University of Texas at Austin Prison and Jail Innovation Lab Director Michele Deitch discusses the state of the U.S. prison system, and writer and comedian Corrine Fisher discusses her podcast "Without a Country" and political news of the day.
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a hearing on improving retirement plans for Americans. According to Chair Bernie Sanders (I-VT), almost 45% of Americans between the ages of 55-64 have no retirement savings. Possible solutions mentioned during the hearing included expanding Social Security, increasing taxes on the wealthy to ensure Social Security's solvency, expanding pension plans, and lowering the minimum age for retirement-plan participation.
"We're going to make building hardware sexy again," said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo as she discussed the CHIPS and Science Act and investments in technology at an event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The secretary announced a 20% leading-edge chips production goal by 2030 and highlighted the significance of this goal, stating that "today we are at zero". In addition, she discussed investments in artificial intelligence, supply-chains, and the semiconductor industry workforce.
Defense Department officials and policy advocates testified on traumatic brain injury and blast exposure care before the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel. The witnesses spoke on the difficulty of diagnosing service members with a traumatic brain injury since the trauma is not always instantaneous but occurs over a long period of time due to prolonged exposure. A variety of topics were discussed, including the need for more health monitoring of servicemembers, additional funding and resources for medical treatments, and the policy changes the Defense Department can implement to address the problem.
"There was never any lapse in authorities or in command and control but we did have a breakdown in notifications," said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during a hearing before the House Armed Services Committee on his failure to immediately notify the White House and top officials about his December 2023 hospitalization. The secretary faced criticism for his delayed notification to the president about his cancer diagnosis and treatment. Several Republican members expressed national security implications from the communications mishap. Democrats challenged these concerns citing House Republicans have yet to pass funding for Ukraine and border security.
Illinois Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth spoke from the Senate floor spoke about her personal experiences having children through IVF. She then asked unanimous consent for the Senate to pass her bill to protect the right to access IVF and other assisted reproductive technology services nationwide. Mississippi Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith objected to its Senate passage, saying the bill went far beyond ensuring legal access to IVF. Remarks by Democratic Senators Cortez-Masto, Murray, Blumenthal, Kaine, Warren, and Wyden followed.
Can the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) regulate bump stocks like machine guns, which are illegal and banned under federal law? That's what the Supreme Court is considering after hearing arguments from both sides for more than an hour in Garland v. Cargil. The Trump administration enacted a bump stock ban in 2018. The action was in response to a 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas during a music festival. The gunman used a bump stock with his rifle to kill 58 people and wounded more than 400 others. This was the United States' deadliest mass shooting in history. Shortly after the ban's enactment, Michael Cargill, an owner of two bump stocks, filed suit. After multiple rounds of going through the lower courts, the Supreme Court now has through June 2024 to issue a ruling.
Presidential love letters revealed little known sides of our chief executives in a book titled "Are You Prepared for the Storm of Love Making? Letters of Love and Lust from the White House." Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington, DC, hosted this event.
Former Polish President Lech Walesa marks Ronald Reagan's birthday with a speech on the former president's legacy and his support of Poland and the Solidarity movement.
Authors Kate Masur and Dylan Penningroth discussed the role of African Americans in the civil rights movement prior to the 1950s and 1960s. The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia hosted this event.
Historian Jonathan White talked about how even though the slave trade was outlawed, it persisted through the 1860s. He describes some of the slave traders who were prosecuted during Abraham Lincoln's presidency. This event was part the 2023 Lincoln Forum held in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
Presidential love letters revealed little known sides of our chief executives in a book titled "Are You Prepared for the Storm of Love Making? Letters of Love and Lust from the White House." Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington, DC, hosted this event.
Former Polish President Lech Walesa marks Ronald Reagan's birthday with a speech on the former president's legacy and his support of Poland and the Solidarity movement.
Authors Kate Masur and Dylan Penningroth discussed the role of African Americans in the civil rights movement prior to the 1950s and 1960s. The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia hosted this event.
Historian Jonathan White talked about how even though the slave trade was outlawed, it persisted through the 1860s. He describes some of the slave traders who were prosecuted during Abraham Lincoln's presidency. This event was part the 2023 Lincoln Forum held in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
