US House Panel Studies Slavery Reparations Ahead of Key Vote

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A U.S. congressional panel Wednesday began a much-anticipated debate on federal slavery reparation payments to African Americans, ahead of a historic first vote on an issue gaining momentum during the nation’s racial reckoning.The House Judiciary Committee kicked off hours of late-night discussion about a bill that would create a commission to study and develop reparation proposals for Black people.But it faces major challenges in a closely divided Congress, where no Republicans have joined the more than 150 Democratic sponsors of the measure.The first version of the bill was introduced more than 30 years ago but never advanced. It addresses themore

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Sources: US Set to Slap New Sanctions on Russian Officials as Soon as Thursday

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The United States will announce sanctions on Russia as soon as Thursday for alleged election interference and malicious cyber activity, targeting several individuals and entities, people familiar the matter said.The sanctions, in which 30 entities are expected to be blacklisted, will be tied with orders expelling about 10 Russian officials from the United States, one of the people said.The White House, the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Treasury Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.The action will add a new chill to the already frosty relations between Washington and Moscow, which has tested the West’s patience withmore

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Republicans Simmer Over Voting Stand by Some US Corporate Leaders

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New voting laws under consideration by state legislatures across the United States are pitting the traditionally business-friendly Republican Party against some major American corporations that have criticized the proposed legislation. Republicans, who say the measures are necessary to improve the integrity of elections, have faulted CEOs for getting involved, but the business leaders don’t seem to be listening. In recent days, more than 100 CEOs and other senior figures from U.S. companies, including iconic brands like Starbucks, Target, Levi Strauss, and airline firms Delta, American and United, gathered virtually to discuss publicly supporting measures making it easier, not more difficult, for Americans to vote. Themore

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 Biden to Address Congress April 28

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U.S. President Joe Biden is scheduled to give his first address to a joint session of Congress on April 28.The speech will come as Biden hits 100 days in office, an unofficial milestone upon which modern U.S. presidents have been judged for what their administrations have accomplished at the start of their four-year term.The address will take place in the House of Representatives. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi invited Biden to speak in a letter Tuesday, asking him to “share your vision for addressing the challenges and opportunities of this historic moment.”A White House statement said Biden accepted.It was not immediatelymore

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Biden Invited to Address US Congress on April 28

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U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday invited President Joe Biden to address a joint session of Congress on April 28.”I am writing to invite you to address a Joint Session of Congress on Wednesday, April 28, to share your vision for addressing the challenges and opportunities of this historic moment,” Pelosi wrote in a letter to Biden that was released by her office.The speech will give Biden an opportunity to give a sales pitch to millions of viewers for his $2.3 trillion infrastructure proposal, which is the subject of a partisan debate in Congress.It comes as hemore

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Biden, Lawmakers Honor US Capitol Police Officer Slain in Car Attack

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President Joe Biden and U.S. lawmakers Tuesday paid tribute at a ceremony in the Capitol rotunda to the U.S. Capitol Police officer killed when a motorist rammed a car into two police officers and brandished a knife earlier this month.William Evans, an 18-year veteran of the Capitol Police force and father of two young children, died in a hospital after he was struck by the vehicle on April 2.His flag-draped casket sat in the middle of the rotunda surrounded by appropriately spaced rings of attendees, including members of Evans’ family.Biden told them: “You are going to make it by holdingmore

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US State Department Names Former Ambassador as First Chief Diversity Officer

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday named Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley as the State Department’s first chief diversity officer, a position created to make the U.S. diplomatic corps more representative. The appointment is part of the Biden administration’s efforts to put diversity, equity and racial justice at the top of the national agenda after nationwide protests against police brutality and racial bias last year. Introducing Abercrombie-Winstanley, Blinken said the department and the country were at a “moment of reckoning” on racial equality, referring to the Black Lives Matter movement and attacks against Asian Americans. Abercrombie-Winstanley, a career diplomat since 1985 who served asmore

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Biden Seeks Billions While the Chips Are Down

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U.S. President Joe Biden is linking his $2 trillion infrastructure spending plan to alleviating a critical shortage of semiconductors.  “Chips, like the one I have here — these chips, these wafers are batteries, broadband —it’s all infrastructure,” Biden said in the White House Roosevelt Room on Monday during a virtual meeting with leaders of some of the country’s biggest companies hurt by a global shortage of semiconductors.   The goal of the meeting, according to the president, was to figure out how to “strengthen our domestic semiconductor industry and secure the American supply chain.”  Earlier, White House press secretary Jen Psaki,more

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Biden Lobbying Bipartisan Lawmakers for Infrastructure Spending

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U.S. President Joe Biden is meeting Monday with a bipartisan group of Republican and Democratic lawmakers to push for adoption of his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan to repair the country’s aging and deteriorating roads and bridges, add to its broadband internet system and revitalize several sectors of the American economy.There appears to be wide support for Biden’s plan for traditional infrastructure spending, fixing the country’s crumbling roads and bridges. But Republican lawmakers are balking at his description of infrastructure to include spending for in-home care for older people, child care, health care facilities for veterans and other programs throughout themore

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US Defense Secretary to Visit Israel, Germany, NATO Headquarters, UK

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U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will travel to Israel, Germany, NATO headquarters in Belgium and Britain starting on Saturday, the Pentagon said in a statement.“Secretary Austin will meet with his counterparts and other senior officials to discuss the importance of international defense relationships and reinforce the United States’ commitment to deterrence and defense, burden sharing, and enduring trans-Atlantic security,” said the statement released on Thursday. …

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Iran Launches Advanced Centrifuges Marking Its National Nuclear Day

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Iranian President Hassan Rouhani oversaw on live television Saturday the launch of advanced centrifuges to enrich uranium, a key component for nuclear weapons, while reiterating his country’s commitment to nuclear non-proliferation.Rouhani’s conflicting messages came as the country observed National Nuclear Technology Day, during which he was seen on state television ordering the injection of uranium gas into nearly 200 centrifuges and tests on other devices at the underground Natanz nuclear plant.“Once again, I stress that all our nuclear activities are peaceful and for non-military purposes,” Rouhani said during the ceremony at which more than 130 advances in its nuclear industrymore

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US: Indirect Talks with Iran to Resume in Vienna But Demand to Lift All Sanctions May Cause ‘Impasse’

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The U.S. and Iran have agreed to a second round of indirect talks in Vienna next week to try to bring each other back into compliance with a 2015 nuclear deal, but Iran has insisted that all U.S. sanctions against it be lifted and the U.S. warned that such a demand may lead to an impasse.A senior U.S. State Department official who spoke to reporters on Friday said the indirect talks would resume in the middle of next week in the Austrian capital. U.S. and Iranian diplomats concluded an initial round of meetings earlier in the day, with mediators frommore

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Group to Study More Justices, Term Limits for Supreme Court

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U.S. President Joe Biden has ordered a study on overhauling the Supreme Court, creating a bipartisan commission Friday that will spend the next six months examining the politically incendiary issues of expanding the court and instituting term limits for justices, among other issues.In launching the review, Biden fulfilled a campaign promise made amid pressure from activists and Democrats to realign the Supreme Court after its composition tilted sharply to the right during President Donald Trump’s term. Trump nominated three justices to the high court, including conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who was confirmed to replace the late liberal Justice Ruthmore

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White House Border Coordinator Jacobson Leaving Role at End of Month

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White House border coordinator Roberta Jacobson is leaving her job at the end of April, the White House said on Friday, a surprise move that solidified Vice President Kamala Harris’ control over U.S. diplomatic efforts in Central America.While the White House insisted Jacobson’s departure was planned, the announcement still was unexpected as she had been engaged in media interviews in the hours leading up to her announcement and had shown no sign of planning to step down.”Consistent with her commitment at the outset to serve in the administration’s first 100 days, Ambassador Jacobson will retire from her role as coordinatormore

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Gaetz Faces Inquiry by US House Ethics Over Potential Misconduct

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The House Ethics Committee has opened an investigation of Rep. Matt Gaetz, citing reports of sexual and other misconduct by the Florida Republican, the panel’s leaders said Friday.The deepening of the scrutiny of the congressman comes as Gaetz has retained two prominent New York attorneys while facing a Justice Department investigation into sex trafficking allegations involving underage girls.The House panel’s bipartisan probe is one of the first official indications Gaetz’s party leaders are willing to scrutinize his actions. It also appears sweeping in scope, reaching beyond the reports of sexual misconduct into broader allegations of public corruption, according to themore

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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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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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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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