Politics & Government

Politics & Government

Week in politics: Congress averts partial government shutdown, Blinken in Israel

8:04am March 23, 2024

A second package of budget bills passed Congress, just narrowly averting a partial government shutdown. Also, Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Israel.

Politics & Government

House Speaker Mike Johnson is under fire from his party for passing the spending bill

8:04am March 23, 2024

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a $1.2 trillion budget package, but only with help from Democrats. Some GOP members object.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally on Oct. 27, 2016 at the Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio.

Politics & Government

Ohio has been a bellwether and a battleground: What is it telling us now?

5:00am March 23, 2024

by Ron Elving

Ohio was the model bellwether state until 2020. In that year, Ohio gave a solid majority of its vote to then-incumbent President Donald Trump, but he still lost the White House to Joe Biden.

Opponents of the ban on female genital mutilation (FGM) gather outside the National Assembly in Banjul, The Gambia, on March 18, 2024. Lawmakers voted to advance a highly controversial bill that would lift the ban on FGM.

The Gambia is debating whether to repeal its ban on female genital mutilation

8:18pm March 22, 2024

by Diane Cole

Like many countries in Africa, The Gambia has a law criminalizing the practice of female genital mutilation. Now, amid a religious backlash, it could become the first country to repeal its ban.

Mexico could strong-arm Biden over Texas' immigration law SB4

4:35pm March 22, 2024

NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer speaks with Washington Post columnist Eduardo Porter about Texas' immigration law SB4, and Mexico's reaction to it.

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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., talks to reporters after meeting privately with House Speaker Mike Johnson at the Capitol earlier this year.

Politics & Government

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene files motion to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson

4:35pm March 22, 2024

It's the second time in less than a year that House Republicans have pushed to remove their elected leader.

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Friday.

Blinken urges Netanyahu not to attack Rafah as cease-fire resolution fails at the U.N.

3:33pm March 22, 2024

by Jaclyn Diaz

Blinken's sixth time in the region since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel comes as talks continue in Doha, Qatar, and Russia and China veto U.S. Gaza cease-fire resolution.

Senators meet in the senate chamber at the Statehouse, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024, in Indianapolis.

New Indiana law requires professors to promote 'intellectual diversity' to keep tenure

3:08pm March 22, 2024

by Ethan Sandweiss

A new Indiana law requires professors to promote "intellectual diversity" to receive tenure. Critics worry the measure will dissuade academics from staying in the state.

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Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks about the spending package during a news conference on March 20. The House of Representatives went on to pass six appropriations bills funding the government on Friday.

Politics & Government

House passes bills to avert a government shutdown; package now heads to the Senate

2:22pm March 22, 2024

by Barbara Sprunt

The compromise would fund the federal government through the end of the fiscal year. The Senate now must approve it with less than a day before a midnight deadline to avoid a partial shutdown.

A sign tells voters in English and Spanish where to vote as Lee County voters wait in line to cast their ballots at Northeast Regional Library in Cape Coral, Fla., on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022.

A push is underway for voters to make Florida the next state to expand Medicaid

7:27am March 22, 2024

by Regan McCarthy

For a decade, Florida lawmakers have debated whether to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Advocates are trying to circumvent the legislature and take the issue directly to voters.

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