National News
National News
![Merrick Garland photo](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/ap_16288549076807-42dcf6825422d1680ee38eee5eaea4905aa79b95-500x500.jpg)
Merrick Garland Confirmed As Attorney General 5 Years After Thwarted Supreme Court Bid
A new chapter of Merrick Garland’s long career in the law has opened after the Senate voted to pave the way for him to serve as attorney general.
![The U.S. House passed the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 economic relief bill on Wednesday, March 10, 2021 with no Republican support in the U.S. House or Senate. CREDIT: CSPAN](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/COVID-Relief-Bill-Vote-US-House-031021-CSPAN-500x500.jpg)
U.S. House Gives Final Approval To $1.9 Trillion COVID-19 Relief Bill, No Republicans Support
The House voted 220-211 with no Republicans voting in favor of the bill, despite calls for bipartisan support from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and other Democratic leaders. One Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden, voted against the bill.
![An LGBTQ+ flag flies over Union United Methodist Church in the South End of Boston on Jan. 5, 2020. On Epiphany Sunday, as local Methodists celebrated the visit of the Magi and marked the end of the Christmas season, they were also grappling with the possibility their church could split over a disagreement about LGBTQ participation in the faith. A group of United Methodist Church leaders made headlines Friday when they announced a proposal that would allow conservative congregations opposing same-sex marriage and the ordination of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer clergy to leave the UMC, form a new denomination, maintain their church assets, and get $25 million in the divorce. (Photo by Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/church-rainbow-flag-c3f46cecf90a670cb40dad4fbf2257b0f72768b1-500x500.jpg)
Some Faith Leaders Call Equality Act Devastating; For Others, It’s God’s Will
The Equality Act, which would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, has twice passed the House. Republicans in the Senate have until now blocked its consideration, but Democratic control there should finally ensure at least a hearing.
![Thousands of snow geese take flight near Conway, Wash. in 2019. The Biden administration is reversing a policy under President Trump that drastically weakened protections for most U.S. bird species. CREDIT: Elaine Thompson/AP](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/ap21067639866211-caf462920faf330fa50ca074151fbb902e9cd82b-500x500.jpg)
Interior Department Moves To Make It Illegal (Again) To Accidentally Kill Migratory Birds
The Interior Department rescinded a controversial Trump-era legal opinion Monday that limited the scope of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. It also said it will soon propose a rule to replace one enacted at the end of the Trump administration that did the same.
![File photo. Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden during a 2017 interview in Boise. GOP Idaho lawmakers frustrated with the Republican Idaho attorney general have put forward a series of bills that could significantly defund his office. Wasden irked lawmakers by not joining a Texas lawsuit to invalidate the presidential election. CREDIT: Darin Oswald/Idaho Statesman via AP](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Idaho-Attorney-General-Lawrence-Wasden-CREDIT-Darin-Oswald-Idaho-Statesman-via-AP-500x500.jpeg)
Idaho Lawmakers Look To Cancel Funding Of Their Fellow Republican: The State’s Attorney General
Lawrence Wasden, who was elected Idaho’s top lawyer in 2003, has called some legislation from conservative lawmakers unconstitutional. The state has paid over $3 million in legal fees since 1995 — some of it after ignoring his advice and losing court challenges.
![A screenshot from Minnesota Public Radio's live Facebook video feed of jury selection in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. CREDIT: MPR News/Screenshot by NPR](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/chauvin-trial-7551411b4739d0e4012172a96cca43b6226e7381-500x500.jpg)
George Floyd Case: Jury Selection Begins In Derek Chauvin’s Trial
Jury selection in the highly anticipated trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin began in district court on Tuesday, even as the judge in the case awaits higher courts’ rulings that could halt the proceedings. Chauvin faces charges in the killing of George Floyd last Memorial Day.
![A Joe Biden supporter with a Venezuelan flag cheers during a Biden campaign event at Camping World Stadium on October 27, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. CREDIT: Octavio Jones/Getty Images](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/gettyimages-1229310788-biden-venezuela-af4e3a237fe2f1062157a313d7202630cc148941-500x500.jpg)
Undocumented Venezuelans Given Protected Status In United States
The Biden administration said Monday that it will allow many Venezuelans who are already in the country illegally to remain because of the humanitarian and economic crisis in the socialist South American nation that is an adversary of the U.S.
![Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts broke with his colleagues on the court, filing a solo dissent for the first time in his nearly 16 years on the bench. CREDIT: Win McNamee/Getty Images](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/gettyimages-632205166_wide-a787728ed394e514a50fb376992720442ab1df22-500x500.jpg)
John Roberts Accuses Fellow Supreme Court Justices Of ‘Turning Judges Into Advice Columnists’
For the first time in his nearly 16 years on the Supreme Court, Chief Justice John Roberts has filed a solo dissent. In it, he bluntly accused his colleagues of a “radical expansion” of the court’s jurisdiction.
![Kristin May, an EMT with the Seattle Fire Dept., gives the first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to a patient at a City of Seattle community COVID-19 testing and vaccination clinic in Seattle's Rainier Beach neighborhood in February 2021. CREDIT: Ted S. Warren/AP](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Modera-COVID-19-vaccine-innoculations-CREDIT-Ted-S-Warren-AP-500x500.jpeg)
CDC Says It’s Safe For Vaccinated People To Do These Activities, Should Continue Masking In Public
The new guidance is specific to freedoms that vaccinated people can resume in their own homes, but the agency warns that everyone – even those who are vaccinated – should continue to follow recommended guidelines in public settings, including masking.
![](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Gray-wold-Nez-Perce-pack-Yellowstone-CREDIT-Adam-Messer-via-AP-500x500.jpeg)
States Look To Ramp Up Wolf Kills Following Previous Administration’s Move To Ease Protections
The timing of the Wisconsin hunt was bumped up following a lawsuit that raised concerns President Joe Biden’s administration would intervene to restore gray wolf protections. The group behind the suit has close links to Republican political circles including influential donors the Koch brothers and notable Trump loyalists — Kris Kobach, a former U.S. Senate candidate from Kansas, and rock star and gun rights advocate Ted Nugent.
![A man walks past a "Now Hiring" sign in front of a store in early December in Arlington, Va. U.S. employers added 379,000 jobs in February, as hiring picked up sharply from the previous month. CREDIT: Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/gettyimages-1229892232-8d2857259f760f6973adc471313eddab271977b8-500x500.jpg)
A Sign Of Hope After ‘Winter Hibernation’: Employers Add 379,000 Jobs
Hiring picked up steam in February as a winter wave of coronavirus infections eased and consumers spent more freely. U.S. employers added 379,000 jobs in February, while the unemployment rate dipped to 6.2%.
![Then 2nd Lt. Emil Kapaun, U.S. Army chaplain, circa 1943. CREDIT: U.S Army](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/210305-a-zq077-004-bb3d7757ef43612cd1460e1ba5fd0583f926e9d8.jpg)
Army Chaplain’s Remains Identified After 70 years
Department of Defense investigators have identified the remains of U.S. Army chaplain and Catholic priest Emil Kapaun among the unknown Korean War soldiers buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii.