White House announces $1.4 billion to boost rail safety and capacity

The Biden Administration announced Monday that it’s awarding more than $1.4 billion to fund railway safety projects and increase capacity in 35 states and DC. The funding has been allocated through the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Some 70 projects will include track upgrades and bridge repairs, and improve connectivity between railways. They’ll also boost weatherproofing […]

CDC says everyone over 6 months old should get updated Covid vaccine

An independent panel of advisers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended that everyone over age 6 months should should get the new, updated Covid vaccine this fall. “Even children and adults with no underlying conditions can still experience severe illness due to Covid,” said Dr. Sandra Fryhofer, an adjunct associate […]

Biden Administration initiative to bar medical debt from credit scores

The Biden Administration on Thursday announced a major initiative to create rules barring unpaid medical bills from factoring into Americans’ credit scores. Vice President Harris noted during a teleconference Thursday that some 100 million Americans—one in three—struggle with unpaid medical bills. “For years, this medical debt has also harmed people’s credit scores,” said Harris. “And this is […]

Bob Menendez charged with bribery

Federal prosecutors charged Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) with bribery Friday—his second corruption related prosecution in the past decade. According to the unsealed indictment filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the Department of Justice is accusing the Senator and his wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, of accepting “hundreds of thousands of […]

UAW extending strike against 2 of Big Three automakers

United Autoworkers President Shawn Fain on Friday made good on a vow to extend the UAW’s strike if no “serious progress” is made with the Big Three automakers. During a livestream event Friday, Fain said that UAW workers at 38 parts distribution facilities across 20 states would strike effective at noon ET at General Motors […]

What to expect if there’s a government shutdown

If Congress cannot agree to pass a federal budget within the next eight days, the government will shut down at midnight September 30. Prospects of avoiding a shutdown were dubious Friday amid House GOP infighting that has at times this past week descended into f-bomb laden threats. Congress left Washington after right-wing hardliners iced a […]

Writers, Studios to enter 3rd day of negotiations to end strike

The Writers Guild of America and Hollywood studio CEOs were set to enter a third day of direct talks Friday, hoping to end a months-long writers’ strike. While the two sides have yet to close a deal, sources say both are open and willing to continue the negotiations. For the first time amid the standoff […]

First big grain ship leaves Ukrainian Black Sea port

The first big ship to carry grain from a Ukrainian Black Sea port since Moscow nixed an agreement to allow such exports set sail for Egypt this week. “The vessel AROYAT (flag Palau) left the port Chornomorsk after loading 17,6K Ukrainian wheat for Egypt,” Oleksandr Kubrakov,Vice Prime Minister for the Restoration of Ukraine, posted on […]

Pentagon to exempt Ukraine operations from potential government shutdown

The Pentagon plans to exempt its Ukraine operations from any government shutdown, should Congress fail to agree on a federal budget by the September 30 midnight deadline, Defense Department spokesperson Chris Sherwood told Politico Thursday. With little over a week to avert a shutdown GOP hardliners on Thursday for a second time this week blocked […]

Biden and Zelensky announce new agreements during White House meeting

During a bilateral meeting Thursday at the White House with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, President Biden said “there’s no alternative” but to provide Ukraine with the aid it needs to defeat Russia. His statement came in answer to a question from a reporter about whether Congress—which is currently wrangling over providing more funding to Ukraine—will […]

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Author: Christine Burke