Political
Need information regarding current political news? Here we'll keep you updated on the latest political news, locally and nationally.
Several contested races on the primary ballot in Grant County
EPHRATA — Filing week for the August primary election closed Friday, leaving several contested races on the ballot…
Border crossings strain resources in Rio Grande Valley
HARLINGEN, Texas (AP) — Elmer Maldonado spent a week in immigration custody with his 1-year-old son after crossing the Rio Grande through Texas to request asylum. One night, the Honduran father and son slept on the…
Bolsonaro under fire as Brazil hits 300,000 virus deaths
SAO PAULO (AP) — Mere miles from Brazil’s presidential palace, the bodies of COVID-19 victims were laid on floors of hospitals whose morgues were overflowing. Lawmakers fielded calls from panicked constituents acro…
Buttigieg pitches infrastructure needs to divided Congress
WASHINGTON (AP) — Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is warning that the county's infrastructure needs exceed $1 trillion and that other countries, namely China, are pulling ahead of the U.S. with their public…
Lawmakers: Require nursing homes to disclose vaccine data
WASHINGTON (AP) — Nursing homes have to publicly disclose their vaccination rates for flu and pneumonia but there’s no similar mandate for COVID-19 shots, even though the steepest toll from the virus has been among…
Snowboarders escaped monster avalanche, but not the law
DENVER (AP) — Tyler DeWitt and Evan Hannibal were slowly making their way down a windswept slope during a backcountry snowboarding excursion in Colorado last spring when the shallow snow beneath them shifted and br…
Mass shooters exploited gun laws, loopholes before carnage
The suspect in the shooting at a Boulder, Colorado, supermarket was convicted of assaulting a high school classmate but still got a gun. The man accused of opening fire on three massage businesses in the Atlanta ar…
Amid growing challenges, Biden to hold first news conference
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden held off on holding his first news conference so he could use it to celebrate passage of a defining legislative achievement, his giant COVID-19 relief package. But he's sure to…
A first: US Senate confirms transgender doctor for key post
Voting mostly along party lines, the U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed former Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine to be the nation’s assistant secretary of health. She is the first openly transgender feder…
North Korea test-fires ballistic missiles in message to US
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Thursday test-fired its first ballistic missiles since President Joe Biden took office, as it expands its military capabilities and increases pressure on Washington while nu…
US report: Bald eagle populations soar in lower 48 states
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of American bald eagles has quadrupled since 2009, with more than 300,000 birds soaring over the lower 48 states, government scientists said in a
Democrats launch Senate battle for expanded voting rights
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are renewing their efforts to muscle through the largest overhaul of U.S. elections in a generation, setting up a fight with Republicans that could bring partisan tensions to a climax in…
Biden's dogs back at White House after ruff start
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden's dogs — Champ and Major — are roaming the White House again, after having been sent to Delaware when Major, the younger dog, injured a Secret Service agent.
Federal judge nixes Ohio's push for early redistricting data
A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by the state of Ohio that tried to get the U.S. Census Bureau to provide data used for drawing congressional and legislative districts ahead of its planned rel…
Conservationists sue to save spotted owl logging protections
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Environmental groups have filed a
Federal Judge nixes Ohio's quest at early redistricting data
A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by the state of Ohio that tried to get the U.S. Census Bureau to provide data used for drawing congressional and legislative districts ahead of its planned rel…