House investigators demand answers from Buttigieg over response to East Palestine train derailment

The House Oversight and Accountability Committee is launching a probe into Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s response to the train derailment that caused a toxic chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio, amid bipartisan criticism over the federal government’s response to the incident. The Washington Times stories: White House

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COVID-19 National Emergency Is (Nearly) Over. It’s Time for States to Roll Back Biden’s Welfare Expansion.

The official end of the COVID-19 emergency is near.  That’s good news. It’s now up to the states to finish the job. The House of Representatives voted Feb. 1 on a joint resolution ending the national COVID-19 emergency and a bill to terminate Health and Human Services’ public health emergency declaration. At the same time, the Biden administration has also announced plans to end both of those emergencies in May. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, policymakers took emergency steps to help mitigate its effects. Then-President Donald Trump in…

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Bans Off Our Bodies Highlights: Over a Million Rally!

This weekend, over a million people joined Bans Off Our Bodies marches across the nation. And we should feel hope. Hope for a world where everyone has bodily autonomy. A world where everyone is respected, valued, and has fully protected civil and human rights. After countless attacks on abortion and reproductive rights, people came together to declare that abortion is healthcare and to demand that our elected officials take action before it’s too late. Coast to coast, we declared “Bans off our bodies!” Watch and share this video from marches and…

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For 2023, federal retirees will see largest COLA increase in over 40 years

Federal retirees and Social Security recipients are about to get the largest increase in their cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in over four decades. The COLA will increase 8.7% for 2023, the Social Security Administration announced on Oct. 13. But not all federal retirees will see that amount added to their checks. Those in the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) will receive a 7.7% COLA starting in January. The large COLA announcement for 2023 is no surprise, given high rates of inflation and climbing consumer prices this year, said Ken Thomas, national…

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Public School Fires Substitute Teacher for Raising Concerns Over Book Depicting Same-Sex Couples

Lindsey Barr was fired from her substitute teaching job after expressing concern over the content of a book in the school library.   Barr is a mother of three boys. All her children attend public school in Bryan County, Georgia, about 30 miles southwest of Savannah, where she also works as a substitute teacher.   In August, Barr learned that McAllister Elementary School, where her first- and third-grade sons attend and where she sometimes works, planned to have the book “All Are Welcome” read during a “read aloud” story time in the…

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