Michigan's largest Arab American cities reject Biden over his handling of Israel-Hamas war
Dearborn and two other Michigan cities with large Arab and Muslim populations turned against President Joe Biden in the stateโs primary after Democratic leaders there warned for months that voters were angry about his handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
Oil giants deny spreading disinformation on climate change
Top executives of ExxonMobil and other oil giants have denied spreading disinformation about climate change while sparring with congressional Democrats over allegations that the industry concealed evidence about the dangers of global warming.
Democrats call oil giants to testify on climate campaign
Congressional Democrats are calling top executives at ExxonMobil and other oil giants to testify about what lawmakers say is a long-running, industry-wide campaign to spread disinformation about the role of fossil fuels in causing global warming.
House panel seeks storm documents from Texas grid operator
As temperatures plunged and snow and ice whipped the state, much of Texas' power grid collapsed, followed by its water systems. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)WASHINGTON โ The House Oversight Committee is investigating the agency that operates the Texas power grid, seeking information and documents about the lack of preparation for the recent winter storm that caused millions of power outages and dozens of deaths across the state. AdSevere winter storms in Texas โhave occurred repeatedly over decades, and ERCOT has been unprepared for them,โ Khanna wrote in a letter to ERCOT CEO Bill Magness. Last month's storm followed similar winter storms in 1989 and 2011 that also caused massive outages, Khanna said. โIt appears that lessons learned (again) in 2011 were not implemented either, leaving Texas vulnerable to extreme winter weather again in 2021,'' he wrote.
House Dems' campaign chief a moderate who wins in Trump land
The party's House majority will be as meager as 222-213 next year, the tightest partisan gap in two decades. Maloney worked on Bill Clintonโs successful 1992 presidential campaign and joined the White House after Clinton's 1996 reelection. โThose of us in the LGBT community have seen the system work, and it has worked because we worked,โ Maloney said. In 2018 he sought the House campaign committee chairmanship but withdrew when he was hospitalized for an infection. Farrell runs a consulting firm that he says was blacklisted by the campaign committee under Bustos after it helped candidates challenging Democratic incumbents.
Biden has room on health care, though limited by Congress
And just like the Trump administration, Biden is expected to aggressively wield the rule-making powers of the executive branch to address health insurance coverage and prescription drug costs. With COVID-19 surging across the country, Biden's top health care priority is whipping the federal governmentโs response into shape. โWeโre going to work quickly with the Congress to dramatically ramp up health care protections, get Americans universal coverage, lower health care costs, as soon as humanly possible,โ the president-elect said earlier this week. A factor that may work in Biden's favor is that many Republicans want to change the subject on health care. Coronavirus relief legislation could provide an early vehicle for some broader health care changes.
McConnell warns White House against COVID relief deal
Congress is past the point at which it can deliver more coronavirus aid soon, with differences between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Republicans and President Donald Trump proving insurmountable. McConnell on Tuesday told fellow Republicans that he has warned the White House not to divide Republicans by sealing a lopsided $2 trillion relief deal with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi before the election โ even as he publicly said he'd slate any such agreement for a vote. said Senate GOP Whip John Thune of South Dakota. Senate Republicans are recoiling at both the size of the measure and Pelosi's demands, even as Trump is beating the drums for an agreement. But the Senate GOP bill has failed once before, and Trump himself says it's too puny.
Progressives irked by spotlight on GOP at Dem convention
In this image from video, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., delivers a nominating speech during the second night of the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. (Democratic National Convention via AP)WASHINGTON For nearly three minutes at this week's Democratic National Convention, Cindy McCain recounted Joe Biden's friendship with her late husband, John McCain, the Arizona senator and former Republican presidential candidate. Meanwhile, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the most dynamic young stars of the Democratic Party, spoke for just 60 seconds. California Rep. Ro Khanna, head of the California delegation to the convention, said people need to be inspired to vote. Among those who have addressed the convention is Ady Barkin, a progressive activist who after being diagnosed with A.L.S.
Legislation proposes paying Americans $2,000 a month
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. โ Even as millions of Americans wait for stimulus checks, a proposal is being floated to pay them even more. The $2 trillion measure passed last month contained billions in financial aid for people and businesses hurt by the outbreak. Unlike the CARES Act, for instance, the bill would issue payments to college students and people with disabilities even if they are claimed as dependents. The new legislation would also take into account the number of people without bank accounts or physical addresses and issue payments through a range of ways such as direct deposit, checks, pre-paid debit cards and mobile apps. โMany Ohioans are just receiving โ or about to receive โ the first cash payment we passed in the CARES Act,โ Ryan said.