Kucinich to return $20K to pro-Syrian government group

Former U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, a Democratic candidate for Ohio governor, said he plans to return a $20,000 speaking fee he received last year from a group sympathetic to Syrian President Bashar Assad. The former congressman announced his decision in a letter sent Thursday to The Plain Dealer of Cleveland, which was placed in a tough spot by the payment after having endorsed Kucinich for governor.

Mayor Emanuel Announces New Plan to Support Chicago’s Small Businesses

Mayor Rahm Emanuel today announced a package of new reforms to support small businesses across the city. The plan will reduce costs for businesses, simplify the licensing process, increase transparency, support start-up and innovative businesses, and reduce the burden of inspections for all businesses.

Morris tourism director lobbies Washington for National Park maintenance

"They're starting to deteriorate, the same way a plaster roof deteriorates when there's a leak in the roof," said Bensley, who lobbied New Jersey's congressional delegation to support the National Park Service Legacy Act. The bipartisan bill would provide money for maintenance that has been underfunded for decades.

Warren probes CFPB over lobbyists’ influence on Mulvaney

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is pressing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over what arrangements the agency has made to ensure that acting Director Mick Mulvaney is excluded from decisions that affect banks and other firms that previously gave him campaign contributions. In a letter to Sonya White, the agency's ethics official, the Massachusetts Democrat asked for details on what matters Mulvaney is recused from following comments he made earlier this week in which he said campaign contributions were a key factor in whether he took meetings with lobbyists.

DC Newsjunkie | Blumenthal, Murphy Seek Relief For Crumbling Concrete

Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy introduced legislation this week aimed at providing up to $100 million in federal assistance to help homeowners and businesses whose homes and buildings suffer from crumbling foundations. The Connecticut tandem put two bills into the hopper that provide two separate ways for the $100 million to be authorized over a five year period.

Ben Carson’s war on the poor puts Republicans in a bind

President Donald Trump's choice for Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Dr. Ben Carson, delivered on the president's command to move people "out of poverty" by proposing to raise the rent on some of America's most vulnerable communities. On Wednesday Carson released legislative text that would raise rent for tenants in government-subsidized housing to equal 35 percent of gross income .

Ag groups express opposition to amendments to Farm Bill

INSURANCE ARGUMENT: A monster hail storm that hit Kansas on the night of May 14 provides an illustration of why farmers so strongly support crop insurance. This field in Scott County was just one of many that were wiped out in the storm, which destroyed thousands of acres of wheat.

Trump pledges hands off Russia probe, may – change my mind’

From left, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the ranking member, confer before considering a bipartisan bill to protect the special counsel from being fired, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, April 26, 2018. They voted 14 to 7 to send the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act to the full Senate, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has insisted he will not hold a full Senate vote on the legislation which would seek expedited judicial review of a firing.

EPA’s Pruitt admits role in aide’s pay raise but calls attacks on him politically motivated

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt during an interview in his office at the EPA headquarters in Washington on Oct. 25, 2017. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt during an interview in his office at the EPA headquarters in Washington on Oct. 25, 2017.

EPA chief gets congressional scolding over ethical lapses

Democratic lawmakers assailed EPA chief Scott Pruitt on Thursday for the ethics and spending scandals that have prompted multiple calls for his ouster. The chairman of the panel that is questioning Pruitt called the allegations a "distraction but one this committee cannot ignore."

Sen. Bob Menendez ‘severely admonished’ by Senate Ethics Committee

The Senate Ethics Committee issued a blistering letter Thursday admonishing Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey for accepting gifts without proper approval from a wealthy ophthalmologist and returning in kind with political favors. The report comes nearly three months after the Justice Department filed to dismiss charges against the New Jersey Democrat and bring a years-long legal case -- including an 11-week trial last fall that resulted in a hung jury -- to an end.

Trump pledges hands off Russia probe, may ‘change my mind’

President Donald Trump insisted Thursday he "won't be involved" in any attempt to interfere with the investigation into Russian election meddling - unless he changes his mind - as a Senate panel moved to safeguard special counsel Robert Mueller from any attempt to fire him. Trump also laced into James Comey, the FBI director he fired last year, accusing him of lying about Trump's trip to Moscow in 2013 that has received fresh scrutiny.

Correction: Democrats-Black Voters story

In a story April 20 about black voters, The Associated Press reported erroneously that White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders noted that black unemployment had reached a record high under President Donald Trump's leadership. Sanders said that black employment, not unemployment, had reached a record high.

Minnesota House approves school safety funding package

A school safety funding package that would give Minnesota schools more money for building safety improvements, hiring counselors and school resource officers, and other expenses won the approval of state lawmakers Thursday. The school safety budget plans approved by the Republican-majority House largely mirrors a $21 million proposal offered by DFL Gov. Mark Dayton earlier this year.