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An apparently unified Senate Democratic caucus is demanding that government funding legislation not include “poison pill policy riders” targeting reproductive freedoms and LGBTQ rights.

In a letter to Appropriations Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Vice Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine), 45 Democratic senators wrote that “partisan, discriminatory, and harmful policy riders have no place in must-pass legislation such as appropriations bills.”

“In the recent past, the Senate has had success passing bipartisan bills in committee because these bills did not contain new poison pill riders,” the senators wrote. “Unfortunately, in FY25, the...

Joseph Lieberman, the longtime U.S. senator from Connecticut who became the first Jewish candidate of a major party when Al Gore selected him as his running mate in the 2000 election, has died at the age of 82.

Marc E. Kasowitz of law firm Kasowitz Benson Torres, where Lieberman took a position as Senior Counsel for more than a decade after serving 24 years in the Senate, confirmed his death in a statement to Rolling Stone. “We are profoundly saddened at the passing of our firm’s senior counsel Senator Joe Lieberman,...

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), a vocal critic of former President Donald Trump, suggested that she might want to leave the Republican Party.

During an interview with CNN’s chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju on March 24, he asked her how Murkowski felt about Trump calling January 6 prisoners “hostages.”

“I don’t think that it can be defended,” she responded.

“What happened on January 6 was an effort by people who stormed the building in an effort to stop an election certification of an election,” she added. “It can’t be defended.”

“I wish that – that as Republicans, we had a – we had a nominee that I could get behind,” the Alaska senator stated. “I certainly can’t get behind Donald Trump.”

“Are you considering being an independent at this point,” Raju then asked Murkowski.

“Oh, I think I’m very independent-minded,” she replied jokingly.

“Officially though,” Raju clarified. “Officially.”

“I just regret...

Liz Hirsh Naftali, the Los Angeles-based commercial real estate investor and philanthropist, has taken on a high-profile role in recent weeks as an advocate for the release of her great niece, held hostage by Hamas, as well as others still held captive.

The high profile Democratic donor, who also has been in the spotlight as House Republicans investigate Hunter Biden, also has launched a new podcast.

After hosting many fundraising events, she keyed in on a new idea, a podcast that will help “democratize our politicians,” with the latest episode of The Capitol Coffee Connection featuring former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“My goal was to make it that you could get to learn who they were without having to pay, and you could be in your home or anywhere and learn about all of these leaders” Naftali told Deadline.

She added, “What happened was, when I was doing these events,...

Robert Card, the suspect in the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, that left at least 18 dead and 13 more injured, has been found dead. The news comes after a three-day manhunt spanning several Maine cities.

“The Maine State Police have located the body of Robert Card in Lisbon. He is dead,” Gov. Janet Mills confirmed during a news conference on Friday evening.

The suspect died of an “apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound,” said Michael Sauschuck, Maine’s public safety chief. Sauschuck also said the body was found at 7:45 p.m. at...

Robert Card, an Army reservist with a history of mental health issues, is suspected of killing at least 18 people at multiple locations in Maine on Wednesday.

Hours before the rampage, the Senate voted 53-45 to adopt an amendment making it easier for veterans with mental disabilities to get guns. The Department of Veteran Affairs is currently required to send the names of veterans who need assistance managing their benefits to the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

The amendment adopted on Wednesday, introduced by Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.

Senator Susan Collins is threatening to wear a bikini to work. Why? Because Chuck Schumer has done something that threatens the very fabric of the republic: relaxing the Senate’s dress code in a move that would allow lawmakers like Pennsylvania’s John Fetterman to embrace their affinity for casual clothes without violating protocol.

On Friday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-n.Y.) officially changed the rules around what is considered appropriate attire for members of the upper chamber, instructing the Sergeant at Arms to stop enforcing guidelines requiring business attire on the floor.

Al Franken spent nine years as a U.S. Senator from Minnesota, and it all finally paid off in recent weeks when he logged a stint as a guest host on “The Daily Show.”

Franken turned in some robust impressions of Charles Schumer, Mitch McConnell and Susan Collins during one sketch on the Comedy Central program that suggested he was taking some pretty interesting notes when he served in that chamber. “I didn’t give them a heads up,” Franken says in a recent interview, after his run. “I served wth those people. Some I could do. I’m not one othose impressionists who can do everyone. I do who I can do.”

While Franken is one of a number of noted hosts who have helped the show keep spinning after the depature last year of Trevor Noah, you might say he has been training for such an appearance for much of his professional life.

When Joni Mitchell finally took the stage near the end of an all-star tribute concert honouring her as this year’s recipient of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, she opted to perform a cover rather than one of her own songs.

The 79-year-old music legend, who is the first Canadian and only the third woman to be honoured with the accolade, leaned against the piano Wednesday as she crooned a sultry version of “Summertime”, the popular tune from George Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess”, an appropriate choice since the award was named after the composer.

But she wasn’t done. The evening’s other performers came to the stage and surrounded Mitchell as she launched into one of her more popular tunes, “The Circle Game”. Graham Nash, James Taylor, Ledisi, Cyndi Lauper, Herbie Hancock, Marcus Mumford, Brandi Carlile and others brought the crowd to their feet...

December 17, 2022's episode of "Saturday Night Live" will be the last to feature Cecily Strong as a cast member. Strong joined "SNL" in 2012, during its 39th season. Her ten-year tenure makes her the longest-lasting woman to be on the "SNL" cast, surpassing comediennes including Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph, and Kate McKinnon (the latter of whom left earlier this year).

For her "SNL" work, Strong earned two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series, once in 2020 and then again in 2021. However, she's been keeping plenty busy outside of the show. She currently stars in and produces Apple TV+ series "Schmigadoon!" and in 2021 made her stage debut in "The Search For Signs Of Intelligent Life In The Universe." With these projects in motion, it makes sense that Strong finally decided to depart from "SNL."

Strong's farewell episode included a rendition of "Blue Christmas" in her honor, sung by guest...

The White House again drew on celebrity activists as it marked another legislative milestone: Cyndi Lauper performed and spoke briefly to reporters Tuesday as President Joe Biden signed into law a bill that will protect same-sex and interracial marriage rights at the federal level.

“I came here today because I just wanted to say thank you to President Biden, Speaker Pelosi, Vice President Harris and all the advocates on his team,” Lauper told reporters in a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room. “Because for once, our families — mine and a lot of my friends, people you know, sometimes your neighbors — we can rest easy tonight because our families are validated, because we are allowed to love who we love, which sounds odd to say, but Americans can now love who we love. Bless Joe Biden and all the people who worked on this for allowing people not to worry about their future.

The DGA and IATSE are praising Congress for passing the Respect for Marriage Act, which ensures federal recognition of same-sex and interracial unions.

The legislation, which was introduced in the wake of the Supreme Court’s repealing of Roe v. Wade, received bipartisan support. It was approved today in the House of Representatives by a vote of 258-169 and in the Senate last week by a vote voted 61-36, and the bill now heads to President Joe Biden for his signature.

Related Story Marriage Equality Bill Clears Congress In House Vote; Joe Biden Next Will Sign Protections For Same-Sex And Interracial Unions Related Story WGA West Collected 16 Million In Foreign Levies In Fy 2022; Total At 340.7 Million Since 1992 Related Story Joe Biden Signs Bill Limiting Use Of Non-Disclosure Agreements That Cover Workplace Sexual Harassment — Update

“The DGA applauds both houses of Congress for the bipartisan passage of the Respect for Marriage...

The House gave final passage on Thursday to legislation to ensure federal recognition of same-sex and interracial unions, clearing a final milestone in Congress before going to President Joe Biden.

The legislation passed by a vote of 258-169. One member of House Republican leadership, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-ny) joined with 38 other GOP members in voting for the bill. Rep. Tom Emmer (R-mn), who chaired the National Republican Congressional Commitee in the most recent midterms, also voted for it, along with Rep. Liz Cheney (R-wy).

Democrats erupted in cheers as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the final tally, with some LGBTQ members, including Sean Patrick Maloney of New York and Mark Takano of California hugging their colleagues. Barney Frank, the former congressman who was one of the most prominent openly gay members, was present on the floor for the vote, chatting and shaking hands with former colleagues.

The bill, the Respect for Marriage Act,...

In a decision that will likely elicit plenty of purrs, the Big Cat Safety Act is headed to President Joe Biden’s desk for a final signature after the Senate passed it Tuesday night by unanimous consent.

The law, which has been in the works for more than a decade, would close loopholes in the 2003 Captive Wildlife Safety Act, which banned the sale and trade of big cats as pets. The new resolution bans the private breeding and possession of tigers, lions, leopards, and panthers, making exceptions for zoos, sanctuaries,...

The Senate on Wednesday passed the Respect For Marriage Act, which would fortify marriage rights as the conservative Supreme Court that has signaled it could move to restrict them. The amended bill now heads back to the House, which will vote to send it to President Joe Biden for final approval.

The Senate has reached the 60-vote threshold to break the filibuster for the Respect for Marriage Act, which would codify federal recognition of same-sex and interracial marriages. pic.twitter.com/dkmfe5UV6k

— The Recount (@therecount) November 16, 2022

The advancement...

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has endorsed Carl Paladino, a far-right Republican running to represent New York’s 23rd District in the House of Representatives, and who hired a convicted sex offender to work on his campaign. “Carl is the America First, pro-Trump candidate in the race,” Greene wrote in a statement.

I am honored to have the endorsement of America First warrior @RepMTG. No one is standing up to Joe Biden’s radical agenda better than her. I look forward to working with her to stop Joe Biden and push pro-Trump policies in Congress.

Update, 9:55 Am: “With a full heart, I accept the solemn responsibility of supporting and defending the Constitution of the United States and administering justice without fear or favor, so help me God,” said Ketanji Brown Jackson today, becoming the 116th Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court and the first Black woman to serve on the high court.

Sworn in by her immediate successor, retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, now Justice Brown’s move into the conservative dominated Scotus comes almost three months since her conformation by the Senate back in April. “On behalf of all the members of the court, I’m pleased to welcome Justice Jackson to the court and to our common calling,” said Chief Justice John Roberts after the swearing in was completed – as you can see below:

Breaking: Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson officially sworn in as first Black female justice of the Supreme Court.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-n.Y.) is advocating impeachment for Supreme Court justices who she says lied during their confirmation hearings when they assured senators that Roe v Wade was established precedent. “If we allow Supreme Court nominees to lie under oath and secure lifetime appointments to the highest court of the land and then issue, without basis… rulings that deeply undermine the human and civil rights of the majority of Americans, we must see that through,” the congresswoman said during an interview on Meet the Press.

“I believe lying under oath is an impeachable offense,...

Who could have seen this coming? Not Senator Susan Collins.

In a statement following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Sen. Collins expressed her dismay that Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh misrepresented their alleged respect for precedent and private conversations with her and in their confirmation hearings. “This decision is inconsistent with what Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh said in their testimony and their meetings with me, where they both were insistent on the importance of supporting long-standing precedents,” she wrote.

Rolling Stone reported last month...

“Today is, it is not hyperbole to suggest, a very solemn moment,” Joe Biden said Friday in response to the Supreme Court’s conservative majority opinion today overturning abortion rights in America. “It’s a sad day for the Court, and for the country,” Biden added, calling the ruling “cruel.”

Speaking from the White House, Biden also noted the Court “didn’t limit” access to abortion, “they simply took it away.”

Covered live on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, BBC World, ABC, NBC and CBS, the remarks by the self-described stunned Biden come hours after the Supreme Court tossed out the Roe v. Wade decision that has been the law of the land for nearly 50 years.

“Now with Roe gone, let’s be very clear, the health and life of women in this nation are now at risk,” the former Senate Judiciary Committee chair said. “I believe Roe v Wade was the correct decision,...

Republican and Democratic Senators have signed onto a tentative agreement for gun reform legislation in the wake of the shooting at a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school.

The proposed deal for bipartisan reform, a group of senators announced Sunday, includes enhanced background checks for buyers ages 18-21 as well as funding for mental health treatment and school security. The deal is a result of negotiations between Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas). Ten Republican senators — the number Democrats would need to overcome a filibuster — have signed on.

In addition to Cornyn,...

When the Supreme Court’s draft decision to overturn Roe v. Wade leaked, Sen. Susan Collins said she was flabbergasted, deeply troubled, even shocked. After all, soon-to-be-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh had promised her in 2018 that Roe was a matter of settled law — despite his deeply conservative track record on abortion.

Turns out, Collins wasn’t just wrong about Kavanaugh. She was deliberately manipulated by Trump administration officials — and a future Supreme Court Justice — who viewed her as an easy mark.

Two former senior Trump White House officials tell Rolling Stone...

A bill to protect abortion rights failed to clear the Senate on Wednesday, as Democrats seek to highlight to looming prospect that the Supreme Court will overturn Roe V. Wade.

The Senate voted 49-51, far short of the 60 votes needed to advance the legislation, albeit the outcome was anticipated. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-wv) joined with all Republicans to oppose the bill.

The Women’s Health Protection Act would put Roe V. Wade abortion access protections into federal law, and also ban certain state restrictions on care.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer scheduled the vote after Politico published a draft Supreme Court opinion, authored by Justice Samuel Alito, showing that a majority of the justices were in favor of overturning the nearly 50-year-old precedent. Democrats have seized on the looming decision, as polls show a majority of the public favors keeping Roe V. Wade in place.

After the vote, Schumer told reporters,...

Stephen Colbert took no prisoners while discussing the leaked Supreme Court draft decision overturning Roe v. Wade during Tuesday’s episode of “The Late Show.”

According to the late night host, there are many people to blame for the decision, which has drawn harsh criticism, ignited protests outside the Supreme Court and led to an investigation. However, he contended, none should be shamed more than the Justices themselves — and the people who confirmed them to begin with.

“I’m not a lawyer. I can’t tell you if Roe was rightly decided, but I can tell you that it’s an important precedent that has been repeatedly affirmed. And that’s not my opinion. It’s the opinion of these clowns,” he explained before rolling clips of Justices Alito, Coney Barrett, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh all agreeing during their confirmation hearings that the decision on Roe v. Wade was the law of the land.

Sen. Susan Collins is shocked, stunned, and astounded that two conservative, Trump-appointed Supreme Court justices may have deceived her regarding their position on abortion rights.

According to a reported draft majority opinion leaked to Politico, both Justice Neil Gorsuch and Justice Brett Kavanaugh have voted to overturn established precedent protecting abortion rights, a precedent Collins has repeatedly said they told her they believed was “settled law.”

“If this leaked draft opinion is the final decision and this reporting is accurate, it would be completely inconsistent with what Justice Gorsuch and...

According to a forthcoming book by two New York Times reporters, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-w.Va.) in February 2021 told a group of three Republican senators that he would become an independent and caucus with the GOP if Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) were their leader in the Senate.

Asked about the excerpt from This Will Not Pass by Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns, Manchin on Thursday claimed his remark was being made out to be something it wasn’t. Many Republicans like to get on his case about why...

Anderson Cooper missed his CNN program tonight after saying on social media that he has tested positive for Covid.

“Just tested positive for Covid,” Cooper posted on Instagram. “Thankfully the kids are negative. Hope to get back to work soon.”

The veteran host has two sons: toddler Wyatt and 2-month-old Sebastian.

Cooper did not mention whether he is symptomatic, and neither he nor CNN gave a timeframe for his return to the cable news outlet. John Berman filled in tonight on Anderson Cooper 360°, opening the 8 p.m. Et show by saying only, “I’m John Burman, in for Anderson.”

Cooper’s news amid a wave of Covid cases hitting high-profile folks in Washington, D.C., of late. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Susan Collins (R-me) and Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-ga) are among those who tested positive in recent days. Attorney General Merrick Garland was among the more than 50 people who...

Update, 7:33 Pm Pt: Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-ga) said that he tested positive for Covid.

“Late this afternoon after a routine test, I tested positive for Covid-19. I’m so thankful to be both vaccinated & boosted, and at the advice of the Attending Physician I plan to isolate. If you haven’t gotten your shot yet, I encourage you to do so,” Warnock wrote on Twitter.

Warnock’s test came after he voted to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. Another senator, Susan Collins (R-me), announced her positive result late on Thursday afternoon.

Collins was among those who attended last weekend’s Gridiron Club dinner in Washington, which has so far reported more than three dozen cases among attendees to the event. In a message sent to members on Thursday evening, the club said that they had learned of 37 positive tests among dinner guests, including two at the head table.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) on Thursday joined a long list of high-profile figures in Washington, D.C., who have contracted Covid-19 in the past few days.

“After testing negative this week, Speaker Pelosi received a positive test result for Covid-19 and is currently asymptomatic,” Drew Hammill, Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff, wrote on Twitter. “The Speaker is fully vaccinated and boosted, and is thankful for the robust protection the vaccine has provided.”

Collins’ office announced later on Thursday that she, too, had tested positive.

The Senate voted to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court on Thursday, clearing the way for her to become the first Black woman to serve on the high court.

The vote was 53-47, reflecting the increasing partisan divisions over recent confirmations of nominees to the bench. Three Republicans — Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Mitt Romney — joined with all members of the Democratic caucus to confirm her.

Vice President Kamala Harris presided over the vote, a rare event in which all members were present in their seats during the roll call. After she announced the final tally, the chamber erupted into sustained applause. Many Republican left the chamber during the ovation, but Romney stayed and clapped.

Major broadcast networks provided special reports of the moment, in addition to cable news networks. There was a moment of some drama, as senators waited for Sen. Rand Paul (R-ky) to show up.

Ketanji Brown Jackson will become the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court.

The Senate on Thursday voted to confirm President Biden’s pick to replace the retiring Justice Stephen Breyer. The 53-47 vote went as expected, with all 50 Democrats voting to confirm Jackson, along with three Republicans: Sens. Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Mitt Romney. Collins, Murkowski, and Romney had all announced previously that they intended to vote for Jackson. Jackson will take the bench upon Breyer’s retirement at the conclusion of the court’s summer session.

2Nd Update, 2:05 Pm: So far at least 14 attendees of Saturday’s Gridiron Club dinner have tested positive for Covid.

In a note sent to Gridiron members, club president Thomas DeFrank wrote, “As of 4 p.m. Wednesday, we know of 14 guests at Saturday’s dinner who have tested positive for Covid. There is no way of being certain about when they first contracted Covid. But they did interact with other guests during the night and we have to be realistic and expect some more cases. Except in cases of public officials who have on their own disclosed their status, we will protect the privacy of guests who test positive.”

DeFrank said that the Gridiron will alert “anybody who was in close proximity with a positive case.” He urged those sitting across the table or on either side of the positive person to get tested.

“Our top concern is the health...

Ketanji Brown Jackson is almost certainly going to become the first Black woman to be confirmed to the Supreme Court later this week. Senate Democrats appear to be united in supporting President Biden’s nominee, and three Republican senators — Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Mitt Romney — have said they will support her.

The only recourse of Senate Republicans who oppose Jackson’s confirmation is to make their arguments against her as ludicrous as possible — ostensibly as part of a last-ditch effort to get their moderate colleagues to rethink their position,...

Documentary follows Barkan, who has motor neurone disease, as he campaigns for better public healthcare in the US

This is a touching if a tad treacly portrait of Ady Barkan, an inspiring American activist who has the terminal neurodegenerative disease Als (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Aka motor neurone disease). Filmed over several years and directed by Nicholas Bruckman, it starts with Barkan, originally a lawyer, already well into his career as a protester and campaigner, particularly on issues that affect people on low incomes. When first met he seems like a loving family man, devoted to his wife Rachael, an academic, and their adorable baby son Carl. But then he’s diagnosed with Als, and naturally everything changes. The film includes a tearful, wrenching clip he shot himself in the middle of the night after he found out and couldn’t sleep for worry. His health seems to deteriorate quickly – though...

President Biden has nominated federal judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to fill the Supreme Court seat of retiring Justice Stephen Breyer.

Appearing alongside Jackson at the White House on Friday, Biden described his nominee as a jurist with a “uniquely accomplished and wide-ranging background.” If confirmed, he said, Jackson “will bring extraordinary qualifications, deep experience and intellect, and a rigorous judicial record to the court.”

Jackson serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, a post that Biden nominated her to last year to replace current Attorney General Merrick Garland.

Despite Lindsey Graham’s vocal criticisms of President Biden’s Supreme Court nomination, Ketanji Brown Jackson, “The View” host Ana Navarro thinks he still might vote to confirm her. In fact, Navarro argues that this is an opportunity for Graham to practice what he preaches.

On Friday morning, Graham tweeted, “If media reports are accurate, and Judge Jackson has been chosen as the Supreme Court nominee to replace Justice Breyer, it means the radical Left has won President Biden over yet again. The attacks by the Left on Judge Childs from South Carolina apparently worked.”

Even with those words, Navarro said on Friday’s episode of “The View” that she hasn’t “given up on Lindsey yet.” Though host Sunny Hostin joked that “You may be the only one,” Navarro stuck to her point.

“Well, me and my island, there’s room for Lindsey if he does the right thing on this,...

Maine Senator Susan Collins has a lot of friends. First elected to the Senate in 1996, she developed a reputation as a reasonable, moderate Republican willing to work across the aisle to get things done. These years of niceties and moderation, culminating in her party-breaching vote to convict Donald Trump in his post-Jan. 6 impeachment trial, have turned Collins into one Democrats’ last remaining hopes for making progress in a deadlocked Congress, and a potential saving grace should the Grand Old Party decided to wholeheartedly embrace Trumpism once again.

Or, that’s...

Fresh off a Texas rally appearance during which he wailed that the “2020 election was rigged,” former President Trump said explicitly on Sunday that he wanted former Vice President Mike Pence to “overturn” President Biden’s win.

“Unfortunately, he didn’t exercise that power, he could have overturned the Election!” Trump concluded a statement falsely alleging that “Democrats and Rino Republicans” knew Pence had the right to stop the election certification on Jan. 6 and are now “desperately trying to pass legislation that will not allow the Vice President to change the results of the election.

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is set to announce his retirement at the age of 83, avoiding a repeat of the debacle created by Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s untimely death and handing the Biden administration a chance to install the first new liberal justice on the court since Elena Kagan in 2010.

Standing in the way, as always, is the Other Joe. Our task, once again, is to read the tea leaves and arcane symbols scrawled in clean coal on cavern walls in order to divine what West Virginian Senator Joe Manchin will do next.

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is retiring, and his replacement will likely shape U.S. political life for decades.

Right now, all eyes are on Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, a federal judge serving on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Senate has already confirmed Jackson twice: once in 2013, when she became a federal trial-court judge, and then again in 2021, when she was elevated to the federal appeals court. Her most recent confirmation vote was bipartisan, with Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski voting along with all Democrats to support her.

Update, 7:26 Pm Pt: Democrats’ efforts to pass voting rights legislation stalled again in the Senate, as they fell short in securing a filibuster rules change that would have allowed them to clear the bills with a simple majority.

The failure of the legislation was expected, after Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-az) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-wv) announced their opposition to even a one-time modification of the rules. They joined all Republicans in voting against the proposal, while 46 Democrats and two independents supported it Some Republicans applauded in the chamber when Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-vt), the president pro tem presiding over the Senate, announced the results of the roll call.

“I will not give up. We will not give up,” Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-ga) tweeted after the vote.

In a statement, President Joe Biden said, “I am profoundly disappointed that the United States Senate has failed to stand up for our democracy.

Max Linn, who ran for one of Maine’s U.S. senate seats in 2020, died on Saturday of an apparent heart attack while in a hot tub, Bangor Daily News reports. He was 62.

Linn was vehemently opposed to public health protocols meant to contain the spread of Covid-19, despite him possibly being among the first in Maine to have had Covid-19, as Sun Journal reports. During his 2020 senate run, he made headlines when he cut up a mask during a televised debate and he refused to answer questions by repeating “request denied.

Glenn Youngkin is squaring off against Terry McAuliffe for the keys to the Virginia Governor’s Mansion on Tuesday.

It’s been a strange campaign.

McAuliffe is as establishment as establishment gets. He’s tight with the Clintons, once chaired the Democratic National Committee, and has even already served as Virginia’s governor. Youngkin is a political neophyte who’s been trying to thread pretty tight a needle by playing to Trump’s base while also distancing himself from the former president in an effort to court the swing state’s moderates.

Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast screened in D.C. on Monday night, drawing representatives from Ireland, Great Britain and the city itself, but the novelty of the moment was the fact that there was an in-person event at all.

The fall has traditionally been a busy time for studios to hold red carpet events in Washington, D.C., a stop on a publicity tour that usually gives release a heightened sense of prestige during awards season. But Covid brought that all to a halt, and it has been only recently that the entertainment business has ventured back into the business of events for the Beltway crowd.

Belfast, from Focus Features, is based in part on Branagh’s own childhood growing up in the city in the late 1960s amid the start of The Troubles, the violent sectarian conflict that stretched into the 1990s. The movie won the audience award at the Toronto Film Festival,...

When Sen. Susan Collins announced her intention to vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh despite concerns that he would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, she assured the American public that he respected precedent too much. Amidst her 2018 speech from the Senate floor, she included this nugget: “His views on honoring precedent would preclude attempts to do by stealth that which one has committed not to do overtly.”

Collins was wrong. That’s exactly what Justice Kavanaugh and his fellow conservative Supreme Court Justices did last night — they all but overruled Roe,...

Have you heard The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes? They’re singing it over at Lionsgate, where an adaptation of the Susan Collins novel of the same name is gathering steam. Collins, of course, is the author of the YA book series The Hunger Games. Three of the four books in that series became a franchise of four […]

The post ‘Hunger Games’ Prequel Film Based on ‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ Will Begin Shooting Next Year appeared first on /Film.

Lionsgate's adaption of Susan Collins' The Hunger Games series was a big success for the studio and the story of Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) came to a close with The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2, but we haven't seen the last of the nation of Panem. Susan Collins released a prequel novel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, last year, and…...

President Biden and a group of bipartisan senators have agreed to a nearly $1 trillion infrastructure deal focused on improving bridges, roads, and broadband internet access across the country.

“We have a deal,” Biden announced at a Thursday news conference outside the White House alongside a bipartisan group of senators that included Sens. Joe Manchin (D-w. Va.), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine). The proposed deal includes $559 billion in new spending.

“They have my word. I’ll stick with what we’ve proposed and they’ve given me their word as well,...

Updated, with more details and polls: Senate Republicans on Friday blocked an effort to form a bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection, despite pleas from the family of a police officer who died after the riot.

The Senate voted 54-35 to move forward on debate on the bill, short of the 60 needed to overcome a filibuster threat. Six Republicans voted for the commission: Mitt Romney, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Bill Cassidy, Ben Sasse and Rob Portman. Nine Republicans and two Democrats did not vote.

“Senate Republicans chose to defend the big lie because they believe anything that could upset Donald Trump could hurt them politically,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said after the vote.

The defeat was expected, as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell declared his opposition and his view that the commission would be too partisan. Yet the commission as proposed would have included an equal number of Democrats and Republicans.

The twice-impeached former president made his first public appearance since leaving office.

On Sunday, Trump was the main speaker at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (Cpac). And according to a Fox News commentator, the event had the cult-like, Maga hat-wearing attendees calling it Tpac instead of Cpac, because of their seeming undying devotion to him.

So, even though Trump’s speech stretched over 90 boring minutes, he did not disappoint his diehard fans in attendance. However, whether they will admit it or not, other members of the GOP establishment may...