GOP blocks bill to keep government going; new try ahead

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican senators blocked a bill Monday night to keep the government operating and allow federal borrowing, but Democrats aiming to avert a shutdown pledged to try again — at the same time pressing ahead on President Joe Biden’s big plans to reshape government. ...

Texas GOP tries to protect US House seats under new maps

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Facing up to Texas' booming suburbs turning bluer, Republicans on Monday proposed new U.S. House maps that would fortify their slipping grip and shrink the number of seats where the majority of voters are Hispanic — even as they fuel the state's blistering growth. ...

Georgia congressional district plan could help GOP grab seat

ATLANTA (AP) — An initial proposal to redraw Georgia’s congressional districts appears to give Republicans a better chance of winning a suburban Atlanta congressional district now held by Democrat Lucy McBath, but raises a number of other questions. ...

Oregon Legislature OKs new political boundaries

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Despite a threat to block new political maps Republican state lawmakers returned to the Oregon Capitol on Monday as the Legislature passed legislative and congressional boundaries that included a new, sixth U.S. House seat. The congressional map,...

California to mail every voter a ballot in future elections

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Every registered California voter will get a ballot mailed to them in future elections under a bill signed Monday by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. The law makes permanent a change adopted during the pandemic for the 2020 election and the...

Racial alliances, rivalries on display in LA mayor's race

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The diversity of Los Angeles is on display in the emerging race to replace Mayor Eric Garcetti and the winning candidate who emerges from the growing field of hopefuls will need to navigate rivalries and forge alliances across the city’s racial and ethnic communities. ...

Senate Republicans block bill to keep federal government funded and lift borrowing cap; Democrats likely to try again

House votes to extend Lamont's COVID power amid protests

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut lawmakers moved closer Monday toward extending Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont's emergency powers during the coronavirus pandemic for the sixth time, an issue that has become more contentious with each extension. The House of...

Sissy Farenthold, reform-minded lawmaker touted for VP, dies

Frances “Sissy” Farenthold, a reform-minded liberal Democrat in the Texas House who was pushed for the party’s 1972 vice-presidential nomination, has died at age 94, her family said Monday. Farenthold died Sunday at her Houston apartment after a long struggle with...

Is 50-50 fair? Dems say new map should reflect their success

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — Some Democrats on a bipartisan redistricting commission in Virginia said Monday that new legislative districts will be fair only if they reflect the partisan success Democrats have had in the state for the past decade. The remarks came after...