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Biden to tap Navajo health head to lead Native American health agency
By: Jacob Fischler - March 12, 2022
President Joe Biden intends to nominate Roselyn Tso to lead the Indian Health Service, the White House said in a news release Wednesday. Tso, a member of the Navajo Nation, is the Navajo area director for the IHS, overseeing federal health care for nearly 250,000 Native American people in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Tso […]
Return of earmarks a boon for members of Congress facing midterm battles
By: Jennifer Shutt and Jacob Fischler - March 10, 2022
WASHINGTON — Vulnerable lawmakers from throughout the country are set to rake in federal cash for home-state projects after a major spending bill included the first round of earmarks in more than a decade. Members from both political parties began requesting thousands of projects last year when U.S. House and Senate leaders resurrected what’s called […]
Biden declares U.S. ban on Russian oil, warns of gasoline price spikes
By: Jennifer Shutt and Jacob Fischler - March 8, 2022
WASHINGTON — The United States will no longer import Russian energy in an attempt to further cripple that nation’s economy as it wages war against Ukraine. President Joe Biden announced the newest sanctions Tuesday from the White House, saying that a ban on Russian oil and gas would target “the main artery of Russia’s economy.” […]
A year after Jan. 6, attack on the U.S. Capitol lives on in hundreds of court cases
By: Jacob Fischler - March 7, 2022
Updated and corrected, 2:48 p.m., 3/7/22 On the afternoon of Jan. 6, 2021, four men affiliated with the Kansas City chapter of the right-wing Proud Boys gathered on the west side of the U.S. Capitol, along with thousands of others urged on by then-President Donald Trump. The crowd pushed ahead and overwhelmed the few Capitol […]
Biden OKs release of 30 million barrels of oil from Strategic Petroleum Reserve
By: Jacob Fischler - March 1, 2022
President Joe Biden authorized on Tuesday the release of 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, part of an international boost to the global oil supply that has been disrupted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The reserve is a complex of four sites with deep underground storage caverns in salt domes along […]
White House builds on Russia sanctions, OKs more military aid for Ukraine
By: Jacob Fischler - February 28, 2022
Tensions between the Biden administration and Russian leaders ratcheted up yet again Monday as Russia continued its unrelenting assault on Ukraine. President Joe Biden authorized an additional $350 million of security assistance to Ukraine over the weekend, bringing the total aid over the past year to $1 billion, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said […]
New U.S. sanctions on Russia target banks, high-tech imports
By: Jacob Fischler and Jennifer Shutt - February 25, 2022
WASHINGTON — The United States and Western allies stepped up economic sanctions on Russia following its escalated attack on Ukraine, President Joe Biden said at the White House on Thursday. Biden had for weeks pledged to impose significant sanctions on Russia if President Vladimir Putin followed through on plans to invade Ukraine. As the invasion ramped […]
Members of Congress from both parties urge tough sanctions on Russia
By: Jennifer Shutt, Ariana Figueroa and Jacob Fischler - February 23, 2022
WASHINGTON — Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress on Tuesday called on President Joe Biden to impose severe sanctions on Russia after the country declared a broad section of eastern Ukraine independent before sending troops into the region. Members of Congress appear unified, for the moment, that the most the United States should do is […]
Biden warns of U.S. energy price spikes if Russia invades Ukraine
By: Jacob Fischler and Ariana Figueroa - February 16, 2022
WASHINGTON — American service members will not deploy to Ukraine in the event of a “distinctly possible” Russian invasion, but strong economic sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies could reverberate and prompt energy price spikes, President Joe Biden said in a live address from the White House Tuesday. Biden urged Russian President […]
Judge restores federal protections for gray wolves, except in Northern Rockies
By: Jacob Fischler - February 11, 2022
A federal judge on Thursday struck down a Trump administration move to take gray wolves in most states off the Endangered Species Act list — a presidential action that led to a controversial wolf hunting season in Wisconsin last year. U.S. District Judge Jeffery White, of California, reversed a 2020 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service […]
Electricity CEOs tout Biden clean energy tax credits, despite stalled plan
By: Jacob Fischler - February 10, 2022
Clean energy tax credits President Joe Biden proposed in his massive domestic spending and climate measure last year would help electric utilities build resilience and transmission lines, utility CEOs told Biden at a White House event Wednesday. But the $1.9 trillion budget measure, which Biden and allies call Build Back Better, is in limbo because […]
White House methane plan funds orphan well cleanup, rewards reduced farm emissions
By: Jacob Fischler - February 5, 2022
The federal government will provide $1.15 billion this year to help states cap defunct oil and gas wells, the White House said Monday, as part of a broad plan to reduce methane emissions. The government-wide methane reduction plan comes about two months after President Joe Biden joined a pledge at the United Nations Climate Conference in […]