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Biden administration proposes major new limits on asylum at the border
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is rolling out a proposed rule that for two years would bar migrants from applying for asylum at the Southern border if they have not first asked for protection in a country they traveled through. The administration is seeking to limit asylum requests at the U.S.-Mexico border as a pandemic-era […]
Federal government to send medical experts to site of Ohio train derailment
WASHINGTON — The federal government is sending medical personnel and toxicologists to conduct public health testing following the derailment of a train carrying hazardous materials that released into a small town near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. A team from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will be […]
Funding needed to curb fentanyl smuggling at ports of entry, administration officials say
WASHINGTON — Biden administration officials at a U.S. Senate hearing Wednesday on the deadly illicit drug fentanyl said they need more money for better screening technology at ports of entry at the Southern border. They also said the U.S. needs to keep pressure on China due to its role in the sale of chemicals used […]
Biden renews a call for action on gun control following Michigan State mass shooting
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Tuesday at an annual meeting with county leaders there is much more work to be done on gun control legislation — such as banning assault-style weapons, which are typically used in most mass shootings. The call again for gun control came after a school shooting at Michigan State University […]
White House taps Indiana, New Mexico governors for federal-state council on national security
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced Thursday the appointment of Govs. Eric J. Holcomb, an Indiana Republican, and Michelle Lujan Grisham, a New Mexico Democrat, to a special bipartisan board that strengthens the federal and state partnership on matters pertaining to national security. The Council of Governors consists of 10 members selected by the president […]
U.S. House GOP preps for debates on parents’ rights, school vouchers and transgender athletes
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans laid the groundwork for some top legislative priorities during a Wednesday hearing that examined public funding for charter schools and voucher programs, as well as increasing parents’ oversight of school curriculum. The Republican chair of the Education and the Workforce Committee, North Carolina Rep. Virginia Foxx, provided a forum for […]
U.S. Senate Democrats unveil legislation to ban high-capacity gun magazines
WASHINGTON — New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, along with 27 of his U.S. Senate colleagues, introduced legislation Tuesday to ban high-capacity magazines, which can be used on the type of semi-automatic firearm that is typically used in most mass shootings. “High-capacity magazines were designed for one purpose and one purpose only — high-capacity killing […]
Biden in State of the Union speech to call for bipartisan action on fentanyl crisis
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Tuesday night is expected in his State of the Union address to call on Congress to work with the administration to address the fentanyl crisis in a bipartisan manner, administration officials said on a call with reporters. Biden will call for expanded access to opioid-related addiction treatment and announce […]
White House targets economic development in Central America to reduce migration
WASHINGTON — The White House on Monday announced nearly $1 billion in investments to address economic causes of migration in several Central American countries, an effort being spurred by Vice President Kamala Harris. Spread over several years, 10 private companies ranging from Target to Nestlé are pledging a total of $950 million to create economic […]
Congressional Black Caucus meets with Biden to push for police accountability
WASHINGTON — The Congressional Black Caucus met with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris Thursday evening to urge the administration to use its executive power for law enforcement reform, following criminal charges for police officers in the killing of a Black man in Memphis, Tennessee. “My hope is this dark memory spurs some […]
U.S. House Judiciary’s debut hearing on the border centers on blame for fentanyl crisis
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans on the Judiciary Committee blamed the Biden administration for fentanyl drug smuggling at the U.S.-Mexico border during a Wednesday hearing. Chair Jim Jordan of Ohio also blamed U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for the number of migrants at the border, and said there are already hundreds of […]
Democrats in Congress condemn Biden administration expansion of Title 42
WASHINGTON — Nearly 80 Democratic members of Congress sent a letter to the White House expressing their “great concern” that the Biden administration is walking back on its promise to restore migrants’ access to asylum. In the letter, they also condemned the administration’s expansion of a controversial policy that immediately turns away migrants at the […]