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Child tax credit expansion, business incentives combined in new congressional tax plan
WASHINGTON — Leading members of Congress released a bipartisan, bicameral tax proposal Tuesday, promising a middle-path deal to help low-income families and provide incentives for businesses as Trump-era tax breaks expire. The framework led by top tax policy leaders U.S. Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Republican Rep. Jason Smith of Missouri would raise the child […]
Trump cruises to historic Iowa caucus victory; DeSantis edges past Haley
Former President Donald Trump won the Iowa Caucuses Monday night with a little more than half of the total vote. The Associated Press called the caucuses for Trump just after 7:30 p.m. Central, just 30 minutes into the Iowa precinct meetings. With more than 95% of the vote reported, Trump was leading in 98 of […]
Three-judge federal panel grills Trump lawyer on claim of presidential immunity
WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump appeared in federal court Tuesday seeking immunity from charges that he schemed to overturn the 2020 presidential election results and knowingly fed lies to supporters who turned violent on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump, who is leading polls in the 2024 Republican presidential primary field, watched while his attorney D. […]
Trump legal problems abound as first test of 2024 presidential campaign nears in Iowa
WASHINGTON — On the cusp of a 2024 election season like none other in U.S. history, former President Donald Trump’s legal and political worlds are set to converge. Trump’s lawyers on Tuesday will argue before a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. that he is immune from prosecution for actions he’s accused of taking while […]
Zelenskyy pitches Congress on Ukraine military aid, but it’s tied to stalled border talks
WASHINGTON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy struggled Tuesday to convince members of Congress to approve billions in additional aid to his country at a crucial moment in the nearly two-year war with Russia. But the outlook was grim as lawmakers remained deadlocked on another piece of a supplemental spending bill under debate in the Senate […]
US Supreme Court asked to quickly rule on Trump claims of presidential immunity
WASHINGTON — Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smith asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to expedite a decision on former President Donald Trump’s claims of presidential immunity in the 2020 election interference case. Smith asked the justices to rule on a matter that ordinarily would first go to a lower federal appeals court, […]
Biden meets with leaders of tribal nations, signs order easing access to federal funds
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday that would make it easier for tribal nations to access and invest federal funding on their own terms. “It’s hard work to heal the wrongs of the past and change the course and move forward,” Biden said. “But the actions we are taking today are […]
Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy to exit Congress, along with a flock of other lawmakers
WASHINGTON — Former U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy Wednesday joined the growing list of Congress members heading for the U.S. Capitol exits. McCarthy’s planned departure by year’s end, following the expulsion of disgraced New York Republican Congressman George Santos, will leave the House GOP with a razor-thin majority in 2024. The California Republican’s announcement also […]
Tuberville relents on months-long blockade of most military nominees, blaming Democrats
WASHINGTON — After blocking hundreds of U.S. military promotions for most of 2023 in protest of a Pentagon abortion policy, Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama said Tuesday he will lift his holds on all of them except for a handful of four-star general nominees. The senator, who sits on the Senate Committee on Armed Forces, […]
GOP senators walk out of vote on subpoenas in U.S. Supreme Court ethics inquiry
WASHINGTON — South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham and Republican colleagues stormed out of a Democratic-led U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee vote on Thursday to authorize subpoenas for two high-profile GOP operatives as part of an ethics probe into undisclosed financial ties to U.S. Supreme Court justices. The panel voted 11-0 to subpoena billionaire Republican donor Harlan Crow […]
U.S. Supreme Court unveils new ethics code, but critics say it doesn’t go far enough
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court released a new ethics code Monday, just days before the Democrat-led U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary again attempts to subpoena two high-profile GOP donors following revelations that justices accepted undisclosed luxury trips and engaged in other potential conflicts of interest. Despite the headlines and the committee’s springtime request […]
VA reports major uptick in veterans’ care after passage of toxic exposure law
Veterans experiencing a mental health crisis or suicidal thoughts should dial 988 or chat at https://988lifeline.org/. WASHINGTON — Veterans’ care in the United States set all-time records in fiscal year 2023, “shattering” the agency’s performance in previous years, in large part because of an expansion of benefits under the Biden administration, U.S. Secretary of Veterans […]