The Senate on Thursday gave overwhelming approval to the annual defense policy bill, sidestepping a contentious debate over abortion access for service members and quashing efforts to limit aid for Ukraine in a show of bipartisanship that set up a bitter showdown with the House. The vote was 86 to 11 to pass the bill,…
Facebook’s Algorithm Is ‘Influential’ but Doesn’t Necessarily Change Beliefs, Researchers Say
The algorithms powering Facebook and Instagram, which drive what billions of people see on the social networks, have been in the cross hairs of lawmakers, activists and regulators for years. Many have called for the algorithms to be abolished to stem the spread of viral misinformation and to prevent the inflammation of political divisions. But…
How and Why Illegal Border Crossings Have Dropped So Dramatically
In the 76 days since President Biden imposed tough new restrictions on the nation’s asylum system, the number of migrants crossing the United States’ southern border illegally every day has dropped significantly. Why? The answer to that question is at the heart of a legal challenge to the president’s latest immigration policies, which critics say…
Labor Department Decries Surge in Exploited Migrant Children
The Labor Department on Thursday decried a national surge in child labor, saying that the agency’s inspectors had found thousands of violations and were investigating a slaughterhouse where a 16-year-old boy from Guatemala was killed this month. The update followed a hearing on Wednesday in which lawmakers from both parties accused the Health and Human…
Mitch McConnell Freezes Midsentence in News Conference at Capitol
Senator Mitch McConnell, the longtime Republican leader who had a serious head injury in a fall earlier this year, froze midsentence during an appearance at his weekly news conference in the Capitol on Wednesday and was briefly escorted away from the microphones to recover. In what seemed to be a medical episode, Mr. McConnell, 81,…
Here’s What Happened When Hunter Biden Went to Court With a Plea Deal
Judge Maryellen Noreika kicked off Wednesday’s hearing on Hunter Biden’s proposed plea deal with the Justice Department by telling lawyers that they did not need to keep “popping” up and down every time she asked them a question. That was not a reflection of informality. It was a signal that she was about to subject…
Giuliani Concedes He Made False Statements About Georgia Election Workers
Rudolph W. Giuliani has conceded that while acting as a lawyer for former President Donald J. Trump, he made false statements by asserting that two Georgia election workers had mishandled ballots while counting votes in Atlanta during the 2020 election. The concession by Mr. Giuliani came in court papers filed on Tuesday night as part…
Biden Creates Monument to Emmett Till Amid Fights Over Black History
In 1955, the mother of Emmett Till wrote to President Dwight D. Eisenhower pleading for justice for her 14-year-old son, whose murder galvanized the civil rights movement. In a telegram sent to the White House, she asked that he personally see to it that “justice is meted out to all persons involved in the beastly…
McCarthy Escalates Talk of a Biden Impeachment Inquiry
Speaker Kevin McCarthy, under pressure from the hard right to take aggressive steps against the Biden administration, suggested on Tuesday that the House was moving toward opening an impeachment inquiry against President Biden, as Republicans search through bank records hunting for damaging information about the first family. It was a striking escalation by Mr. McCarthy,…
After Ousting Marjorie Taylor Greene, Freedom Caucus Faces Identity Crisis
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia was voting on the floor of the House on the morning of June 23 when she saw her name trending on Twitter. Ms. Greene, a high-profile, right-wing Republican who is no stranger to trending online, flicked through her feed and learned from the internet that two hours earlier, her…