US Senate Approves $3.5 Trillion Budget Resolution 

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The U.S. Senate narrowly passed a $3.5 trillion budget resolution early Wednesday providing the framework for spending on family services, health and environmental programs. The package includes many priorities of President Joe Biden and was supported only by senators from his Democratic Party in the 50 to 49 vote. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the budget resolution would “provide historic investments in American jobs, American families, and the fight against climate change.” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y. walks off the Senate floor and pumps his fists as the Senate approves a $1 trillion bipartisan cornerstone of the Biden agenda tomore

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Biden Praises Senate Vote on Key Piece of His Economic Agenda

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“Today, we proved that democracy can still work,” U.S. President Joe Biden said after senators from both parties came together to approve a $1 trillion infrastructure plan.The 69-30 Senate vote sends the legislation to the House of Representatives for consideration next month.House passage is less certain, with some progressive Democrats saying the total spending is too little. But the president hailed Tuesday’s action as moving a step closer to “a once-in-a-generation investment in our nation’s infrastructure.”If approved, the package will initiate one of the biggest public endeavors in decades in the United States to fix deteriorating roads and bridges, expand broadbandmore

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‘Democracy Can Work,’ Biden Says after Senate Adopts Infrastructure Package 

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“Today, we proved that democracy can still work,” U.S. President Joe Biden said after senators from both parties came together to approve a $1 trillion infrastructure plan.The 69-30 Senate vote sends the legislation to the House of Representatives for consideration next month.House passage is less certain, with some progressive Democrats saying the total spending is too little. But the president hailed Tuesday’s action as moving a step closer to “a once-in-a-generation investment in our nation’s infrastructure.”If approved, the package will initiate one of the biggest public endeavors in decades in the United States to fix deteriorating roads and bridges, expand broadbandmore

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US Senate Adopts $1 Trillion Infrastructure Package

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The U.S. Senate, in a rare bipartisan vote of approval in politically fractious Washington, adopted Tuesday a $1 trillion infrastructure plan to fix the country’s deteriorating roads and bridges and expand broadband internet service.The 69-to-30 vote for the measure, one of the biggest U.S. public works efforts in years, sends the legislation to the House of Representatives for consideration in September. House passage is less certain, with some progressive Democrats saying the total spending is too little.Watch: President Biden to make remarks on infrastructure bill at 2:15 PM EDTThe White House supports the package, one of the cornerstones of Presidentmore

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US Senate to Vote on $1 Trillion Infrastructure Bill

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The U.S. Senate is expected to give its approval Tuesday to a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. The package includes about $550 billion in new spending and would pay for roads, water systems and improving access to broadband internet. Tuesday’s vote follows extensive negotiations between a group of Democrats and Republicans. There are those who oppose the measure on both sides, including Democrats who say it does not go far enough to address the nation’s needs and Republicans who object to the scope and price tag. But in the evenly split Senate, where Democrats hold the majority, the package is expected to have themore

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Infrastructure on Track as Bipartisan US Senate Coalition Grows

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After weeks of fits, starts and delays, the United States Senate is on track to give final approval to the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan, with a growing coalition of Democrats and Republicans prepared to lift the first phase of President Joe Biden’s rebuilding agenda to passage.  Final Senate votes are expected Tuesday, and the bill would then go to the House. All told, some 70 senators appear poised to carry the bipartisan package to passage, a potentially robust tally of lawmakers eager to tap the billions in new spending for their states and show voters back home they can deliver.more

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Students Across US Take On COVID Disinformation

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A student organization is trying to combat misinformation about COVID-19 and pandemic on American campuses through social media.    COVID Campus Coalition’s mission is to dispel “misconceptions surrounding COVID vaccines by providing students with weekly digestible scientific summaries through a plethora of virtual and in-person platforms,” FILE – Masked students walk to a COVID-19 vaccination site at the Rose E. McCoy Auditorium on the Jackson State University campus in Jackson, Mississippi., July 27, 2021.Approximately 54.9% of individuals aged 18-24 have received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine in the United States, while 44.6% of individuals of the same agemore

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US Democrats Unveil Sweeping Social Safety Net Plan

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U.S. Senate Democrats on Monday unveiled a sweeping $3.5 trillion social safety net proposal that would sharply expand the role of the national government in the lives of millions of Americans. The plan formally embraces many of President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign promises to give impoverished people a better shot at joining middle-class American life. At the same time, it would expand government services across an array of existing and new programs. It would provide universal free prekindergarten schooling for 3- and 4-year-old children and two years of free community college classes for high school graduates. For older Americans, the plan wouldmore

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US Senate Pushing Toward Final Vote on Infrastructure Bill

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The U.S. Senate pushed a $1 trillion infrastructure package over two more procedural hurdles Sunday night, with a final vote on the measure expected Tuesday. A Sunday night vote of 69-28 blessed the details worked out by a bipartisan group of senators. A second vote of 68-29 limited debate on the overall bill. The votes show solid support for the spending deal that would help repair the country’s deteriorating roads and bridges, expand broadband internet service, modernize rail and public transit systems and replace dangerous lead-pipe drinking water infrastructure. The legislation calls for the largest investment in decades toward U.S. physical infrastructure, including roads, bridges, airports and waterways. Separately, Democrats are initiating a $3.5 trillion spending deal for social safetymore

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Ex-Justice Official Said to Have Been Pressured by Trump on Election

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Former President Donald Trump mounted an intense pressure campaign on the U.S. Justice Department to overturn his election defeat in his final weeks in office, the department’s head during that time testified to lawmakers, a senior Senate Democrat said on Sunday.Former Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen provided “invaluable” testimony during seven hours of a closed-door hearing on Saturday, in which he implicated Trump in an attempt to subvert the election result, Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin told CNN’s “State of the Union.”According to Durbin, Rosen testified that Trump directly pressured him to falsely assert that continuing election fraud investigationsmore

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US Senate Advances Infrastructure Bill Toward Final Vote 

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The U.S. Senate advanced a $1.2 trillion infrastructure package in a procedural vote Saturday, an indication the measure will eventually be approved in a final vote.A late-night session Thursday had ended with no compromises on the measure.“We can get this done the easy way or the hard way. In either case, the Senate will stay in session until we finish our work,” Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a floor speech before Saturday’s vote. “It’s up to my Republican colleagues how long it takes.”In a 67-27 vote showing solid bipartisan backing, senators invoked cloture, or limited debate on the legislation;more

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US Senate Votes on Infrastructure Bill

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The U.S. Senate is holding a procedural vote Saturday on a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package, after a late-night session Thursday ended with no compromises.“We’ve worked long, hard and collaboratively to finish this important bipartisan bill,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said just before midnight Thursday, according to The Associated Press.”We very much want to finish,” he said in announcing a cloture vote set for Saturday at noon EDT.Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks to reporters about the bipartisan infrastructure bill at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, July 28, 2021.A vote to invoke cloture would end debate on themore

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US Senate to Hold Key Vote on Infrastructure Bill

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The U.S. Senate plans to hold a procedural vote Saturday on a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package, after a late-night session Thursday ended with no compromises.“We’ve worked long, hard and collaboratively to finish this important bipartisan bill,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said just before midnight Thursday, according to The Associated Press.”We very much want to finish,” he said in announcing a cloture vote set for Saturday at noon EDT.Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks to reporters about the bipartisan infrastructure bill at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, July 28, 2021.A vote to invoke cloture would end debate onmore

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Pause on US Student Loan Payments Extended Through January

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The Biden administration on Friday announced that federal student loan payments will remain suspended through January 2022, extending a pause that began at the start of the pandemic and was scheduled to expire next month.The Education Department said this will be the final extension.Borrowers will not have to make payments on federal student loans during the moratorium, interest rates will be set at 0% and debt collection efforts will remain on pause. The suspension will expire on January 31, 2022.Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said it’s meant to give borrowers enough time to prepare for their payments to resume.”As our nation’smore

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US Senate to Try to Finish $1 Trillion Infrastructure Bill Saturday

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The U.S. Senate, unable to finalize a $1 trillion infrastructure bill Thursday, will try again Saturday when it are scheduled to hold a vote on limiting debate and moving toward passage of the hard-fought legislation.Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer struggled throughout the day to reach closure on a bipartisan bill that would trigger new construction projects throughout the United States to expand or refurbish roads, highways, bridges, airports and other public works, many of them in substandard condition.Following hours of closed-door negotiations, senators failed to reach an agreement on remaining amendments to the bill, beyond the dozens already debated thismore

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Biden Signs Bill Awarding Medals to US Capitol Riot Responders

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President Joe Biden on Thursday offered “profound gratitude” to law enforcement officers who responded to the January 6 Capitol insurrection as he signed legislation to award them Congressional Gold Medals for their service. The president thanked the officers for saving the lives of members of Congress during those “tragic hours” of the attack seven months ago.  The medal is the highest honor Congress can bestow. Joined by members of Congress, law enforcement officers and the families of police who died following the attack, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris held the formal signing ceremony in the White House Rose Garden.more

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Biden Wants America to Speed the Shift to Electric Cars

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Within nine years, half of all new vehicles sold in the United States should be zero-emission cars and trucks, according to an executive order signed by President Joe Biden.  The future of the automobile industry is electric, “and there’s no turning back,” the president said during a White House South Lawn event Thursday afternoon.  Biden’s target includes battery electric, plug-in hybrid electric and fuel cell electric vehicles.  In remarks to reporters after driving an electric Jeep around the South Lawn driveway, the president said that while the United States hesitated to embrace vehicle battery production, “China moved. China now owns themore

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Students Criticize Online Learning as Inadequate

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Online learning has been grossly inadequate during the 2020-’21 COVID-19 shutdown, according to college and university students interviewed by VOA Student Union.Domestic and international students at U.S. colleges and universities said the pandemic that shut down many schools in March 2020 disrupted their lives and impacted their academic performance. And online learning, despite being touted by online learning companies, has not lived up to the hype, they say. Students say they are desperate to return to on-campus learning. They point to living in the dorms, socializing, and establishing relationships with professors and mentors as essential parts of the college experience. Students Givemore

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Carey, Backed by Trump, Wins Primary for House Seat in Ohio

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A pair of special congressional primaries Tuesday in Ohio could serve as litmus tests for the moods of the Republican and Democratic parties heading into next year’s midterm elections. After the stinging defeat of one of his endorsed congressional candidates in Texas last week, former President Donald Trump’s sway as a kingmaker among Republicans was tested in central Ohio’s 15th Congressional District, where his candidate won. He had endorsed coal lobbyist Mike Carey from among a formidable field of 11 GOP primary contenders for the seat vacated by Republican Steve Stivers in May. Stivers had backed one of three sitting lawmakers inmore

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CDC Issues New Eviction Ban for Most of US Through Early October

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday issued a new moratorium on evictions that would last until October 3, as the Biden administration sought to quell intensifying criticism that it was allowing vulnerable renters to lose their homes during a pandemic. The new moratorium could help keep millions in their homes as the coronavirus’ delta variant has spread and states have been slow to release federal rental aid. It would temporarily halt evictions in counties with “substantial and high levels” of virus transmissions and would cover areas where 90% of the U.S. population lives. The announcement was something of amore

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President Biden Calls on New York Governor Cuomo to Resign

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U.S. President Joe Biden said New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo should resign after a report released Tuesday by the state’s attorney general found that Cuomo had sexually harassed numerous women in violation of federal and state laws, allegations that he vehemently denied. “I think he should resign,” Biden told reporters Tuesday afternoon at a press conference in Washington. Letitia James, New York’s attorney general, said Cuomo allegedly targeted 11 current and former employees of the state government.New York State Attorney General Letitia James speaks at a press conference, in New York, Aug. 3, 2021.The probe uncovered a “climate of fear” createdmore

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US Republican Report: Coronavirus Leaked From Chinese Lab; Scientists Still Probing Origins

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A report by U.S. Republican lawmakers says a “preponderance of evidence” proves the virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic leaked from a Chinese research facility — a conclusion that U.S. intelligence agencies have not reached. The report, released Monday, also cited “ample evidence” that Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) scientists — aided by U.S. experts and Chinese and U.S. government funds — were working to modify coronaviruses to infect humans, and such manipulation could be hidden. FILE – Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, speaks with members of the media outside of the White House, Oct. 16, 2019.Representative Mike McCaul, the top Republican onmore

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Senator Graham, Fully Vaccinated, Tests Positive for COVID-19

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U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham has tested positive for the coronavirus, the first senator to disclose a breakthrough infection after being vaccinated. In a statement issued Monday afternoon, the South Carolina Republican said that he “started having flu-like symptoms Saturday night” and went to the doctor Monday morning.  After being notified of his positive test, Graham said he would quarantine for 10 days. “I feel like I have a sinus infection, and at present time, I have mild symptoms,” the 66-year-old Graham said. “I am very glad I was vaccinated because without vaccination, I am certain I would not feel as well asmore

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