Poli Alert Political & Civics

By Uriel J. García, The Texas Tribune April 29, 2022 For the past two years, the federal government has turned away migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, including those who are seeking asylum, using a public emergency health order known as Title 42. It was launched by the Trump administration at …

On Saturday night, President Joe Biden addressed the White House Correspondents’ Association,  the first time a president has spoken at the event in six years. The event was canceled during the pandemic, and former president Donald Trump shunned the event while he was in office. Text of Biden’s full remarks and …

by Jennifer Shutt, Iowa Capital Dispatch April 28, 2022 WASHINGTON — The U.S. House voted overwhelmingly Thursday to use the framework of a World War II-era program to allow the federal government to lend and lease military equipment to Ukraine as it resists Russian troops. The legislation, called the Ukraine …

by Jennifer Shutt, Missouri Independent April 28, 2022 WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday asked Congress to approve $33 billion more in funding to help Ukraine fight off a Russian invasion that has lasted more than two months and claimed thousands of lives. Biden also asked U.S. lawmakers to make it …

by Kira Lerner, Florida Phoenix April 29, 2022 Florida authorities arrested a Black man while he was staying in a homeless shelter and charged him with voting illegally in a case tied to Republicans’ drive to root out election fraud. But Kelvin Bolton’s arrest raises questions about the rollout of …

After weeks of delays due in part to Republican obstructionism, the United States Senate has confirmed the nomination of Lael Brainard, a member of the Federal Reserve’s board of governors, as the next vice chair of the central bank. In a 52–43 vote on the Senate floor on Tuesday, lawmakers …

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed a series of controversial education bills regulating what public schools can teach and the playing of sports by transgender youth Thursday morning. Some of the bills drew a lot of attention, including a bill aimed at critical race theory. The measure bans nine “divisive concepts” …

by Ariana Figueroa, Florida Phoenix April 28, 2022 WASHINGTON — Experts tracking disinformation efforts online detailed to lawmakers on a U.S. House Administration panel Thursday how communities of color are targets for those disinformation campaigns. Democrats on the Subcommittee on Elections expressed their concern about how communities of color are …

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it has begun the process of banning menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars. “Banning menthol — the last allowable flavor — in cigarettes and banning all flavors in cigars will help save lives, particularly among those disproportionately affected by these deadly products. With these …

by Jacob Fischler, Idaho Capital Sun April 26, 2022 The U.S. House cleared a bill Tuesday that would expand the Kansas site honoring the U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning school segregation, adding National Park Service sites in other states to commemorate their roles in the decision as well. The bill …

Lincoln Mitchell, Columbia University On Nov. 27, 1978, Dianne Feinstein – then the 45-year-old president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and two-time failed mayoral candidate – effectively announced her retirement from politics. It was a foggy morning, and Feinstein greeted reporters at City Hall by telling them she …

President Joe Biden reportedly said he’s considering canceling some student loan debt in a private meeting with House Democrats. Two sources told NBC News that the president received requests from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus members to extend the pause on student loan payments and cancel at least $10,000 in student loan …

U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn, of North Carolina, was caught with a loaded gun at an airport last week, according to police. The incident was reported after TSA agents at the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport alerted police that a firearm had been found in a bag at one of their security screening …

by John L. Micek, Pennsylvania Capital-Star April 26, 2022 A central Pennsylvania congressman played a “key” role in efforts to topple the 2020 election results, and pushed to get the country’s top intelligence official to investigate baseless conspiracy theories, according to a newly published report. The lawmaker, U.S. Rep. Scott …

By Uriel J. García, The Texas Tribune April 26, 2022 The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday morning on whether the Biden administration can scrap a Trump-era policy that forces asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico as their cases make their way through U.S. immigration courts. During two hours of arguments, …