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Midwestern, Western states in spotlight after mystery flying objects shot down by military
WASHINGTON — Military posts in Midwestern and Western states played key roles in the unprecedented downings of multiple unmanned aerial objects over the North American continent this weekend. Members of Congress and governors from the states involved and from both parties have shared information about the downings on Twitter and in statements, in some cases […]
China balloon’s voyage across Alaska, Montana and U.S. enrages members of U.S. Senate panel
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of U.S. senators grilled Pentagon officials Thursday on why a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon was permitted to fly over Alaska and across the lower 48 states before being shot down off the coast of South Carolina. The Senate Committee on Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, led by Montana Democrat Jon Tester, featured questions from […]
Biden in State of the Union address draws boos and shouts from a combative GOP
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden began his State of the Union address Tuesday — his first to a divided Congress — with an appeal to bipartisan priorities, but later criticized parts of the GOP agenda and got a sense of Republicans’ appetite for conflict during one combative stretch. Biden opened the 72-minute speech with an […]
Chinese surveillance balloon now drifting across the middle of the U.S., Pentagon confirms
WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will postpone his planned trip to Beijing after the U.S. detected a Chinese surveillance balloon hovering over Montana. A senior State Department official said Friday that despite the Chinese government claiming the balloon had entered U.S. airspace accidentally, its presence was a “clear violation of sovereignty.” The […]
U.S. House panel probes extent of fraud in federal COVID-19 relief programs
WASHINGTON — From 2020 to 2022, a group of Minnesotans pretended to be serving meals to low-income children, all the while filing for reimbursement under a federal COVID-19 relief program aimed to buoy child nutrition as schools and childcare centers closed. In all, the schemers defrauded the government of $250 million, the Minnesota Reformer reported. Three […]
U.S. House Oversight chair’s agenda: Hunter Biden, COVID origins, classified documents
WASHINGTON — House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chair James Comer on Monday previewed his priorities for this Congress, which he says will include a heavy focus on the handling of classified documents, the origins of the COVID-19 virus, and what he described as possible “influence peddling” by Hunter Biden. The Kentucky Republican addressed reporters and […]
White House launches new push to help states remove lead pipes that carry drinking water
WASHINGTON — The White House on Friday announced plans to speed up the use of infrastructure law funds to replace lead pipes in underserved communities, with a focus on Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin beginning this year. The four states, each led by Democratic governors, will be part of what’s called the Lead Service […]
U.S. House GOP takes aim at fake pills containing deadly fentanyl sold on social media
WASHINGTON — On a June 2020 morning, Amy Neville entered her son’s bedroom to wake him for an orthodontist appointment. Fourteen-year-old Alex didn’t wake up. He died of fentanyl poisoning after taking a counterfeit pill he bought from someone he met on Snapchat, Neville told GOP lawmakers Wednesday during a roundtable discussion of the role […]
Classified material found in the Indiana home of former VP Mike Pence
WASHINGTON — Former Vice President Mike Pence is the latest top public official to have been discovered possessing classified material in his personal home, according to a letter his lawyer sent to the National Archives. A dozen documents with classified markings were discovered in Pence’s residence in Carmel, Indiana, in mid-January. The former vice president […]
White House says DOJ had ‘unprecedented access’ to Biden home during search
WASHINGTON — Department of Justice officials had “unprecedented access” to every room in President Joe Biden’s Delaware home Friday during a search that followed several days of disclosures that classified material from the Obama era had been found in Biden’s garage and think tank office, White House officials said Monday. The historic 13-hour search of […]
Ukrainians by the thousands arrive in states, but with a time limit
WASHINGTON — As the one-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine approaches next month, Ukrainians who were welcomed to the United States under a special program offering an escape from war are watching another timeline. The temporary Uniting for Ukraine program, sometimes called U4U, offers a two-year stay in the U.S., given that individuals […]
U.S. House Republicans roll out a slew of new committee chairs to steer agenda
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans filled their top committee seats this week, choosing the leaders who will set the course for bills and issues for the new majority in the 118th Congress. Veteran GOP lawmakers from Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio, Arkansas, Kentucky and Missouri were among those who won the right to head up […]