National Politics

South Carolina is joining Montana in ending federal pandemic unemployment benefits for its residents next month. The Republican governors of both states say the enhanced jobless programs are dissuading people from returning to the workforce and are creating labor shortages. They are the first two states to halt participation in the historic federal expansion of

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced late Thursday night that she will not run for reelection this year. “As (husband) Derek and I have given thoughtful prayer and consideration to the season now before us, it is with deep emotions that I hold my head high, and choose not to seek another term as Mayor,”

Almost a million people signed up for 2021 health insurance coverage on the federal Affordable Care Act exchange during the first 10 weeks of President Joe Biden’s special enrollment period, according to data released Thursday from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. That’s well over double the number who turned to the exchange in

The Biden administration is weighing unfreezing $1 billion in Iranian funds that the country could use for humanitarian relief, amid the negotiations for the US to reenter the 2015 nuclear deal and bring Iran back into compliance with its terms. It is not clear whether the release of the funds would occur unilaterally, but one

Montana will soon stop paying federal pandemic unemployment benefits to its residents, opting instead to provide $1,200 return-to-work bonuses. It is the first state to end participation in the historic federal expansion of jobless benefits, which Congress enacted last spring as the coronavirus pandemic began upending the national economy and costing millions of Americans their

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Biden administration is “actively looking” at strengthening security assistance to Ukraine as he pledged support for the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russian aggression. The top US diplomat arrived in the Ukrainian capital Wednesday night after meeting with the G7 Foreign Ministers in London,

The US Army announced a change to its grooming policy on Thursday, allowing female soldiers to wear ponytails in all uniforms. In January, the Army announced new policies that allowed soldiers to wear ponytails, locs, lipstick and earrings. They were permitted to wear medium-length ponytails on the back of the scalp that did not interfere

President Joe Biden on Thursday sought to make the case that his sweeping economic proposals are better positioned to bolster the middle class than tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations during a trip to Louisiana. The President stood in front of the Calcasieu River Bridge — a 70-year-old bridge that is 20 years older

GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik, who is poised to become the next House GOP conference chair, said on Thursday that she “fully” supports a controversial Republican-led effort in Arizona to cast doubt on President Joe Biden’s victory there, arguing that “we want to be able to fix and strengthen our election security and election integrity,” a

A New Jersey man is facing charges for taking part in the US Capitol insurrection after family friends gossiped that he was at the pro-Trump riot. The mother of Robert Petrosh Jr., of Mays Landing had told a woman with whom she was good friends that Petrosh went inside the Capitol on January 6, according

Chuck Gray, a Wyoming Republican state legislator, “absolutely” believes that former President Donald Trump won the 2020 election. He won’t say if Trump supporters were the ones who stormed the Capitol on January 6, instead falsely blaming the “insider media” for “supporting” the looting and rioting in the country last summer. He says that Wyoming

A controversial proposal to allow Texans to carry handguns in public without obtaining a license or training passed the state Senate Wednesday, putting Texas on track to potentially join a handful of others that have passed permitless carry laws this year. More than a dozen states have introduced measures this year to allow residents to

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ efforts to sell their green agenda and infrastructure plan are being complicated by a thorny conflict of interest for Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm — who stands to gain a windfall from stock options in a private electric vehicle company. Last month, Biden took a virtual tour of

President Joe Biden on Thursday will make the case that his sweeping economic proposals are better positioned to bolster the middle class than tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, according to a White House official. During his trip to Louisiana, the President will, according to the official, pose the question to the American public

As Americans continue to get vaccinated daily, business is returning to normal on Capitol Hill — even though some lawmakers have not been vaccinated. Republican House members who are physicians are trying to persuade Americans who may be hesitant to get vaccinated in a new public service announcement released Tuesday. The PSA encouraging people to

Allies of Rudy Giuliani continue to call on former President Donald Trump and Republicans to pay for his efforts around the election and, in turn, subsidize the mounting legal bills facing the former New York City mayor. Trump was recently informed directly by Giuliani associates of the increasing debts incurred by his onetime personal lawyer,