Politics Election category, Page 174
Watch: President Biden’s State of the Union address
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is set to deliver his second State of the Union address on Tuesday night. The annual speech, delivered before a joint session of Congress, typically provides a president with his single largest audience of the year, usually in the tens of millions. An estimated 38.2...
John Fetterman’s State of the Union guest is Philly man he helped free from prison
One of two brothers who U.S. Sen. John Fetterman successfully fought to free from prison will join him Tuesday at President Biden’s State of the Union address. Dennis “Freedom” Horton and his brother, Lee, were imprisoned for nearly 28 years after being convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life...
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis expected to control Disney district governing board
TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis would take control over the board of a special governing district Walt Disney World operates in Florida under a bill introduced Monday, as the Republican governor punishes the company over its opposition to the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law. Republican leaders in the statehouse, in...
What to watch: New political vibes this State of the Union
WASHINGTON — Look for new faces and fresh political dynamics as President Joe Biden delivers this year’s State of the Union address, coupled with attention to some old problems brought back into painful focus by recent events. The president on Tuesday night will stand before a joint session of Congress...
Special election preview: 3 House districts in Allegheny County to fill vacancies
A special election scheduled for Tuesday will fill vacancies in three Democratic-leaning House seats in Allegheny County. Voters in the 32nd, 34th and 35th state House districts will choose candidates to fill those seats. Registered voters who live in the districts have been able to vote over the counter since...
Summer Lee talks about her goals during 1st term in Congress
Pittsburgh has a new representative in Congress for the first time in nearly three decades. U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, was sworn in last month to replace longtime U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, who did not seek reelection. Lee said she has hit the ground running and the region will continue...
Electronic pollbook security raises concerns going into 2024
ATLANTA — They were blamed for long lines in Los Angeles during California’s 2020 presidential primary, triggered check-in delays in Columbus, Ohio, a few months later and were at the center of former President Donald Trump’s call for supporters to protest in Detroit during last November’s midterms. High-profile problems involving...
State of the Union: Biden sees economic glow, GOP sees gloom
WASHINGTON — Going into Tuesday’s State of the Union address, President Joe Biden sees a nation with its future aglow. Republicans take a far bleaker view — that the country is beset by crushing debt and that Biden is largely responsible for inflation. And the GOP now holds a House...
Democrats set to shake up start of 2024 presidential primary
PHILADELPHIA — Democrats are poised to reorder their presidential primary schedule beginning next year, replacing Iowa with South Carolina in the leadoff spot as part of a major overhaul meant to empower Black and other minority voters critical to the party’s base of support. The Democratic National Committee has worked...
3 special elections in Allegheny County will determine state House majority
Three special elections being held Tuesday in Allegheny County will determine which party has the majority in the state House for the next two years. Voters who live in the 32nd, 34th and 35th state House districts will elect new legislators. With those seats now empty, Republicans hold a slim...
Biden sounds ready to seek 2nd term while rallying Democrats
PHILADELPHIA — President Joe Biden sounded like a candidate making his case for a second term Friday night as he rallied a raucous meeting of national Democrats who chanted, “Four more years!” The only thing missing was an official announcement — that’s not expected for at least several weeks. Speaking...
Ex-prosecutor’s new book details fight over indicting Trump
NEW YORK — As the Manhattan district attorney’s office again ramps up its yearslong investigation of Donald Trump, a new book by a former prosecutor who once led the probe details just how close the former president came to getting indicted — and laments friction with the new D.A. that...
Biden, Cabinet visiting 20 states after State of the Union
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and his Cabinet will embark on a post-State of the Union “blitz” to at least 20 states next week to discuss his economic agenda after his Tuesday night address to Congress, the White House announced Friday. Biden is expected to devote much of his second...
Chinese balloon now over central U.S. as Blinken cancels visit
WASHINGTON — A huge, high-altitude Chinese balloon sailed across the U.S. on Friday, drawing severe Pentagon accusations of spying and sending excited or alarmed Americans outside with binoculars. Secretary of State Antony Blinken abruptly canceled a high-stakes Beijing trip aimed at easing U..S.-China tensions. The cancelation came despite China’s claim...
New Mexico legislators may block local abortion ordinances
SANTA FE, N.M. — A standoff over abortion in politically conservative regions of New Mexico is looming as Democratic state legislators present a bill that would prohibit local governments from interfering with women’s access to reproductive health care. The initiative from state House Democrats responds to abortion restrictions recently adopted...
Some 1/6 rioters change tune after apology
WASHINGTON — Appearing before a federal judge after pleading guilty to a felony charge in the deadly Capitol riot, former West Virginia lawmaker Derrick Evans expressed remorse for letting down his family and his community, saying he made a “crucial mistake.” Less than a year later, Evans is portraying himself...
Bill Clinton back at White House to push paid family leave
WASHINGTON — Three decades after Bill Clinton signed the nation’s family and medical leave law, he was back at the White House on Thursday to hold forth on what it’s meant to the country, unspooling his trademark blend of storytelling and wonkiness. The 42nd president, now more than two decades...
Biden’s handwritten notes part of classified docs probe
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is a man who writes down his thoughts. And some of those handwritten musings over his decades of public service are now a part of a special counsel’s investigation into the handling of classified documents. It isn’t clear yet what the investigators are looking for...
House GOP votes to oust Democrat Omar from major committee
WASHINGTON — The Republican-led House voted after raucous debate Thursday to oust Democrat Ilhan Omar from the chamber’s Foreign Affairs Committee, citing her anti-Israel comments, in a dramatic escalation after Democrats last session booted far-right GOP lawmakers over incendiary remarks. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was able to solidify Republican support...
Biden urges unity at prayer breakfast under new management
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden delivered a message of unity at the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, the first time the annual event has been held since its leadership and structure were overhauled to distance it from a controversial private religious group. “In our politics and in our lives, we...
Biden, Kevin McCarthy meet at White House on debt crisis worriesVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy met face-to-face Wednesday for more than an hour of highly anticipated spending talks — “a good first meeting,” the new Republican leader said — but expectations were low for significant progress as GOP lawmakers push for steep budget cuts in...
Republicans set to oust Rep. Ilhan Omar from Foreign Affairs panelVideo
WASHINGTON — Newly empowered House Republicans are preparing to oust Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Somali-born Muslim lawmaker, from the House Foreign Affairs Committee over her past comments critical of Israel — and as payback after Democrats booted far-right GOP lawmakers from committees for their incendiary, violent remarks. A procedural...
Biden, McCarthy meet at White House on debt crisis worries
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy met face-to-face for high-level budget talks Wednesday at the White House, but expectations were low for significant progress as the new Republican leader tried to negotiate steep federal spending cuts in a broader deal to prevent a national debt limit...
Biden, McCarthy, once breakfast mates, wrangle over U.S. debt
WASHINGTON — Not so long ago, Joe Biden and Republican leader Kevin McCarthy used to talk things over at breakfast in Biden’s vice presidential home at the Naval Observatory. Biden was intent in those days on “keeping up relations with the opposition party,” as he writes in his memoir, and...
How will life change once the covid-19 emergency ends?Video
WASHINGTON — The declaration of a covid-19 public health emergency three years ago changed the lives of millions of Americans by offering increased health care coverage, beefed-up food assistance and universal access to coronavirus vaccines and tests. Much of that is now coming to an end, with President Joe Biden’s...
