Author
‘Defund the police’ slogan and anti-cop violence debated at U.S. Senate hearing
Republicans on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and law enforcement witnesses at a Tuesday hearing blamed recent violence against officers on anti-police rhetoric, while Democrats distanced themselves from the “defund the police” slogan and said an oversupply of guns made law enforcement jobs more dangerous. Republicans on the panel raised complaints about general attitudes toward […]
Trump ‘chose not to act’ as U.S. Capitol underwent attack, Jan. 6 panel says
Donald Trump ignored White House staff, family members and outside advisers who urged the president to call off the mob attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, according to testimony before the U.S. House panel investigating the insurrection at its eighth and final hearing of the summer Thursday night. Instead, Trump sat in the […]
Jan. 6 panel to detail Trump’s 187 minutes of delay as insurrection grew
The U.S. House committee investigating the Jan.6 attack and Donald Trump’s role in it will focus in a Thursday evening hearing on the former president’s refusal for more than three hours to call off the rioters storming the U.S. Capitol, committee aides said Wednesday. The hearing will be the eighth in the panel’s series to […]
Biden lays out new funds for localities on climate, but no national emergency yet
With U.S. Senate negotiations over climate funding stalled, President Joe Biden on Wednesday is directing additional spending to help states and cities manage climate disasters — resisting calls from many congressional Democrats to take more aggressive executive action like a declaration of a national climate emergency. Biden is also announcing steps executive agencies are taking […]
Climate change legislation still could pass Congress this year, Manchin insists
U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin III on Friday held open the prospect of Congress passing significant climate legislation yet this year, denying reports he’s tanked the effort by walking away from talks with leadership. The reports have brought a flood of criticism for Manchin from fellow members of Congress, who say the very survival of the […]
Trump tweet invited ‘wild’ mob to block transfer of power on Jan. 6, House panel says
The U.S. House panel investigating Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results described Tuesday how the president explicitly called on his supporters to come to Washington on Jan. 6, 2021 for a “wild” protest — resulting in an insurrection. Trump exerted extraordinary influence over the mob, who marched to the Capitol on […]
Old-growth trees on federal lands at risk despite Biden order, environmentalists say
Plans for commercial logging of old-growth forests on federal lands have moved forward this year, despite an executive order signed on Earth Day by President Joe Biden, according to a report from environmental groups published Tuesday. The old-growth woodlands are particularly useful in fighting climate change by absorbing carbon, a goal for the Biden administration. […]
Democratic governors call on Biden to use federal facilities for abortion access
A group of Democratic governors urged President Joe Biden on Friday to use federal facilities to provide access to abortions, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade last week. In a video conference with nine governors, including Kate Brown of Oregon, Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, […]
History made: Ketanji Brown Jackson sworn in as U.S. Supreme Court justice
Ketanji Brown Jackson became the first Black woman justice on the U.S. Supreme Court after she was sworn in Thursday by Chief Justice John Roberts and her mentor, Associate Justice Stephen Breyer — whose retirement was official moments earlier. The swearing-in ceremony at the Supreme Court making Jackson’s place in history official took barely three minutes […]
U.S. Supreme Court curbs federal power to regulate greenhouse gases, in blow to Biden
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday the Environmental Protection Agency does not have the authority to regulate greenhouse gases as pollutants, siding with a group of Republican attorneys general and coal companies in a major blow to the executive branch’s power to curb climate change. The opinion was a victory for the Republican-led states that […]
U.S. HHS chief vows to protect abortion access, but says much depends on states
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra pledged Tuesday to work to preserve abortion access in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court’s “despicable” decision overturning Roe v. Wade — though the department’s specific actions will depend on how states seeking to limit abortion access proceed. Becerra said HHS would enforce federal laws to […]
Trump had to be physically restrained from joining Jan. 6 mob, House panel told
Donald Trump had to be held back from joining his enraged, rioting supporters — even after the president was told they were armed — in their assault on the U.S. Capitol, according to astonishing testimony to the Jan. 6 committee Tuesday from a former top White House aide. Trump, spewing expletives, was so angry at […]