Politics & Government

Politics & Government

House panel wraps up an important week in the probe into the Capitol attack

6:11am December 17, 2021

by Claudia Grisales

It's been a busy time for the House panel investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, as the investigation moves closer to former President Donald Trump's inner circle.

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News brief: omicron variant, spending bill stalls, abortion pill decision

5:38am December 17, 2021

How bad could the pandemic get this winter because of the omicron variant? One of President Biden's key agenda items is stalled. The FDA relaxes restrictions on access to abortion pill by mail.

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Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has ruled against Democrats' pitch to include immigration reform provisions in their social and climate spending bill.

Politics & Government

Senate parliamentarian rejects immigration reform in Democrats' spending bill

10:14pm December 16, 2021

by Claudia Grisales

The ruling is a major setback for Democrats who have been trying to move immigration reform forward.

Children line up to enter a tent at the Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children in Homestead, Fla., in Feb. 2019 The American Civil Liberties Union and other attorneys filed a lawsuit on behalf of thousands of immigrant families who were se

Justice Department breaks off talks on compensation for separated families

10:10pm December 16, 2021

The U.S. has left negotiations about paying monetary damages to families who were forcibly separated while seeking to enter at the southern border during the Trump administration.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., had said he hoped the Senate would vote on President Biden's spending bill before Christmas, but that plan has stalled.

Politics & Government

Democrats are forced to regroup as Biden's signature spending bill stalls

10:08pm December 16, 2021

For weeks, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had promised a vote on Biden's social and climate agenda before Christmas. But all 50 senators in caucus have not been able to unify behind the plan.

Biden lacks the votes to advance the 2nd part of Build Back Better by the end of 2021

9:53pm December 16, 2021

by Deirdre Walsh

President Biden acknowledged that his Build Back Better spending bill is going to need "days and weeks" to complete, even though Democrats wanted to vote on it by Christmas.

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Why the cost of carbon is increasing — and how that affects climate policy

5:53pm December 16, 2021

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Michael Greenstone, professor and director of the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago the impact of the rising cost of carbon on climate policy.

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Rep. Kinzinger discusses the events of Jan. 6 as congressional inquiries heat up

5:03pm December 16, 2021

NPR's Audie Cornish speaks with Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., about his role on the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection.

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President Biden presents the Medal of Honor to Army Master Sgt. Earl Plumlee for his actions in Afghanistan on Aug. 28, 2013.

Biden awards Medals of Honor to 3 soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan

4:20pm December 16, 2021

by Brian Naylor

The medals were given for acts of "gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty." Two were awarded posthumously, including one to the first Black recipient since the Vietnam War.

A new executive order from President Biden calls on the State Department to create a system through which passports can be renewed online.

You may soon be able to renew your passport online, instead of sending in documents

3:50pm December 16, 2021

by Deepa Shivaram

A new executive order from President Biden is designed to streamline the process for things like contacting the IRS, enrolling in Social Security online and, yes, renewing your passport.