House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., center, joined at left by Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., the Democratic whip, speaks to reporters about

Ukraine, Israel aid advances in rare House vote as Democrats help Republicans push it forward

With rare bipartisan momentum, the House pushed ahead Friday on a foreign aid package of $95 billion for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and humanitarian support as a robust coalition of lawmakers helped it clear a procedural hurdle to reach final votes this weekend. Friday's vote produced a seldom-seen outcome in the typically hyper-partisan House, with Democrats helping Republican Speaker Mike Johnson's plan advance overwhelmingly 316-94. Final House approval could come this weekend, when the package would be sent to the Senate.

Jill Biden travels to Minnesota to campaign for Biden-Harris ticket

10:06am
FILE - First lady Jill Biden smiles as she is introduced before speaking during the American Federation of Teachers convention, July 15, 2022, in Bost
The First Lady will speak at Education Minnesota's annual conference in Bloomington.

Conservative lawmakers lead objections to Vista's deal to sell Federal ammunition to Czech firm

April 18
Anoka-based Federal is among Vista Outdoor's ammunition brands that may be sold to a Prague-based company.
Pressure being put on Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and federal panel that must approve foreign investments in U.S. businesses.
Nation
9 minutes ago
Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal  in New York, Friday, April 19, 2024.

Full jury of 12 people and 6 alternates is seated in Trump's hush money trial in New York

A full jury of 12 people and six alternates was seated Friday in Donald Trump's hush money case, drawing the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president a step closer to opening statements.
Nation
14 minutes ago

The Latest | Full jury of 12 people and 6 alternates seated in Trump's hush money trial in New York

A jury of 12 people and six alternates was seated on Friday in former President Donald Trump's hush money criminal trial.
Nation
24 minutes ago

New York closing in on $237B state budget with plans on housing, migrants, bootleg pot shops

New York state lawmakers are on the verge of passing a $237 billion budget that includes sweeping plans to build housing, shutter unlicensed cannabis storefronts and help manage the city's migrant crisis.
Nation
36 minutes ago

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton can be disciplined for suit to overturn 2020 election, court says

A Texas appeals court has ruled that Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton can face discipline from the state bar association over his failed effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Business
44 minutes ago
Fish Creek through the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, managed by the Bureau of Land Management on Alaska's North Slope.

Biden administration restricts oil and gas leasing in 13 million acres of Alaska's petroleum reserve

The Biden administration said Friday it will restrict new oil and gas leasing on 13 million acres (5.3 million hectares) of a federal petroleum reserve in Alaska to help protect wildlife such as caribou and polar bears as the Arctic continues to warm.
Nation
46 minutes ago

Mississippi legislators won't smooth the path this year to restore voting rights after some felonies

Kenneth Almons says he began a sentence in a Mississippi prison just two weeks after graduating from high school, and one of his felony convictions — for armed robbery — stripped away voting rights that he still has not regained decades later.
Politics
51 minutes ago

Republican Wisconsin Senate candidate says he doesn't oppose elderly people voting

The Republican candidate in Wisconsin's closely watched U.S. Senate race emphasized this week that he doesn't oppose elderly people voting after initially saying that ''almost nobody in a nursing home" is at a point in life where they are capable of voting.
Nation
55 minutes ago

California court to weigh in on fight over transgender ballot measure proposal language

A group backing a proposed ballot measure in California that would require school staff to notify parents if their child asks to change gender identification at schools is battling the attorney general in court Friday, arguing he released misleading information about the proposal to the public.
Nation
9:51am

Biden's new Title IX rules protect LGBTQ+ students, but transgender sports rule still on hold

The rights of LGBTQ+ students will be protected by federal law and victims of campus sexual assault will gain new safeguards under rules finalized Friday by the Biden administration.
Business
6:28am

Finding an apartment may be easier for California pet owners under new legislation

California pet owners struggling to find a rental that accepts their furry, four-legged family members could have an easier time leasing new housing under proposed state legislation that would ban blanket no-pets policies and prohibit landlords from charging additional fees for common companions like cats and dogs.
Nation
6:19am

AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Pennsylvania's presidential and state primaries

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will go before voters Tuesday in Pennsylvania's presidential primaries, a prelude to the November general election, when the commonwealth is expected to once again play a critical role in the race for the White House. Further down the ballot, voters will also select nominees in competitive primaries for Congress, the state legislature and three statewide offices.
Politics
5:30am
Andover High School teacher Amna Kiran led the push to change Minnesota law so that driver’s permit tests will be written in clear, direct English.

Andover High School teacher leads effort for more understandable driver's tests

Amna Kiran took notice and pushed to change Minnesota law after a student failed multiple times in 2019.
Nation
April 18
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., and the House Republican leadership meet with reporters following a closed-door Republican strategy session

House leaders toil to advance Ukraine and Israel aid. But threats to oust speaker grow

House congressional leaders were toiling Thursday on a delicate, bipartisan push toward weekend votes to approve a $95 billion package of foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as well as several other national security policies at a critical moment at home and abroad.
Politics
April 18

Arizona Republican drops reelection effort after accusation he forged signatures

A leader of the conservative group Turning Point Action resigned from the organization Thursday and dropped his bid for reelection to the Arizona House of Representatives after he was accused of forging signatures on his nominating petitions.
Nation
April 18

Pennsylvania House Dems propose new expulsion rules after remote voting by lawmaker facing a warrant

Pennsylvania House Democrats on Thursday proposed a process to determine if state representatives are ''incapacitated'' and to sanction or expel them, moving in the wake of intense criticism after one of their members voted remotely this week while being sought on charges he violated a restraining order.
Business
April 18

Nevada Supreme Court rulings hand setbacks to gun-right defenders and anti-abortion activists

Nevada's Supreme Court upheld a state ban on ghost guns Thursday, overturning a lower court's ruling that sided with a gun manufacturer's argument that the 2021 law regulating firearm components with no serial numbers was too broad and unconstitutionally vague.
Nation
April 18

Iraq's prime minister heads to Michigan to meet Arab Americans at a tense time for the Middle East

The leader of Iraq traveled to Michigan on Thursday following a sit-down with President Joe Biden to meet with the state's large Iraqi community and update them on escalating tensions in the Middle East following Iran's weekend aerial assault on Israel.
Business
April 18

Biden administration moves to make conservation an equal to industry on US lands

The Biden administration on Thursday finalized a new rule for public land management that's meant to put conservation on more equal footing with oil drilling, grazing and other extractive industries on vast government-owned properties.
Variety
April 18

Hillary Clinton and Malala Yousafzai producing. An election coming. 'Suffs' has timing on its side

Shaina Taub was in the audience at ''Suffs,'' her buzzy and timely new musical about women's suffrage, when she spied something that delighted her.
Nation
April 18

Coalition to submit 900,000 signatures to put tough-on-crime initiative on California ballot

A coalition backed by retailers like Walmart and Target announced Thursday it has collected enough signatures to put a ballot measure before California voters this November to enhance criminal penalties for shoplifting and drug dealing.

Minnesota Politics

Latest politics news from the Twin Cities, Minnesota and Washington, D.C., including Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Minnesota Legislature, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter.