Poli Alert Politics & Civics

The CDC has issued an urgent health advisory recommending women who are pregnant, those who were recently pregnant, who are trying to become pregnant now, or who might become pregnant in the future, get the COVID-19 vaccine. The new emergency guidance is meant to build on and strengthen guidance the agency …

During testimony at a congressional hearing on reproductive rights Thursday, Reps. Cori Bush, D-Mo., Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and Barbara Lee, D-Calif., shared personal stories about their own abortions. Bush talked honestly for the first time about undergoing an abortion after she was raped as a teenager during the House Oversight …

Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh tested positive Thursday for COVID-19, just three days before the court is set to convene for its first day of arguments in its next term, according to a statement from the nation’s highest court. Kavanaugh underwent testing ahead of a formal investiture ceremony scheduled Friday …

The Transportation Department on Friday furloughed 3,700 employees, sending the workers home without pay after Congress allowed authorization for federal highway programs to expire. The workers were a casualty of an ongoing debate over infrastructure spending. A package to fund roads, bridges and other projects has bipartisan support and the …

The United States Supreme Court‘s new nine-month term begins on Monday, October 4, and it could be one of the most significant terms in years. The Justices are poised to decide major cases that could roll back abortion rights and broaden gun and religious rights. “It’s a hugely important term,” …

During a hearing on Thursday, Senators questioned a Facebook executive, claiming the company had evidence its products harmed teens, yet repeatedly concealed that information from lawmakers and the public. Facebook’s Head of Global Safety, Antigone Davis, faced questions in an hours-long Capitol Hill hearing that called over damning reports that Facebook’s …

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today introduced the U.S. Air Travel Public Safety Act, a bill that would require all passengers on domestic airline flights to either be fully vaccinated, have recently tested negative for COVID-19 or have fully recovered from COVID-19. The bill would require the Secretary of Health and …

Congress averted a government shutdown hours before the midnight deadline on Thursday, providing funding through Dec. 3 and sending the bill to President Joe Biden‘s desk for his signature. In a 254-175 vote, the House voted on a stopgap bill to fund the government at current levels for another nine …

Democrats were dealt another setback on Wednesday when the Senate parliamentarian rejected their second proposal to include green cards for millions of undocumented immigrants as part of their $3.5 trillion spending plan. Democrats initially had hoped to include a pathway to citizenship for DACA holders, farmworkers, and essential workers, but …

A federal judge sentenced two Ohio men to 45 days behind bars Wednesday for their role in the Capitol riot, saying the two men had attempted to undermine one of the country’s “bedrock acts.” Derek Jancart and Erik Rau appeared before U.S. District Judge James Boasberg to be sentenced on …

Chairman Bennie Thompson announced that the Select Committee has issued subpoenas for deposition testimony and records to individuals and organizers tied to the events and rallies leading up to the January 6 insurrection, including the January 6th rally at the Ellipse that immediately preceded the violent attack on the U.S. …

Former President Barack Obama has finally broken ground on his massive Presidential Center in Chicago. The groundbreaking took place on Tuesday near Jackson Park in Chicago, with the former president and former first lady Michelle Obama in attendance. During the ceremony for the forthcoming center, Obama stated that he believes …

Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Tuesday during a Senate hearing that the Afghan war was a “strategic failure” with the Taliban now being back in power and U.S. withdrawal from the country. Milley, alongside Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and U.S. Central Command head …

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday that Congress has until Oct. 18 to raise or suspend the debt limit before the United States is expected to default on the national debt. “We now estimate that Treasury is likely to exhaust its extraordinary measures if Congress has not acted to …

California will now mail ballots to voters in all elections, extending a practice temporarily adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic to prevent the spread of the virus at polling locations. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday signed Assembly Bill 37, which requires county elections officials to mail a ballot to every …