Political
Need information regarding current political news? Here we'll keep you updated on the latest political news, locally and nationally.
Grant County voters urged to return ballots early as election approaches
EPHRATA — More than 52,000 ballots are now in the hands of Grant County voters, and election officials are encoura…
Neo-Nazi pleads guilty in journalist threat case
SEATTLE (AP) — An organizer of a neo-Nazi campaign to threaten journalists and Jewish activists in three states has pleaded guilty in federal court in Seattle.
EXPLAINER: Senate eyes budget rule to push past filibuster
WASHINGTON (AP) — With the Senate split 50-50, leaders of the Democratic majority are looking for ways to advance their priorities and
Arkansas lawmakers enact transgender youth treatment ban
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas lawmakers on Tuesday made the state the first to ban gender confirming treatments and surgery for transgender youth, enacting the prohibition over the governor's objections.
'We failed the test' of COVID-19, says human rights champion
PARIS (AP) — Agnès Callamard is best known for her investigation into the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and has made a career uncovering extrajudicial killings.
6 charged in NH youth detention center sex abuse probe
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Six former staffers at New Hampshire’s state-run youth detention center were arrested Wednesday in connection with the abuse of 11 children over the course of a decade, including one who contin…
Biden open to compromise on infrastructure, but not inaction
President Joe Biden drew a red line on his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan Wednesday, saying he is open to compromise on how to pay for the package but inaction is unacceptable.
EXPLAINER: Can Biden add energy jobs? Hope mixes with doubt
NEW YORK (AP) — Good-paying jobs — many of them.
Refugee families urge Biden to keep promise to up admissions
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The families of refugees and their supporters, including 124 elected officials, sent President Joe Biden a letter Tuesday urging him to make good on his promise to boost refugee admissions to the U…
Snub in EU-Turkey meeting highlights gender equality issue
BRUSSELS (AP) — Gender equality issues took center stage Wednesday in Brussels a day after Ursula von der Leyen, one the EU's most powerful executives, was treated like a second-rank official during a visit to Anka…
Correction: Virus Outbreak-Haiti story
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — In a story April 5, 2021, about the lack of vaccines in Haiti, The Associated Press erroneously reported that the Pan American Health Organization had given the country 500 testing kits…
Virus pandemic slows renovations to Superdome in New Orleans
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Plans for $450 million in upgrades to New Orleans' iconic Superdome have been disrupted because of financial troubles caused by the pandemic, the stadium's manager told state lawmakers durin…
In bipartisan unity, police reform bills advance in Oregon
SALEM, Oregon (AP) — Republicans and Democrats on the Oregon House Judiciary Committee unanimously approved almost a dozen bills on police reform, a show of bipartisan unity in a Legislature that has been bitterly …
Merkel backs 'short, uniform lockdown' across Germany
BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday threw her weight behind a “short, uniform lockdown” as the country grapples with a high level of coronavirus cases fueled by the spread of a more contagiou…
More than a half million Americans gain coverage under Biden
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than a half million Americans have taken advantage of the Biden administration's special health insurance
As states expand vaccines, prisoners still lack access
This week, Florida expanded eligibility for COVID-19 vaccines to all residents 16 and older. But across the state, more than 70,000 people still don’t have access to the vaccine. Those men and women are Florida sta…