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Calm, conservative, confident: What GOP senators want in Trump’s vice presidential pick
WASHINGTON — Republican members of the U.S. Senate striving for a takeover of their chamber in the November elections have a wish list for what they’d like to see in Donald Trump’s running mate. A “little calmer” than Trump. Confident. Conservative. Military experience. Good relationships with senators. Ready to take over as chief executive if […]
For both sides, abortion policy 2 years after Dobbs decision hinges on November
WASHINGTON — Exactly two years after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion, the battles rage among both advocates and lawmakers over the future of reproductive rights at the state and federal levels. Anti-abortion groups that have achieved considerable success in deep-red parts of the country are working to sway voters […]
Scientists argue over the origins of COVID-19 before U.S. Senate panel
WASHINGTON — Scientists debated the origins of COVID-19 on Tuesday, trading barbs over whether the bulk of evidence available points to a natural spillover event from a wild animal or a virus designed in a lab and then let loose through an inadvertent leak. The hearing in front of the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and […]
U.S. Senate Republicans reject Democrats’ bill on IVF protections
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats’ attempts to bolster reproductive rights failed again Thursday when Republicans blocked a bill guaranteeing access to in vitro fertilization from moving forward. The 48-47 procedural vote came just one day after Republicans tried unsuccessfully to pass their own IVF access bill and one week after GOP senators prevented legislation from […]
State abortion bans forcing interstate travel, U.S. Senate panel hears
WASHINGTON — When Lauren Miller flew from her home state of Texas to Colorado two years ago she felt a moment of relief when the plane took off — not because she had been delayed for hours or because she needed a vacation, but because she was about to meet with doctors who would be […]
U.S. Supreme Court rejects attempt to limit access to abortion pill
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a much-anticipated decision Thursday that mifepristone, one of two pharmaceuticals used in medication abortion, can remain available under current prescribing guidelines. The high court unanimously rejected attempts by anti-abortion groups to roll back access to what was in place more than eight years ago, writing that they […]
Republican IVF bill fails in U.S. Senate
WASHINGTON — Alabama Republican Sen. Katie Britt’s efforts to pass legislation that would block Medicaid funding from going to states that ban in vitro fertilization were unsuccessful Wednesday when Democrats blocked the bill from advancing. Britt, who introduced the legislation earlier this year alongside Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, said during brief debate the bill […]
Trump says he’ll work ‘side by side’ with group that wants abortion ‘eradicated’
WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump said Monday that if reelected he plans to work “side by side” with a newly formed religious organization that says abortion is the “greatest atrocity facing” the United States and should be “eradicated entirely.” During two-minute recorded remarks played at The Danbury Institute’s inaugural Life & Liberty Forum in […]
‘Democracy begins with each of us,’ Biden says at site of D-Day invasion in Normandy
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden, speaking from the site of the D-Day invasion in Normandy, France, said Friday that those who support democracy must remember what World War II soldiers sacrificed and live up to those ideals. Biden’s remarks came during commemoration of the 80th anniversary of D-Day and sought to tie the threats to […]
U.S. Senate GOP prevents contraception access bill from moving ahead
WASHINGTON — An attempt to reinforce Americans’ access to contraception failed Wednesday when U.S. Senate Republicans blocked a bill from advancing toward final passage. The 51-39 procedural vote required at least 60 senators to move forward, but fell short after GOP lawmakers said the measure was too broad as well as unnecessary. Alaska Sen. Lisa […]
Bird flu’s spread from poultry to cattle to humans provokes worry among feds, states
Dairy farmers throughout the country are on guard and the federal government is mobilizing after an outbreak among cattle herds of highly pathogenic avian influenza — once thought to be confined to poultry flocks. What’s more, the virus, also known as H5N1 or bird flu, was diagnosed in a third dairy farmworker last week, marking […]
Fauci defends his work on COVID-19, says he has an ‘open mind’ on its origins
WASHINGTON — Dr. Anthony Fauci defended his decision-making during the COVID-19 pandemic on Monday, testifying before Congress about his work on the virus as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases during two presidencies. House Republicans who called the hearing grilled Fauci during the contentious three-hour session about the origins of […]