Politics

Murders rose nearly 30% nationwide last year, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Uniform Crime Report data released Monday, which revealed the greatest percentage of  homicides involving guns on record, amid the pandemic’s onset. Homicides and manslaughter jumped 29.4% from 2019 to 2020, the largest year-to-year spike since …

Angelina Jolie stopped by the White House on Wednesday, speaking briefly to reporters in the White House briefing room, and she also visited the Capitol on Tuesday.  The actress and filmmaker is in Washington working on children’s health issues and trying to encourage the reauthorization of the Clinton-era Violence Against …

Democratic Senator Joe Manchin is calling for a “strategic pause” on the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill, citing concerns about the price tag and inflation, as the White House and other Democrats push for its passage.  Manchin’s hesitation matters because the bill needs all 50 Senate Democrats to vote in …

Washington — The Senate passed a budget resolution early Wednesday that lays the groundwork for Democrats’ massive $3.5 trillion spending package, capping a flurry of activity just hours after senators approved a separate $1 trillion infrastructure bill.  The Senate passed the resolution on a party line vote of 50-49. The …

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, a political survivor who weathered calls for his resignation two years ago, is one of the few Democrats who is not weighing in on whether embattled fellow Governor Andrew Cuomo should step down, after investigators appointed by the New York Attorney General Letitia James concluded that …

Ken Bennett, the former Arizona GOP secretary of state serving as the Arizona Senate Republicans’ liaison to an ongoing audit of ballots, raised concerns about the audit contractors’ lack of transparency in two radio interviews on Monday. Bennett has been one of the public faces of the Arizona Senate GOP’s …

Amy Cousino had moved to New Orleans to be a chef — but when the COVID-19 pandemic struck last March, her job vanished. Underlying health issues cut her off further from the outside world. On unemployment for the first time in her life, she had to pick and choose which …

President Biden fired Trump-era Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul Friday morning, for undermining and politicizing Social Security benefits, according to a White House official. The president asked for Saul’s and Deputy Commissioner David Black’s resignation, the official said. Black agreed to resign, but Saul refused, so he was notified that …

Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer is working on a television interview show in which he banters with guests about a variety of topics. A spokesman for TV syndication company Debmar-Mercury said Monday that a pilot episode of the series, titled “Sean Spicer’s Common Ground,” is in the works. …

LOS ANGELES — Omarosa Manigault Newman is following up her year in the White House with a stint on “Celebrity Big Brother.” CBS unveiled the cast of the reality show’s upcoming season Sunday with a commercial that aired during the Grammy Awards. Besides Manigault Newman, contestants include basketball star Metta …