National & World Headlines
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The IRS says it expects to collect hundreds of billions of dollars more in overdue and unpaid taxes than previously anticipated using funding provided to the agency by the Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act. That's according to new analysis released Tuesday by the Treasury Department and the IRS. The report says tax revenues are expected to increase by as much as $561 billion from 2024 to 2034, which is substantially more than previous estimates. The Congressional Budget Office in 2022 estimated that tax revenues would increase by $180.4 billion over the 2022 to 2031 period.
February 06, 2024 -
Congress has sent President Joe Biden a short-term spending bill that would avert a looming partial government shutdown and fund federal agencies into March.
January 18, 2024 -
Conservative Supreme Court justices have voiced support for weakening the power of federal regulators, but it's unclear whether a majority would overturn a major 40-year-old decision. Billions of dollars are potentially at stake in front of a court that was remade during Donald Trump’s presidency by conservative interests that were motivated as much by weakening the regulatory state as by social issues including abortion. The court on Wednesday debated whether to overturn a 1984 case colloquially known as Chevron. Courts have relied on the case to uphold regulations, including on the environment, public health, workplace safety and consumer protections. The justices heard cases from New Jersey and Rhode Island.
January 18, 2024 -
Congressional leaders have reached an agreement on overall spending levels for the current fiscal year that could help avoid a partial government shutdown later this month. House Speaker Mike Johnson is hailing the agreement in a letter to colleagues as “the most favorable budget agreement Republicans have achieved in over a decade.” President Joe Biden says the agreement is one step closer "to preventing a needless government shutdown and protecting important national priorities.” Lawmakers needed an agreement on overall spending levels so that appropriators could write the bills that set line-by-line money for agencies. Funding is set to lapse Jan. 19 for some agencies and Feb. 2 for others.
January 07, 2024 -
A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order barring removal of a memorial to Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. A group called Defend Arlington, affiliated with a group called Save Southern Heritage Florida, filed a lawsuit Sunday in federal court in Alexandria seeking the restraining order. A hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday. Work to remove the memorial had begun Monday before the restraining order was issued, but the memorial remains in place on cemetery grounds. The Army had planned to remove the memorial this week. Cemetery officials say the removal complies with a congressional mandate. More than 40 House Republicans wrote a letter seeking to block the removal.
December 18, 2023 -
The House has passed a defense policy bill that authorizes the biggest pay raise for troops in more than two decades. Supporters overcame objections from some conservatives concerned it didn’t do enough on cultural issues, such as restricting the Pentagon’s diversity initiatives and gender-affirming health care for transgender service members. The Senate had already overwhelmingly passed the bill on Wednesday, so now it goes to President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law. One of the most divisive aspects of the bill is a short-term extension of a surveillance program aimed at preventing terrorism and catching spies. Opponents of the extension wanted changes designed to boost privacy protections for Americans.
December 14, 2023 -
New guidance from lead cybersecurity agencies and industry partners provides both individual developers and large companies with software supply chain security best practices
December 13, 2023 -
SDA Director Derek Tournear said the agency is exploring alternative ways for positioning, navigation and timing that don’t rely on GPS.
December 12, 2023 -
Air Force disciplines 15 as IG finds that security failures led to massive classified documents leakThe Air Force inspector general says the massive classified documents leak by a service member this year was made worse by the intentional failure of multiple officials to take required action on his suspicious behavior.
December 11, 2023 -
The Senate in a single stroke has approved about 425 military promotions after Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama ended a monthslong blockade of nominations over a Pentagon abortion policy. Tuberville had been under pressure from members of both sides of the political aisle to end his holds as senators complained about the toll it was taking on service members and their families, and on military readiness. Tuberville said holds would continue, however, for about 11 of the highest-ranking military officers. President Joe Biden calls the Senate’s action long overdue and says the military confirmations should never have been held up.
December 05, 2023 -
A new study looked into how well health misinformation is researched by these institutions and the methods they used to fight it. One of the study's authors is Stefanie Friedhoff, professor of the practice at Brown University's School of Public Health.
November 21, 2023 -
Biden signs a bill averting a government shutdown for now, with Israel and Ukraine aid still stalledPresident Joe Biden has ended the immediate threat of a government shutdown, signing a temporary spending bill a day before much of the government was to run out of money. The bill maintains existing funding levels. It pushes a fight with congressional Republicans over the federal budget into the new year, when GOP lawmakers in the House are vowing to exact stiff spending cuts. It splits the deadlines for passing full-year appropriations bills into two dates: Jan. 19 for some federal agencies and Feb. 2 for others. The measure does not include any wartime aid for Ukraine or Israel, nor does it offer humanitarian funding for Palestinians.
November 17, 2023 -
Congress has ended the threat of a government shutdown until after the holidays. The Senate gave final approval to a temporary government funding package Wednesday night and sent it to President Joe Biden for his signature. The bill sets up a final confrontation on the government budget in the new year. The Senate worked into the night to pass the bill with days to spare before government funding expires Saturday. The spending package keeps government funding levels at current levels for roughly two more months while a long-term package is negotiated.
November 16, 2023 -
The House has voted overwhelmingly to prevent a government shutdown. New Republican Speaker Mike Johnson was forced to reach across the aisle to Democrats when hard-right conservatives revolted against his plan.
November 14, 2023 -
House Speaker Mike Johnson has unveiled his proposal to avoid a partial government shutdown next weekend by extending government funding for some agencies and programs until Jan. 19 and continuing funding for others until Feb. 2.
November 11, 2023