Biden to sign bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday
The United States is commemorating the end of slavery with a new federal holiday.
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Loan relief granted to defrauded for-profit college students
The U.S. Education Department said Wednesday it’s erasing student debt for thousands of borrowers who attended a for-profit college chain that made exaggerated claims about its graduates’ success in finding jobs. The Biden administration said it is approving 18,000 loan forgiveness claims from former students of ITT Technical Institute, a chain that closed in 2016 after being dealt a series of sanctions by the Obama administration.
Emails show Trump pressured Justice Dept. over 2020 election
During the last weeks of his presidency, Donald Trump and his allies pressured the Justice Department to investigate claims of widespread 2020 election fraud that even his former attorney general declared without evidence, newly released emails show.
Justice Department to tighten rules on seizing Congress data
The Justice Department will tighten its rules around obtaining records from members of Congress, Attorney General Merrick Garland said, amid revelations the department under former President Donald Trump had secretly seized records from Democrats and members of the media.
Justice Department will review GOP voting laws
The Justice Department will scrutinize a wave of new laws in Republican-controlled states that tighten voting rules, Attorney General Merrick Garland said Friday, vowing to take action on any violations of federal law.
Trump DOJ seized data from House Democrats in leaks probe
The Justice Department under former President Donald Trump seized data from the accounts of at least two members of the House Intelligence Committee in 2018 as part of an aggressive crackdown on leaks related to the Russia investigation and other national security matters, according to a committee official and two people familiar with the investigation.
US increasingly unlikely to meet Biden’s July 4 vax goal
For months, President Joe Biden has laid out goal after goal for taming the coronavirus pandemic and then exceeded his own benchmarks. Now, though, the U.S. is unlikely to meet his target to have 70% of Americans at least partially vaccinated by July 4.
US fights ruling to extend SSI benefits to Puerto Rico
The federal government filed a brief late Monday to the U.S. Supreme Court arguing Congress has the authority to withhold Supplemental Security Income benefits from U.S. citizens depending on where they live even as President Joe Biden promised to extend those benefits to Puerto Rico.
Supreme Court agrees to hear 2nd ‘state secrets’ case
The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to decide whether a lawsuit can go forward in which a group of Muslim residents of California allege the FBI targeted them for surveillance because of their religion.
Free beer, other new incentives for Biden’s ‘vaccine sprint’
President Joe Biden is looking for that extra something — anything — that will get people to roll up their sleeves for COVID-19 shots when the promise of a life-saving vaccine by itself hasn’t been enough.
US jobless claims fall again as some states end federal aid
Fewer Americans sought unemployment benefits last week — the latest encouraging sign for the rebounding U.S. economy — just as Republican-led states including Indiana are moving to cut off a federal benefit for the jobless.
Indiana among states suing Frontier for delivering slow internet
The Federal Trade Commission and six states including Indiana are suing Frontier Communications for not delivering the internet speeds it promised customers and charging them for better, more expensive service than they actually got.
Biden orders better access to legal services for poor, minorities
The president wrote in a memo that the pandemic “has further exposed and exacerbated inequities in our justice system” as legal services were curtailed. He added that the problems “have touched the lives of many persons in this country, particularly low-income people and people of color.”
Supreme Court throws abortion fight into center of midterms
In agreeing to hear a potentially groundbreaking abortion case, the Supreme Court has energized activists on both sides of the long-running debate who are now girding to make abortion access a major issue in next year’s midterm elections.
‘Ordered freedom’: AG Rokita sets agenda focused on ‘liberty’
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita recently sat down with Indiana Lawyer to answer questions about his first 100 days in office and his agenda for the next four years.
Applegate: A new little-known benefit to help families of COVID victims
COVID-related deaths are part of a national emergency. As a result, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) just began accepting applications for COVID-19 Funeral Assistance on April 12.
Rural, urban interests compete in redistricting
Legislative and congressional districts have been drawn across Indiana so that slivers of urban areas are attached to large swaths of rural land. As a result, voters are not given true representation because their elected officials are representing segments of different communities of interest rather than a segment with common interests.
Reversing Trump, US restores transgender health protections
The U.S. will protect gay and transgender people against sex discrimination in health care, the Biden administration announced Monday, reversing a Trump-era policy that sought to narrow the scope of legal rights in sensitive situations involving medical care.
Union leaders decry Indiana’s high rate of worker deaths
Indiana labor union leaders are calling for improved workplace safety enforcement with the state’s rate of deaths while working about one-third higher than the national average.
Holcomb to reinstate job-seeking rule for unemployed, study whether to ax federal benefit
Gov. Eric Holcomb is set to reinstate a requirement that those applying to collect unemployment benefits actively seek jobs and be available for work — a requirement that the state has waived since the beginning of the pandemic.