House Advances Biden’s Social Safety Net Legislation  

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Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives advanced President Joe Biden’s legislative priorities on Tuesday, approving a $3.5 trillion social safety net budget plan.Lawmakers also agreed to hold a vote by late next month on $1 trillion in infrastructure spending to fix the country’s crumbling roads and bridges and expand broadband service.The 220-212 vote on the sizable spending measures was not the final say on the legislation, but it signaled that Democrats, who hold narrow majorities over Republicans in both the House and Senate, might be able in the coming weeks to forge approval of spending programs that Biden promisedmore

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Hochul Becomes NY’s First Female Governor as Cuomo Exits

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Kathy Hochul became the first female governor of New York at the stroke of midnight Tuesday, taking control of a state government desperate to get back to business after months of distractions over sexual harassment allegations against Andrew Cuomo.The Democrat from western New York was sworn in as governor in a brief, private ceremony in the New York State Capitol overseen by the state’s chief judge, Janet DiFiore.Afterward, she told WGRZ, a Buffalo television station, she felt “the weight of responsibility” on her shoulders.“I’ll tell New Yorkers I’m up to the task. And I’m really proud to be able tomore

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Hochul to Become NY’s First Female Governor as Cuomo Exits

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Kathy Hochul was set to become the first female governor of New York at the stroke of midnight, taking control of a state government desperate to get back to business after months of distractions over sexual harassment allegations against Andrew Cuomo. The Democrat from western New York was to be sworn in as governor in the first minutes of Tuesday in a brief, private ceremony overseen by the state’s chief judge, Janet DiFiore. Her ascent to the top job will be a history-making moment in a capital where women have only recently begun chipping away at what was long a male-dominated political culture. Cuomo wasmore

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As Cuomo Exits, He Takes Last Swipe at Harassment Accusers

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Andrew Cuomo defended his record over a  decade as New York’s governor and portrayed himself as the victim of a “media frenzy” Monday as he prepared for a midnight power transfer that will make Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul the state’s first female governor. Cuomo, a Democrat, was set to end his term at 11:59 p.m., just under two weeks after he announced he would resign rather than face a likely impeachment battle over sexual harassment allegations. Hochul was scheduled be sworn in just after midnight by the state’s chief judge, Janet DiFiore, in a brief, private ceremony. In a pre-recordedmore

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Canada’s Foreign Students Look Warily for Return to Normal

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Canadian universities are nervously eyeing an uptick in COVID-19 cases driven by the delta variant, hoping it will not upend plans for a return to in-person classes for international students, many of whom spent the past year studying remotely from their home countries. With more than 72% of the population at least partly vaccinated and new cases dipping below 300 per day earlier this summer, the government announced an easing of restrictions on admission of foreign visitors to the country effective September 7, just in time for the start of a new school year. Caseloads still remain low compared to the Unitedmore

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Afghan Students in India Fear Returning under Taliban Rule

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Undergraduate Afghan student Saeeda Dilyabi, in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh, is deeply worried about the future that her country holds for her after the Taliban captured power.“Our lives will be in danger, our families’ life will be in danger, so I don’t think we can go back to Afghanistan,” Dilyabi said, sitting in a park scrolling her phone for the latest news on Afghanistan.She is among hundreds of Afghans studying in Indian colleges and universities on scholarships offered by the Indian government as a goodwill gesture to promote education in the country.Students like her epitomize the rights wonmore

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Afghan Students in India Fear Returning After Taliban Takeover

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Afghan students enrolled in Indian colleges and universities worry about the future that their country holds for them following the Taliban takeover there. India has a large Afghan student community, with most having come on scholarships offered by the Indian government as a goodwill gesture to promote education in the country. Anjana Pasricha spoke to a group of students enrolled in colleges in Chandigarh city in North India.Camera: Rakesh Kumar, Producer: Jon Spier  …

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Half of Nigerians Willing to Emigrate for Better Opportunities, Survey Finds

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About half of Nigerians, especially youth, would be willing to leave the country for a better life, according to a July World Bank survey, an increase of nearly 20% since 2014. The report blames poor job opportunities and economic hardships, made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. But as Timothy Obiezu reports from Abuja, some Nigerians who have tried migrating to Europe illegally say the risks are enormous.Camera: Emeka Gibson   Video editor: Jason Godman …

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Census Data May Blunt Expected Republican Election Gains in 2022

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The release of detailed local data from the U.S. census this week demonstrated that the country is diversifying and urbanizing more quickly than many had believed, and those results have real consequences for what Congress will look like throughout the coming decade.In general, the news was good for the Democratic Party. It suggests that some of the anticipated losses in the 2022 elections may be mitigated slightly by population growth in large metropolitan areas, which tend to vote for Democrats, and a decline in rural populations, which tend to favor the Republican Party.In his analysis for The Cook Political Report,more

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What is Critical Race Theory?

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Critical race theory (CRT) has become a controversial topic in the United States, as the country wrestles with race, immigration, civil rights and civil conflict. Some states have banned its teaching in classrooms.CRT maintains that racism is deeply embedded in U.S. policy, law and society, rather than purely individual and personal, as its opponents contend.FILE – In this image from the Tennessee General Assembly, Rep. Justin Lafferty, R-Knoxville, speaks at the State Capitol in Nashville, May 4, 2021. He spoke amid debate over whether educators should be restricted while teaching about systematic racism.“Critical race theory is turning Americans against onemore

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US Population Diversifying, as Number of Whites Declines for First Time

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The United States is growing more racially diverse as the white population declined over the past decade for the first time in the country’s history, a new detailed look at the 2020 Census shows.  The Census Bureau said Thursday that its once-a-decade head count showed 331.4 million people living in the U.S. last year, up just 7.4% since 2010. It was the slowest growth in any decade since the census was started in 1790, except during the Great Depression in the 1930s.  But the racial and ethnic makeup of the country was changing; people were moving more frequently to metropolitanmore

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Kentucky Sen. Paul Failed to Disclose Wife’s Stock Trade

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Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul waited more than a year to disclose that his wife purchased stock in a company that makes a COVID-19 treatment, an investment made after Congress was briefed on the threat of the virus but before the public was largely aware of its danger.   The Republican filed a mandatory disclosure Wednesday revealing on Feb. 26, 2020 that Kelley Paul purchased somewhere between $1,001 and $15,000 worth of stock in Gilead, which makes the antiviral drug remdesivir. Under a 2012 law called the Stock Act, which was enacted to stop lawmakers from trading on insider information, anymore

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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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