Marijuana recommendation by US health agency hailed as first step to easing weed restrictions
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has delivered a recommendation to the Drug Enforcement Administration on marijuana policy, and Senate leaders are hailing it as a first step toward easing federal restrictions on the drug.
Medicare enrollees warned about deceptive marketing schemes
With Medicareโs open enrollment underway, health experts are warning older adults about an uptick in misleading marketing tactics that might lead some to sign up for Medicare Advantage plans that donโt cover their doctors or prescriptions and drive up their out-of-pocket costs.
Senators issue bipartisan call to restore donors' tax breaks
Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers called Thursday for restoring the charitable deduction for donors who donโt itemize their taxes, a priority for nonprofits nationwide, but a key senator was noncommittal on the question of whether to support legislation designed to boost payout from foundations and donor-advised funds.
AP seeks answers from US gov't on tracking of journalists
The Associated Press is seeking answers from the Department of Homeland Security on its use of sensitive government databases for tracking international terrorists to investigate as many as 20 American journalists, including an acclaimed AP reporter.
Native American confirmed as head of National Park Service
The U.S. Senate has unanimously approved the nomination of Charles โChuckโ Sams III as National Park Service director, which will make him the first Native American to lead the agency that oversees more than 131,000 square miles of parks and other landmarks.
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Impatient Democrats prepare to go-it-alone on infrastructure
Democratic leaders are laying the groundwork for a go-it-alone approach on President Joe Biden's big jobs and families infrastructure plan even as the White House continues negotiating with Republicans on a scaled-back $1 trillion proposal.
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Lawmakers press Big Tech CEOs on speech responsibility
Republicans raised long-running conservative grievances, unproven, that the platforms are biased against conservative viewpoints and censor material based on political or religious viewpoints. There is increasing support in Congress for legislation to rein in Big Tech companies. The tech CEOs defended the legal shield under Section 230, saying it has helped make the internet the forum of free expression that it is today. Trump enjoyed special treatment on Facebook and Twitter until January, despite spreading misinformation, pushing false claims of voting fraud, and promulgating hate. The tech blog Gizmodo eventually revealed the device was a โBlockClockโ that shows the latest prices of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum.
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Lawmakers: Require nursing homes to disclose vaccine data
Nursing homes have to publicly disclose their vaccination rates for flu and pneumonia, but theres no similar mandate for COVID-19 shots. Nursing homes have been required since last May to regularly report cases and deaths among residents and staff to the government. Nursing homes are again allowing loved ones to visit, and hugs are included. The main nursing home industry trade group, the American Health Care Association, says it supports disclosure of vaccination data. Wyden and Crapo said current government policy that encourages nursing homes to voluntarily report vaccination data to the government has only led to โlimited participation by the industry.โThe government should require nursing homes to break down vaccination data by race and ethnicity, given disparities in vaccine acceptance.
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Democrats muscle ahead with Biden's health secretary pick
President Joe Bidens pick for health secretary is taking heat for his defense of abortion rights from a tag team of Republicans looking to define him and the new administration as out of the mainstream. Becerra now serves as Californiaโs attorney general and previously represented the Los Angeles area for more than 20 years in the U.S. House. Republicans voiced concern about Becerraโs record in support of abortion rights. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said Becerra as attorney general โaggressively crusaded in favor of abortionโ and repeatedly inserted California into abortion litigation involving other states. Perceptions changed after Becerra was appointed California attorney general in 2017.
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GOP takes aim at Biden's health care pick on abortion rights
President Joe Bidens pick for health secretary is taking heat for his defense of abortion rights from a tag team of Republicans looking to define him and the new administration as out of the mainstream. (Greg Nash/Pool via AP)WASHINGTON โ President Joe Bidenโs pick for health secretary is taking heat from Republicans for his actions in support of abortion rights. By a show of force, they're trying to deny a president who supports abortion rights his choice to run the Department of Health and Human Services with the coronavirus pandemic still untamed. Becerra, 63, was a reliable Democratic vote for abortion rights during more than 20 years representing a Los Angeles-area district in the U.S. House. She disagrees with his support for abortion rights but finds common ground elsewhere.
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Biden urges Senate Dems to rally behind $1.9T virus bill
โHe said we need to pass this bill and pass it soon. The Senate bill was expected to largely mirror the House-approved package, with the most glaring divergence the Senate's dropping of language boosting the federal minimum wage to $15 hourly. Schumer said Senate debate would commence as soon as Wednesday and predicted, โWe'll have the votes we need to pass the bill." Progressives, though, were still smarting over the virtual certainty that the Senate bill will lack the minimum wage boost, up from $7.25 hourly locked in since 2009. The funding was removed after some Republican lawmakers had criticized it as an example of a wasteful spending item that should not be part of the COVID relief bill.
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Minimum wage hike all but dead in big COVID relief bill
Activists appeal for a $15 minimum wage near the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. The $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill being prepped in Congress includes a provision that over five years would hike the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. AdThe overall relief bill is Bidenโs biggest early legislative priority. AdSenate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said he wanted Democrats to ignore the parliamentarian's ruling blocking the minimum wage increase. But Sanders, the Senate's lead sponsor of the hike to $15, said he'd force a vote on an amendment restoring the minimum wage increase anyway.
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Biden hails House passage of $1.9T virus bill, now to Senate
โWe have no time to waste,โ Biden said at the White House after the House passage early Saturday. That ships the bill to the Senate, where Democrats seem bent on resuscitating their minimum wage push and fights could erupt over state aid and other issues. Biden said weeks ago that he didn't expect the minimum wage increase to survive the Senate's rules. But those same Senate rules prohibit provisions with only an โincidentalโ impact on the federal budget because they are chiefly driven by other policy purposes. Republicans oppose the $15 minimum wage target as an expense that would hurt businesses and cost jobs.
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Tech firms say there's little doubt Russia behind major hack
FireEye CEO Kevin Mandia, SolarWinds CEO Sudhakar Ramakrishna and Microsoft President Brad Smith testify during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021 in Washington. In the first congressional hearing on the breach, representatives of technology companies involved in the response described a hack of almost breathtaking precision, ambition and scope. โWe havenโt seen this kind of sophistication matched with this kind of scale,โ Microsoft President Brad Smith told the Senate Intelligence Committee. U.S. national security officials have also said Russia was likely responsible for the breach, and President Joe Biden's administration is weighing punitive measures against Russia for the hack as well as other activities. Officials have said the motive for the hack, which was discovered by private security company FireEye in December, appeared to be to gather intelligence.
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HHS pick says pandemic is top job, but agenda is broader
โTo meet this moment, we need strong federal leadership," Becerra said at the first of two hearings on his nomination. AdAppearing before the Senate health committee, Becerra seconded President Joe Bidenโs goals of 100 million vaccine shots in his first 100 days, increased coronavirus testing, ramped-up DNA mapping of the virus to track worrisome mutations and reopening schools and businesses. Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, the ranking Republican on the health committee, left no doubt that Becerra faces tough scrutiny. California took pride in viewing itself as the resistance to Trump, and Becerra embodied that ethos. AdLack of medical experience doesn't disqualify a nominee for HHS secretary, though it can be a plus.
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Suspected Russian hack fuels new US action on cybersecurity
AdThe reaction reflects the severity of a hack that was disclosed only in December. The administration has also proposed expanding by 30% the budget of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency, or CISA, a little-known entity now under intense scrutiny because of the SolarWinds breach. The breach was discovered in early December by the private security firm FireEye, a cause of concern for some officials. AdRight after the hack was announced, the Treasury Department bypassed its normal competitive contracting process to hire the private security firm CrowdStrike, U.S. contract records show. โIn practical terms, what that meant is they werenโt invited in because no department or agency wants to look bad,โ he said.
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Janet Yellen wins Senate approval as treasury secretary
President-elect Joe Biden, right, listens as Janet Yellen, who Biden nominated to serve as Secretary of the Treasury, speaks at The Queen theater, Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020, in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)WASHINGTON โ The Senate on Monday approved President Joe Bidenโs nomination of Janet Yellen to be the nationโs 78th treasury secretary, making her the first woman to hold the job in the department's 232-year history. Yellen, a former chair of the Federal Reserve, was approved by the Senate on a 84-15 vote, becoming the third member of Bidenโs Cabinet to win confirmation. Before the approval by the full Senate, Yellen had received unanimous backing from the Senate Finance Committee. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, told Yellen that Bidenโs plan represented a โlaundry list of liberal structural economic reforms.โAs Treasury secretary, Yellen, 74, will occupy a pivotal role in shaping and directing Bidenโs economic policies.
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Yellen's nomination as treasury secretary advances in Senate
President-elect Joe Biden announced Yellen as his nominee for Treasury Secretary. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)WASHINGTON โ The Senate Finance Committee approved President Joe Bidenโs nomination of Janet Yellen to be the nationโs 78th treasury secretary on Friday, setting up a final vote that would make her the first woman to hold the job. The Finance Committee approved her nomination on a 26-0 vote. Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the incoming chair of the Finance Committee, said he hoped to get Yellen's nomination approved by the full Senate later Friday, but the vote was not scheduled. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told Yellen that Bidenโs plan represented a โlaundry list of liberal structural economic reforms.โAs treasury secretary, Yellen, 74, would occupy a pivotal role in shaping and directing Bidenโs economic policies.
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Democrats ask ethics panel to investigate Republican Sens. Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley
Thousands had gathered that day as Congress voted to formally certify President Joe Bidenโs victory over Trump in November. Hawley and Cruz led objections in the Senate to Bidenโs victory, despite the widespread recognition that the effort would fail. And both senators used their objections for political fundraising,โ the Democratic senators said in their letter. Cruz helped force a vote on Biden's victory in Arizona, while Hawley helped force one on Biden's victory in Pennsylvania. โThis latest effort is a flagrant abuse of the Senate ethics process and a flagrant attempt to exact partisan revenge."
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Yellen pushes GOP senators on $1.9 trillion relief package
President-elect Joe Biden announced Yellen as his nominee for Treasury Secretary. โMore must be done,โ Yellen told the Senate Finance Committee during her confirmation hearing. Since leaving the Fed, Yellen has been a distinguished researcher at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. Yellen has agreed to recuse herself from Treasury matters involving certain firms that have compensated her for her talks. Yellen's Treasury nomination was supported in a letter from eight previous Treasury secretaries serving both Republican and Democratic administrations.
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Senator: Treasury Dept. email accounts compromised in hack
(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)WASHINGTON โ Dozens of email accounts at the Treasury Department were compromised in a massive breach of U.S. government agencies being blamed on Russia, with hackers breaking into systems used by the department's highest-ranking officials. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., provided new details of the hack following a briefing to Senate Finance Committee staff by the IRS and Treasury Department. A Treasury Department spokeswoman declined to comment on Wyden's statement Monday. Microsoft notified the Treasury Department that dozens of email accounts were compromised, Wyden said. President Donald Trump sought to downplay the severity of the hack last week, tweeting without any evidence that perhaps China was responsible.
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Senator: Treasury Dept. email accounts compromised in hack
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., provided new details of the hack following a briefing to Senate Finance Committee staff by the IRS and Treasury Department. Wyden said that though there is no indication that taxpayer data was compromised, the hack โappears to be significant,โ including through the compromise of dozens of email accounts and access to the Departmental Offices division of the Treasury Department, which the senator said was home to its highest-ranking officials. A Treasury Department spokeswoman declined to comment on Wyden's statement. Microsoft notified the Treasury Department that dozens of email accounts were compromised, Wyden said. President Donald Trump sought to downplay the severity of the hack last week, tweeting without any evidence that perhaps China was responsible.
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US angling to secure more of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine
Meanwhile, the FDA said late Wednesday that some Pfizer vaccine vials may contain more than the standard five doses. The Trump administration has come under scathing criticism from congressional Democrats after news leaked out last week about the missed opportunity to secure more vaccine. A second vaccine from Moderna appears headed for Food and Drug Administration approval within days, and more vaccine candidates are advancing through clinical trials. Operation Warp Speed has financed the development, manufacture and distribution of millions of doses, with the goal of providing a free vaccine to any American who wants one. Pfizer was not as closely involved with Operation Warp Speed as other manufacturers, preferring to retain control over its own development and manufacturing.