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Statue of Missouri’s Harry S. Truman dedicated at the U.S. Capitol
By: Ariana Figueroa - October 2, 2022
WASHINGTON — The eldest grandson of President Harry S. Truman pulled down a black cloak to unveil a towering bronze statue of his late grandfather during a ceremony Thursday at the U.S. Capitol to dedicate the sculpture honoring the 33rd president. “My grandfather was a modest man,” Clifton Truman Daniel said. “And, frankly, slightly embarrassed […]
Biden to battered Florida: ‘We’re going to do everything we can for you’
By: Ariana Figueroa - September 30, 2022
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden addressed the nation Friday afternoon, focusing on uniting the country as Florida begins to survey the damage left by a Category 4 hurricane, while states further up the coast prepare for the impact from Hurricane Ian. “As you all know, the situation in Florida is far more devastating,” Biden said. […]
Federal prisons ‘riddled with mismanagement’ probed by U.S. Senate panel
By: Ariana Figueroa - September 29, 2022
WASHINGTON — Members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee grilled the top leader of federal prisons Thursday on how the agency would address staffing shortages and reports of abuse of incarcerated people. “The Bureau (of Prisons) has been riddled with mismanagement and, sadly, with scandal,” said the chair of the committee, Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin. […]
Key U.S. Senate panel advances bill aimed at preventing another Jan. 6
By: Ariana Figueroa - September 27, 2022
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate Rules and Administration Committee on Tuesday passed legislation that would update an 1887 elections law and clarify how electoral votes are certified, with the hopes of averting another attempt to overturn a presidential election. Sens. Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat and Roy Blunt, a Missouri Republican, put forth the bill, S. 4573, known […]
U.S. House panel investigating Jan. 6 attack postpones hearing
By: Ariana Figueroa - September 27, 2022
WASHINGTON — A Wednesday hearing planned by the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol has been postponed due to Hurricane Ian nearing landfall in Florida. A new date has not been announced. “In light of Hurricane Ian bearing down on parts of Florida, we have decided to postpone tomorrow’s […]
Faith leaders urge minimum wage hike, expanded child tax credit as Congress nears recess
By: Ariana Figueroa - September 22, 2022
WASHINGTON — Faith leaders pressed Congress to pass voting rights legislation, a $15 minimum wage and a permanent expansion of the child tax credit during a Thursday briefing on Capitol Hill. “Poverty is a policy choice,” the Rev. Dr. William Barber, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign, said to lawmakers. Barber, who is the pastor […]
U.S. House passes bill reforming Electoral Count Act to stop Jan. 6 repeat
By: Ariana Figueroa - September 21, 2022
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House passed on Wednesday a bill updating a 19th-century law in an attempt to prevent the subversion of future presidential elections. The Presidential Election Reform Act, which passed 229-203, is meant to deter a repeat of the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, in which the U.S. Capitol was attacked by a mob of […]
U.S. government failed to properly count deaths of people in prisons and jails, Senate report says
By: Ariana Figueroa - September 20, 2022
WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice did not properly count nearly 1,000 deaths of incarcerated people in jails and prisons, according to a bipartisan report released Tuesday by a U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee. The 10-month investigation by the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, chaired by Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, found that […]
An ‘unprecedented flood’ of book bans engulfs U.S. school districts, PEN reports
By: Ariana Figueroa - September 19, 2022
WASHINGTON — More than 1,600 book titles across 32 states were banned from public schools during the 2021-22 school year, with the bulk of the ban requests coming from a handful of right-wing groups pushing for censorship of books that feature LGBTQ+ characters and characters of color, a new report issued Monday said. “What I […]
Topsoil protection should be stressed in the next farm bill, U.S. House Ag panel told
By: Ariana Figueroa - September 14, 2022
WASHINGTON — Farmers and academics at a Wednesday hearing stressed the need for members of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee to support regenerative agriculture farming practices in the upcoming farm bill in order to protect topsoil. U.S. House Agriculture Committee Chair David Scott said he held the hearing to discuss ways policymakers and the Department […]
Congressional panel debates federal role in preventing youth incarceration
By: Ariana Figueroa - September 8, 2022
WASHINGTON — Members of a U.S. House Education and Labor Committee panel on Thursday questioned experts and leaders of youth rehabilitation programs about how the federal government could invest in programs to prevent kids from becoming incarcerated. “Although the juvenile justice system is intended to rehabilitate — not punish — young offenders, data shows that […]
U.S. education secretary urges boost in teacher pay, touts college debt relief
By: Ariana Figueroa - September 7, 2022
WASHINGTON — Amid K-12 teacher shortages, book bans and attacks over critical race theory, U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona on Wednesday stressed the need for higher salaries to attract prospective educators to the profession. Cardona, in a meeting with reporters, also touted the Biden administration’s recent student debt relief announcement in late August. The White House […]