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WASHINGTON — House lawmakers easily passed a package of six spending bills on Wednesday, teeing up a vote in the Senate to pass the legislation and avert a partial government shutdown by Friday’s deadline. The 1,050-page bill would keep parts of the government — including the Agriculture, Commerce, Interior, Justice …

San Francisco voters showed strong support for a ballot measure that requires welfare recipients who receive aid from the city and are “reasonably” suspected of using drugs to be screened and enroll in treatment. They also favored another measure that eases restrictions on police officers. The approvals were seen as …

WASHINGTON — The Republican-led House Oversight Committee said Wednesday that Hunter Biden has been invited to testify publicly this month at a hearing focused on the GOP impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. It was not immediately clear whether the president’s son had agreed to appear at the March 20 …

WASHINGTON — An unusual clash over money for a Philadelphia LGBTQ community center and a pro-gun provision has created turmoil over a government funding bill, as Congress sought to pass it days before the deadline to avert a partial shutdown. The legislation is still expected to pass, barring any surprises, …

WASHINGTON — The top advocate for the gun industry in Washington is spending more than ever to influence the federal government. The group accuses President Joe Biden of waging war on the Second Amendment. It resists any effort to create universal background checks and argues that attempts to crack down on …

Texan Dixie Warden is quick to say she’s “not a numbers girl.” But as the first user of the government’s new free electronic tax return filing system, Warden reports she completed her taxes this year in about an hour using the program. “I don’t want to call myself a dummy, but …

An iconic American sausage maker is about to offer a meat-free option. Oscar Mayer announced Wednesday the launch of plant-based NotHotDogs and NotSausages. It’s a joint venture between Oscar Mayer parent Kraft Heinz and TheNotCompany, a Chile-based food-tech company backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The venture is called The …

WASHINGTON — A Jan. 6 rioter nicknamed “Shield Grampy” by online sleuths has admitted that he used a stolen police shield during the brutal battle at the lower west tunnel and assaulted officers with a flagpole-like object and a baton. Anthony Mastanduno pleaded guilty to nine counts on Wednesday and …

Boeing has refused to tell investigators who worked on the door plug that later blew off a jetliner during flight in January, the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday. The company also hasn’t provided documentation about a repair job that included removing and reinstalling the panel on …

A growing number of Republican National Committee members believe its campaign arm should help pay mounting legal bills for former President Donald Trump, a move that could strain the party’s ability to financially support other candidates in the 2024 election. RNC Committeeman Solomon Yue, who is from Oregon, told CNBC he believes “more than a majority” …

Alabama lawmakers are set to vote Wednesday afternoon on a finalized Republican-proposed bill intended to protect in vitro fertilization, following weeks of backlash prompted by a controversial state Supreme Court ruling that embryos are considered children. Barring any last-minute changes to the bill, both chambers of the Legislature are expected …

The sound of a large explosion reverberated around the Ukrainian port of Odesa as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Greece’s prime minister ended a tour of the war-ravaged southern city Wednesday. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the delegations were getting into their vehicles when they heard the blast, which he …

In 1939, the Dongs, a Chinese American family in Coronado, California, found themselves unable to rent a house amid racially restrictive housing laws that favored white buyers and renters. Emma and Gus Thompson, a Black entrepreneurial couple in town, allowed the family to rent and eventually buy their Coronado property …

Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., has suspended his campaign for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination, ending his longshot bid for the White House. “I’m going to suspend my campaign and I will be, right now, endorsing President Biden because the choices are so clear,” he said in a Minnesota radio interview …

Most of the big Super Tuesday primaries have a clear winner at this point — but a handful of close races are still in limbo a day after voting concluded. That includes a pair of key swing seats in the race for the House, a major proxy battle between different …

WASHINGTON — Nearly a year after TikTok’s CEO was grilled on Capitol Hill, House Republicans and Democrats are joining together on legislation that would force its parent company, China-based ByteDance, to divest the popular social media company or risk the U.S. banning it from app stores. The bill is co-authored …

Florida’s Senate on Tuesday approved a bill that would ban cities and counties from adopting requirements for mandatory water breaks and other workplace protections against extreme heat. The Republican-controlled Senate voted 28-11, along party lines, to pass Senate Bill 1492, which would prohibit local governments from determining workplace heat standards …

A series of recent, high-profile crimes in the New York City subway system prompted Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday to send National Guard members into the sprawling underground network. Hochul is ordering a force of nearly 1,000 people, comprised of 750 National Guard members, state police and MTA officers, to …

Hannah Gadsby’s new Netflix special, “Gender Agenda,” is the direct result of what the comedian described as the “brouhaha” surrounding the streaming giant’s showcasing of Dave Chappelle, who has a history of making jokes about transgender people. “Last time Netflix brought this many trans people together was for a protest,” …

WASHINGTON — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday endorsed Donald Trump’s bid to return to the White House, following a dominant Super Tuesday performance by the former president. “It is abundantly clear that former President Trump has earned the requisite support of Republican voters to be our nominee for …