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A year after Jan. 6, attack on the U.S. Capitol lives on in hundreds of court cases
This story was updated on March 7 at 2:04 p.m. to correct the first name of Pamela Hemphill of Boise. On the afternoon of Jan. 6, 2021, four men affiliated with the Kansas City chapter of the right-wing Proud Boys gathered on the west side of the U.S. Capitol, along with thousands of others urged […]
Biden OKs release of 30 million barrels of oil from Strategic Petroleum Reserve
President Joe Biden authorized on Tuesday the release of 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, part of an international boost to the global oil supply that has been disrupted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The reserve is a complex of four sites with deep underground storage caverns in salt domes along […]
New U.S. sanctions on Russia target banks, high-tech imports
WASHINGTON – The United States and Western allies stepped up economic sanctions on Russia following its escalated attack on Ukraine, President Joe Biden said at the White House on Thursday. Biden had for weeks pledged to impose significant sanctions on Russia if President Vladimir Putin followed through on plans to invade Ukraine. As the invasion […]
Governors attempt to bridge deep political divides in big D.C. meeting
WASHINGTON – Governors of both parties from throughout the United States met here over the weekend to try to speak on a unified front about what their states need from the federal government. But the waters were muddied by governors’ clearly divided political views about two major issues of the moment – voting laws and […]
Federal judge cites climate effect in canceling Gulf of Mexico oil and gas lease sale
A federal judge invalidated leases to drill for oil and gas in a broad swath of the Gulf of Mexico, telling the Biden administration to weigh climate impacts before allowing development. The ruling late Thursday handed a victory to environmental groups that had challenged the Interior Department’s move to comply with a separate court order […]
Reports: Supreme Court Justice Breyer to step down
WASHINGTON – U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is planning to announce his retirement in the coming days, according to multiple press reports Wednesday. The decision by the 83-year-old justice, who was nominated by President Bill Clinton in 1994, would give President Joe Biden his first chance to nominate a member of the Supreme Court, […]
Supreme Court blocks Biden workplace vaccine rule, allows health care workers mandate
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday dealt a blow to the Biden administration’s fight against the pandemic, blocking a federal mandate that workers be vaccinated or regularly tested for COVID-19 – though the court allowed a separate rule requiring vaccinations for some health care workers. The two rulings represented a split victory for Republican attorneys […]
Supreme Court appears wary of Biden vaccine-or-test employer mandate
The U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared unconvinced Friday of the Biden administration’s authority to impose a vaccine-or-test mandate on private businesses, casting doubt on a key piece of the White House COVID-19 response. The justices seemed potentially more comfortable with another Biden administration rule to fight the virus that requires certain health care workers […]
‘We thought that we would die’: Lawmakers probe painful Jan. 6 memories
Democrats in Congress marked the anniversary of the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Thursday recounting the terror they experienced first-hand – and argued that it gives them even more reason to pursue voting rights legislation. They remembered the desperate scramble to hang on to the boxes that held the presidential vote tally, the rush […]
Some Democrats push to rescue climate plan in Biden spending package
A group of congressional Democrats on Tuesday called for preserving the climate portions of President Joe Biden’s stalled domestic spending bill as Democrats in the U.S. Senate rewrite the measure. U.S. Sens. Brian Schatz of Hawaii, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Tina Smith of Minnesota, and John Hickenlooper of Colorado, along with Reps. Kathy Castor […]
Legalizing marijuana violates federal law – but more states are doing it anyway
Most states in the U.S. are in violation of a major federal drug statute. New Hampshire would join them if lawmakers’ latest attempts to legalize marijuana succeed in the upcoming legislative session. The 1971 Controlled Substances Act lists marijuana in the most dangerous category defined in the law, on par with cocaine and heroin because […]
How paid leave could get axed from Biden’s social policy bill
Congressional Democrats, including the New Hampshire’s delegation, cheered on the floor of the U.S. House after approving President Joe Biden’s massive social spending and climate bill. But a major struggle lies ahead in the coming month in the U.S. Senate, where Democrats cannot lose any votes within their party if they are to send the […]