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Even as drought forces water cutbacks, climate gets short shrift in midterm election
The streaks of white on the rock ringing the nation’s largest reservoir show how far its water levels have dropped since it was last full. Lake Mead and nearby Lake Powell, which send water to 40 million people in the Southwest, are at their lowest levels since they were filled in the 1930s as part […]
In attempt to curb gas prices, Biden will release oil from emergency reserve
President Joe Biden will authorize the release of 15 million barrels of oil from the nation’s reserves on Wednesday, part of an effort to lower gas prices. The release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a four-site complex of deep underground storage caverns along the Louisiana and Texas Gulf Coasts, will complete Biden’s pledge in March […]
Trump to be subpoenaed by Jan. 6 panel as the ‘central cause’ of Capitol insurrection
The U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol voted unanimously Thursday to subpoena Donald Trump, saying the former president must be held accountable as the “central cause” of a violent attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The panel’s seven Democrats and two Republicans voted to authorize a subpoena […]
Biden to pardon all federal offenses for simple marijuana possession, review criminalization
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday announced executive actions that would pardon thousands of people with prior federal offenses of simple marijuana possession. Biden then called on governors to follow suit with state offenses for simple marijuana possession, saying that “just as no one should be in a Federal prison solely due to the possession of marijuana, […]
Biden slams University of Idaho ban on abortion counseling
The federal law prohibiting sex discrimination also bars colleges and universities from denying counseling and other services to abortion patients and contraception to all students—even in states where abortion is now severely restricted, the U.S. Education Department said Tuesday. The guidance, which clarifies the longstanding rules for federal Title IX funding that virtually all colleges and […]
Tribal law enforcement boosted under bill proposed by members of Congress from the West
A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers re-introduced legislation Thursday to provide more resources for tribal law enforcement, an issue they say has become more urgent as Congress begins to consider how to respond to a July Supreme Court case that complicated state-tribal criminal jurisdiction. The bill, introduced in the House by U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego […]
PR work for ‘Big Oil’ helped stymie climate action, U.S. House Democrats say
WASHINGTON – Public relations firms aligned with oil and gas companies have tested the limits of their industry ethics and caused major slowdowns to federal climate change policy, Democrats on a U.S. House panel said at a hearing last week. The firms’ conduct went beyond the bounds of ethical public relations work, Democrats on the […]
Biden slams ‘extreme MAGA Republicans’ as Democrats launch drive to midterm election
President Joe Biden in a Thursday night speech to a crowd of party faithful promoted legislation passed by the Democratic Congress and attacked supporters of former President Donald Trump for defending rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. “Extreme MAGA Republicans just don’t threaten our personal, economic rights. They embrace political violence,” […]
Senate passes major health, tax and climate bill in boost for Democrats
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate, along party lines, passed a significant energy, health care, climate and tax package Sunday afternoon, following an overnight marathon of votes that resulted in just a handful of notable changes to the legislation. The 755-page bill was passed after Vice President Kamala Harris broke a 50-50 tie in the evenly divided Senate. […]
Sinema makes Dems drop plan to fix carried interest tax loophole
Arizona Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema announced late Thursday night a tax provision that she objected to had been removed from Democrats’ plans to pass a party-line climate, health and taxes bill, and the bill would advance. “We have agreed to remove the carried interest tax provision,” Sinema said in a statement. “Subject to the parliamentarian’s […]
House passes wildfire and drought package
The U.S. House approved, 218-199, on Friday a package of bills to address the growing threat of wildfire and drought in the West. The measure includes 49 standalone bills from both Democrats and Republicans. It includes provisions to make permanent an increase in wildland firefighter pay, lift a cap on the federal cost share for post-fire […]
Manchin and Senate Democrats strike a deal on health, climate, tax package
WASHINGTON — West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin III and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer struck an agreement Wednesday for a Democrats-only reconciliation package that would allow negotiations on some Medicare prescription drugs, end corporate tax loopholes and address climate change as well as invest in energy projects. President Joe Biden in a statement on […]