Guitarist from Indiana first suspect to plead guilty in Capitol riot
A 53-year-old heavy metal guitarist from Columbus on Friday became the first defendant to plead guilty to federal charges in connection with the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
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Democrats begin long-shot push to expand the Supreme Court
A group of congressional Democrats introduced legislation Thursday to add four seats to the Supreme Court, a long-shot bid designed to counter the court’s rightward tilt during the Trump administration and criticized by Republicans as a potential power grab that would reduce the public’s trust in the judiciary.
Congressional panel votes to advance bill on slavery reparations
A United States House panel advanced a decades-long effort to pay reparations to the descendants of slaves by approving legislation Wednesday that would create a commission to study the issue.
Biden begins to undo Trump’s ban on abortion referrals
The Biden administration on Wednesday began to undo a Trump-era ban on clinics referring women for abortions, a policy directive that drove Planned Parenthood from the federal family planning program and created new complications for women trying to get birth control.
Watchdog lays bare Capitol Police’s riot security failures
A blistering internal report by the U.S. Capitol Police describes a multitude of missteps that left the force unprepared for the Jan. 6 insurrection — riot shields that shattered upon impact, expired weapons that couldn’t be used, inadequate training and an intelligence division that had few set standards.
Innovation needed to bridge patent diversity gap, attorneys say
A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate in March seeks to quantify the lack of diversity among patent holders. The Inventor Diversity for Economic Advancement Act of 2021 — or IDEA Act — would require the USPTO to collect inventors’ demographic information, including race and gender.
Hartz: New procedures on the way from recent (and future?) IP legislation
Amid all the news around the new year, you might have missed that the variety of changes to federal intellectual property laws, the Trademark Modernization Act (TMA) and the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act (CASE Act).
Perry and Cahr: Important new laws will have ripple effect for IP owners, practitioners
A final surprise for 2020 emerged from December’s marathon omnibus spending and COVID-19 relief negotiations. Congress included a trio of notable and hotly debated intellectual property measures in its multi-trillion-dollar spending and relief package which could fundamentally alter the manner in which intellectual property owners protect and enforce their rights.
Schell: American Axle and issues with Section 101 patent eligibility
Should SCOTUS fail to take up the matter now or fail to address broader issues and provide a more cogent framework for Section 101 patent eligibility in its determination, I expect the next round of significant news on the subject to be Congress stepping in and acting.
White House issuing reports on states’ infrastructure needs
The Biden White House is amplifying the push for its $2.3 trillion infrastructure package with the release of state-by-state breakdowns that show the dire shape of roads, bridges, the power grid and housing affordability. Among them, the administration says there is a roughly 4-in-10 chance that a public transit vehicle in Indiana might be ready for the scrap yard.
Pence inks two-book deal, launches political advocacy group
Former Vice President Mike Pence has a book deal. His autobiography, currently untitled, is scheduled to come out in 2023. In addition, the former Indiana governor on Wednesday launched an advocacy group, Advancing American Freedom, which will promote the Trump administration’s record and could serve as a springboard for a Pence presidential run in 2024.
Number of kids alone at border hits all-time high in March
The U.S. government picked up nearly 19,000 children traveling alone across the Mexican border in March, authorities said Thursday, the largest monthly number ever recorded and a major test for President Joe Biden as he reverses many of his predecessor’s hardline immigration tactics.
LSC prepares another supplemental legal aid funding request
Saying civil legal aid can help make the American Jobs Plan “work the way Congress intends,” the Legal Services Corp. is requesting supplement funding between $350 million and $500 million be included in the infrastructure package proposed by the Biden administration.
Senate gives Biden a big tool to work around GOP filibuster
With a powerful new tool, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has fresh options for potentially advancing President Joe Biden’s infrastructure package and other priorities past Republican obstruction in the 50-50 split Senate.
New to DC, Buttigieg looks to build bridges with Biden plan
The former South Bend mayor who became known in the 2020 presidential campaign as “Mayor Pete” has been meeting as transportation secretary with lawmakers of both parties to try to sell a roads, bridges and infrastructure program that President Joe Biden has likened to the building of the interstate highway system in the 1950s.
Car rams into police at Capitol barricade; officer killed, driver shot
A Capitol Police officer was killed Friday after a man rammed a car into two officers at a barricade outside the U.S. Capitol and then emerged wielding a knife, law enforcement officials said.
Biden’s ‘jobs Cabinet’ to sell infrastructure as GOP resists
President Joe Biden is setting about convincing America it needs his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan, deputizing a five-member “jobs Cabinet,” including former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, to help in the effort. But the enormity of his task is clear after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell vowed to oppose the plan “every step of the way.”
Poll: Majority in US back easier voter registration
Democrats’ proposals to overhaul voting in the U.S. won solid though not overwhelming support from Americans in a new survey measuring the popularity of major pieces of the sweeping legislation in Congress.
Trump’s heir? Pence reemerges, lays groundwork for 2024 run
Former Vice President Mike Pence is steadily reentering public life as he eyes a potential run for the White House in 2024. He’s joining conservative organizations, writing op-eds, delivering speeches and launching an advocacy group that will focus on promoting the Trump administration’s accomplishments.
Voting rights, hate crimes on Senate’s “big, bold” agenda
Wrapping up the most tumultuous Senate start in recent memory, new Majority Leader Chuck Schumer took stock of accomplishments including the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 rescue while vowing action ahead on voting rights, hate crimes and mounting Democratic priorities hitting stiff opposition from Republicans.