Latest Politics Headlines

All the headlines from our Politics Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Tulsa County Democratic Party Chair to Run for Insurance Commissioner

Apr 24 2018 // The chair of the Tulsa County Democratic Party has entered the race to become Oklahoma’s next insurance commissioner.Kimberly Fobbs currently is the only Democrat who has filed to run for the insurance...

Illinois Senate Again Passes Workers’ Comp Reform Measure

Apr 19 2018 // The Illinois Senate has approved restrictions on insurance companies writing workers’ compensation policies. The plan that passed 34-21 on April 17 is identical to one Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoed last year.The...

Trump Administration Proposes Curbs on Opioid Manufacturers

Apr 19 2018 // The U.S. government on Tuesday proposed tightening rules governing the amount of prescription opioid painkillers that drugmakers can manufacture in a given year, in hopes of reining in the deadly opioid epidemic.The Drug...

Republican Farm Bill Calls for Changes to Food Stamps, Renewal of Crop Insurance

Apr 13 2018 // Republicans on the U.S. House Agriculture Committee on Thursday called for changes to the government’s food assistance program for the poor, in a package of long-awaited proposals for the next U.S. Farm Bill that...

Judge Dismisses State Farm Car Crash Suit Against Mississippi U.S. Senate Appointee

Apr 10 2018 // A lawsuit against U.S. Senate appointee Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi has been permanently dismissed.The Daily Leader reports Mississippi Circuit Judge David Strong dismissed the case with prejudice April 3. That means...

Louisiana Senate Backs Higher Civil Penalties in Hazing Death Lawsuits

Mar 29 2018 // People who file civil lawsuits in Louisiana when someone dies from hazing could be in line for higher penalty payments, under a bill that won easy passage from the state Senate. Senators voted 28-3 Wednesday for Senate...

Revamp of Kentucky Workers’ Comp System Gets OK From State Senate

Mar 26 2018 // Kentucky lawmakers are closing in on making the biggest changes to the workers’ compensation system in decades after the Senate passed the measure on Thursday.The legislation – backed by business groups but opposed...

Trump Administration, McDonald’s Rush to Avoid Employer Liability Trial

Mar 18 2018 // The National Labor Relations Board is ignoring its own guidelines and rushing to settle a major workplace action involving McDonald’s Corp., lawyers for employees involved in the litigation alleged. If the workers...

Democratic Senators Call for Changes in Federal Autonomous Vehicle Bill

Mar 15 2018 // Five Democratic U.S. senators on Wednesday urged changes to a stalled landmark bill aimed at speeding the deployment and testing of self-driving cars.“We are concerned that the bill indefinitely preempts state and...

Rewrite of Senate Banking Bill Tough for Wall Street Banks

Mar 8 2018 // Wall Street banks don’t have much to celebrate in what’s probably the final version of a bill easing financial rules that is headed for a U.S. Senate vote.Late Wednesday, Senate Banking Chairman Mike Crapo, an...

Trump Administration Wants Time to Think About Joining Opioid Lawsuits

Mar 5 2018 // The U.S. Justice Department has asked a federal judge overseeing hundreds of lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and distributors to give it 30 days to decide whether to participate in the litigation.The department made...

NTSB: Truck Hit by GOP Train in Virginia Was on Tracks After Warning

Feb 23 2018 // Witnesses told investigators that a garbage truck struck by a train carrying Republican congressmen through rural Virginia entered the railroad crossing after the safety gates had come down, the National Transportation...

Brown Tapped to Chair Oklahoma Senate Insurance Committee

Feb 21 2018 // Oklahoma state Sen. Bill Brown will serve as the chair of the Senate’s Pensions, Retirement and Insurance Committee for the 2018 legislative session.Other members of the committee are Vice Chair Marty Quinn, Sen....

Trump Administration Encourages More Short-Term, Cheaper Health Plans

Feb 21 2018 // The Trump administration is proposing to expand the availability of short-term insurance plans, offering a cheaper health coverage option for consumers, while taking another step to undercut Obamacare.The Department of...

‘Public Is Tired of Excuses’ for Delays in Anti-Crash Tech: Republican Chairman

Feb 16 2018 // The chair of a congressional committee on Thursday urged U.S. railroads and transit agencies to meet a looming deadline to install an anti-crash technology called positive train control after a series of recent...

Senate Confirms Smith as Head of Oregon Consumer and Business Services

Feb 15 2018 // The Oregon State Senate has confirmed Cameron Smith as director for the Department of Consumer and Business Services.Smith has served as acting director for the department since Gov. Kate Brown nominated him in December...

Senate Report Links Drugmakers’ Donations to Opioid Crisis

Feb 13 2018 // Five opioid manufacturers including OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP have paid more than $10 million to advocacy groups and doctors tied to them, many of whom amplified industry messages supporting the use of the...

Trump Administration Plans Autonomous Vehicles Regulatory Summit

Feb 12 2018 // Auto manufacturers, technology companies, road safety advocates and policy makers will attend a March 1 conference over potential government actions that could speed the rollout of autonomous cars, the U.S. Transportation...

California Sues Trump Administration Fracking Rule Repeal

Jan 25 2018 // California on Wednesday sued the Trump administration over its repeal of Obama-era rules meant to address public safety concerns on hydraulic fracturing, the process known as fracking that is used to extract oil and...

Senate Committee Hopes to Restart Bill to Ease Entry of Driverless Cars

Jan 25 2018 // The chairman of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee on Tuesday said he is pursuing different strategies to win approval this year of landmark self-driving car legislation that could make it easier for automakers to get...