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Members of U.S. Senate panel press financial regulators on massive bank failures
WASHINGTON — Financial regulators promised a full review of Silicon Valley Bank’s massive failure as members of a key U.S. Senate panel on Tuesday interrogated the officials about what led to the second-largest bank collapse in U.S. history. Members of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs asked if the Federal Reserve could […]
DOJ memo on threats to local school boards lambasted by Republicans at U.S. House hearing
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans on Thursday continued to press accusations that a “woke agenda” is deteriorating parents’ rights in their local school districts. The first hearing this Congress of the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government convened to examine whether a 2021 Department of Justice memo played a role in […]
Virginia Democrat defends rollback of U.S. banking rules, blames managers for bank failures
WASHINGTON — The recent bank failures that shocked the markets and caused a speedy government bailout were “basic prudential regulation failure” by management, U.S. Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia said Monday. The Democratic senator, who sits on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, told reporters he stands by his position that 2018 […]
As opioids overdose deaths keep rising, report urges lawmakers to develop new approaches
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers should view America’s staggering opioid crisis, including the rise of illicit fentanyl, through an “ecosystems” approach, argues a massive RAND Corporation report published last week. That means they should examine the gaps and interconnections among emergency response, data collection, education, treatment, housing and law enforcement, the report advises. The 600-page volume — […]
Biden says U.S. bank deposits are safe despite tumult over California bank collapse
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden reassured Americans early Monday that their money is safe in U.S. banks, after a tumultuous weekend following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and a move by regulators to shut down a second lender. Americans “should feel confident that their deposits will be there, if and when they need them,” […]
GOP bill mandating federal Parents Bill of Rights passed by U.S. House committee
WASHINGTON — A national “Parents Bill of Rights” is headed for a full U.S. House vote after the House Committee on Education and the Workforce early Thursday approved the measure designed to empower parents to inspect books and other teaching materials in schools. Lawmakers on the committee debated the GOP-backed bill that would federally mandate […]
U.S. Senate panel probes how crypto mining increases energy consumption
WASHINGTON — The so-called mining for digital assets, or cryptocurrency, consumes as much electricity as some entire nations, and U.S. senators explored the issue Tuesday in what they said was their first-ever hearing focused on the energy implications of digital currency. Crypto mining in both Nebraska and Pennsylvania was discussed in particular by the members […]
Biden pick for U.S. archivist caught up in controversy over missing presidential documents
WASHINGTON — The nominee for archivist of the United States made her second appearance before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee Tuesday, after the panel blocked her last Congress following a high-profile probe into records at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Colleen Shogan, an executive for the nonprofit White House Historical Association […]
White House unveils $2B in weapons for Ukraine on one-year anniversary of Russian invasion
WASHINGTON — On the one-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Biden administration announced an additional $2 billion in weapons and a host of new sanctions targeting Russia’s key industries and government officials. The Friday announcement came on the heels of President Joe Biden’s historic and surprise visit to Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, where […]
One missile fired at mystery flying object wound up in Lake Huron, officials say
WASHINGTON — The American public may know by week’s end the administration’s strategy on unidentified flying objects going forward, but some questions about three recent ones shot down by the U.S. military may not be answered for a long time, if ever. Debris from the three low-altitude objects downed by U.S. Air Force air-to-air missiles […]
Midwestern, Western states in spotlight after mystery flying objects shot down by military
WASHINGTON — Military posts in Midwestern and Western states played key roles in the unprecedented downings of multiple unmanned aerial objects over the North American continent this weekend. Members of Congress and governors from the states involved and from both parties have shared information about the downings on Twitter and in statements, in some cases […]
China balloon’s voyage across Alaska, Montana and U.S. enrages members of U.S. Senate panel
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of U.S. senators grilled Pentagon officials Thursday on why a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon was permitted to fly over Alaska and across the lower 48 states before being shot down off the coast of South Carolina. The Senate Committee on Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, led by Montana Democrat Jon Tester, featured […]