Politics
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California Republican David Valadao wants to stop big Medicaid cuts. Can he succeed?
California Republican Rep. David Valadao and other potentially vulnerable Republicans face a vote this week on a plan that could mean big cuts in Medicaid, a vote with the potential to be a big deal in 2026 congressional races.
The House is expected to take up a sweeping budget plan as soon as Tuesday that could mean large reductions in ...Read more
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Millions will lose healthcare if GOP budget cuts pass, Sacramento's Rep. Doris Matsui warns
To fund tax cuts for the nation’s richest citizens, U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui said Friday, House Republicans have proposed cuts that would strip Denise Stephenson, Joseph Wilson and roughly 320,000 other residents in her district of some or all federal health benefits.
The Sacramento Democrat said the cuts would be devastating to not only her ...Read more
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Trump administration seeks to boost awareness of immigration approach
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has paired a public relations blitz with its policy actions on immigration, with key officials appearing on television news and social media, in an advertising campaign and at a high-profile press conference announcing a lawsuit.
Some parts of the push go above and beyond the more traditional tone of ...Read more
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Republicans mostly mum on Trump's upending of Russia policy
On the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale attack on Ukraine, the United States voted with Russia in the United Nations General Assembly against a resolution calling for the withdrawal of Moscow’s troops from Ukraine.
The resolution passed anyway.
The United States also supported a resolution calling for an end to the war — without ...Read more
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Town halls give frustrated Democrats chance to vent about Trump and Musk
NEWINGTON, Conn. – More than 100 people attended Democratic Rep. John B. Larson’s recent town hall in this Connecticut suburb to voice outrage over President Donald Trump’s push to radically shrink the federal government.
But Thursday night’s meeting also provided voters an opportunity to vent about what they view as an inadequate ...Read more
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Maryland Gov. Wes Moore says 'off the rails' meeting with Trump makes him more determined to push back
Gov. Wes Moore said he left a White House meeting on Friday with President Donald Trump and nearly every other governor “more determined than ever” to defend Maryland against the president’s actions.
“I’ve come back from Washington with no illusion about what kind of partnership that this administration is trying to forge with our ...Read more
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Trump says planned tariffs on Canada, Mexico 'going forward'
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said tariffs scheduled to hit Canada and Mexico next month were “on time” and “moving along very rapidly” following an initial delay, even as a U.S. official cautioned the schedule could be less certain.
Trump was asked if the tariffs, which he delayed until March 4, would go into effect next week ...Read more
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Trump says planned tariffs on Canada, Mexico 'going forward'
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said tariffs scheduled to hit Canada and Mexico next month were “on time” and “moving along very rapidly” following an initial delay, even as a U.S. official cautioned the schedule could be less certain.
Trump was asked if the tariffs, which he delayed until March 4, would go into effect next week ...Read more
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Trump hails Musk order to federal workers as 'genius' move
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump defended the efforts of billionaire adviser Elon Musk to force federal workers to justify their roles and productivity or be fired, casting it as a legitimate bid to root out fraud and waste in the U.S. government.
“I thought it was great, because we have people that don’t show up to work, and nobody ...Read more
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Jeffries rallies Democrats against Trump's deep cuts to programs like Medicaid
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries on Monday rallied fellow House Democrats to unite against President Donald Trump’s proposed budget plan, which he says would pave the way to draconian cuts in popular programs like Medicaid to fund massive tax cuts for the wealthy.
Lashing out at what he derides as the “GOP tax scam,” the Brooklyn minority leader ...Read more
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Supreme Court leaves in place abortion-clinic buffer zones
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court dealt a setback to abortion opponents, refusing to reconsider a 2000 decision that lets states and cities create protective zones to shield patients from being approached near clinic entrances.
Sidestepping what would likely have been a polarizing fight, the justices turned away two appeals that said the ...Read more
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As Trump seeks to end NYC congestion pricing, MTA points to $48 million in new revenue as a good sign
NEW YORK — Congestion pricing is working, MTA officials said Monday, releasing data that showed the congestion pricing toll generated $48.7 million in gross revenue for January.
The revenue data comes as the Trump administration seeks to kill the congestion toll by revoking a federal authorization given last year allowing the MTA to fund the...Read more
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Dogging DOGE: Massachusetts AG Andrea Campbell has emerged as one of Donald Trump's most persistent foes
BOSTON — As President Donald Trump continues his attempted remake of the federal government, many of his efforts have run into roadblocks in the form of state Attorneys General and the courts.
Among those leading the charge against Trump’s broad-stroke rewriting of the status quo between the states and the federal government is ...Read more
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Trump's views on Russia put Rubio's long-held opposition to authoritarian leaders to the test
As Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke of the “incredible opportunities” to partner with Vladimir Putin’s Russia if a peace deal to end his invasion of Ukraine is achieved, the Russian leader was sending hundreds of thousands of oil barrels to Cuba, offering a lifeline to a regime Rubio, a Cuban American from Florida, had just recently ...Read more
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As Pennsylvania inches toward legalizing recreational cannabis, lawmakers propose selling it in state-owned dispensaries similar to state liquor stores
After a long, largely successful march over 25 years to liberalize cannabis laws in the United States, the movement had a tough election in 2024.
Legalization ballot measures failed in Florida, North Dakota and South Dakota. In Arkansas, votes on legalization were not even counted due to litigation over the measure. The only ...Read more
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3 ways Trump is acting like a king and bypassing the Constitution’s checks and balances on presidential authority
I learned basic civics in my public school. But mostly, because it was more interesting, I also learned civics after school watching the animated series “Schoolhouse Rock,” often with my abuela – my grandmother – who took care of me.
Back then, “Schoolhouse Rock” had a wonderful episode, “Three Ring Government.” In ...Read more
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The murder rate in Venezuela has fallen − but both Trump and Maduro are wrong about why
The body of former Venezuelan army officer Ronald Ojeda was found on Feb. 19, 2024, in a suitcase buried under 5 feet of concrete. Ojeda, accused by Venezuela of plotting against the government, had gone missing nine days earlier, when men dressed as police broke into his apartment in the Chilean capital of Santiago and dragged him away.
...Read more
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How Elon Musk’s deep ties to – and admiration for – China could complicate Trump’s Beijing policy
Elon Musk holds an outsized influence in the new Trump administration.
As head of his Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, the world’s wealthiest man has enjoyed nearly unfettered political power in slashing and refashioning the federal government as he sees fit. And it has quickly become clear that he has the president’s...Read more
German conservatives face narrow path to power after victory
Germany’s conservative leader Friedrich Merz emerged as the winner in Sunday’s election, but the results gave his bloc just one clear path to power with intense pressure to move quickly to form a government.
While Merz’s CDU/CSU alliance won 28.6% of the votes, the only centrist two-party option for a majority in the Bundestag is to ...Read more
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House budget, disapproval measures headline congressional schedule this week
WASHINGTON — House budget action headlines this week at the Capitol, as House Republicans also work toward overturning Biden administration regulations.
The House is expected to vote as early as Tuesday on its version of fiscal 2025 budget blueprint that’s designed to provide for a one-step budget reconciliation process, a move that would ...Read more
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