WASHINGTON — The civil rights division of the Justice Department has for decades protected the rights of racial, ethnic and religious minorities, as well as women — the groups that have been the most common victims of illegal discrimination in the U.S.

President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead the office, Harmeet Dhillon, has a very ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that the Panama Canal is charging “exorbitant prices and rates of passage” on U.S. naval and merchant ships, and he demanded that fees be lowered or else Panama should return the canal to the U.S.

“The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, especially knowing the ...Read more

President Joe Biden is giving federal employees a parting gift this holiday season, saying in an executive order that this year’s Christmas Eve would be considered a federal holiday.

In the order, signed Thursday, Biden — who is in the final weeks of his tenure in the White House — said the extra day off would be given to all federal ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Millions of Americans may see their Social Security benefits increase under a bill headed to President Joe Biden’s desk — though critics warn that the measure comes at the cost of pushing the fund further toward insolvency.

If signed by the president before the new Congress convenes on Jan. 3, the law would boost Social ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump named Mark Burnett — the man who created the television show "The Apprentice" that helped catapult him to the presidency — as a special envoy to the U.K.

“With a distinguished career in television production and business, Mark brings a unique blend of diplomatic acumen and international ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed funding legislation to keep the U.S. government operating until mid-March, avoiding a year-end shutdown and kicking future spending decisions into Donald Trump’s presidency.

The legislation went to Biden early Saturday morning after the Senate voted 85 to 11 to approve the measure, which sailed ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Senate cleared a stopgap funding extension early Saturday shortly after a midnight deadline, staving off a partial government shutdown and ending days of gridlock over a package whose contents seemed to change by the hour.

Eager to head out of town for the Christmas recess, the Senate won unanimous consent to speed up the ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden set a new record for federal judicial confirmations in a single term, when Serena Murillo became his 235th life-tenured federal judge confirmed by the U.S. Senate as lawmakers worked into the night ahead of a holiday break.

The confirmation on Friday night means that approximately one quarter of all active ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The House finally passed a stopgap funding extension Friday, hours before the midnight deadline to avert a partial government shutdown, after Democrats moved off their opposition to anything but the larger bipartisan package that President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk killed earlier this week.

The 366-34 vote was enough to ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Missouri judge on Friday blocked a series of long-standing restrictions on abortion, but kept in place a licensing requirement that could delay providers from immediately restoring access to the procedure.

The decision from Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Jerri Zhang came after voters last month overturned the state’...Read more

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House voted late Friday to approve a package funding the government through mid-March and providing emergency aid for homeowners, businesses and farmers affected by recent natural disasters.

Democrats joined some Republicans to give 366 votes for passage to the temporary funding bill. Thirty four Republicans voted ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House is expected to vote late Friday on a package funding the government through mid-March and providing emergency aid for homeowners, businesses and farmers affected by recent natural disasters.

After two earlier failed attempts, Speaker Mike Johnson offered a “Plan C” to avoid a government shutdown scheduled to ...Read more

A federal government shutdown was looming Friday as congressional Republicans sought to come up with a new stopgap spending plan after a proposal backed by President-elect Donald Trump failed badly.

House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that GOP leaders have agreed on a so-called Plan C after 38 Republicans voted against a Trump-endorsed ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Exactly one month before Donald Trump is scheduled to retake the White House, Maryland leaders are taking a cautious approach toward his signature call to deport people who are in the country illegally.

In Baltimore, Mayor Brandon Scott — the city’s first mayor to win reelection in two decades — has touted his role in ...Read more

As government agencies prepare for a potential shutdown, questions about the government’s response to a potentially burgeoning H5N1 bird flu pandemic are top of mind for many public health and agriculture officials.

Inquiries to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the dairy industry and the new National Milk Testing Strategy �...Read more

Donald Trump’s first term was all about the fight — with Democrats, the media and, at times, even fellow Republicans.

But notwithstanding his role in torpedoing a recent stopgap spending deal, the times appear to be changing, according to the president-elect.

“I did have dinner with Tim Cook. I had dinner with almost all of them, and the...Read more

NEW YORK — Citing Mayor Eric Adams’ federal corruption indictment, the city’s election finance watchdog agency is weighing a possible finding that the mayor’s political campaign in “breach of certification” — the panel’s most severe penalty that has the potential to cost his team as much as $10 million, the Daily News has learned...Read more

A federal government shutdown was looming Friday as congressional Republicans sought to come up with a new stopgap spending plan after a proposal backed by President-elect Trump failed badly.

House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that GOP leaders were crafting a so-called Plan C after 38 Republicans voted against a Trump-endorsed proposal ...Read more

A federal government shutdown was looming Friday as congressional Republicans sought to come up with a new stopgap spending plan after a proposal backed by President-elect Trump failed badly.

House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that GOP leaders were crafting a so-called Plan C after 38 Republicans voted against a Trump-endorsed proposal ...Read more

The most powerful leaders in the tech industry are trying out a new playbook to engage Donald Trump, who has been historically opposed to their dominance: in-person dining.

A steady stream of some of the biggest names in technology — Meta Platforms Inc.’s Mark Zuckerberg, Google co-founder Sergey Brin and Amazon.com Inc.’s Jeff Bezos — ...Read more