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Biden yanks Keystone XL permit in first-day order, citing climate change
In one of his first official acts after taking office, President Joe Biden revoked the federal permit for the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline that would have traversed eastern Montana on its way from the Alberta oilfields to the Gulf of Mexico. The Wednesday move at least temporarily halts the construction on the highly contentious […]
Space Command HQ decision criticized as ‘politically motivated’
The U.S. Air Force has selected Huntsville, Ala., as the permanent headquarters for the U.S. Space Command, passing over the command’s existing base in Colorado Springs, the Air Force said Wednesday. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera, both Democrats, raised concerns that President Donald Trump overruled military decision-makers and made the decision […]
Biden picks Michigan’s Granholm for Energy, North Carolina’s Regan for EPA and New Mexico’s Haaland for Interior
President-elect Joe Biden will nominate U.S. Rep. Debra A. Haaland to lead the Interior Department, former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm to head the Energy Department and North Carolina’s top environmental regulator, Michael Regan, to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, his presidential transition team said late last week. The selections were announced as part of the incoming […]
‘I just don’t trust the system any more.’ Voters on edge as election nears.
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 […]
‘You just have to act’: Thousands outraged by police brutality rally at March on Washington
WASHINGTON – On the 57th anniversary of the original March on Washington and in the throes of a pandemic, thousands of demonstrators on Friday joined Democratic lawmakers on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to demand Congress act on police brutality and voter suppression. The event, organized by the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, […]
‘Extremely frustrating’ mail delays for prescriptions hit veterans, rural areas
Jan Stowe, a Vietnam War veteran from Traverse City, Mich., says she was unable to move her head and neck for several days last month after going without medication to treat extreme muscle spasms. Stowe, a Department of Veterans Affairs patient who receives her medication through the U.S. Postal Service, said in an interview with […]
‘I have not lost my voice’: Gabby Giffords at DNC convention calls for end to gun violence
Former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords opened the third night of the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday, recounting her recovery from a gunshot wound to the head and her embrace of activism on gun violence policy. Giffords, of Arizona, appeared in a pre-taped video that included images of her long, painful rehabilitation from the 2011 assassination attempt. The […]
Trump’s $400 a week jobless aid could be just $300. It depends on where you live.
Governors, lawmakers and state unemployment agencies on Monday wrestled with confusion created by President Donald Trump’s executive action extending unemployment benefits, and it appeared some states could settle for $300 a week in benefits instead of the $400 that the president touted. State leaders from both political parties remained unsure how much they’d have to […]
Trump moves to extend unemployment benefits, suspend payroll taxes after talks break down
President Donald Trump on Saturday circumvented Congress and took action into his own hands, after weeks of unsuccessful negotiations over another coronavirus relief package on Capitol Hill. He signed three presidential memoranda and an executive order, at his private golf club in Bedminster, N.J. Trump would provide $300 per week in federal unemployment assistance with another $100 […]
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 […]
Pandemic strains emergency responders with more disasters on horizon
Federal officials have more money than ever to respond to disasters, but some worry their focus on the pandemic could hamstring efforts to recover from other catastrophes. Congressional Democrats and health experts have warned in recent weeks that the Federal Emergency Management Administration’s pandemic response could come at the cost of its response to tornadoes, […]
Librarians, national guard recruited for states’ new contact tracing armies
As states seek to loosen wide-ranging restrictions imposed to constrain the novel coronavirus, they’re also looking to deploy a huge new fleet of workers to keep cases under control. Enter the contact tracers. With interpersonal contact certain to increase as states lift COVID-19 restrictions, tracing the who infected people had contact with — and then […]