Politics

News Wrap: Senators clash over Dem. elections bill Republicans deem partisan

In our news wrap Wednesday, Senators clashed over an elections bill to expand ballot access and head off attempts to limit voting access at the state level, with Republicans saying it's partisan overreach. U.S. health officials pointed to progress in…

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Labor Secretary Walsh to prioritize American Rescue Plan, focus on 'building back better'

President Biden regularly touts the promise of his COVID relief legislation, but there are significant problems in the job market that may not be easily solved as more than 9 million Americans remain out of work, and the unemployment numbers…

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U.S. Senate confirms transgender doctor for key health post

By David Crary, Associated Press

Transgender-rights activists have hailed Levine's appointment as a historic breakthrough. Few trans people have ever held high-level offices at the federal or state level.

Conservationists sue to save spotted owl logging protections

By Gillian Flaccus, Associated Press

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed the logging protections in the last days of the Trump administration amid praise from the timber industry, but President Joe Biden has delayed implementation of the new rules.

White House officials, lawmakers to tour border facility

By Jonathan Lemire, Nomaan Merchant, Josh Boak, Associated Press

The visit to a facility in Carrizo Springs, Texas, comes as the Biden administration faces a growing humanitarian and political challenge at the U.S.-Mexico border that threatens to overshadow its ambitious legislative agenda.

WATCH: Senate armed services committee holds hearing on sexual assault in the military

By Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press

A watchdog report finds that a former Navy civilian auditor sexually harassed at least a dozen female employees for more than two decades as part of a pervasive pattern of misconduct and retaliation.

WATCH: Senate small business committee holds hearing on COVID-19 relief programs

By Chris Rugaber, Associated Press

The Biden administration is considering a bump in the corporate tax rate to 28 percent, up from the current 21 percent, after the Trump administration cut it from 35 percent. Tax increases on higher-income Americans are also being considered.

WATCH: White House grapples with action on gun safety

By Associated Press

A delegation of White House officials and members of Congress was traveling to the southern border on Wednesday to tour a facility being used to house migrant children.

WATCH: Congress questions Texas officials about power grid failure

By David Koenig, Associated Press

Congress is looking into the cause of the power blackouts across Texas last month. A House panel heard Wednesday from officials who oversee the state's energy industry and electric grid.