by Christina van Waasbergen | Dec 8, 2021 | Politics
WASHINGTON — When Mohammed Alarefi, a native of war-torn Yemen, won the U.S. visa lottery in May 2018, it was the realization of his childhood dream: a chance to move to America. “I registered every year until the miracle happened and I was chosen” for a...
by Mary Yang | Dec 8, 2021 | Living
WASHINGTON – Although the Department of Veterans Affairs backed a record 1.44 million homes loans for veterans and service members in the 12 months ending Sept. 30, members of Congress and veterans’ advocates said Wednesday that sellers remain leery of VA-backed loans...
by Dan Hu | Dec 8, 2021 | Politics
WASHINGTON — Congress established a small accounting office 100 years ago to keep an eye on the disbursement of federal funds. But as the Government Accountability Office celebrates its centennial, the agency’s main purpose has gained clout, making...
by Baylor Spears | Dec 8, 2021 | Politics
WASHINGTON — Inadequate federal investment in child care, senior care and other workers in the care economy has left many families struggling to get needed support, which hurts the economy now as caregivers leave jobs and in the future if children aren’t getting early...
by Henry Rogers and Zinya Salfiti | Dec 8, 2021 | Health & Science
WASHINGTON — Recent research breakthroughs in nuclear fusion have sped up the timeline to bring the pollution-free energy source to the U.S. energy grid by decades, experts say, renewing interest among scientists and lawmakers in the technology’s potential...
by Yiming Fu | Dec 8, 2021 | Environment
WASHINGTON — Every morning, more than 20 million American children catch a school bus. Soon, many will be boarding electric buses, part of a $5 billion federal investment in clean school buses in the Biden administration’s infrastructure bill. The bill, which...
by Yiming Fu | Dec 8, 2021 | Living
WASHINGTON — As the possibility of a national civilian climate corps is being considered in Congress, Black and brown community leaders hope lawmakers will collaborate with and learn from local efforts that have already taken root across the country. The Biden...
by Christina van Waasbergen | Dec 8, 2021 | Immigration
WASHINGTON — The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan has increased the threat to LGBTQ Afghans, according to several human rights groups who are urging the Biden administration to act quickly to allow more LGBTQ refugees from the country into the United States. Dire...
by Jason Harward and Zinya Salfiti | Dec 7, 2021 | Education, Topics
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is pushing to fund universal preschool nationwide in the Build Back Better bill, but the program’s success will hinge on whether states agree to implement it. Advocates say the program, touted as universal pre-K because it...
by Hannah Zhihan Jiang | Dec 7, 2021 | Health & Science
WASHINGTON — Federal officials are urging a U.S. House committee to support President Joe Biden’s proposal to strengthen regulations on all fentanyl-related substances, with one calling it the most dangerous drug he’s seen. The Biden administration recommended...
by Baylor Spears | Dec 5, 2021 | Featured, Politics
WASHINGTON — Christmas season is officially in full swing in the nation’s capital as the 99th annual National Christmas tree lighting ceremony drew crowds on Thursday evening. Marylanders got in on the festive celebration both in person and from afar. His first...
by Delaney Nelson & Henry Rogers | Dec 4, 2021 | Environment
WASHINGTON — Despite state and federal drilling bans along most of Florida’s western shoreline, the state’s coastal communities are still at risk from oil spills because of inadequate enforcement of drilling elsewhere in the Gulf of Mexico, according to environmental...
