Politics

An embryologist views an embryo, visible on a monitor. The Alabama Supreme Court has ruled that frozen embryos can be considered children, creating sweeping implications for fertility treatments. (Richard Drew / Associated Press) Is a frozen embryo a child? The Alabama Supreme Court says yes. In a recent ruling that three couples who lost frozen … Read more

Pete Marocco, shown earlier this month, announced that Jeremy Lewin will become USAID’s deputy administrator for policy and programs and its chief operating officer. (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press) A senior official at Elon Musk’s White House advisory team is taking a leadership role at the U.S. Agency for International Development, giving Musk’s so-called … Read more

The federal money for the University of Pennsylvania was suspended in a separate review of discretionary federal money going to universities, the White House said. (Matt Rourke / Associated Press) The Trump administration has suspended approximately $175 million in federal funding for the University of Pennsylvania over the participation of a transgender athlete in its … Read more

Gov. Jerry Brown speaks at Tsinghua University in Beijing on Thursday. (Anthony York / Los Angeles Times) BEIJING — Gov. Jerry Brown used a stage at one of China’s most prestigious universities Thursday to make his pitch for environmental policies that he said could help reverse the global impacts of climate change and boost the … Read more

The Trump administration has waived dozens of environmental laws in order to build a border barrier through a nature preserve in Mission, Texas. (Suzanne Cordeiro / AFP/Getty Images) Over the last week, Marianna Treviño Wright has watched work crews drive through her butterfly sanctuary in Texas to a nearby site where brush is being cleared … Read more

U.S. Senate candidate Loretta Sanchez holds a press conference in October to criticize the mortgage settlement made by Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, now California’s senator-elect, outside the Ronald Reagan State Building in Los Angeles. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Loretta Sanchez first went to Washington 20 years ago after winning a race by … Read more

1/6 Workers arrive at the Lincoln Memorial on the eve of Thursday’s Fourth of July celebration in Washington, D.C. President Trump will deliver a speech at the memorial with military hardware on display, including tanks, and flyovers by military aircraft.   (Mark Wilson / Getty Images) 2/6 Workers install red, white and blue bunting in … Read more

In seven months as U.S. attorney general, William P. Barr has converted the Justice Department into an agenda-setting agency from a reactive institution, focusing on cutting-edge issues high on many Americans’ minds. These include violent crime, gangs, health-care fraud, tighter immigration controls and competition-stifling foreign cartels. He had a running start, serving as deputy to … Read more

The Republican-controlled Senate on Thursday narrowly approved President Reagan’s request for $100 million in aid to the Nicaraguan guerrillas–the first affirmative vote by Congress in three years on an aid package for the rebels that includes military assistance. The 53-47 vote was a significant victory for the President, who conducted a tireless lobbying drive for … Read more

National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform co-chairs Alan Simpson, right, and Erskine Bowles testify on Capitol Hill in 2011. (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press) Reading the obituaries for former Sen. Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.), who died at 93 on March 14, you would think he was a pleasure to have around — a life-and-soul-of-the-party … Read more