Politics Election category, Page 223
Judge orders Texas to suspend new law banning most abortions
AUSTIN — A federal judge on Wednesday ordered Texas to suspend the most restrictive abortion law in the United States, which since September has banned most abortions in the nation’s second-most populous state. The order by U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman is the first legal blow to the Texas law...
McConnell offers Democrats short-term debt fix amid standoff
WASHINGTON — Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday told Democrats he would allow an emergency debt limit extension into December, edging back from a perilous standoff by offering a potential path to avoid a federal default. A procedural vote on legislation that would suspend the debt limit for two...
New Hampshire governor seeks removal of panel chair over false covid claims
CONCORD, N.H. — Gov. Chris Sununu is calling for the removal of a state representative, a fellow Republican, from his position as head of the legislative fiscal committee, saying the lawmaker is continuing to spread covid-19 misinformation. Last month, Rep. Ken Weyler, of Kingston, told state Health Commissioner Lori Shibinette...
GOP U.S. Senate candidate Sean Parnell seeks to have child custody case sealed
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Sean Parnell testified Tuesday that sealing the docket in his ongoing child custody case, closing the custody trial to the public and imposing a gag order on the parties involved is necessary to protect his three children. “It is for my children, and it’s to protect...
Gaetz friend asks for more time to cooperate with feds
Joel Greenberg, the friend of U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz who pleaded guilty earlier this year to sex trafficking, asked a judge on Tuesday to postpone his sentencing until next year so he can continue cooperating with federal authorities. Greenberg asked the federal judge in a court filing to move his...
Biden eager to get out of D.C., push benefits of spending plan
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is shifting strategy to sell his ambitious social spending plans by traveling outside Washington and courting Democrats who have complained they felt left out of the process. With his agenda in jeopardy on Capitol Hill, Biden on Tuesday will visit the Michigan district of a...
Pittsburgh mayoral candidates Gainey, Moreno outline their visions for city’s future
Mayoral candidates clashed Monday night over their visions for Downtown Pittsburgh, whether Wilkinsburg should merge into the city and how to improve relationships between police and residents across all 90 of the city’s neighborhoods. With four weeks until election day, Democratic nominee Ed Gainey and Republican challenger Tony Moreno participated...
Biden tells GOP to ‘get out of the way’ on debt limit
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden accused Republican lawmakers on Monday of blocking efforts to increase the government’s borrowing authority, saying they’re playing “Russian roulette with the U.S. economy” by committing to filibuster the measure ahead of an Oct. 18 deadline. Biden called on the Senate to suspend the nation’s debt...
‘Everybody is frustrated,’ Biden says as his agenda stalls
WASHINGTON — President Biden on Saturday acknowledged frustrations as Democrats strain to rescue a scaled-back version of his $3.5 trillion government-overhaul plan and salvage a related public works bill after frantic negotiations failed to produce a deal. “Everybody’s frustrated, it’s part of being in government, being frustrated,” Biden told reporters...
Biden, Democrats back at it, scaling back $3.5T plan
WASHINGTON — Democrats were back at it Friday, doggedly determined to rescue a scaled-back version of President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion government overhaul and salvage a related public works bill after a long night of frantic negotiations that resulted in no deal. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was gathering the party’s...
U.S. tries to make nice with France after Australia sub snub
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit France next week as the Biden administration tries to smooth over hurt feelings and potentially more lasting damage caused by its exclusion of America’s oldest ally from a new Indo-Pacific security initiative, the State Department said Friday. The department said Blinken...
Idaho’s partial vote recount validates 2020 election tallies
BOISE — A partial recount of ballots cast during the last presidential election has validated the accuracy of the results, Idaho officials say, despite manipulation claims by Trump ally and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell. The Idaho secretary of state’s office said Wednesday that a hand inspection of ballots in Camas...
Biden signs bill to avert partial government shutdown
WASHINGTON — With only hours to spare, President Joe Biden on Thursday evening signed legislation that would avoid a partial federal shutdown and keep the government funded through Dec. 3. Congress had passed the bill earlier Thursday. The back-to-back votes by the Senate and then the House averted one crisis,...
At last minute, Pa. lawmakers vote to extend dozens of covid-19 waivers
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania legislature unanimously voted Wednesday to extend dozens of regulatory waivers put into place last year to help...
Biden plan at stake, Pelosi pushes ahead for $3.5T deal
WASHINGTON — With President Joe Biden’s government overhaul at stake, Democrats charged into trouble Thursday as a promised vote on the first piece, a slimmer $1 trillion public works bill, faltered amid stalled talks on his more ambitious package. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi assembled her leadership team for an early...
South Dakota lawmakers question Gov. Kristi Noem’s meeting with daughter
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — South Dakota Republican and Democratic legislators alike said Wednesday that they want more details from Gov. Kristi Noem’s administration about a meeting last year that included the governor, her daughter and state employees overseeing an agency that had moved to deny her daughter’s application to become...
Alabama Gov. Ivey defends use of coronavirus funds for prisons
MONTGOMERY — Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Tuesday defended her state’s plan to use pandemic relief funds to build new prisons —saying the $400 million expenditure is both allowed and needed — while a legislative committee swiftly advanced the construction plan. Ivey issued a response to U.S. House Judiciary Committee...
VA medical centers, other federal agencies to offer voter registration under Biden order
WASHINGTON — Veterans will be able to register to vote when they receive medical treatment. Job seekers may be able to do the same at federally funded employment centers. And local housing agencies may offer voter registration help to millions of Americans living in public housing. All of those steps...
GOP blocks bill to keep government going; new try aheadVideo
WASHINGTON — Republican senators blocked a bill Monday night to keep the government operating and allow federal borrowing, but Democrats aiming to avert a shutdown pledged to try again — at the same time pressing ahead on President Joe Biden’s big plans to reshape government. The efforts are not necessarily...
As daughter sought state license, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem summoned agency head
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Just days after a South Dakota agency moved to deny her daughter’s application to become a certified real estate appraiser, Gov. Kristi Noem summoned to her office the state employee who ran the agency, the woman’s direct supervisor and the state labor secretary. Noem’s daughter attended...
Pelosi vows infrastructure will pass this week, trims bigger billVideo
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pledged to pass a $550 billion infrastructure bill this week and signaled that the headline amount on a bigger package of spending and tax measures will be lowered from $3.5 trillion. In a nod to moderate Democrats eager to enact the road-and-bridges bill, Pelosi...
Pa. redistricting panel rolls back new policy to count incarcerated people in home districts, not state prisons
This article is part of a yearlong reporting project focused on redistricting and gerrymandering in Pennsylvania. It is made possible by the support of Spotlight PA members and Votebeat, a project focused on election integrity and voting access. HARRISBURG — Thousands of people will be excluded from a new redistricting...
What’s the price of Biden’s plan? Democrats drive for zero
WASHINGTON — What will it cost to enact President Joe Biden’s massive expansion of social programs? Congress has authorized spending up to $3.5 trillion over a decade, but Biden is prodding Democrats to fully cover the cost of the legislation — by raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy, negotiating...
Pa. lawmakers know a dementia care crisis is coming. Will they agree on a response?
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf this week said he supports large investments to address a growing dementia care crisis in...
Biden risks losing support from Democrats amid D.C. gridlock
NEW YORK — President Joe Biden is losing support among critical groups in his political base as some of his core campaign promises falter, raising concerns among Democrats that the voters who put him in office may feel less enthusiastic about returning to the polls in next year’s midterm elections....
