Politics Election category, Page 296
Pa. auditor’s race poses historic first for candidates of color
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s two major political parties have nominated candidates of color for state auditor general, a historic step that means that voters will for the first time elect a racial minority to lead a statewide executive branch office. Nina Ahmad, who came to the United States from Bangladesh as...
Trump signs order on police reform, doesn’t mention racism
WASHINGTON — Following weeks of national protests since the death of George Floyd, President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday that he said would encourage better police practices. But he made no mention of the roiling national debate over racism spawned by police killings of black men and women....
Watchdogs say Trump administration limiting oversight of coronavirus aidVideo
WASHINGTON — Government watchdogs are warning that a legal determination by the Trump administration could severely limit their ability to oversee more than $1 trillion in spending related to the coronavirus pandemic. In a letter to four congressional committees, a panel of inspectors general overseeing a sweeping economic rescue law...
Nebraska Democrats renounce their Senate pick over sexually suggestive comments
OMAHA — The Nebraska Democratic Party called on its U.S. Senate nominee to drop out of the race Tuesday because he made sexually repugnant comments about a campaign staffer in a group text with her and other staffers. The party said its state executive committee voted unanimously on Monday evening...
Trump administration sues to block release of John Bolton bookVideo
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration sued former national security adviser John Bolton on Tuesday to stop the publication of a book that the White House says contains classified information. The civil lawsuit in Washington’s federal court follows warnings from President Donald Trump that Bolton could face a “criminal problem” if...
NOAA chief violated integrity policies by backing Trump tweet during hurricane, investigation reveals
The head of the agency that warns of dangerous weather violated its policy on scientific integrity with a statement last year backing a tweet by President Trump about the path of Hurricane Dorian, according to a report released Monday. The New York Times reported acting chief Neil Jacobs of the...
House demands coronavirus loan information from Treasury, banks
WASHINGTON — A House subcommittee investigating billions of dollars in coronavirus aid is demanding that the Trump administration and some of the nation’s largest banks turn over detailed information about companies that applied for and received federal loans intended for small businesses. The requests Monday came after Treasury Secretary Stephen...
Voice of America director, deputy resign because of Trump clash
WASHINGTON — The director of Voice of America and her deputy resigned Monday because of recent clashes with the Trump administration that have sparked fears about the independence of the U.S. government-funded news organization. Amanda Bennett and Deputy Director Sandy Sugawara announced they were leaving the organization as Trump ally...
Trump administration expected to sue to block John Bolton book
The Trump administration is expected to seek an injunction in federal court to block the publication of former National Security Advisor John Bolton’s memoir, a person familiar with the matter said. The planned lawsuit, which was reported earlier by ABC News, could be filed in the coming days but has...
Students urge Trump to maintain training options for international graduates
Graduate students from Carnegie Mellon University, University of Pittsburgh, Penn State and more than five dozen other top universities say efforts to eliminate a training program for international graduate students could have an unintended impact on the U.S. economy. The program, known as the Optional Practical Training program, permits international...
Trump moved Tulsa rally date after learning about JuneteenthVideo
BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — President Donald Trump didn’t know the significance to black Americans of the date and location he chose for his first campaign rally since the coronavirus pandemic more than three months ago, key Republican supporters of the president in Congress said Sunday. Trump had scheduled the rally for...
Virginia GOP congressman who officiated gay wedding loses primary
LYNCHBURG, Va. — A freshman Virginia GOP congressman who angered social conservatives in his district when he officiated a gay wedding lost his party’s nomination. U.S. Rep. Denver Riggleman lost a GOP convention Saturday that was done via drive-thru because of the coronavirus pandemic. He was defeated by Bob Good,...
Election fiasco reveals flaws with Georgia’s new voting system
ATLANTA — Georgia’s expensive new voting machines weren’t working. Poll workers at some precincts couldn’t call up voters’ registrations. Touchscreens that were supposed to display ballots faded to black. Delays compounded into more delays, frustrating voters. “They have a line,” a report from one precinct said, “and people are leaving.”...
Trump speaks to West Point graduates about ‘turbulent’ times
WEST POINT, N.Y. — President Trump highlighted unity and America’s core values in remarks to 1,107 graduating cadets of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on Saturday, steering clear of overt references to current controversies. The ceremony, months in the planning, comes as the backlash to the president’s threat...
Ethics panel fines former Colorado Gov. Hickenlooper $2,750
DENVER — A Colorado commission fined Democratic U.S. Senate candidate John Hickenlooper $2,750 on Friday for ethics violations he committed as governor that included accepting a private jet flight to an official event and receiving benefits he didn’t pay for at a meeting of government, business and financial leaders in...
Trump reschedules his Tulsa Juneteenth speech
President Donald Trump pushed back by one day a rally planned in Oklahoma next week so it won’t fall on Juneteenth, the day seen as marking the end of slavery in America. “We had previously scheduled our #MAGA Rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for June 19th — a big deal,” Trump...
William Sessions, FBI head fired by President Clinton, dies
SAN ANTONIO — William S. Sessions, a former federal judge appointed by President Ronald Reagan to head the FBI and fired years later by President Bill Clinton, died Friday at his San Antonio home. He was 90. Sessions died of natural causes not related to the novel coronavirus, said his...
Biden’s VP list narrows: Warren, Harris, Susan Rice, others
WASHINGTON — Joe Biden’s search for a running mate is entering a second round of vetting for a dwindling list of potential vice presidential nominees, with several black women in strong contention. Democrats with knowledge of the process said Biden’s search committee has narrowed the choices to as few as...
Trump administration revokes transgender health protection
Washington — In a move applauded by President Trump’s conservative religious base, his administration Friday finalized a rule that overturns Obama-era protections for transgender people against sex discrimination in health care. The Department of Health and Human Services said it will enforce sex discrimination protections “according to the plain meaning...
Racist violence in Jacksonville’s past complicates Republican convention
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — When Republicans descend on Jacksonville, Fla., to officially renominate President Trump for a second term, it will be a well-choreographed affair awash in red, white and blue and unfold amid the backdrop of a military town, a bastion of conservatism and a must-win battleground state. But the...
Book: First lady delayed move to DC to get new prenup
WASHINGTON — First lady Melania Trump delayed her move to Washington after President Trump became president to gain leverage in renegotiating her prenuptial agreement, according to a new book. The White House denounced the book after it became public Friday. Mary Jordan, author of the book “The Art of Her...
Trump may be stuck with GOP platform that attacks his predecessor
President Trump said Friday he wants “a new and updated” Republican Party platform after the Republican National Committee voted this week to carry over the 2016 document. But Trump may be stuck with the old platform, which is peppered with jeremiads about the “current administration” that were originally written about...
Court appears reluctant to order dismissal of Flynn case
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court appears skeptical of arguments it should order the dismissal of the criminal case against former Trump administration national security adviser Michael Flynn despite a Justice Department bid to abandon the prosecution. Two of the three judges on the panel repeatedly signaled during arguments Friday...
Minnesota Senate GOP to block most policing overhaul plans
MINNEAPOLIS — Key Republican lawmakers in Minnesota said Friday that they’ll block most of an ambitious effort by Democrats to remake policing in the state where George Floyd died and that they plan to approve only a limited set of police accountability measures. Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka and the...
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey touts hospitals amid focus on rise in virus cases
PHOENIX — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey dismissed mounting concerns Thursday about the state’s alarming rise in coronavirus cases, and focused on hospitals’ capacity to care for patients rather than slowing the spread of the virus. “That’s what’s most important when there is a rise in cases,” Ducey told reporters. “Because...
