News
As child poverty doubles, states launch or expand their own tax credits
The federal pandemic-era child tax credit expansion lifted millions of children out of poverty in the second half of 2021. But Congress allowed it to expire at the end of that year, and new U.S. census data shows the child poverty rate more than doubled in 2022, erasing the record gains that were made. “It wasn’t surprising […]
Menendez steps down temporarily as U.S. Senate committee chairman amid federal charges
WASHINGTON — New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez will temporarily step aside as chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee following a federal indictment for conspiracy to commit bribery and other charges. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer made the announcement Friday afternoon, saying in a written statement that “Senator Menendez has rightly decided to […]
Maxwell Frost joins President Biden at WH announcement on Office of Gun Violence Prevention
Six months after Orlando freshman Democratic Congressman Maxwell Frost filed legislation to establish an Office of Gun Violence Prevention, President Joe Biden made that a reality on Friday as he announced the creation of that office during a ceremony in the Rose Garden at the White House. Biden said that the office will have four […]
Anti-abortion Democrat runs for president to show graphic imagery in campaign ads
The morning of March 25, 2022, had started out like any other workday for Terrisa Bukovinac, as she and fellow anti-abortion activist Lauren Handy headed over to protest the Washington Surgi-Clinic in Washington, D.C. — until they asked the driver of a medical waste truck for a box that would change their lives. Inside that […]
Florida represented in Congressional Black Caucus’ history panel
Politicians, academics, historians, and activists gathered at D.C.’s Walter E. Washington Convention Center Friday morning for a panel sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus to both celebrate the progress of Black history and bring light to what they said were attacks on the subject, especially in Florida. The Sunshine State was well-represented in a discussion […]
Workers at 38 GM and Stellantis auto suppliers called to join UAW strike
Workers at a total of 38 auto parts plants will join the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike against Detroit Three auto manufacturers: Ford, General Motors and Stellantis. All the parts distribution facilities for General Motors and Stellantis across the country are called to the stand up and strike at noon Friday. The UAW declared the […]
Biden administration to create new gun violence prevention office
WASHINGTON — The White House Thursday announced the formation of an Office of Gun Violence Prevention that will help states and local governments as they implement a gun safety legislative package President Joe Biden signed into law last year. Lacking additional action in Congress to curb gun violence, “the Office of Gun Violence Prevention along […]
‘If we don’t get the aid, we will lose the war’: Zelenskyy asks Congress to help Ukraine
WASHINGTON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to Capitol Hill this week to meet with lawmakers to reiterate the need for continued aid to support his country’s fight against the Russian invasion, even as the U.S. faces a partial government shutdown as soon as the end of the month. “If we don’t get the aid, […]
Eleventh Circuit won’t budge, reaffirms Florida’s 2021 voting restrictions law
The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has refused to take a second look at a voter suppression law passed in Florida three years ago, over a dissent complaining that the court majority was breaking promises made in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments. The effect is to let stand a split ruling […]
Shutdown inches closer as U.S. House GOP fails to pass defense bill, lawmakers exit D.C.
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans were unable for a third time Thursday to begin debate on the Defense funding bill, throwing another wrench into Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s leadership tenure. The 212-216 vote that rejected the rule for the $826 billion Defense spending measure was unexpected, coming less than a day after House GOP lawmakers gathered in a […]
U.S. House passes Wounded Knee memorial bill
The U.S. House approved by voice vote Wednesday a bill that would help protect land at the site of the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre in South Dakota, where an estimated 350 Lakota were killed by U.S. soldiers. The site is within the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The Oglala Sioux Tribe and the Cheyenne River […]
Biden administration offers temporary protection to Venezuelan migrants
WASHINGTON — U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced late Wednesday that the agency will expand protected status to nearly half a million Venezuelan nationals, allowing them to live and work in the United States. The move comes after multiple requests from cities that have struggled to house asylum seekers and calls from […]