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Freedom of speech is under attack in public schools, U.S. House panel told
WASHINGTON — Students and teachers told U.S. House members during a Thursday hearing that their right to talk about race and LGBTQ+ issues in public schools is being silenced due to an onslaught of new state laws as well as pressure on school boards from right-wing advocates. “To be crystal clear, this is about disrupting […]
U.S. House panel weighs labor law amendment to protect workers from wage theft
It would require employers to provide pay stubs to workers, establish new minimum and maximum civil penalties for employers who engage in wage theft and provide grants to organizations and institutions to enhance the enforcement of wage and hour laws.
Overturning Roe would hand power over abortion to states. Many would ban it.
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down a nearly 50-year-old right to abortion would lead to strict restrictions or bans by states across nearly half the country almost immediately. The court is poised to overturn the landmark 1973 case Roe v. Wade, as well as a subsequent ruling on fetal viability, according to an initial […]
Biden on leaked draft opinion on abortion: The ‘right to choose is fundamental’
Biden did not specifically cite any steps his administration would take if the ruling is overturned, but said that it would “fall on our nation’s elected officials” to protect pregnant people’s access to abortion, and that voters should elect candidates who back abortion rights.
EPA issues waiver for sales of 15% ethanol blend during summer driving season
EPA administrator Michael S. Regan wrote that the waiver will allow gas stations to sell the cheaper fuel blend with 15% ethanol in order “to address extreme and unusual fuel supply circumstances caused by the war in Ukraine that are affecting all regions of the Nation.”
Democratic leaders in Congress want more power for regulators over high gasoline prices
They say they will push legislation to allow the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general to go after oil companies that engage in price gouging in times of crisis.
Health risks for families in military private housing probed by U.S. Senate panel
A report detailed that staff “frequently ignored or delayed responding to urgent requests from military families to address conditions such as mold and roof leaks that threatened the families’ health and safety.”
Biden issues first pardons and sentencing commutations of his presidency
President Joe Biden on Tuesday granted clemency to nearly 80 individuals charged with nonviolent crimes and unveiled an administration strategy to help formerly incarcerated people secure employment.
LGBTQ community, people of color in the crosshairs of banned book movement
In the past nine months, hundreds of books across dozens of states are being banned at an alarming rate. A majority of the bans feature books written by authors who are people of color, LGBTQ+, Black and Indigenous, and feature characters from marginalized groups.
DOJ rule cracks down untraceable firearms known as ‘ghost guns’
Ghost guns are homemade guns that lack a serial number, making it difficult for law enforcement to trace the owner of the weapon if it’s found at a crime scene.
‘Sitting on a time bomb’: Mobile home residents at risk in red-hot housing market
Mobile home parks provide affordable housing for millions of low-income residents. But in an exploding housing market, that land is increasingly in demand for other projects, or park owners propose major rent hikes or lease changes. Residents have few protections under a patchwork of state laws.
Civil rights icon Ruby Bridges appears before committee looking into banned books
Ruby Bridges, a civil rights icon who was the first Black child to desegregate an all-white New Orleans school, testified before the committee