Politics & Government

Politics & Government

Biden and lawmakers postpone debt ceiling meeting as their staffs keep negotiating

8:12am May 12, 2023

NPR's Leila Fadel speaks with Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina about the debt ceiling. The U.S. government could default on its debt in a matter of weeks if the debt ceiling isn't raised.

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-K.Y., and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., leave after meeting with President Biden at the White House on Tuesday. They are canceling a planned meeting for Friday as staffers make progress on debt ceiling talks.

Politics & Government

As debt ceiling talks progress, Biden and lawmakers are postponing their meeting

7:05pm May 11, 2023

White House and congressional staff will continue to meet, but President Biden and congressional leaders will hold off on their plan to gather on Friday.

A voter fills out his ballot at an early voting location in Alexandria, Va., on Sept. 26, 2022.

Politics & Government

Virginia becomes the latest GOP-governed state to quit a voter data partnership

6:57pm May 11, 2023

Virginia is the eighth state to leave the bipartisan ERIC compact amid fringe conservative reports and conspiracy theories attempting to connect the system to liberal activists.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a Republican from Alabama, during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on April 20.

Politics & Government

Alabama Republican blasts an effort to rid the military of white nationalists

6:37pm May 11, 2023

by Padmananda Rama

Sen. Tommy Tuberville is under pressure for holding up military nominees over abortion policy he disagrees with. When asked about whether that is hurting military readiness, he faulted Biden.

Texas congressman on the end of Title 42 and the need for better border policies

4:36pm May 11, 2023

As the pandemic-era border policy Title 42 is set to end Thursday, NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, about the expected impact on border communities.

Josie, 16, moved to Rhode Island in April to flee policies in Florida that restrict transgender rights. Her parents can't go with her yet, so she'll live with an aunt and uncle until she finishes high school.

As conservative states target trans rights, a Florida teen flees for a better life

4:26pm May 11, 2023

by Stephanie Colombini

High school sophomore Josie felt Florida officials were threatening her health care and ability to be feel safe at school. So she left. Other families of trans youth are plotting their exits as well.

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Extremist groups were found guilty of seditious conspiracy for Jan. 6. Now what?

3:30pm May 11, 2023

by Terry Gross

New York Times journalist Alan Feuer talks about the conviction of the leaders of the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, and what that means for ongoing Jan. 6th-related inquiries.

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Cars line up during a Forsyth County COVID-19 testing event

Forsyth County officials recognize the end of the federal COVID-19 public health emergency

2:02pm May 11, 2023

by April Laissle

Forsyth County commemorated the end of the official COVID-19 public health emergency at a press conference Thursday.

The Jim Bridger coal plant in Point of Rocks, Wyo., powers more than a million homes across six Western states. Under proposed federal rules many coal plants would have to dramatically reduce carbon dioxide emissions in coming years.

An EPA proposal to (almost) eliminate climate pollution from power plants

12:34pm May 11, 2023

by Jeff Brady

Coal and natural gas-fired power plants would have to dramatically reduce the climate-warming greenhouse gasses they emit under proposed federal rules.

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Alan Hirsch is the new chair of the North Carolina State Board of Elections

Politics & Government

New North Carolina elections board members sworn in, with photo ID and district map changes ahead

8:53am May 11, 2023

by Gary Robertson, Associated Press

A new edition of North Carolina's State Board of Elections convened Wednesday, a panel now tasked with helping implement a photo voter identification law later this year and administering 2024 general elections under yet-again different legislative and congressional district maps.