Political
Need information regarding current political news? Here we'll keep you updated on the latest political news, locally and nationally.
Homesley, Falstad share plans for growing county, auditors office
EPHRATA — As Grant County continues to grow, the county auditor's office is tasked with keeping pace with increasi…
Biden meets Ukraine leader in long-sought Oval Office visit
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden used his first meeting with a foreign leader since ending the war in Afghanistan to send the message Wednesday that the United States — unburdened of its “forever war” — is det…
Judge conditionally approves Purdue Pharma opioid settlement
A federal bankruptcy judge gave conditional approval Wednesday to a sweeping settlement that will remove the Sackler family from ownership of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and devote potentially $10 billion to figh…
The Latest: Australia getting vaccine in swap with Singapore
CANBERRA, Australia — Australia says it has reached a deal with Singapore to acquire 500,000 doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine next week in return for delivering the same number of shots to Singapore in Decem…
Last troops exit Afghanistan, ending America's longest war
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan late Monday, ending America’s longest war and closing a chapter in military history likely to be remembered for colossal failures, unful…
RFK's oldest son condemns possible parole of Sirhan Sirhan
BOSTON (AP) — Former congressman Joseph P. Kennedy II, the oldest son of Robert F. Kennedy, denounced the
Texas bans most abortions, with high court mum on appeal
The nation's most far-reaching curb on abortions since they were legalized a half-century ago took effect Wednesday in Texas, with the Supreme Court silent on an emergency appeal to put the law on hold.
Illinois Democrats OK new legislative maps over criticism
CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois Democrats were poised to set new legislative boundaries over objections from Republicans and some community groups that the process was unnecessarily rushed and maps were drawn behind closed…
COVID recession pushed Social Security insolvency up a year
WASHINGTON (AP) — The sharp shock of the coronavirus recession pushed Social Security a year closer to insolvency but left Medicare’s exhaustion date unchanged, the government reported Tuesday in a counterintuitive…
High court divides 5-4 to leave Texas abortion law in place
WASHINGTON (AP) — A deeply divided Supreme Court is allowing a Texas law that bans most abortions to remain in force, for now stripping most women of the right to an abortion in the nation’s second-largest state.
Bali bomb case starts in Guantanamo 18 years after capture
NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba (AP) — Three prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay detention center had
Years later, California voters still wait on water projects
SITES, Calif. (AP) — In 2014, in the middle of a severe drought that would test California's complex water storage system like never before, voters told the state to borrow $7.5 billion and use part of it to build …
Officials withhold school board salaries over mask mandates
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida state education officials on Monday began to make good on threats to withhold funding from local school districts that defied Gov. Ron DeSantis' ban on mask mandates, despite a circ…
Appeals court ruling nearly triggers Idaho abortion law
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A federal appeals court’s decision allowing a Texas fetal heartbeat law to take effect Wednesday isn’t enough to trigger Idaho’s similar fetal heartbeat law, but backers say it’s a near miss tha…
Black women seeing guns as protection from rising crime
TAYLOR, Mich. (AP) — Valerie Rupert raised her right arm, slightly shaking and unsure as she aimed at the paper target representing a burglar, a robber or even a rapist.
Analysis: War is over but not Biden's Afghanistan challenges
WASHINGTON (AP) — With the final stream of U.S. cargo planes soaring over the peaks of the Hindu Kush, President Joe Biden fulfilled a campaign promise to