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An election year like no other puts voters on edge
WASHINGTON — Widespread anxiety and confusion around voting, compounded by the pandemic that has spread to millions of Americans, including President Donald Trump. A vastly underfunded and decentralized electoral system that could take days and possibly weeks to certify results. Attempts to suppress voting, interfere with elections and cast doubt on the integrity of mail-in […]
Battle for Senate control pits Cortez Masto against Sands & Station
WASHINGTON — Nevada’s senior senator is working overtime to turn the U.S. Senate from red to blue this fall, but her hometown industry has other plans. In June, casino magnate and GOP megadonor Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam, gave $25 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, a “super PAC” run by allies of Senate […]
CDC issues national eviction moratorium
A day after Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak extended the state moratorium on evictions for 45 days, the Trump administration announced it would temporarily halt residential evictions nationally to curb the spread of COVID-19 infections through Dec. 31. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin disclosed during a congressional hearing that the order would be issued. It runs through Dec. 31. […]
House passes bill to boost post office funding by $25 billion, block service changes
The U.S. House convened a rare weekend session Saturday in an attempt to stop the U.S. Postal Service from allegedly disrupting mail service to sabotage the November elections. The Democratic-led chamber passed a bill 257-150 that would infuse $25 billion into the agency as it prepares for a surge in mail-in ballots and bar it from changing operations […]
Postmaster General says he’s not doing Trump’s bidding
WASHINGTON — Postmaster General Louis DeJoy pushed back against critics Friday during a high-profile Senate hearing on recent postal delays, calling claims that the Trump administration is trying to sabotage the elections by deliberately disrupting mail service “outrageous.” DeJoy acknowledged delays during the pandemic but said the agency is fully capable of delivering election mail […]
As benefits set to expire, Senate Republicans adjourn without action
By Allison Stevens WASHINGTON — Democratic leaders slammed Republicans Friday for leaving in the lurch millions of jobless Americans who are relying on enhanced unemployment benefits to stay financially afloat amid ongoing public health and economic crises. Republicans in Congress and the White House were engaged in heated negotiations this week over the details of their party’s proposal […]
House passes bipartisan public lands bill; next stop president’s desk
WASHINGTON — Major environmental legislation sailed through Congress Wednesday while the nation’s political leaders were stuck in intense negotiations over the contours of a fifth coronavirus relief package. The bill would provide $9.5 billion over five years to pay down the National Park Service’s maintenance backlog and provide permanent funding at $900 million per year […]
High stakes, short timetable: Can Congress get it together?
[Editor’s note: Nevada’s governor, Legislature, congressional delegation, county and city governments, school districts, public agencies and administrators throughout state and local government, as well as numerous community, advocacy and business groups and countless other Nevadans are all calling for, and counting on, Congress to pass additional and substantial federal assistance. This story from the States […]
Supreme Court sides with religious employers in health care, workplace cases
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a Trump administration effort to exempt employers with religious or moral concerns from complying with a “birth control mandate” in the Affordable Care Act, the Obama-era law that requires employer-provided insurance plans to cover contraceptives. Reproductive rights advocates say the ruling potentially affects hundreds of thousands of […]
House Dems pass massive infrastructure bill; Amodei votes no
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House cleared a massive $1.5 trillion package Wednesday that backers said would not only shore up the nation’s crumbling infrastructure but also create jobs at a time of widespread unemployment, protect the planet from a warming climate and narrow long-standing racial disparities. The bill passed almost entirely along partisan lines, with […]
Roberts does it again: Joins liberals in striking down abortion law
WASHINGTON — In a major victory for reproductive rights, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a controversial Louisiana law that critics said would have severely limited access to abortion in Louisiana and opened the door to further abortion limitations around the country. Enacted in 2014 by the Louisiana state Legislature, the law would have required physicians […]
Democrats block GOP Senate’s ‘weak’ policing bill
WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats blocked a GOP police reform bill Wednesday because they said it fails to adequately respond to police brutality against people of color. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) sought to clear a procedural hurdle Wednesday so he could bring the bill to the floor for Senate consideration. But the legislation fell […]