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Biden tests positive for COVID-19
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing mild symptoms, the White House announced Thursday morning. Biden, 79, is fully vaccinated against the virus and has twice received booster doses, according to the statement. He is taking Paxlovid, an antiviral prescription medication that is meant to reduce the severity of […]
Progressives renew call for U.S. Supreme Court expansion after abortion rights decision
WASHINGTON — A group of U.S. House Democrats Monday called for the passage of legislation that would add four justices to the Supreme Court, following the overturning of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that provided the constitutional right to abortion. “It’s an ultra-right-wing Republican Supreme Court,” Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia said during a […]
Pregnant patients without access to abortion face a ‘death sentence,’ U.S. House panel told
WASHINGTON — Witnesses told a U.S. House committee on Wednesday that pregnant patients who can’t obtain abortions will face higher mortality rates if they are forced to carry their pregnancies to term. “It is essentially a death sentence,” Michele Bratcher Goodwin, the chancellor’s professor of law at the University of California, told lawmakers. Democratic state […]
Vice president discusses abortion access with Democratic legislative leaders
WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris met Friday with Democratic state legislators from Indiana, Florida, South Dakota, Nebraska and Montana to discuss ways to protect reproductive rights. “The U.S. Supreme Court took away a constitutional right,” Harris said, adding that the overturning of Roe v. Wade was one of the most pressing issues facing the […]
Courts take the lead role as U.S. immigration policy remains in limbo
WASHINGTON — Eighteen months into the Biden administration, immigration reform has stalled despite campaign promises to reform the system, with the most recent movement on immigration policy doled out by the U.S. Supreme Court and in lower federal courts. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Biden administration in a 5-4 decision on June […]
U.S. House panel presses gun makers to testify before Congress
WASHINGTON — The chair of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform on Thursday said she has requested that CEOs of three gun manufacturing companies appear before Congress to testify at a hearing later this month on gun violence. Chair Carolyn B. Maloney of New York said she has asked for appearances by Marty […]
Biden says he supports filibuster exception for abortion rights legislation
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday said he supports an exception to the U.S. Senate filibuster in order to enshrine Roe v. Wade in federal law, after the Supreme Court last week struck down the case that established abortion as a constitutional right. “I believe we have to codify Roe v. Wade in the law, and […]
Congress sends Biden historic gun safety legislation, with GOP support
WASHINGTON — Congress on Friday cleared the most comprehensive federal gun safety legislation in nearly 30 years, a bipartisan package that will now head to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature. In a 65-33 vote, the bill, comprised of eight provisions, passed the U.S. Senate late Thursday. The House on Friday joined, approving the […]
U.S. Supreme Court expands gun rights in striking down New York concealed carry law
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a New York law that made it illegal to carry a firearm in public without showing a special need for protection. The court ruled that the state’s concealed carry law violates the 14th Amendment of the Constitution — a major decision that expands the Second […]
U.S. Senate moves forward on gun safety legislation
WASHINGTON — The Senate is poised to pass a bipartisan bill later this week that could become the most comprehensive federal gun safety legislation in years, including billions in new mental health funding. Senators on a procedural vote late Tuesday agreed 64-34 to start debate on the gun control bill, which would also have to […]
Bipartisan U.S. Senate deal on gun control met with praise from Biden, Democrats
WASHINGTON — The White House and Democratic leaders expressed support Monday for a framework on gun control legislation that 10 Senate Democrats and 10 Senate Republicans agreed to over the weekend. The second-deadliest school shooting in a decade in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 children and two teachers were murdered on May 24, sparked pressure on […]
U.S. House passes ‘red flag’ gun control bill from Georgia Rep. McBath
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House on Thursday passed a “red flag” gun control bill that would allow federal courts to temporarily remove a firearm from an individual who is adjudged to pose a threat to themselves or others. In a 224-202 nearly party line vote, the House passed Georgia Democratic Rep. Lucy McBath’s bill, known […]