Portman among 47 GOP senators to sign letter to Iran WASHINGTON — In a move Democrats denounced as trying to sabotage the Obama administration’s foreign policy, Sen. Rob Portman and 46 other Senate Republicans yesterday warned Iran’s leadership that any agreement to limit Tehran’s apparent efforts to build a nuclear bomb would need Senate approval to stay in effect beyond 2016. More
Coalition on immigration bill clears first tests The bipartisan coalition behind a contentious overhaul of immigration laws stuck together on a critical early series of test votes Thursday, turning back challenges from conservative critics as the Senate Judiciary Committee refined legislation to secure the nation's borders and offer eventual citizenship to millions living illegally in the United States. More
Republicans to back Obama's student loan plan House Republicans are willing to give President Barack Obama a rare win, the chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee said Thursday in outlining a deal that would let college students avoid a costly hike on their student loans. More
Obama to open middle-class jobs, opportunity tour Aiming to show he's still focused on creating jobs, President Barack Obama is beginning a series of quick trips around the country to resurrect ideas from his State of the Union address that became overshadowed by the intense debates over gun control, immigration and automatic spending cuts. More
What's in the approved government funding bill After days of heated negotiations on Capitol Hill and eleventh-hour interference from President-elect Donald Trump and his ally Elon Musk, the House passed a funding bill to prevent a government ... 12/22/2024 - 5:48 am | View Link
Government shutdown updates: Biden signs funding bill, averting shutdown With a government shutdown narrowly avoided late Friday into Saturday morning, the House and Senate sent a funding bill to President Joe Biden's desk. An initial bipartisan deal was tanked earlier ... 12/21/2024 - 4:41 am | View Link
Biden Signs Funding Bill—Averting Government Shutdown President Joe Biden on Saturday signed a funding bill to avert a looming government shutdown, following a last-minute effort to approve the measure in the Senate after a chaotic week of opposition ... 12/21/2024 - 3:07 am | View Link
Senate eyes late-night vote on government funding after House approves bill to prevent shutdown Hours to go before a midnight deadline, the Senate is preparing to give final approval to a new plan from Speaker Mike Johnson to prevent a government shutdown ... 12/20/2024 - 10:29 pm | View Link
Biden signs stopgap funding bill after last-minute votes in Congress President Joe Biden on Saturday signed the Continuing Resolution approved by Congress that keeps the federal government operating until March. 12/20/2024 - 10:09 pm | View Link
This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
Donald Trump has promised to deregulate the energy sector, boost fossil fuels, dismantle environmental rules, and otherwise attack climate progress. However, experts and advocates say that lawsuits that aim to hold the fossil fuel sector responsible for deceiving the public about the climate crisis still “have a clear path forward.”
“The overwhelming evidence of the industry’s lies and ongoing deception does not change with administrations,” said Richard Wiles, president of the nonprofit Center for Climate Integrity, which tracks and supports the litigation.
Axios’ morning email thingie alerts us that about half of the states are increasing minimum wage: The 21 states are Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. Oregon and Florida will raise their minimum wage later in 2025.
Millions of workers are getting a raise on Wednesday, when the minimum wage is set to rise across 21 states, and 48 cities and counties, Axios’ Emily Peck writes.
Why it matters: The increases lift the pay of more than 9.2 million people, per the Economic Policy Institute’s tally.
Today it was announced that Pres. Biden will award the former Vice Chairwoman of a Committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection Liz Cheney, with the Presidential Citizens Medal, which is one of the nations highest civilian honors.
The recipients the president selected to be honored in his last medal ceremony have “performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens,” the White House said in a statement on Thursday.
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The selection of Ms.