Here’s What to Expect From Final January 6 Panel Hearing

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The congressional committee investigating the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol is set to hold what will likely be its final public hearing on Thursday, with members pledging new revelations about former President Donald Trump’s role in the events that led up to the attack. The televised hearing, House of Representatives committee members say, will be sweeping and thematic, offering a broad overview of the panel’s findings to date while airing recently unearthed evidence tying Trump and his associates to the far-right groups that plotted the riot. “We’re going to be going through really some of what we’vemore

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US Justice Department to Monitor Midterms, Avoid Appearance of Partisanship

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Carrying on a long-established tradition, the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) plans to deploy teams of federal observers around the country on Election Day next month while requiring the FBI to receive high-level approval for politically sensitive investigations that might call into question the integrity of the election. At stake in the Nov. 8 congressional races is not only control of Congress but also the legitimacy of U.S. elections — fallout from former President Donald Trump’s attempt to undo the outcome of the 2020 presidential vote. Many Americans are questioning the credibility of elections. At the same time, new laws passedmore

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Bullet-Proof Glass, Guards: US Election Offices Tighten Security for Nov. 8 Midterms

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When voters in Jefferson County, Colorado, cast their ballots in the Nov. 8 midterm election, they will see security guards stationed outside the busiest polling centers. At an election office in Flagstaff, Arizona, voters will encounter bulletproof glass and need to press a buzzer to enter. In Tallahassee, Florida, election workers will count ballots in a building that has been newly toughened with walls made of the super-strong fiber Kevlar. Spurred by a deluge of threats and intimidating behavior by conspiracy theorists and others upset over former President Donald Trump’s 2020 election defeat, some election officials across the United Statesmore

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Proud Boys Member Pleads Guilty of Seditious Conspiracy in Capitol Riot 

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A North Carolina man pleaded guilty Thursday of plotting with other members of the far-right Proud Boys to violently stop the transfer of presidential power after the 2020 election, making him the first member of the extremist group to plead guilty to a seditious conspiracy charge.  Jeremy Joseph Bertino, 43, has agreed to cooperate with the Justice Department’s investigation of the role that Proud Boys leaders played in the mob’s attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, a federal prosecutor said.  Bertino’s cooperation could increase the pressure on other Proud Boys charged in the siege, including former national chairmanmore

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Supreme Court Takes Up Key Voting Rights Case From Alabama

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The Supreme Court is taking up an Alabama redistricting case that could have far-reaching effects on minority voting power across the United States.  The justices are hearing arguments Tuesday in the latest high-court showdown over the federal Voting Rights Act, lawsuits seeking to force Alabama to create a second Black majority congressional district. About 27% of Alabamians are Black, but they form a majority in just one of the state’s seven congressional districts.  The court’s conservatives, in a 5-4 vote in February, blocked a lower court ruling that would have required a second Black majority district in time for themore

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Democrats Unveil Spending Bill to Fund Government, Aid Ukraine

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Democratic lawmakers have unveiled a stopgap spending measure to finance the federal government through December 16, provide additional support to Ukraine and help communities respond to recent natural disasters.  Both chambers of Congress must approve legislation by Friday, which is the end of the fiscal year, to prevent a partial government shutdown. It represents the last bit of unfinished business for lawmakers before the midterm elections in November. Both sides are eager to wrap up and spend time on the campaign trail, lowering the risk of a federal stoppage.  The first test vote of the measure’s popularity will take placemore

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Senators Urge Biden to Increase Pressure on North Korea

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Two Republican senators have expressed concern to the Biden administration at the growing cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang over Russia’s war in Ukraine. “We are troubled by news reports that Russia and North Korea are strengthening their relationship, which will aid [Russian President] Vladimir Putin’s unjust and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine,” Senators Marco Rubio and Bill Hagerty said in their letter dated Thursday.  “North Korea and Russia have recently agreed to dispatch North Korean laborers to areas in Ukraine seized by Russia,” their letter continued. “We also learned that Russia is attempting to purchase millions of artillery shells and rockets from Northmore

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Republicans Quiet as Arizona Democrats Condemn Abortion Ruling

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Arizona Democrats vowed Saturday to fight for women’s rights after a court reinstated a law first enacted during the Civil War that bans abortion in nearly all circumstances, looking to capitalize on an issue they hope will have a major impact on the midterm elections. Republican candidates were silent a day after the ruling, which said the state can prosecute doctors and others who assist with an abortion unless it’s necessary to save the mother’s life. Kari Lake, the Republican candidate for governor, and Blake Masters, the Senate candidate, did not comment. Katie Hobbs and Kris Mayes, the Democratic nomineesmore

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US Lawmakers Assail Iran on Death of Woman in Morality Police Custody 

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Key U.S. lawmakers are rebuking Iran for its human rights record in the aftermath of the death of a young woman while held in captivity by the country’s morality police for failing to properly cover her hair with a hijab. The lawmakers rebuffed claims by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in his speech Wednesday at the U.N. General Assembly that Tehran supports human rights. Raisi did not mention the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, and the protests that have erupted over her death, but rather assailed what he characterized as oppression, injustice and human rights violations in Western countries, including themore

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Judge Unseals Parts of Affidavit for Trump’s Florida Home Search Warrant

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A U.S. federal judge has unsealed further portions of the legal document the FBI submitted justifying its reasons to secure a search warrant of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida as part of its investigation of his handling of classified documents after he left the White House in January 2021. The portions of the affidavit that were unsealed Tuesday shows investigators served a subpoena on the Trump Organization, the ex-president’s company, on June 24 demanding any video footage and photographs from the surveillance cameras located near a storage room in the resort where dozens of boxes filled withmore

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Panel: National Archives Still Not Certain It Has All Trump Records

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The National Archives is still not certain that it has custody of all former President Donald Trump’s presidential records even after the FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago club, a congressional committee said in a letter Tuesday.  The House Committee on Oversight and Reform revealed that staff at the National Archives on an August 24 call could not provide assurances that they have all of Trump’s presidential records. The committee’s letter asked the agency to conduct an assessment of whether any Trump records remain unaccounted for and potentially in his possession.  “In light of revelations that Mr. Trump’s representatives misled investigatorsmore

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‘A Seat at the Table’: Alaska Native to Be Sworn In to Congress

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On the eve of her first day in Congress, Mary Peltola stood outside what was once the office of the late Alaska Representative Don Young, swarmed by the local and national press, and marveled at the moment.  “I really hope that Don is getting a kick out of this,” Peltola told The Associated Press in an interview Monday. “I can’t help but think that some things broke my way on account of his great sense of humor.”  The kicker is that 50 years ago, right before Peltola was born, her parents worked on Young’s first campaign for the only congressionalmore

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China Quarantines College Students Under Strict COVID Policy  

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Almost 500 students at China’s premier college for broadcast journalists have been sent to a quarantine center after a handful of COVID-19 cases were detected in their dormitory. The 488 students at Communication University of China, along with 19 teachers and five assistants, were transferred by bus beginning Friday night. Quarantining anyone considered to have been in contact with someone who tested positive for the virus has been a pillar of China’s strict “zero-COVID” policy. The quarantine centers include field hospitals as well as converted stadiums and exhibition centers that have been criticized for overcrowding, poor sanitation and spoiled food.more

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Native American News Roundup: Sept. 4–10, 2022

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Here is a look at Native American-related news around the U.S. this week: Homeland Security Department Establishes Tribal Advisory Council The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is creating an advisory council to collaborate on homeland security matters relating to tribal nations and Indigenous communities including emergency management, law enforcement, cybersecurity, domestic terrorism, targeted violence, and border security. “The inaugural Tribal Homeland Security Advisory Council is a result of sustained engagement to improve nation-to-nation relationships and comes at a time of critical importance,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “I look forward to building a new council that willmore

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Biden, Democrats Pin Hopes on Midterm Election Strategy

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Two months before midterm elections, U.S. President Joe Biden and other Democrats are coalescing on a strategy they hope will help them maintain their slim majority in Congress: spotlighting legislative accomplishments while politically singling out loyalists of former President Donald Trump. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports. …

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US Colleges Report Rise in Foreign Student Applications

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As a new school year begins in the United States, institutions of higher education are voicing optimism that international student numbers are bouncing back given an increase in applications for the 2022-2023 school year.   The Institute of International Education (IIE), in a report published in June, said U.S. colleges saw an increase in applications for admission after seeing significantly fewer new international student enrollments in 2020 and 2021.  Does it mean international students are returning in numbers to the U.S.?   “I definitely say that is true. Absolutely,” IIE Co-President Jason Czyz told VOA. He said IIE found the biggest factormore

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US Lawmakers Set to Tackle Tough Funding Questions Ahead of Midterms

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U.S. lawmakers are getting back to work after a monthlong summer recess as the Senate returns this week and the House of Representatives comes back into session next week. With narrow control of both chambers and some significant items already checked off President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda, Democrats are aiming to pass several key new pieces of legislation. But they have only a handful of weeks before Congress recesses again so that members can campaign ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.      Government funding     In what has now become almost a yearly routine, U.S. lawmakers willmore

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Biden Tackles ‘Soul of the Nation’ in Prime-Time Speech

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US President Joe Biden used the word “democracy” dozens of times in an impassioned speech on what he sees as the dangerous junction the US faces because of Trump-backed Republicans who he says pose a threat to American democracy. And Biden made clear who he sees as responsible. VOA’s Anita Powell reports from Washington. Video Editor: Barry Unger …

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Biden Calls Out Threat to Democracy, Urges Americans to ‘Stand Up for It’

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The United States is at a dangerous junction in its battle to maintain democracy, President Joe Biden believes — and in a rousing speech from Philadelphia on Thursday night, he laid the blame at the feet of one man. “There’s no question that the Republican Party today is dominated, driven and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans,” Biden said, referring to Trump’s 2016 campaign slogan, Make America Great Again. “And that is a threat to this country.” Biden drew a dark picture of his opponents’ vision for America as he spoke in front of the hall where themore

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US Judge Defers Ruling on Appointing Special Master for Trump Records

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A federal judge on Thursday deferred a ruling on former President Donald Trump’s request for an independent review of records seized from his Florida home by the FBI during a search last month.    Trump’s lawyers last week asked U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon of the Southern District of Florida to appoint a special master to determine if the documents contain any privileged material that should be returned to the former president.     The Justice Department opposed the request, saying it has conducted its own review of the materials and that appointing a special master would impede itsmore

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House Committee Reaches Deal to Obtain Trump Financial Records

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A House committee seeking financial records from former President Donald Trump has reached an agreement that ends litigation on the matter and requires an accounting firm to turn over some of the material, the panel’s leader announced Thursday.  The long-running case began in April 2019, when the House Committee on Oversight and Reform subpoenaed a wealth of records from Trump’s then-accounting firm, Mazars USA. The committee cited testimony from Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, that it said had raised questions about the president’s representation of his financial affairs when it came to seeking loans and paying taxes.  Under the agreement,more

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Peltola Beats Palin, Wins Alaska House Special Election

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Democrat Mary Peltola won the special election for Alaska’s only U.S. House seat on Wednesday, besting a field that included Republican Sarah Palin, who was seeking a political comeback in the state where she was once governor. Peltola, who is Yup’ik and turned 49 on Wednesday, will become the first Alaska Native to serve in the House and the first woman to hold the seat. She will serve the remaining months of the late Republican U.S. Rep. Don Young’s term. Young held the seat for 49 years before his death in March. Peltola’s victory, coming in Alaska’s first statewide rankedmore

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Democrats’ Chances in November Elections Seen as Improving

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When Democrats took over the presidency and scored razor-thin majorities in both houses of Congress in 2021, the general expectation was that their hold on Washington’s levers of power came with an expiration date. Conventional wisdom and U.S. election history suggested that in the 2022 midterm elections, Republicans were likely to take over the House, the Senate, or both.    Now, though, it’s beginning to look like President Joe Biden and his fellow Democrats may have at least a chance to buck history and extend their control of the federal government for another two years. To be clear, the oddsmore

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