House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected the possibility of a short-term extension of federal jobless benefits during her news conference on Thursday, taking a hard line in demanding that Congress approve a large-scale stimulus package that the White House has so far rejected. “We’re not having a short-term extension,” Pelosi said when asked if Democrats are…… MORE
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf told lawmakers Thursday he stands by the Trump administration decision to limit the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program following the Supreme Court’s decision in June. “In no way did the Supreme Court decision tell the department to process new DACA applicants,” Wolf told the Senate Homeland Security Committee.…… MORE
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced on Thursday that he has tested positive for coronavirus. The announcement came shortly before DeWine, a Republican, was scheduled to meet with President Donald Trump in Cleveland. DeWine was tested as part of the “standard protocol” to greet Trump on the tarmac at Burke Lakefront Airport, the governor’s office said…… MORE
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf defended the department’s response to unrest in Portland, Oregon, saying that violence in the city directed at federal property and personnel eventually required him to deploy supplemental law enforcement officers. Testifying Thursday before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Wolf sought to draw a distinction between the…… MORE
President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Thursday directing some federal agencies to only purchase certain drugs and medical materials when they are made in the United States. The order will specifically direct the Defense Department, Health and Human Services and the Department of Veterans Affairs to source their supplies from manufacturers within…… MORE
The State Department’s special envoy for Iran is stepping down from his post, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Thursday. Brian Hook, a political appointee who has become one of Pompeo’s top advisers, will depart the post amid a polarizing campaign by the US to extend the conventional weapons embargo on Iran. “Special Representative Hook…… MORE
A Republican congressman from Illinois who has tested positive for Covid-19 said Thursday the lack of a coronavirus testing program on Capitol Hill is “terrible.” “Right now, on Capitol Hill, we don’t have any, and it’s a travesty,” Rep. Rodney Davis told CNN’s John Berman on “New Day.” Davis announced his diagnosis on Wednesday, shortly…… MORE
A former top Saudi intelligence official who fell out with the Saudi Crown Prince is alleging that an assassination squad traveled from Saudi Arabia to Canada to try to kill him just days after journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered by members of the same group, according to a new legal complaint filed Thursday by the…… MORE
The Trump administration is making new inroads into the operations of the US Postal Service, raising fears that the agency is degrading services ahead of a surge of votes being cast through the mail in the November election. As President Donald Trump has launched a relentless attack on vote-by-mail elections, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has…… MORE
On the anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, Snapchat announced Thursday it would be releasing new tools to help its users register to vote, learn about voting and make a plan to vote. The features will launch on the app in early September and include an in-app voter registration tool, user-specific sample ballots, a voter…… MORE
