Debate heats up over bill targeting Google, Facebook’s power over local news
The debate around a proposal that aims to give news outlets the power to negotiate with tech giants to distribute their content is heating up ahead of a Senate markup of the bill slated for Thursday. Bipartisan sponsors of the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act in the House and Senate released a revised version of the bill in August, which kicked off campaigns from advocacy groups for and against the legislation. Chamber of Progress, Public Knowledge and 19 other advocacy groups sent a letter on Friday to top senators of the Judiciary C
Read MoreSchumer in tough spot over Manchin promise
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday pledged to add permitting reform legislation to a stopgap funding bill that would prevent a government shutdown, but he’s in a tough spot as he seeks to deliver on a promise to Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). The permitting reform is a side-deal Schumer struck with Manchin in late July to pass a climate, tax and health care bill known as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which is projected to help reduce that nation’s carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030. Manchin offered his support for the bill in July after wi
Read MoreBiden sparks debate with Marine backdrop to combative address
President Biden sparked debate about his own adherence to political norms during his speech last week warning of GOP attacks on democracy, when the White House placed two Marines in the backdrop of his high-profile address from Philadelphia. It wasn’t the first time a president has given a speech in front of the military. But as the nation becomes more polarized, even those who think Biden’s imagery was not particularly political say it was bad optics. “This is — to take sort of a football analogy — this is a 5-yard penalty. Definitely not a 10- or 15-yard penalty
Read MoreGOP touts 5,000 events at minority community centers
The Republican Party on Thursday announced it has hosted more than 5,000 separate events at its minority community centers, 38 multipurpose voter outreach spaces spread around 19 states. The Republican National Committee (RNC) community centers have been at the center of the party's outreach to minority and disadvantaged communities around the country ahead of the 2022 midterms. “The RNC's purposeful engagement forges the way for stronger relationships with minority communities and a stronger Republican Party. Unlike Democrats, Republicans do not take minority communitie
Read MoreStates wasting billions on new highways, rather than fixing old ones: report
State use of federal infrastructure dollars to prioritize highway expansions over repairs could waste billions of dollars and worsen the impacts of climate change, a new report has found. The report, published on Thursday by the U.S. Public Interest Research Groups (U.S. PIRG), urged state lawmakers to reexamine proposed highway expansion projects — while taking into account the evolving transportation needs of the American public. “Every time we spend money on infrastructure, we have an opportunity to
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