Political News

by Jennifer Shutt, Missouri Independent April 1, 2022 WASHINGTON — Congress remains undecided over how exactly to provide billions more to fight the COVID-19 pandemic as a new variant spreads throughout states and public health officials caution the virus doesn’t show signs of fading away. Negotiators were close to an …

An Alabama man was sentenced to 46 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to bringing a truck full of firearms, explosives and other weapons to Washington, D.C., ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Lonnie L. Coffman, 72, of Falkville, was sentenced Friday to nearly …

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russian forces of committing “genocide” near the capital, Kyiv. Russia denied the allegations. What are believed to be the bodies of civilians were found when reporters from Reuters and other journalists entered the town of Bucha, northwest of Kyiv, after Russian forces withdrew. “This …

by Jon King, Michigan Advance April 3, 2022 Anti-government extremists or big talkers enticed by zealous federal agents? That’s the question that a jury will begin deliberating Monday in the trial of four men charged in an alleged plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. During final arguments on Friday, …

According to reporting from multiple news outlets, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki is said to be leaving her job in the Biden Administration in the near future and heading to MSNBC. While her deal with MSNBC is not finalized, it is expected that she will host a program for …

Barbara Rodriguez Originally published by The 19th The people kept showing up at the small Northern California office where Natalie Adona and her co-workers help run elections. Three days in a row, they came to try to push a petition for recall elections, refusing to wear masks despite a mandate …

by Danielle J. Brown, Florida Phoenix March 31, 2022 Statewide LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Florida filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against Gov. Ron DeSantis, state education officials, and others over a new law aiming to limit conversations about LGBTQ people in classrooms. The lawsuit arrived in the U.S. District Court …

On Friday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to approve the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act, a bill that would decriminalize marijuana federally. The legislation passed 220 to 204, largely along party lines, with Democrats in support and Republicans opposed. If it were to pass the Senate, the …

by Ariana Figueroa, Missouri Independent April 1, 2022 WASHINGTON — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday the government will terminate Title 42,  a Trump-era policy that prevented migrants from claiming asylum during a health crisis, including the coronavirus pandemic. The policy will end on May 23, the …

A bill to cap the cost of insulin prices at $35 per month for Americans with diabetes was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday. The House approved H.R. 6833, also known as the Affordable Insulin Now Act, by a vote of 232-193, with all votes against coming …

by Jacob Fischler, Idaho Capital Sun March 31, 2022 On Thursday, President Joe Biden said he would release 1 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve daily for the next six months and spur mining companies to increase their production of the materials used to power electric vehicles. …

On Friday, a federal judge struck down parts of Florida’s suppressive election law, S.B. 90, ruling that it violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. The court will also retain jurisdiction of the case for ten years, during …

Amanda Becker Originally published by The 19th The U.S. Senate last week approved a bipartisan measure to ban the sale of crib bumpers, which have been linked to dozens of deaths of infants and more than 100 serious injuries since 1985. “Parents will have one less thing to worry about” …

by Allison Winter, Missouri Independent March 30, 2022 WASHINGTON — A U.S. Supreme Court dominated by conservative justices could fundamentally reshape the college admissions process later this year when it takes up two landmark cases challenging affirmative action in higher education. The court recently agreed to hear two cases that challenge race-conscious …

President Joe Biden on Wednesday introduced his administration’s new website, COVID.gov, designed to be a “one-stop shop” for the latest pandemic information, as well as a means of providing access to vaccines, tests, treatments and masks on a single site. Biden unveiled the site while asking Congress to approve an …