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Biden administration vows to speed up environmental permits needed for infrastructure projects
President Joe Biden’s administration will seek to hasten construction of roads, bridges, wind farms and more by tweaking the federal review process for environmental and other permits, administration officials said Tuesday. On a press call, administration officials said they were seeking to make permitting easier without sacrificing environmental standards. The new permitting plan includes five […]
Vote on abortion rights planned in U.S. Senate next week, but likely will fall short
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will force a vote next week on a bill to codify abortion protections, following the disclosure that the Supreme Court could be ready to overturn a landmark abortion rights ruling, he and other Senate Democrats announced Thursday. The effort appears largely symbolic. Democrats are well short of the 60 […]
Congress expands Brown v. Board of Education historic site beyond Kansas
The U.S. House cleared a bill Tuesday that would expand the Kansas site honoring the U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning school segregation, adding National Park Service sites in other states to commemorate their roles in the decision as well. The bill would designate sites related to school desegregation cases in Virginia, Delaware, South Carolina and the District […]
Federal judge temporarily blocks Biden administration from ending Title 42
A federal judge in Louisiana said Monday he will block the Biden administration from lifting a public health order that keeps immigrants seeking asylum out of the United States. U.S. District Judge Robert R. Summerhays told Republican state attorneys general and the federal government that he planned to grant the Republicans’ request for a temporary […]
On Earth Day, Biden signs order to catalog and conserve old-growth forests
Updated, 8:35 a.m., 4/23/22 President Joe Biden signed an executive order Friday to establish a federal strategy to protect old-growth forests, a move the administration says will help curb destructive wildfires and fight climate change. The Earth Day order tasks the Interior and Agriculture departments with creating a federal definition of old-growth and mature forests. […]
CDC concludes a mask mandate is still needed for travelers, clearing way for court battle
The Biden administration will fight a court decision for the authority to mandate masks on airplanes, trains and other public transit, following a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation Wednesday night that a mandate was still needed. The CDC said in a statement that the mandate keeps transportation safer for immunocompromised people and the greater public. […]
Federal judge in Florida throws out national mask mandate for travelers
A federal judge in Florida voided the nationwide mask mandate for airline and public transportation passengers Monday, saying the requirement was beyond the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s authority. The legal analysis of U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, whom then-President Donald Trump appointed in late 2020, turned on the language in a federal law […]
Biden goal for U.S. transition to electric vehicles cast into doubt at U.S. Senate hearing
A White House climate goal to transition the United States to electric vehicles is in trouble if the nation cannot produce more minerals that go into those vehicles’ batteries, U.S. senators of both parties said Thursday. Members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee agreed during a hearing that more domestic production of lithium, […]
At the White House, an emotional Ketanji Brown Jackson says, ‘We’ve made it, all of us’
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson accepted her dual roles Friday as the next U.S. Supreme Court justice and as a symbol of racial progress. Speaking outside the White House with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris looking on, and her voice at times trembling with emotion, Jackson acknowledged the historic milestone her confirmation as […]
U.S. House panel grills oil executives at hearing on soaring gas prices
Democrats blamed the oil industry, Republicans blamed President Joe Biden and oil executives blamed global market forces at a U.S. House hearing Wednesday on how to reverse a dramatic increase in gas prices. Over nearly six hours, members of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and executives from six oil companies […]
U.S. Senate heads toward final vote this week on Ketanji Brown Jackson confirmation
The U.S. Senate approved a procedural measure Tuesday to advance Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court, setting up a final vote on confirmation as early as Thursday. The roll call Tuesday was identical to the tally on another procedural vote Monday. Republicans Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of […]
Jackson wins 3 GOP votes as U.S. Senate advances her Supreme Court nomination
The U.S. Senate advanced Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s historic Supreme Court nomination in a 53-47 procedural vote Monday evening, hours after the Judiciary Committee deadlocked along party lines. Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah voted with all 50 Senate Democrats on the procedural vote Monday. The […]