a measure to create a state board with powers to punish or even oust local district attorneys as Republicans seek sweeping oversight over prosecutors they accuse of skirting their duties. The House voted 97-77 on Monday to approve legislation to create the...
Elizabeth Warren running for 3rd U.S. Senate term in 2024
BOSTON — Massachusetts Democratic U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren announced Monday that she will seek a third term in 2024. Warren, a prominent voice for the liberal wing of the Democratic Party and a failed 2020 presidential contender, said she’s running for reelection to end corruption in Washington, make the economy...
Trump, facing potential indictment, holds defiant Waco rally
WACO, Texas — Facing a potential indictment, Donald Trump took a defiant stance at a rally Saturday in Waco, disparaging the prosecutors investigating him and predicting his vindication as he rallied supporters in a city made famous by deadly resistance against law enforcement. With a hand over his heart, Trump...
Biden’s pick to lead FAA withdraws amid shaky Senate support
WILMINGTON, Del. — President Joe Biden’s choice to run the Federal Aviation Administration has withdrawn his nomination, a setback for the administration that comes after Denver International Airport CEO Phillip Washington appeared to lack enough support in the closely divided Senate. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg confirmed Washington’s withdrawal in a...
