Politics | KSTP.com

In this Feb. 11, 2021, file photo, President Joe Biden speaks during a visit to the Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.

Judge bans enforcement of Biden's 100-day deportation pause

In this Jan. 31, 2020 file photo, former ecretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack speaks at a campaign stop for Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden at the LOFT on Jefferson, in Burlington, Iowa. President-elect Joe Biden has selected Vilsack to reprise that role in his administration.

Vilsack confirmed for 2nd stint as US agriculture secretary

Xavier Becerra listens during a confirmation hearing to be Secretary of Health and Human Services before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021 on Capitol Hill in Washington.

HHS pick says pandemic is top job, but agenda is broader

Wisconsin Assembly passes unemployment bill, Evers to sign

Gov. Tony Evers has promised to sign the bill, which the Senate passed last week on a 27-3 vote ...

Senate confirms Biden's choice for UN ambassador

Thomas-Greenfield, a retired 35-year veteran of the foreign service who resigned during the Trump administration, will be the third African-American and second African-American woman to hold the job ...

United States Ambassador to the United Nations nominee Linda Thomas-Greenfield smiles as she testifies during for her confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021, in Washington.

Drug executives: Big jump in vaccine supply is coming soon

By the end of March, Pfizer and Moderna expect to have provided the U.S. government with a total of 220 million vaccine doses, up from the roughly 75 million shipped so far ...

FILE - In this Feb. 12, 2021, file photo, scripps health official draws from a vile of the COVID-19 vaccine prior to administering it at their new drive-thru vaccination site at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in Del Mar, Calif. Executives from the major COVID-19 vaccine producers are set Tuesday, Feb. 23, to answer questions from Congress about expanding the supply of shots needed to curb the pandemic that has killed more than 500,000 Americans.

'Turning point': Women of color increasingly leading Boston

For the better part of a century, the iconic image of a Boston mayor typically conjured up the figure of James Michael Curley — the real-life Irish-American city boss elected four times as mayor between 1914 and 1946. Think Spencer Tracy in "The Last Hurrah." ...

In this Sept. 24, 2020 photo, Andrea Campbell, right, speaks with campaign worker Katie Priosco-Buxbaum, left, after Campbell announced that she is a candidate for mayor of Boston in the fall 2021 election.

Biden attempt to resurrect Iran nuke deal off to bumpy start

The Biden administration’s early efforts to resurrect the 2015 Iran nuclear deal are getting a chilly early response from Tehran. Though few expected a breakthrough in the first month of the new administration, Iran’s tough line suggests a difficult road ahead...

In this file photo released Jan. 16, 2021, by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, a missile is launched in a drill in Iran. The Biden administration’s early efforts to resurrect the 2015 Iran nuclear deal are getting a chilly early response from Tehran. Though few expected a breakthrough in the first month of the new administration, Iran’s tough line suggests a difficult road ahead.

AG nominee Garland vows Capitol riot will be top priority

Merrick Garland, President Joe Biden's attorney general nominee is vowing to prioritize combating extremist violence and said his first focus would be on the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol as he sought to assure lawmakers that the Justice Department would remain politically independent on his watch ...

Judge Merrick Garland, nominee to be Attorney General, testifies at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Monday, Feb. 22, 2021 on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Evers proposes $2.4 billion in Wisconsin building projects

Of the nearly $2.4 billion proposed, $1 billion will be for UW System projects ...

FILE - Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a member of Wisconsin's Electoral College, casts his vote at the state Capitol in Madison, Wis., Monday, Dec. 14, 2020.

Dominion Voting Systems sues MyPillow's Mike Lindell for $1.3 billion

Dominion Voting Systems filed a $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit Monday against the founder and CEO of Minnesota-based MyPillow, saying that Mike Lindell falsely accused the company of rigging the 2020 presidential election...

In this March 30, 2020, file photo, My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell speaks as President Donald Trump listens during a briefing about the coronavirus in the Rose Garden of the White House, in Washington. Twitter has permanently banned Lindell’s Twitter account after he continually perpetuated the baseless claim that Donald Trump won the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

Snubbed as Obama high court pick, Garland in line to be AG

Garland, an appeals court judge, is widely expected to sail through his confirmation process, which begins Monday before the Democratic-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee, with bipartisan support ...

In this Jan. 7, 2021, file photo Attorney General nominee Judge Merrick Garland speaks during an event with President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del. The once-snubbed Supreme Court pick will finally come before the Senate, this time as President Joe Biden's choice for attorney general. Garland, an appeals court judge, is widely expected to sail through his confirmation process, beginning Monday at a hearing, with bipartisan support.

Tribes have high hopes as Haaland confirmation hearing nears

Native Americans have reason to believe the two-term U.S. congresswoman will push forward on long-simmering issues in Indian Country if she's confirmed as secretary of the Interior Department, which has broad oversight of tribal affairs and energy development ...

In this March 5, 2020, file photo Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., Native American Caucus co-chair, joined at right by Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, speaks to reporters about the 2020 Census on Capitol Hill in Washington. O.J. Semans is one of dozens of tribal officials and vote activists around the country pushing selection of Haaland to become the first Native American secretary of Interior.

Smith seeks probe of natural gas price spikes during storm

Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith says natural gas spot prices spiked as high as 100 times typical levels, forcing utilities and other natural gas users to incur exorbitant costs, many of which were passed on to customers ...

In this Feb. 10, 2021, file photo Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., arrives as opening arguments begin in former President Donald Trump's impeachment trial, at the Capitol in Washington. Smith is calling for federal investigations into possible price gouging of natural gas in the Midwest and other regions following severe winter storms that plunged Texas and other states into a deep freeze that caused power outages in million of homes and businesses.

Analysis: Biden's 1st month was about erasing the mark of 'former guy'

When Joe Biden walked into the Oval Office for the first time as president a month ago, his pens were ready. Already...

In this Jan. 21, 2021, file photo pens featuring President Joe Biden's signature and presidential seal, are displayed in the State Dinning Room of the White House in Washington.

Manchin's opposition threatens to sink Biden budget nominee

During her confirmation hearings, Tanden apologized for spending years attacking top Republicans on social media ...

FILE - In this Feb. 10, 2021, file photo Neera Tanden, President Joe Biden's nominee for Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), appears before a Senate Committee on the Budget hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Vermillion elected official charged with embezzling over $650K

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, 70-year-old Maryann Helen Stoffel of Hastings has been charged with wire fraud after allegedly misappropriating over $650,000 of township funds ...

S Carolina's abortion ban suspended a day after becoming law

South Carolina’s new law banning most abortions was suspended by a federal judge Friday on its second day in effect ...

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster holds up a bill banning almost all abortions in the state after he signed it into law on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021, in Columbia, S.C. On the same day, Planned Parenthood filed a federal lawsuit to stop the measure from going into effect. The state House approved the “South Carolina Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act” on a 79-35 vote Wednesday and gave it a final procedural vote Thursday before sending it to McMaster.

Biden to lay out his foreign policy at G-7, Munich summit

Joe Biden will make his first big appearance on the global stage as president Friday. He'll offer Group of Seven world leaders and others a glimpse into his plans to dramatically reshape U.S. foreign policy even as he deals with a number of international crises coming to a head at the start of his presidency ...

President Joe Biden signs a series of executive orders on health care, in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021, in Washington.

Biden repudiates Trump on Iran, ready for talks on nuke deal

The Biden administration says it's ready to join talks with Iran and world powers about a return to the 2015 nuclear deal. It's a sharp repudiation of former President Donald Trump's "maximum pressure campaign" that sought to isolate the Islamic Republic ....

In this Nov. 24, 2020, file photo President-elect Joe Biden listens as his Secretary of State nominee Tony Blinken speaks at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del. President-elect Joe Biden’s national security Cabinet may be bare on Day One of his presidency. His nominees to head the State Department, the Pentagon, the Department of Homeland Security and the intelligence community are facing a series of confirmation hearings starting on inauguration eve.

Wisconsin Gov. Evers submits final budget proposal of term, says no decision on reelection plans

Wisconsin Democratic Governor Tony Evers' new two-year, $91 billion budget proposal is already being met with opposition from Republicans in both chambers ...

Gov. Walz's SAFE Account proposal voted down in DFL-controlled house

Following the vote against the bill, House Republicans urged Democrats to make concessions and compromise. “We hope the majority will reconsider their approach, and work with us to strike a compromise bill that can pass the House," House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt said ...