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GOP witnesses at Biden impeachment hearing see insufficient evidence of wrongdoing so far
By: Ariana Figueroa - September 28, 2023
WASHINGTON — With two days before a partial government shutdown, House Republicans held their first impeachment inquiry hearing Thursday over unproven allegations that President Joe Biden benefited from his son’s business dealings overseas. Witnesses tapped by Republicans for the House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing acknowledged that there was no evidence showing that the president […]
Food benefits for low income families at risk in a gov’t shutdown, White House says
By: Ariana Figueroa - September 25, 2023
WASHINGTON — As Congress barrels toward a partial government shutdown, the White House Monday warned that a program that helps millions of low income families afford healthy food could see substantial cuts. The White House released a state-by-state breakdown, estimating that nearly 7 million people who rely on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, […]
Biden administration to create new gun violence prevention office
By: Ariana Figueroa - September 22, 2023
WASHINGTON — The White House announced Thursday the formation of an Office of Gun Violence Prevention that will help states and local governments as they implement a gun safety legislative package President Joe Biden signed into law last year. Lacking additional action in Congress to curb gun violence, “the Office of Gun Violence Prevention along with […]
‘If we don’t get the aid, we will lose the war’: Zelenskyy asks Congress to help Ukraine
By: Ariana Figueroa and Samantha Dietel - September 21, 2023
WASHINGTON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday traveled to Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers to reiterate the need for continued aid to support his country’s fight against the Russian invasion, even as the U.S. faces a partial government shutdown as soon as the end of the month. “If we don’t get the aid, […]
Biden administration offers temporary protection to Venezuelan migrants
By: Ariana Figueroa - September 21, 2023
WASHINGTON — U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced late Wednesday that the agency will expand protected status to nearly half a million Venezuelan nationals, allowing them to live and work in the United States. The move comes after multiple requests from cities that have struggled to house asylum seekers and calls from […]
U.S. attorney general defends Hunter Biden investigation under questioning by House GOP
By: Ariana Figueroa - September 21, 2023
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans led by Ohio’s Jim Jordan on Wednesday grilled U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland about how the Justice Department has handled its investigation and prosecution of Hunter Biden on felony gun charges. The questions about the president’s son came after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last week asked several committees, including the […]
White House: Louisiana has shortchanged Southern $1.12 billion over 30 years
By: Ariana Figueroa - September 18, 2023
States have engaged in decades of underfunding of land-grant Historically Black Colleges and Universities, leading to a more than $12 billion disparity with comparable white institutions, leaders of the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Monday. “Unacceptable funding inequities have forced many of our nation’s distinguished Historically Black Colleges and […]
Menendez, other U.S. Senate Democrats vent frustrations after new ruling against DACA
By: Ariana Figueroa - September 14, 2023
WASHINGTON — A federal judge Wednesday declared illegal the Biden administration’s revised version of a program that protects hundreds of thousands of people brought into the country as children from deportation, and U.S. Senate Democrats, advocates and the White House on Thursday decried the decision. “I think that Congress should act, but it has been […]
U.S. prisons chief insists to Senate panel there’s been ‘visible change’ in the system
By: Ariana Figueroa - September 13, 2023
WASHINGTON — The head of the Federal Bureau of Prisons on Wednesday outlined to the Senate Judiciary Committee how she has sought improvements in the nation’s troubled prison system, and fielded questions from Republicans about transgender inmates. “Developing meaningful change throughout the agency is not something that happens in a moment,” Colette Peters, the director […]
U.S. House Speaker McCarthy tells committees to launch Biden impeachment probe
By: Ariana Figueroa - September 12, 2023
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday announced that he has directed several House committees to open a formal impeachment inquiry into unproven GOP allegations that President Joe Biden profited from his son’s business dealings when he was vice president in the Obama administration. “These allegations paint a picture, a picture of corruption,” […]
Millions enrolled in new student loan repayment program
By: Ariana Figueroa - September 5, 2023
WASHINGTON — More than 4 million federal student loan borrowers are enrolled in the Biden administration’s new repayment program, according to figures released Tuesday by the Department of Education. With the pause of more than three years on federal student loan repayments coming to an end in October, and the Supreme Court’s summer decision to […]
Here’s what to know about new federal policies for repaying student loans
By: Ariana Figueroa - August 22, 2023
WASHINGTON — Following the Supreme Court’s summer ruling against 40 million federal student loan borrowers who would have qualified for debt relief, the Biden administration crafted a-year-long delay in repayments. The policy, known as an on-ramp, is set to begin next month. Additionally, hours after the Supreme Court’s decision, the Department of Education unveiled a […]