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The student debt relief application is live: Here’s what you need to know
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced Monday that student loan borrowers can begin to apply for debt relief through a new online application. Biden said the application is easy and fast. It will allow every borrower with an income of $125,000 or less ($250,000 for married couples) to have up to $10,000 in debt forgiven, […]
The battle for control of Congress: Abortion, inflation, crime, and Biden
WASHINGTON — Members of Congress are fanning out to every district in the country, leaving the wonky floor debates on Capitol Hill behind for the campaign trail in advance of the crucial Nov. 8 midterm elections. Democrats are fighting to hold their razor-thin majorities in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate, citing two years of […]
Immigration advocates call again for DACA renewal in Congress, as possible end looms
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats said Tuesday that they remained hopeful Congress could create a legal pathway to citizenship before the end of the year for the more than 600,000 undocumented people enrolled in a program that is at risk of being deemed illegal by a lower court. Immigration rights advocates held a press call […]
Biden to pardon all federal offenses for simple marijuana possession, review criminalization
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday announced executive actions that would pardon thousands of people forprior federal offenses of simple marijuana possession. He will also direct U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra and Attorney General Merrick Garland to review how marijuana is classified under federal law as a Schedule I drug, […]
DACA ruled unlawful by federal appeals court, but program continues for now
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court has upheld a prior ruling that the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program is unlawful, sending the case back to a lower court that will decide the legality of a program that includes more than 600,000 undocumented people. The ruling means the program remains for now and those […]
Alabama case that could limit Voting Rights Act heard at U.S. Supreme Court
WASHINGTON – U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday heard oral arguments in a case that challenges an Alabama redistricting map and could potentially eliminate remaining federal safeguards against racial gerrymandering. Voting rights advocates fear that the high court’s conservative majority will further weaken the Voting Rights Act, with implications for voters in states across the country. […]
Puerto Rico to get $60M to prep for future hurricanes, Biden announces
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday landed in Ponce, Puerto Rico to survey the damage from Hurricane Fiona and announce $60 million in funding to help the island prepare for future hurricanes. The visit came after the Category 1 hurricane in late September damaged the power grid, leaving millions in Puerto Rico without power. […]
Statue of Missouri’s Harry S. Truman dedicated at the U.S. Capitol
WASHINGTON — The eldest grandson of President Harry S. Truman pulled down a black cloak to unveil a towering bronze statue of his late grandfather during a Thursday ceremony at the U.S. Capitol to dedicate the sculpture honoring the 33rd president. “My grandfather was a modest man,” Clifton Truman Daniel said. “And, frankly, slightly embarrassed […]
Biden to battered Florida: ‘We’re going to do everything we can for you’
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden addressed the nation Friday afternoon, focusing on uniting the country as Florida begins to survey the damage left by a Category 4 hurricane, while states further up the coast prepare for the impact from Hurricane Ian. “As you all know, the situation in Florida is far more devastating,” Biden said. […]
Federal prisons ‘riddled with mismanagement’ probed by U.S. Senate panel
WASHINGTON — Members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in a Thursday hearing grilled the top leader of federal prisons on how the agency would address staffing shortages and reports of abuse of incarcerated people. “The Bureau (of Prisons) has been riddled with mismanagement and, sadly, with scandal,” said the chair of the committee, Illinois […]
Key U.S. Senate panel advances bill aimed at preventing another Jan. 6
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate Rules and Administration Committee on Tuesday passed legislation that would update an 1887 elections law and clarify how electoral votes are certified, with the hopes of averting another attempt to overturn a presidential election. Sens. Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat and Roy Blunt, a Missouri Republican, put forth the bill, S. 4573, known […]
U.S. House panel investigating Jan. 6 attack postpones hearing
WASHINGTON — A Wednesday hearing planned by the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol has been postponed due to Hurricane Ian nearing landfall in Florida. A new date has not been announced. “In light of Hurricane Ian bearing down on parts of Florida, we have decided to postpone tomorrow’s […]