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Can more conservation, less wildlife trade help prevent the next pandemic?
WASHINGTON — As the United States reels from COVID-19, scientists and environmentalists say beefing up conservation efforts could help protect humanity from future pandemics. Lawmakers and policy experts alike have been focused on the immediate health and economic concerns from the pandemic. But many environmental advocates say the global crisis has also laid bare the […]
Nessel to Trump: Put the brakes on fuel economy, other rule changes
Updated, 9:35 a.m., 4/2/20, with comments from Nessel WASHINGTON — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and 20 other attorneys general from across the country are pressing the Trump administration to freeze pending regulations so officials can focus on the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. “This action is essential to managing this public health crisis and […]
Senate Dems torch Trump admin for coronavirus response, Peters wants national website
WASHINGTON — U.S. senators want Trump administration officials to be more forthcoming about coronavirus amid concerns the White House has given misinformation on the disease. A Senate panel with oversight on health issues heard from top public officials Tuesday from the Centers for Disease Control, the National Institutes of Health, and the Food and Drug […]
Dingell slams Trump attempt to overhaul bedrock environmental law
WASHINGTON — Concerned citizens and environmental activists from around the country traveled to the nation’s capital on Tuesday to blast the Trump administration’s plans to overhaul one of the nation’s bedrock environmental policy laws at a rare public hearing with administration officials. President Donald Trump last month unveiled a massive rewrite of the regulations associated […]
Trump’s poverty line changes could crush Michiganders ‘barely getting by’
Low-income Michiganders could face cuts to federal food, health care and heating assistance programs under proposed regulatory changes from the President Trump administration. The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is pushing changes to how the government calculates the official definition of poverty in the United States. The technical recalculation could have major […]
Upton joins Dems in approving massive U.S. House wilderness bill
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Democrats approved legislation Wednesday that would place permanent wilderness protections on vast swaths of land in the West. U.S. Rep. Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph) crossed over to vote with Democrats. The Michigan delegation was split 8-5, with U.S. Rep. Justin Amash (I-Cascade Twp.) voting with Republicans. As the Advance has reported, […]
Native American women have gone missing. Many have been murdered. Will Washington act?
WASHINGTON — Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind was 22, eight months pregnant, and looking forward to her baby shower the following day when she went missing on a sunny August afternoon in 2017. She had gone to a neighbor’s apartment in Fargo, N.D., where she had been asked to help with a sewing project. She never went home. […]
Effort to stop mine near Boundary Waters divides Democrats
WASHINGTON — As the President Trump administration pushes to allow mining near Minnesota’s iconic Boundary Waters, U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) is waging an attempt to thwart the plans. A bipartisan group of four Michigan lawmakers back her legislation, U.S. Reps. Dan Kildee (D-Flint), Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph) Andy Levin (D-Bloomfield Twp.) and Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly). Upton […]
State health experts ask Congress for help combating opioid crisis
WASHINGTON — States need sustained, flexible federal funding to support programs working to reduce deaths and addiction from opioids and other drugs, state health officials told Congress this week. Public health officials asked lawmakers for continued commitment to Medicaid and programs that help states address drug addiction problems. A panel of the U.S. House Energy […]
Congress reaches deal on paid family leave for federal employees
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers have reached a landmark agreement on paid parental leave for federal workers that could institute paid time off for civilian employees for the first time. The measure would give federal workers 12 weeks of paid leave to care for a newborn or adopted child — extending the same benefits currently given to […]
Most U.S. aircraft carriers sit idle in ports
WASHINGTON — More than half of the nation’s aircraft carriers are not currently ready for deployment, as the massive ships sit off the Virginia coastline in various states of repair or testing. The U.S. Navy has 11 aircraft carriers, more than any other nation. Six of them are currently docked off the Virginia coast and […]
Michigan Dems battle Education Secretary Betsy DeVos over student loan forgiveness
WASHINGTON — A long-simmering feud between U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and congressional Democrats over student loan forgiveness is heating up as hundreds of thousands of borrowers continue to wait for help on loans they claim were fraudulent. DeVos narrowly avoided a congressional subpoena earlier this month after a lengthy fight against the U.S. House […]