The Senate Judiciary Committee

When President Barack Obama was in office and the White House needed to reach Sen. Joe Manchin, one person was always tasked with making the call: then-Vice President Joe Biden.Read Full StorySenate DemocratsMidterm ElectionPoliticsPresidential ElectionRepublican SenatorsBipartisan SenatorsThe White HouseCongressRepublicansThe Oval OfficeJefferson Jackson DinnerCNNManchin SpaceBiden BurnsCentrist SenatorsJoe BidenBarack ObamaPat ToomeyJay Rockefeller

In a one-two punch of authoritarian maneuvering shocking in both its scope and its severity, Republicans are fighting to hollow out the right to vote for millions of Black and brown Georgians. And what they can’t take away in the state Senate, the GOP plans to gut with a new Trump-aligned Secretary of State.Read Full StoryAbsentee VotingCivil WarBlack ChurchesMagaVoting RightsRacial InjusticePoliticsGOP VotersDemocratic VotersHouse DemocratsGOP EffortsMAGATrumpianThe State SenateBlack GeorgiansJody HiceBrad RaffenspergerStacey AbramsMax Burns

The House is set to vote Thursday on two proposals that would legalize subsets of the estimated 11 million immigrants living in the U.S. without legal permission, as Democrats gauge the chances of approving immigration legislation and sending it to President Biden's desk. The bills are expected to pass in...Read Full StoryU.s. CitizenshipUndocumented ImmigrantsBillsPoliticsUndocumented WorkersImmigrant WorkersHouseDemocraticSenateDACATPSImmigrant FarmworkersU.S. CitizenshipLegal ImmigrationDreamersDonald TrumpZoe LofgrenDan NewhouseDick DurbinNancy Pelosi

LUBBOCK, Texas — On Wednesday, the Texas House voted to advance a bill that would allow restaurants to deliver alcoholic beverages with the purchase of food. At the beginning of the pandemic, Gov. Greg Abbott waived regulations to temporarily allow the pickup and delivery of alcohol for restaurants selling food. House Bill 1024 would make this permanent.Read Full StoryRestaurantsAlcoholic BeveragesFood & DrinkLocal FoodMexican FoodThe Texas HousePicosoMexican KitchenTexansThe Texas SenateBillHouse PassageLUBBOCKAprilGov. AbbottGreg Abbott

A plan to revamp the state’s Bright Futures program is being further watered down amid opposition from parents and students. The original version of the proposal would have tied the higher education tuition scholarship to whether a student’s major leads to a job. The newest version of Republican Senator Dennis...Read Full StoryScholarshipsFlorida State UniversityJobsFlorida CollegeSenate BudgetCollege TuitionBright Future 'sFSUHouseGAAScholarship AwardsState AppropriationsGov. Ron DeSantisRepublican LawmakersHigher EducationDennis BaxleyTravis HutsonRon Desantis

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) – A new bill could prevent transgender female athletes from competing on female sports teams. The Arkansas House and Senate have passed a bill that says transgender women cannot compete in women’s sports because they are not identified as “female” on their birth certificate. Chris Atting is...Read Full StoryTransgender WomenTransgender YouthLegislatureTransgender RightsBill Of RightsWomen SportsThe Arkansas HouseSenateBentonville High SchoolTransgender AthletesArkansas GovernorFemale Sports TeamsFAYETTEVILLEArk.KidsAsa Hutchinson

There’s a startling two minutes at the very end of this week’s Education Select Committee hearing. The preceding 115 minutes comprise a deeply concerning but otherwise uneventful discussion on the deteriorating state of children’s mental health. A 161 per cent increase in sleep issues; loneliness up 63 per cent; self-harm up by 27 per cent, since 2017.Read Full StorySchool ChildrenFace MasksOn ChildrenMedical EthicsMental Health ProblemsEmotional HealthPhysical HealthChild HealthAll My ChildrenChair Of The ESCYouth Mental [email protected] CommitteeDepartment For EducationMental Health RisksEmma ThomasRobert Halfon

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., reversed course on vowing to object to President Joe Biden's nominees because of a lack of Asian American and Pacific Islander representation Tuesday evening after a spokesperson from her office said she had received assurances from the Biden administration. 'Senator Duckworth appreciates the Biden administration's assurances...Read Full StoryPoliticsPresidential ElectionCall For DiversityD-HawaiiAsian AmericansPacific IslandersThe White HouseMSNBCAnti-AsianSenateAxiosAAPI RepresentationSenator DuckworthAAPI VoicesAAPI AppointmentsJoe BidenMazie HironoTammy DuckworthKiran AhujaJen O'malley Dillon

A steel cutout depicting a 19th-century Black farmer rises from a field across the highway from the small community of Nicodemus, Kansas. AP Photo/Charlie Riedel The COVID-19 relief bill has a $5 billion provision that will forgive debts for farmers of color. Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia led the push for the inclusion of the funding. Farmers of color, and especially Black farmers, faced years of discrimination by federal officials. Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories . For over a century, Black farmers faced discrimination from the US Department of Agriculture and were largely excluded from federal loans and farm improvement initiatives. In an effort led by Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia, the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill that passed on Saturday includes a $5 billion provision that will forgive debts for Black, Hispanic, Indigenous, and other farmers of color, to enable reforms that will assist farmers with building generational wealth. Last week, Warnock, Georgia's first Black senator, praised the incorporation of the Emergency Relief for Farmers of Color Act into the COVID-19 bill. He said that Democrats sought to "ensure equity in our recovery efforts and address longstanding injustices that have left some communities behind for far too long" and pledged that the aid "will not only help farmers of color, but will also lift up the economies of our rural communities working to recover from the economic turndown," according to Rolling Stone . Due to systemic racism from both private lenders and government officials, many Black farmers did not have set deed structures that allowed for properties to be passed down in whole, which created fractional ownership setups. Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, chairwoman of the Agriculture Committee, strongly backed the effort, lauding Warnock for "coming in and and working to embrace this and get it over the line right away," according to Rolling Stone. In 1910, 14% of farmers in the US were Black, compared to 2% today, something that Stabenow highlighted. "When you look at one of the very first ways that there was racial discrimination after slavery was legally abolished, it was lack of support for black farmers," she said, adding that they "were discriminated against in terms of land ownership." Last year, Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey introduced "The Justice for Black Farmers Act," which would allow Black farmers to individually reclaim 160 acres through a system of land grants to address racial discrimination in federal agricultural policy. "Overtly discriminatory and unjust federal policy has robbed Black families in the United States of the ability to build and pass on intergenerational wealth," he said in a statement. "When it comes to farming and agriculture, we know that there is a direct connection between discriminatory policies within the USDA [US Department of Agriculture] and the enormous land loss we have seen among Black farmers over the past century." Booker reintroduced his bill last month with cosponsors Warnock, Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Tina Smith of Minnesota, and Patrick Leahy of Vermont. Read the original article on Business Insider Racial DiscriminationCovid-19Public HealthFederal GrantsFederal LoansFederal OfficialsEconomic PoliciesAP Photo/DemocraticDemocratsRolling StoneThe Agriculture CommitteeUSDAFarmersGovernment OfficialsRaphael WarnockDebbie StabenowCory BookerElizabeth WarrenKirsten GillibrandTina SmithPatrick LeahyNicodemus

This Is What Haley Joel Osment From 'Sixth Sense' Is Up To Now and Haley Joel Osment Photos from The Sixth Sense. Haley Joel Osment Photos from The Sixth Sense and This Is What Haley Joel Osment From 'Sixth Sense' Is Up To Now. Woman fatally shot in Jennings, suspect...Read Full StoryThe Sixth SenseHannah MontanaPoliticsCelebritiesRacismPGA AwardBidenParks CommitteeOsment PhotosBaby GirlRiverside DriveVideoGreen BayMaskAttackerHaley Joel OsmentJoe JonasSophie TurnerImran KhanMiley Cyrus