Politics Election category, Page 92

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. — Former U.S. Rep. George Santos ’ lawyer expressed optimism about plea negotiations in Santos’ criminal fraud case Tuesday, successfully fending off prosecutors’ attempts to speed up the the ousted congressman’s trial. In Santos’ first court appearance since he was expelled from Congress earlier this month, his...

A Western Pennsylvania lawmaker wants to expand law enforcement’s ability to use a more-detailed form of DNA analysis when identifying victims in cold cases. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Peters, introduced the Cold Case Modernization Act which would expand the criteria for federal Department of Justice grants funding the use of forensic...

HARRISBURG — Public school advocates in Pennsylvania are criticizing publicly funded programs that help underwrite tuition at private and religious schools, saying many of the eligible schools discriminate by cherry-picking the students they want to teach. Pennsylvania’s Capitol is already gripped by a broader and mostly partisan debate over how...

Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — State lawmakers will return to Harrisburg next week in hopes of finally ending nearly six months of partisan deadlock on the last pieces...

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden goes into next year’s election with a vexing challenge: Just as the U.S. economy is getting stronger, people are still feeling horrible about it. Pollsters and economists say there has never been as wide a gap between the underlying health of the economy and public...

WASHINGTON — A deal to provide further U.S. assistance to Ukraine by year-end appears to be increasingly out of reach for President Joe Biden. The impasse is deepening in Congress despite dire warnings from the White House about the consequences of inaction as Republicans insist on pairing the aid with...

LOS ANGELES — If you’re a Democrat with money to burn and friends in high places, you can spend thousands on tickets to a fundraiser with President Joe Biden. If not, keep reading to see what you’re missing. With an election year around the corner, Biden is accelerating his fundraising...

WASHINGTON — Fox News pushed back Friday against a former reporter’s lawsuit saying he was targeted and fired for challenging false claims about the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The network argued Jason Donner had not shown he faced illegal discrimination. The nation’s capital bans discrimination...

ATLANTA — Meeting a federal judge’s deadline, Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law new Republican-drawn political maps Friday that redistrict Georgia’s congressional and General Assembly seats before next year’s elections. The redrawn district lines preserve Republican majorities after the judge ruled Georgia’s previous boundaries illegally weakened Black voting power in...

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — As Donald Trump faces growing scrutiny over his increasingly authoritarian and violent rhetoric, Fox News host Sean Hannity gave his longtime friend a chance to assure the American people that he wouldn’t abuse power or seek retribution if he wins a second term. But instead of offering...

LAS VEGAS — President Joe Biden went to Las Vegas on Friday to say he’s “putting high-speed rail on the fast track,” and he used the moment to blast Donald Trump — his predecessor and likely 2024 challenger — as a do-nothing politician. “Trump just talks the talk. We walk...

U.S. Rep. Scott Perry is on an exhaustive list of potential witnesses that prosecutors in Fulton County, Ga., have prepared for a potential 2024 criminal trial against former president Donald J. Trump and 14 co-conspirators for alleged attempts to subvert the 2020 presidential vote in that state. The list, first...

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson’s margin for error in getting Republican priorities through the House is getting slimmer, complicating future votes and magnifying the ability of individual lawmakers to force concessions. Republicans had just a 222-213 margin before Rep. George Santos of New York was expelled in a broad,...

Embattled University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill is under fire yet again for her problematic response to antisemitic speech on campus, telling a congressional hearing that calling for Jewish genocide is allowed depending on its “context.” Then, after 24 hours of backlash, Magill released a video refuting her previous statement....

DETROIT — Federal prosecutors alleged in a court filing Tuesday that a campaign employee of former President Donald Trump “encouraged rioting” to obstruct the counting of votes in Detroit after the November 2020 election. The revelation drew a direct connection between the frenzy that took place at Detroit’s riverfront convention...

A Ross man who federal prosecutors said threatened members of Congress will serve a year of probation, including six months on house arrest. Harry E. Miller, 65, was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Schwab. Miller was indicted by a federal grand jury in 2021 and charged with...

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Banning marijuana growing at home, increasing the substance’s tax rate and altering how those taxes get distributed are among vast changes Ohio Senate Republicans proposed Monday to a marijuana legalization measure approved by voters last month. The changes emerged suddenly in committee just days before the new...

LOS ANGELES — Two months after his historic ouster as House speaker, Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California announced on Wednesday that he is resigning from his congressional seat and will leave by the end of the year. His announcement marked the stunning coming end of the House career of...

WASHINGTON — It was a decade ago that Capitol Hill was consumed by an urgency to overhaul the nation’s immigration system, fueled in no small part by Republicans who felt a political imperative to make inroads with minority voters by embracing more generous policies. But nothing ever became law and...

HARRISBURG — Just how hard did some Republican members of Congress work to keep Donald Trump in office after his 2020 election loss? A court case is providing a few tantalizing clues. Snippets and short summaries of texts and emails sent by Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, a top Trump...

NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump declined to rule out abusing power if he returns to the White House after Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity asked him Tuesday to respond to growing Democratic criticism of his rhetoric. The GOP presidential front-runner has talked about targeting his rivals —...

NEW YORK — A Donald Trump ally who worked in his Justice Department said Tuesday that if the former president is elected again, his administration will retaliate against people in the media “criminally or civilly.” Kash Patel, who was also chief of staff in the Defense Department and held a...

President Joe Biden said he might not be running for a second term if former President Donald Trump were not seeking to return to the White House, arguing Trump poses a grave threat to American democracy. “If Trump wasn’t running, I’m not sure I’d be running,” Biden, 81, told donors...

ALBANY, N.Y. — A special election to pick a successor to George Santos, the New York Republican who was expelled from the U.S. House last week, will be held on Feb. 13, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Tuesday. The race for a seat representing some Long Island suburbs and a small...