Poli Alert Politics & Civics

The Social Security Administration announced Friday that benefit payments will rise 2.8% next year to offset higher living costs, giving the average retiree about $56 more per month beginning in January. The 2026 cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, marks a slight increase over last year’s 2.5% rise but remains below the …

President Donald Trump said late Thursday that he was ending “all trade negotiations” with Canada after accusing the country of using a fake Ronald Reagan video in an anti-tariff advertisement — an action he called “egregious behavior” meant to influence U.S. court decisions. Trump’s post on his social media site …

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has imposed new restrictions requiring formal approval for nearly all Department of Defense correspondence and interactions with Congress, according to an internal memo obtained by CBS News. The directive, co-signed by Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg, mandates that nearly all congressional communications — including requests for …

The Senate Thursday failed to advance a Republican measure and rejected unanimous agreements on two related bills from Democrats that would have paid federal employees and contractors who have continued to work amid the government shutdown, which entered day 23. The stalemate constituted the latest example of how dug in …

The U.S. military launched a second lethal strike this week against what Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said were vessels engaged in drug trafficking operations in the eastern Pacific, marking an escalation of President Donald Trump’s campaign against alleged “narco-terrorists.” In a statement Wednesday night, Hegseth said three men were killed …

The final debate in New York City’s mayoral race erupted into personal attacks Wednesday night, as frontrunner Zohran Mamdani faced assaults on his thin résumé, Republican Curtis Sliwa fought to prove his seriousness, and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo confronted renewed scrutiny over the sexual harassment allegations that drove him from …

The Trump administration plans to demolish the entire East Wing of the White House “within days,” dramatically expanding President Donald Trump’s proposed ballroom project and triggering backlash from preservationists and lawmakers. The move, first reported by The New York Times and confirmed by two administration officials, marks a major shift …

More than 42 million low-income Americans are at risk of losing food assistance Nov. 1 if the government shutdown continues. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which operates the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, has about $6 billion in a multi-year contingency fund. That’s short of the roughly $9 billion …

President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Office of Special Counsel withdrew Tuesday after offensive text messages surfaced showing him disparaging Martin Luther King Jr. and describing himself as having “a Nazi streak,” prompting an open revolt from Senate Republicans. Paul Ingrassia, a conservative attorney who has served as a …

The Republican speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives is thumbing his nose at the Constitution by failing to seat a Tucson Democrat nearly a month after her overwhelming victory in a September special election, U.S. Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva and Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes argued in a lawsuit filed …

President Donald Trump acknowledged Monday that he is seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation from the federal government over investigations and prosecutions that were later dropped, confirming a New York Times report that he filed claims for damages against the Justice Department. “As far as all of the …

The U.S. Education Department is looking to move the $15 billion Individuals with Disabilities Education Act program outside of the agency, the Washington Post reported Tuesday. In a statement to States Newsroom, department spokesperson Madi Biedermann did not explicitly confirm the report, but said the department is generally looking for ways …

Former President Joe Biden has completed a several-week course of radiation therapy to treat an aggressive form of prostate cancer, marking a significant step in his recovery though not the end of his treatment, his spokeswoman confirmed Monday. Biden, who turns 83 next month, finished the therapy at Penn Medicine …

A man pardoned by President Donald Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack was arrested Saturday in New York for making a “credible death threat” against House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., authorities said. Christopher Moynihan, 34, of Clinton, New York, was charged with a felony count …

Demolition of the White House East Wing began Monday as President Donald Trump moves ahead with a $200 million, 90,000-square-foot ballroom project funded by private donors. CNN footage showed an excavator tearing down portions of the East Wing, with video and close-up images revealing sections of the roof removed and …