A worker leaves U.S. Steel Edgar Thomson Steel Works, March 10, 2018 in Braddock, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Nippon Steel said in a statement Friday it is postponing by three months the closing of its planned $14 billion acquisition of Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel, after each company received requests from the Department of Justice for additional information.  “Nippon Steel will continue to fully cooperate with the examination of the relevant authorities,” the company’s statement reads. The deal, announced in December, drew sharp criticism from Pennsylvania lawmak ..read more

An attendee looks at a series of banners for National Crime Victims’ Rights Week Candlelight Vigil on the National Mall on April 24, 2024, in Washington, D.C. The Justice Department’s Office for Victims of Crime held the event to pay tribute to victims and survivors of crime and individuals who provide service and support. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) WASHINGTON — States and local organizations that aid victims of sexual assault and other crimes are raising the alarm about a multi-year plunge in funds, a major problem they say Congress must fix soon or programs will be forced to se ..read more

Pennsylvania Capitol Building in Harrisburg, Pa. (Photo by Amanda Berg for the Capital-Star). The Pennsylvania Senate advanced a bill Thursday that could sharply limit the Public Utility Commission’s regulatory powers in the interest of saving rate payers money. It was one of several bills that moved in the chamber this week intended to deregulate utilities and the energy producers that supply them. Senate Bill 1174, which was advanced with a bipartisan vote by the Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure committee Tuesday, would allow utility companies to request a waiver from any law ..read more

Workers sort packages at the Amazon AGS5 facility on October 27, 2022, in Appling, Georgia. Two U.S. Senate Democrats plan to introduce a bill to address quota systems they say lead to injuries for warehouse workers. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images) WASHINGTON  — Two Democratic U.S. senators announced Thursday they plan to introduce a piece of legislation that would require large companies to disclose quota practices to workers and prevent those quotas from interfering with a worker’s health. “The Warehouse Worker Protection Act would put an end to the most dangerous quotas that plague wa ..read more

University of Wisconsin-Madison protesters sit around tents on May 1, 2024, as police work to dismantle their encampment on Library Mall. (Baylor Spears | Wisconsin Examiner) WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden responded Thursday to weeks of protest on college campuses calling for a ceasefire in Gaza with a brief statement that the right to protest should be protected, but “not the right to cause chaos.” “We are not an authoritarian nation where we silence people or squash dissent,” Biden said from the White House’s Roosevelt Room. “In fact, peaceful protest is in the best tradition of how Ameri ..read more

A collection of 'ghost guns' displayed at a news conference by the Pa. attorney general's office Dec. 16, 2019 (Capital-Star photo). It’s not every day you hear the words “ghosts, guns and Quakers” in the same breath. But those words are likely to be central themes in future legal challenges if the recent state House Bill 777 (H.B. 777), also known as the “Ghost Gun” law, is enacted. Ghost guns are IKEA-style, do-it-yourself (“DIY”) weapons. The kits allow any person of age to build a firearm at home by following basic instructions that help piece together a couple frames and receivers. It’s ..read more

(Getty Images) By Marcus Baram, Capital & Main August Pfluger, an Air Force veteran and member of the U.S. House representing a small district in West Texas, isn’t exactly a household name on the national political scene, with little press coverage in the last two months outside a recent Fox News appearance. But he is the country’s top recipient of campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry — out of all federal candidates, including President Biden, Donald Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz — receiving $573,721 during the current 2024 election cycle, according to campaign financ ..read more

California Highway Patrol officers patrol at a pro-Palestinian encampment, the morning after it was attacked by counter-protestors at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) campus, on May 1, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans Wednesday passed a bill, with heavy support from Democrats, that would define antisemitism for the Department of Education, amid nationwide college campus protests in which students are calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. The 320-91 vote would codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Allian ..read more

Carrie Anderson, 38, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, joined the "Bans Off Our Mife" rally organized by the Women's March outside of the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday, March 26, 2024, as the justices heard oral arguments over access to mifepristone, one of two pharmaceuticals used in medication abortion. (Ashley Murray/States Newsroom) With Florida’s six-week abortion ban taking effect today and the U.S. Supreme Court currently weighing whether Idaho’s abortion ban should supersede emergency medical treatment, abortion advocates are renewing calls for federal abortion protection, since even in “sa ..read more

Antonio, of Arizona, stands at a child-size podium in front of the U.S. Capitol for "Strolling Thunder," a child and family issues advocacy event on April 30, 2024, organized by the nonprofit ZERO TO THREE. (Ashley Murray/States Newsroom) WASHINGTON — Families gathered outside the U.S. Capitol Tuesday to “make a fuss for babies,” who they believe are being left behind by lawmakers who direct only a fraction of U.S. resources to young children. Parents and kids representing 50 states and the District of Columbia convened for the eighth annual “Strolling Thunder.” Moms and dads pushing stroller ..read more