Author: Farnoush Amiri
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McCarthy fails for 3rd long day in GOP House speaker fight
WASHINGTON • For a long and frustrating third day, divided Republicans kept the speaker’s chair of the U.S. House sitting empty Thursday, as party leader Kevin McCarthy failed again and again in an excruciating string of ballots to win enough GOP votes to seize the chamber’s gavel. Pressure was building as McCarthy lost seventh, eighth…
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House approves bill for Puerto Rico to become a state; zero chance in Senate
WASHINGTON • The U.S. House passed a bill Thursday that would allow Puerto Rico to hold the first-ever binding referendum on whether to become a state or gain some sort of independence, in a last-ditch effort that stands little chance of passing the Senate. The bill, which passed 233-191 with some Republican support, would offer…
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McCarthy passes 1st House speaker test, but hurdles remain
WASHINGTON • Republican leader Kevin McCarthy won the nomination Tuesday for House speaker, clearing a first step with majority support from his colleagues, but he now faces a weekslong slog to quell right-flank objections before a final vote in the new year. McCarthy has led House Republicans this far, and with the party now on…
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Progressives retract Ukraine letter to Biden after uproar
WASHINGTON • A group of progressive Democrats in Congress said Tuesday it had retracted a letter to the White House urging President Joe Biden to engage in direct diplomatic talks with Russia after it triggered an uproar among Democrats and raised questions about the strength of the party’s support for Ukraine. In a statement, Rep.…
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Jan. 6 panel: Ginni Thomas reiterates false election claims
WASHINGTON (AP) — Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, stood by the false claim that the 2020 election was fraudulent during an interview Thursday with the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, the panel’s chairman said. “It’s a work in progress,” Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., told reporters after the…
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In new gun law, a quiet breakthrough for victims of abuse
WASHINGTON • Nikiesha Thomas was on her way to work one day when she told her sister that she was thinking about getting involved with domestic violence prevention. The idea gave Keeda Simpson pause. Her younger sister had never mentioned anything like that before, and she was bringing it up in a phone call just…
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DHS watchdog rebuffs lawmakers on Secret Service testimony
WASHINGTON • The Homeland Security Department’s inspector general has refused congressional requests for documents and staff testimony about the erasure of Secret Service communication related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, angering top Democrats who accuse him of unlawfully obstructing their investigation. In an Aug. 8 letter disclosed Tuesday, Inspector General Joseph…
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Jan. 6 hearings: How to watch and what to know
WASHINGTON • Nearly a year since its inception, the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol will go public with its findings starting this week as lawmakers hope to show the American public how democracy came to the brink of disaster. The series of hearings that will take place over the…
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Son of Buffalo victim pushes Congress: ‘What are you doing?’
WASHINGTON • The son of Ruth Whitfield, an 86-year-old woman killed when a gunman opened fire in a racist attack on Black shoppers in Buffalo, N.Y., challenged Congress on Tuesday to act against the “cancer of white supremacy” and the nation’s epidemic of gun violence. Garnell Whitfield Jr’s emotional testimony comes as lawmakers are working…
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Ex-Trump adviser Peter Navarro subpoenaed in DOJ’s 1/6 probe
WASHINGTON • Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro revealed in a court filing Tuesday that he has been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury this week as part of the Justice Department’s sprawling probe into the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol. Navarro, who was a trade adviser to then-President Donald Trump, said he was…