Senate Democrat Manchin Remains Opposed to Filibuster Change  

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A centrist U.S. Democratic lawmaker, Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, is renewing his opposition to changes in the parliamentary rules in the politically divided Senate, imperiling President Joe Biden’s ambitious legislative agenda. In the Senate, now with 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans, members of both parties in recent years have more frequently employed a filibuster to block key legislation they did not like. Once a filibuster has begun, it requires a 60-vote super majority to end debate and move a bill to a final vote. Some progressive Democrats want to end use of the filibuster in order to approve Biden’s legislativemore

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Republican Congressman Lee Zeldin Announces Candidacy for New York Governor

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Republican U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin announced his candidacy for governor of New York on Thursday with an attack on incumbent Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the subject of investigations over sexual harassment allegations and COVID-19 deaths among nursing home residents. “The bottom line is this; to save New York, Andrew Cuomo’s gotta go,” Zeldin, a fourth-term Congress member from Long Island, said in a news release. Zeldin, 41, promised to bring “the kind of relentless, fighting spirit towards helping to save our state that Andrew Cuomo only reserves for multi-million dollar self-congratulatory book deals, cover-ups, abuse and self-dealing.”   Cuomo, whomore

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College Admissions Scandal Parent Released from Prison

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The college admissions scandal that made headlines over the past two years came to a close this week as the last celebrity parent was released from prison.Fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli is now on house arrest after his role in the 2019 college admissions scandal, according to The Associated Press.He was released from a federal facility in Lompoc, near Santa Barbara, California, and will remain in home confinement until April 17. He reported to prison in November.This comes after the recent release of Netflix’s Operation Varsity Blues, which detailed how famous and moneyed parents paid to have applications, exam scores andmore

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Biden to Announce Actions on Gun Violence

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U.S. President Joe Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland are scheduled to speak Thursday about a set of new measures meant to address gun violence in the United States.Ahead of their remarks, the White House released details of some of the initiatives, calling gun violence a “public health epidemic.”WATCH LIVE at 11:45am EDTPlan details One action is a proposed rule from the Justice Department to stop the proliferation of so-called “ghost guns” that lack serial numbers and are difficult for law enforcement to trace when they are used in crimes.The Justice Department is also planning to issue a model ofmore

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Interior Secretary Steps Into Utah Public Lands Tug-of-War

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For decades, a public lands tug-of-war has played out over a vast expanse of southern Utah where red rocks reveal petroglyphs and distinctive twin buttes bulge from a grassy valley. A string of U.S. officials has heard from those who advocate for broadening national monuments to protect the area’s many archaeological and cultural sites, considered sacred to surrounding tribes, and those who fiercely oppose what they see as federal overreach. On Thursday, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland will be the latest cabinet official to visit Bears Ears National Monument — and the first Indigenous one. Haaland, a member of Laguna Pueblomore

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Biden Announcing Actions to Address Gun Violence

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U.S. President Joe Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland are scheduled to speak Thursday about a set of new measures meant to address gun violence in the United States.Ahead of their remarks, the White House released details of some of the initiatives, calling gun violence a “public health epidemic.”One action is a proposed rule from the Justice Department to stop the proliferation of so-called “ghost guns” that lack serial numbers and are difficult for law enforcement to trace when they are used in crimes.The Justice Department is also planning to issue a model of what are known as “red flag”more

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Should US Boycott Beijing Olympics?

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The political dispute over a new election law in the southern state of Georgia has broadened into a debate over whether the United States should participate in a boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. On Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Ned Price acknowledged the U.S. will discuss with allies whether to jointly boycott the games to protest Beijing’s repression of minorities and major human rights abuses. “A coordinated approach will be not only in our interest but also in the interest of our allies and partners,” he told reporters at a daily briefing. But he stressed that no final decisionmore

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College Admissions Scandal Parents Released from Prison

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The college admissions scandal that made headlines over the past two years came to a close this week as the last celebrity parent was released from prison.Fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli is now on house arrest after his role in the 2019 college admissions scandal, according to The Associated Press.He was released from a federal facility in Lompoc, near Santa Barbara, California, and will remain in home confinement until April 17. He reported to prison in November.This comes after the recent release of Netflix’s Operation Varsity Blues, which detailed how famous and moneyed parents paid to have applications, exam scores andmore

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Biden to Unveil Actions on Guns, Including Naming New ATF Boss

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U.S. President Joe Biden will unveil a series of executive actions aimed at addressing gun violence on Thursday, according to a person familiar with the plans, delivering his first major action on gun control since taking office.He’s also expected to nominate David Chipman, a former federal agent and adviser at the gun control group Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, to be director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).Two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press that Chipman’s nomination is expected to be announced Thursday. The people could not discuss the matter publiclymore

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