Bill for Higher Stimulus Payouts Stalls in Senate

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U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Wednesday the Senate would not quickly take up a House bill to boost the size of pandemic relief payments for most Americans to $2,000 from the current $600.  The Kentucky senator said the House bill “has no realistic path to quickly pass the Senate.”   With a new Congress due to be sworn in January 3, it was unclear what, if any, actions would be taken by the current Congress. Without action, the House bill will expire.   McConnell introduced a measure Tuesday that tied the demand for higher coronavirus pandemic relief payments togethermore

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Vitriol Hangs Over Upcoming Georgia Runoff

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Two crucial Senate runoff elections will be held in the Southern state of Georgia next week, with inflammatory accusations still circulating about the state’s handling of last month’s presidential election — and on the same voting machines that are at the center of President Donald Trump’s charges that the November balloting was fixed. Courts around the country have rejected the claims of fraud in Georgia and elsewhere, and election officials from Trump’s own Republican Party have defended the handling of the November 3 vote in that state.  But they also say the rhetoric has reached dangerous levels, casting a cloud overmore

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Census Bureau to Miss Deadline, Jeopardizing Trump Plan 

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The Census Bureau plans to announce it will miss a year-end deadline for handing in numbers used for divvying up congressional seats. That delay could undermine President Donald Trump’s efforts to exclude people in the country illegally from the count if the figures aren’t turned in before President-elect Joe Biden takes office.It will be the first time that the December 31 target date has been missed since Congress implemented the deadline more than four decades ago.Internal documents obtained this month by a House committee show that Census Bureau officials don’t see the apportionment numbers being ready until days after Bidenmore

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Republican Senator to Contest Biden’s Electoral College Victory

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Republican U.S. Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri said Wednesday that he would contest next week’s certification of the Electoral College vote in a last-ditch but almost certainly futile effort to upend Democratic President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in last month’s election over President Donald Trump.Hawley’s challenge, coupled with a Republican protest in the House of Representatives led by Representative Mo Brooks of Alabama, ensures that the two chambers in Congress on January 6 will debate the legitimacy of Biden’s 306-232 victory in the Electoral College that would make him the country’s 46th president at his inauguration on January 20.Biden’s incoming Whitemore

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Biden, Harris, Trump Staging Georgia Senate Runoff Rallies

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U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and outgoing President Donald Trump are all planning to campaign in the southern state of Georgia in the final two days ahead of next Tuesday’s crucial Senate runoff elections. Harris is staging a rally Sunday in the Atlantic coastal city of Savannah for the Democratic contenders, the Rev. Raphael Warnock, a Baptist minister, who is opposing incumbent Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler, and Jon Ossoff, a television documentary producer who is running against Republican Senator David Perdue. Biden and Trump both have announced rallies for Monday, the day before the Tuesday in-person voting. FILE – Sen.more

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US Senate Poised to Vote on Defense Funding Veto Override    

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U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is urging his colleagues to override President Donald Trump’s veto of a $740 billion defense spending measure in a vote expected this week.    “President Trump has rightly noted this year’s defense bill doesn’t contain every provision that we Republicans would have wanted. I’m confident our Democratic colleagues feel the same way,” McConnell said Tuesday. “But that is the case every year. And yet, for 59 consecutive years and counting, Washington has put our differences aside, found common ground, and passed the annual defense bill.”    The Senate approved the NDAA in an 84-13 vote earlier thismore

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US Senate Balance of Power Hangs on Georgia Runoff

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Early voting is under way in the U.S. southern state of Georgia for two Senate seats for which none of the candidates received a majority of the vote in the November election. At stake in the January 5 runoff vote — the balance of power in the U.S. Congress. Both U.S. President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden have focused their energies on the races. Trump told a December 5 rally in the state that “the voters of Georgia will determine which party runs every committee, writes every piece of legislation, controls every single taxpayer dollar,” as he urged support formore

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Atlanta’s Increasingly Diverse Suburbs Could Decide US Senate Control

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Gwinnett County is located just 16 kilometers northeast of Atlanta and is one of the most populous suburbs of Georgia’s largest city. In November, Democrat Joe Biden won 58% of the presidential vote in the county, helping propel his razor-thin margin of victory in Georgia overall. Thirty years ago, however, Gwinnett county was mostly rural and a Republican stronghold in a state where Republicans have long dominated. “Atlanta was mostly African American and voted Democrat, but, back then, the suburbs around Atlanta were like the rest of Georgia — a lot of white people nearly exclusively voting Republican,” Nick Masino,more

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Democrats Push for Senate Vote on Higher Pandemic Relief

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Democrats plan to push Tuesday for the U.S. Senate to pass higher pandemic relief payments to Americans, meeting President Donald Trump’s demand for $2,000 COVID-19 relief checks that has already been approved by the House of Representatives.With Democrats in the minority in the Senate, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell giving no public indication of bringing the measure for a vote, prominent Democratic figures said they intended to take several possible paths toward forcing action.FILE – Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of N.Y. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 1, 2020.Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer planned to usemore

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COVID-19 Dominates Rough Year for Universities

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Higher education did not escape the reaches of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. U.S. colleges and universities struggled with decisions in the spring to send students home, and then whether to open campuses in the fall, all with an eye to trying to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Students still feel adrift, and the financial impact on the industry has been significant.  The issues:  COVID-19 begins  In December 2019, international students celebrated the end of a semester’s hard work, with many flying home for the winter holidays. A month later, they traveled back to their U.S. schools for themore

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2020 Sees Higher Education Admissions Scandal, Visa Challenges for International Students

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The coronavirus pandemic led to more than 1.7 million deaths and 79 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 — the disease caused by the virus — and international students around the world largely escaped health affects but were disrupted in their studies. Higher education in the United States also was roiled by a huge admissions scandal and immigration restrictions, which punctuated a chaotic and anxiety-ridden year.  The issues: College admissions scandal  Nearly three dozen parents, including “Full House” actress Lori Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, were sentenced in a high-profile college admissions scandal that revealed wealthy parents buying their children’s way intomore

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House Passes Higher Pandemic Relief, Overrides Trump Defense Veto

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The U.S. House of Representatives has passed higher pandemic relief payments to Americans, meeting President Donald Trump’s demand for $2,000 COVID-19 relief checks, and it passed an override of Trump’s veto of a multibillion-dollar bill funding the country’s defense programs.  The House interrupted its usual Christmas recess to return to work to pass the measures Monday, less than a week before a new Congress is to be sworn into office. The Democrat-led House passed the additional pandemic relief payments by a vote of 275-134. The House and Senate had previously passed $600 payments for struggling Americans as part of a compromisemore

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Biden: Trump Aides Setting ‘Roadblocks’ for Transition Team

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President-elect Joe Biden said on Monday that many of America’s security agencies had been “hollowed out” under President Donald Trump, and the lack of information being provided to his transition team by the outgoing administration was an “irresponsibility.” “We’ve encountered roadblocks from the political leadership at the Department of Defense and the Office of Management and Budget,” Biden said after a meeting with his foreign policy team. “Right now, we just aren’t getting all of the information that we need from the outgoing administration in key national security areas. It’s nothing short, in my view, of irresponsibility,” he added. Trump, a Republican, hasmore

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US House to Vote on Higher Pandemic Relief Payments

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Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives are planning to vote Monday on higher pandemic relief payments to Americans, after President Donald Trump backed down from his fight with lawmakers over the payments and signed a $2.3 trillion pandemic aid and spending package.On Sunday Trump signed the spending package, which includes $600 in stimulus payments for struggling Americans, after previously calling the bill “a disgrace.”Trump called for the stimulus payments to be boosted to $2,000 while also criticizing funding for multiple government programs in the spending bill such as foreign aid and scientific research.Trump Signs Spending Bill, Pandemic Aid PackageThemore

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US Actress Lori Loughlin Released After Prison Term in College Scam

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“Full House” actor Lori Loughlin was released from prison Monday after spending two months behind bars for paying half a million dollars in bribes to get her two daughters into college.  Loughlin was released from the federal lockup in Dublin, California, where she had been serving her sentence for her role in the college admissions bribery scheme, the federal Bureau of Prisons said. Her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, is serving his five-month sentence at a prison in Lompoc near Santa Barbara, California.  Loughlin and Giannulli were both initially supposed to report to prison on Nov. 19, but prosecutors andmore

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Trump Signs Spending Bill, Pandemic Aid Package

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With the clock ticking toward a potential U.S. government shutdown, President Donald Trump on Sunday signed a $2.3 trillion spending legislation, which includes $900 billion for coronavirus relief and the remainder for government spending through next September.     The president had called the bill “a disgrace” after it had been passed in the House and Senate, capping months of negotiations in which Trump was little involved.The bill was flown from Washington to his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida to be available if Trump decided to sign it into law.      The stand-off appeared to break when Trump hinted inmore

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Benefits for Millions Expire as Trump Fails to Sign Pandemic Aid Bill

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U.S. President Donald Trump failed to sign a critical pandemic relief and government funding package before midnight, meaning increased unemployment benefits and eviction protections expired at 12:01 a.m. Sunday.    Trump had sharply criticized the legislation earlier this week and on Saturday indicated his continued objections to it.    Trump tweeted, “I simply want to get our great people $2000, rather than the measly $600 that is now in the bill. Also, stop the billions of dollars in ‘pork.’”  I simply want to get our great people $2000, rather than the measly $600 that is now in the bill. Also, stop themore

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Benefits Expire as Trump Does Not Sign Pandemic Aid Bill

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U.S. President Donald Trump did not sign a critical pandemic relief and government funding package before midnight, allowing increased unemployment benefits and eviction protections to expire at 12:01 a.m. Sunday.Trump had sharply criticized the legislation earlier this week and indicated Saturday his continued objections to it.Trump tweeted early Saturday, “I simply want to get our great people $2000, rather than the measly $600 that is now in the bill. Also, stop the billions of dollars in ‘pork’.”I simply want to get our great people $2000, rather than the measly $600 that is now in the bill. Also, stop the billionsmore

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Trump Again Signals Objections to Pandemic Aid Bill 

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U.S. President Donald Trump indicated Saturday his continued objections to a pandemic relief and government funding package that he sharply criticized earlier this week.Trump tweeted early Saturday:I simply want to get our great people $2000, rather than the measly $600 that is now in the bill. Also, stop the billions of dollars in “pork”. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) President-elect Joe Biden leaves St. Joseph on the Brandywine Roman Catholic Church, Dec. 26, 2020, in Greenville, Del.President-elect Joe Biden called on Trump to sign the bill.”This abdication of responsibility has devastating consequences. … This bill is critical. It needs tomore

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US Spending Bill Awaits Trump’s Decision

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U.S. President Donald Trump is spending the holiday weekend at his Florida resort as both Democrats and Republicans wait to see whether he will sign a critical pandemic relief and government funding package that he sharply criticized earlier this week.The $2.3 trillion spending legislation, which includes $892 billion for coronavirus relief, has been flown from Washington to his Mar-a-Lago club to be available for him to sign into law. Trump has not specifically threatened to veto the bill, but he surprised lawmakers in both parties by labeling the legislation as a “disgrace” after it had been passed in the Housemore

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Judge Delays Execution of Only Woman on US Death Row

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A federal judge said the Justice Department unlawfully rescheduled the execution of the only woman on federal death row, potentially setting up the Trump administration to schedule the execution after president-elect Joe Biden takes office.U.S. District Court Judge Randolph Moss also vacated an order from the director of the Bureau of Prisons that had set Lisa Montgomery’s execution date for Jan. 12. Montgomery had previously been scheduled to be put to death at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana, this month, but Moss delayed the execution after her attorneys contracted coronavirus visiting their client and asked him tomore

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Duty-Free King Quietly Gives Away $8 Billion

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Among the celebrity philanthropists who donate extreme amounts of money to education and lifting others, Chuck Feeney’s name is not as well-known as Bloomberg, Gates or Buffett.Those billionaires — Michael Bloomberg, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett — are highly recognizable names of great wealth, and their efforts are well-known.But Feeney, 89, has donated more than $8 billion in the past 38 years more quietly, espousing the slogan “Giving While Living” through his Men look at cosmetic products in a Duty Free store at the Fraport airport in Frankfurt, Germany, Nov. 14, 2012.Numerous educational programs have benefited from Atlantic Philanthropies, butmore

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Republican Lawmakers Block Effort to Pass Trump’s Stimulus Demands

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Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives blocked a Democratic attempt Thursday to pass President Donald Trump’s demand for $2,000 stimulus payments to millions of Americans who have been hard hit by the U.S. coronavirus pandemic.Late Tuesday, the outgoing president demanded an increase in direct payments from $600 to $2,000 for individuals and $4,000 for couples, despite broad opposition within the Republican Party.Thursday House Democratic leader Steny Hoyer sought the unanimous approval of Trump’s proposal from House members but House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy denied the approval, ending an unusual 12-minute pro forma session.Trump Vetoes Defense Spending BillBoth the Housemore

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