RICHARD BLUMENTHAL

The chairman of a Senate investigations subcommittee is subpoenaing Saudi officials for documents on the kingdom’s new golf partnership with the PGA Tour.

A PGA Tour executive has told Congress that Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund agreed to invest more than $1 billion in a new commercial entity controlled by the tour.

The PGA Tour is sending two leading figures to next week's Senate panel reviewing its surprise business agreement with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf.

Now that the PGA Tour and European tour have a deal with the Saudis, one step is deciding how players can return from LIV Golf if they so choose.

A Senate subcommittee is asking executives from the PGA Tour, Saudi golf interests and LIV Golf to testify as Congress investigates the shocking business deal that upended the sport.

Eight-time major champion Tom Watson is the latest to want answers on the PGA Tour’s new business partnership with Saudi backers of LIV Golf.

The leader of a Senate subcommittee wants the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s LIV Golf to present records about negotiations that led to their new agreement and plans for what golf will look like under the arrangement.

Two U.S. senators are asking TikTok to explain what they called “misleading or inaccurate” statements about how it stores and provides access to U.S. user data.

In a rare judicial defeat for President Joe Biden, the White House is expected to soon withdraw the nomination of Michael Delaney for the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals,.

The head of the artificial intelligence company that makes ChatGPT is set to testify before Congress as lawmakers call for new rules to guide the rapid development of AI technology.

Most Democrats and Republicans agree that the federal government should better regulate the biggest technology companies, particularly social media platforms.

Legislation introduced by four senators aims to prohibit all children under the age of 13 from using social media and would give parents more control over what teenagers under the age of 18 can access.

A dozen senators are making a bipartisan appeal to President Joe Biden to reinvigorate the power of U.S. authorities to seize Iranian oil assets.

A proposed change to next year’s Montana U.S. Senate primary that could have hurt Democratic Sen. Jon Tester’s reelection chances is likely dead.

Libertarians lined up with Democrats on Friday against a proposal that would effectively block third party candidates from next year’s Montana U.S. Senate election.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut says he expects to undergo surgery to repair a broken leg he suffered Saturday during a victory parade for the University of Connecticut men's basketball team.

Veterans’ advocacy groups have sued the U.S. Department of Defense seeking records of toxic conditions at an air base in Uzbekistan blamed for causing cancer and other illnesses among American troops who served there in support of the war in Afghanistan.

One of President Joe Biden’s nominees to a federal appeals court has generated rare concern from some Democrats and outside groups.

China has accused the U.S. of “outright bullying and double standards" in leveling what it called “illegal" sanctions on Chinese companies as part of U.S. actions against Russia’s Wagner Group and related companies and individuals.

Democrats recently celebrated the 100th judicial confirmation of Joe Biden’s presidency and are clamoring for more.

U.S. Sen. Jon Tester of Montana says he’ll seek reelection to a fourth term in 2024.

More than two years since it was greenlighted by Congress, the panel established to probe the inner workings of the U.S. Olympics has yet to conduct a formal interview because of bureaucratic red tape in Washington.

Congress is going to take another look at legislation covering the rights of airline passengers.

With its flights running on a roughly normal schedule, Southwest Airlines is now turning its attention to repairing its damaged reputation after it canceled 15,000 flights around Christmas and left holiday travelers stranded.

A group of Democratic senators have asked federal regulators to investigate any possible violations by Twitter of consumer-protection laws or data-security commitments.

President Joe Biden says there will be “consequences” for Saudi Arabia as his administration begins reevaluating the U.S. relationship with the kingdom.

The government is getting its day in court to try to block a partnership between American Airlines and JetBlue.

A strike by railroad workers would have wide-ranging impact on consumers, commuters and businesses.

U.S. lawmakers are anxious to hear from Twitter’s former security chief, who has alarmed Washington with allegations that the influential social network misled regulators about its cyber defenses and efforts to control fake accounts.

Republicans have found success in Democratic strongholds such as Maryland and Massachusetts when they have fielded moderate candidates who could appeal to voters in both parties.

Businessman Tim Michels has won Wisconsin's Republican nomination to take on Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.

The Republican matchup in the Wisconsin gubernatorial race in Tuesday's primary elections features competing candidates endorsed by former President Donald Trump and his estranged vice president, Mike Pence.

On Wednesday, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine, Richard Blumenthal, and Susan Collins introduced the Equal Access to Contraception for Veterans Act, which will eliminate copayments for contraception covered by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Senators Tommy Tuberville of Alabama and Joe Manchin of West Virginia have requested feedback from college sports leaders to be used to craft a bill to regulate how college athletes can be compensated for their names, images and likenesses.

Major League Baseball told a Senate committee planning a hearing on the sport’s antitrust exemption that it prevents teams from moving without approval and allows the sport to maintain the minor leagues at a wide level.

Leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee have asked baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred to explain the impact of potential legislation stripping the sport’s antitrust exemption from covering the sport’s relationship with minor league players.

The executive director of the nonprofit Advocates for Minor Leaguers has recommended Congress enact legislation nullifying Major League Baseball’s antitrust exemption as it applies to minor league players.

If you're flying this holiday weekend, be prepared for crowded airports, full planes, and higher-than-normal chances that your flight will be delayed or even canceled.

The chairman and ranking minority member of the Senate Judiciary Committee sent a letter to an advocacy group for minor leaguers asking questions about baseball’s antitrust exemption.

As the financially struggling Boy Scouts sell off a growing number of campgrounds — conservationists, government officials and others are scrambling to find ways to preserve them as open space.

Less than 48 hours after a gunman stormed an elementary school and killed 19 children and two teachers in his home state of Texas, Sen. John Cornyn was tapped to lead gun policy negotiations in the Senate.

The House Judiciary Committee has advanced legislation that would raise the age limit for purchasing a semi-automatic rifle from 18 to 21.

The U.S. energy secretary and Danish wind developer Orsted say they want American union workers to build offshore wind farms to dot the U.S. coastlines — the building trades workers who could otherwise be left out of a transition to renewable resources.

A bipartisan group of senators is considering how Congress should respond to the horrific shooting of 19 schoolchildren and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas.

Through a decades-long career in conservative politics, Virginia Thomas has repeatedly maintained that her political activity represented no conflict of interest with the work of her husband, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

History was made the instant Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson may not get any Republican votes.

Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson is winning praise from a key Senate Republican.

Just being the newest member of the Supreme Court can be a momentous adjustment for a justice.

If President Joe Biden’s search for a nominee to the Supreme Court could be summed up by a Help Wanted ad it might read: “Seeking a well-respected liberal jurist.

Sen. Lindsey Graham is among a handful of Republicans declaring a willingness to back President Joe Biden's yet-to-be-announced Supreme Court nominee.

President Joe Biden appears to be narrowing his list of candidates for the Supreme Court, saying he’s looking at “about four people.”.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has set off for Washington to reassure Americans that his country stands alongside the United States and other NATO partners in opposing any Russian aggression against Ukraine.

Two U.S. senators say they were denied access to parts of a federal prison in Connecticut while trying to examine conditions there.

Congress has taken a new step toward reining in the market dominance of Big Tech. Bipartisan legislation advanced by a Senate panel would bar the dominant online platforms from favoring their own goods and services over those of rivals on the platforms.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating more cruise ships due to new COVID-19 cases aboard.

Travelers love to hate airline fees, and several congressional Democrats say it's time to regulate the extra charges for things like checking a bag.

The head of Instagram, appearing before a Senate panel, met with deep skepticism over new measures the platform is adopting to protect young users nd the company’s commitment to transparency.

Break up Big Tech.

Senators have put executives of YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat on the defensive.

The senator leading a probe of Facebook’s Instagram and its impact on young people is asking Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify in the Senate.

Nearly all Americans agree that the rampant spread of misinformation is a problem.

The former Facebook product manager who has accused the social network giant of threatening children’s safety — and the integrity of democracy — is urging Congress to take action to rein in a largely unregulated company.

A former Facebook data scientist testified before Congress that the social network’s products harm children and fuel polarization in the U.S. while executives reject changes that could hurt company profits.

Senators have fired a barrage of criticism at a Facebook executive over the social-networking giant’s handling of internal research on how its Instagram photo-sharing platform can harm teens.

Senators have met privately with a former U.S. attorney in Atlanta who resigned in January as then-President Donald Trump pressured officials to overturn his election defeat.

More than half the cosmetics sold in the United States and Canada are awash with a toxic industrial compound associated with serious health conditions, including cancer and reduced birth weight, according to a new study.

A federal law governing how college athletes can earn money off their fame seems like a certainty.

President Joe Biden faced fierce blowback from fellow Democrats and refugee advocates for considering keeping his predecessor’s record-low cap of 15,000 for admitting refugees this budget year.

The first Senate hearing for President Joe Biden’s judicial nominations featured two African American nominees for appeals court openings.

The Supreme Court appears likely to put a stop to California’s practice of collecting the names and addresses of top donors to charities.

More action, less talk and something for the history books.

The pictures always make it look so presidential.

Consumer Reports says it was able to easily trick a Tesla into driving in the car's Autopilot mode without a person in the driver’s seat.

President Joe Biden plans to lift his predecessor’s historically low cap on refugees by next month.

Facing swift blowback from allies and aid groups, the White House says President Joe Biden plans to lift his predecessor’s historically low cap on refugees by next month.

Ten liberal senators are urging President Joe Biden to back India and South Africa’s appeal to the World Trade Organization to temporarily relax intellectual property rules so coronavirus vaccines can be manufactured by nations that are struggling to inoculate their populations.

Three men's college basketball players say they heard “a lot of talk” from NCAA President Mark Emmert during a video call to discuss their concerns.

NCAA basketball administrators apologized to the womens basketball players and coaches after inequities between the mens and womens tournament went viral on social media. “How does that even work?” Boston College athletic director Patrick Kraft said. Permitting college athletes to earn money off their name, image and likeness once seemed like a radical idea, but that will soon be a reality. The NCAA is already looking for help from federal lawmakers to set national standards for NIL compensation for college athletes. ___More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/Womenscollegebasketball and https://apnews.com/hub/College-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

They are not even united themselves, as Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., told reporters Tuesday that he opposes the House legislation on background checks. The gun debate also highlights a larger difficulty for Senate Democrats as they try to move forward on gun legislation and other policy priorities of the Biden White House. Schumer has not said when he will bring the House legislation up for a vote. Democrats say they feel the environment around gun legislation has evolved, especially since that last major push in 2013. Many in the GOP base are still strongly opposed to gun control of any kind.

WASHINGTON – Democrats say they are pushing toward a vote on expanded gun control measures as the nation reels from its second mass shooting in a week. They are not even united themselves, as Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., told reporters Tuesday that he opposes the House legislation on background checks. It is unclear whether any of the bills up for consideration — most of them involving more restrictive background checks — would have made a difference in that case. Republicans have argued that background checks would not stop most mass shootings and would prevent some lawful gun owners from purchasing firearms. A second bill would extend a review period for background checks from three to 10 days.

(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)WASHINGTON – Fresh off passage of the COVID-19 relief bill, President Joe Biden is assembling the next big White House priority, a sweeping $3 trillion package of investments on infrastructure and domestic needs. Biden's outreach to Senate Democrats comes as the White House is under fire for its handling of the U.S.-Mexico border. An infrastructure package would include roughly $1 trillion for roads, bridges, rail lines, electrical vehicle charging stations and the cellular network, among other items. With the House and Senate under Democratic control, the proposals are expected to draw support from all corners of Congress. A White House official said the president has been very clear about his agenda, even though the details are only just starting to surface.

Minority students are significantly underrepresented when it comes to getting nominations from members of Congress to attend the nation's military service academies, according to an analysis released Wednesday, March 17, 2021. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)Minority students are significantly underrepresented when it comes to getting nominations from members of Congress to attend the nation's military service academies, according to an analysis released Wednesday. The study by the Connecticut Veterans Legal Center and the Veterans Legal Services Clinic at Yale Law School included nearly 25 years of admissions nomination data from the Military Academy at West Point, the Naval Academy and the Air Force Academy involving members of the current Congress. Members of Congress have awarded 6% of their total nominations to Black students and 8% to Hispanic students, according to the report. To be considered for admission, all service academy applicants must receive a nomination from a member of Congress, the president, the vice president, a secretary of a military service, or an academy superintendent.

The House recently passed legislation that would require background checks for gun purchases, a signature Democratic issue for decades. The two bills that passed the House last week would expand background checks on gun purchases, the first significant movement on gun control since Democrats took control of both chambers of Congress and the White House. That leaves gun-control advocates hoping that the politics of gun control have shifted enough that more Republicans may be open to legislation that advocates argue is widely popular with the American public. Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a moderate, have worked together for years to find compromise on background checks. John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, pointed in particular to Democratic wins in the 2018 midterms while running openly for gun control as evidence the politics are changing.

The House passed two bills Thursday to require background checks on all firearms sales and transfers and to allow an expanded 10-day review for gun purchases. While enhanced background checks are generally popular with the American public, even with some conservatives, Congress has so far not been able to find compromise on the issue. “These solutions will save lives.”President Joe Biden has called for Congress to strengthen gun laws, including requiring the background checks on all gun sales and banning assault weapons. AdThe second bill, which passed 219-210, would extend the review period for background checks from three to 10 days. While the House bills have Republican cosponsors and won a handful of GOP votes, most Republicans voted against them.

“He said we need to pass this bill and pass it soon. The Senate bill was expected to largely mirror the House-approved package, with the most glaring divergence the Senate's dropping of language boosting the federal minimum wage to $15 hourly. Schumer said Senate debate would commence as soon as Wednesday and predicted, “We'll have the votes we need to pass the bill." Progressives, though, were still smarting over the virtual certainty that the Senate bill will lack the minimum wage boost, up from $7.25 hourly locked in since 2009. The funding was removed after some Republican lawmakers had criticized it as an example of a wasteful spending item that should not be part of the COVID relief bill.

The inspector general issued 14 recommendations to “restore confidence in FAA’s certification process and ensure the highest level of safety” in future passenger planes. While FAA test pilots knew about changes to the flight system, called MCAS, some key FAA personnel, including engineers, did not. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said the report indicated concealment by Boeing and negligence by the FAA. AdThe same inspector general’s office reported last year that Boeing failed to disclose to the FAA changes it made to MCAS. In January, Boeing agreed to a $2.5 billion settlement with the Justice Department to avoid prosecution for defrauding the FAA.

In this image from video, House impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., speaks about the motion to call witnesses during the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump in the Senate at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021. Coming amid the searing COVID-19 crisis, the Biden White House is trying to rush pandemic relief through Congress. Most of them ultimately voted to acquit, doubting whether Trump was fully responsible or if impeachment is the appropriate response. Within a week Biden was inaugurated, Trump was gone and Pelosi sent the article of impeachment to the Senate days later, launching the proceedings. At the same time, this year's trial carried similar warnings from the prosecutors that Trump must be held accountable because he has shown repeatedly he has no bounds.

(Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool photo via AP)WASHINGTON – The impeachment trial of Donald Trump is more than an effort to convict the former president of inciting an insurrection. It's a chance for a public accounting and remembrance of the worst attack on the U.S. Capitol in 200 years. Trump is long gone, ensconced at his Mar-a-Lago club, and Democrat Joe Biden is the new president in the White House. "A public trial serves a vital purpose," he said. Pelosi led Democrats in impeaching Trump, the only president twice impeached, and the first in history to face trial after leaving office.

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)WASHINGTON – House Democrats asked Donald Trump to testify under oath for his Senate impeachment trial, challenging him to respond to their charge that he incited a violent mob to storm the Capitol. Hours after the Democrats' Thursday request was revealed, Trump adviser Jason Miller dismissed the trial as “an unconstitutional proceeding” and said the former president would not testify. Separately, Trump’s lawyers denounced the request as a “public relations stunt.”AdThe impeachment trial starts Feb. 9. He asked that Trump provide testimony about his conduct “either before or during the Senate impeachment trial,” and under cross-examination, as early as Monday, Feb. 8, and not later than Thursday, Feb. 11. The Senate could vote to subpoena Trump, or any other witnesses, on a simple majority vote during the trial.

The College Athlete Economic Freedom Act is the third piece of legislation related to name, image and likeness compensation for college athletes introduced in Congress since December and second sponsored by Democrats. Iowa became the latest state to get in the game, with lawmakers introducing a bill Wednesday they hope will go into effect July 1. The bill would give college athletes unfettered access to the free market, allow them to organize and make group licensing deals, and hand oversight to the Federal Trade Commission. ), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, put forth an NIL bill that is narrowly focused like Murphy's, but with numerous restrictions that critics consider too NCAA-friendly. Wicker's bill would provide antitrust protections to the NCAA, shielding the association from legal challenges to its NIL rules, and allow the association to limit the types of financial agreements for athletes.

The new rules for filing sensitive documents are one of the clearest ways the hack has affected the court system. AdThe Administrative Office of U.S. Courts confirmed the court system breach on Jan. 6, joining a victims' list that includes the State Department, the National Institutes of Health, tech companies and an unknown number of Fortune 500 companies. Targets could include not just court staff, but also “soft targets” such as law firms that upload files to the case management system, known as CM/ECF. Criminal, civil and bankruptcy filings are believed to have been compromised, but not the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court system, which handles national security surveillance warrants, according to the court employees. Senators are pressing court officials and the Justice Department for a clear assessment of the damage to the legal system.

Thousands had gathered that day as Congress voted to formally certify President Joe Biden’s victory over Trump in November. Hawley and Cruz led objections in the Senate to Biden’s victory, despite the widespread recognition that the effort would fail. And both senators used their objections for political fundraising,” the Democratic senators said in their letter. Cruz helped force a vote on Biden's victory in Arizona, while Hawley helped force one on Biden's victory in Pennsylvania. “This latest effort is a flagrant abuse of the Senate ethics process and a flagrant attempt to exact partisan revenge."

(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump might argue the calendar is his friend when it comes to a second impeachment trial. In 2019, the last time Trump found himself impeached by the House, he had nearly a year left in his presidency. But on Wednesday, with the inauguration of Joe Biden, Trump will be out of office by the time any Senate trial gets started. On Tuesday, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said she doesn’t think a post-presidency impeachment trial is constitutional. The consequence the Constitution sets up for a president who is impeached and convicted is removal from office.

But President Donald Trump, long wary of blaming Moscow for cyberattacks has so far been silent. But President Donald Trump, long wary of blaming Moscow for cyberattacks, has been silent. Speaking to reporters Friday, Trump economic adviser Larry Kudlow did not commit to blaming the Kremlin, saying, “People are saying Russia. The Trump administration and Western allies similarly expelled diplomats over Moscow's alleged poisoning of an ex-intelligence officer in Britain. Exposing Kremlin corruption, including how Russian President Vladimir Putin accrues and hides his wealth, may amount to even more formidable retaliation.

The College Athletes Bill of Rights is sponsored by U.S. The bill also protects the NCAA from future antitrust challenges to its compensation rules. Booker and Blumenthal's bill, however, goes way beyond NIL rights for athletes and is not nearly as NCAA-friendly. The legislation would allow college athletes to earn money off their names, images and likenesses with minimal restrictions, through either individual or group licensing deals. — Establish a nine-member Commission on College Athletics that would include at least five former college athletes and individuals with legal expertise, including in the area of Title IX.

Retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, the Biden administrations choice to be secretary of defense, speaks at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del., Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020. In the past, they’ve opposed naming recently retired military officers to a post typically occupied by civilians, yet they don't want to defy their party's incoming president nor be seen as blocking history. Before announcing that he'd settled on Austin, Biden was facing pressure from activists over a lack of diversity in some of the key posts of the Cabinet he was building. Now the Mattis period at the Pentagon is viewed by some as an argument against waiving the rule again. Thankfully, Biden is neither, so the circumstances don’t support a waiver.”___Weissert, Burns and Mascaro reported from Washington.

WASHINGTON – California Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Monday she will step down from her role as the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, giving up the powerful spot after public criticism of her bipartisan outreach and her handling of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation hearings. Feinstein, 87, said in a statement that she would not seek the position in the next Congress. 2 Democrat, said he will seek to replace Feinstein as the committee's top Democrat. He led daily news conferences during breaks in the hearings with the other Democrats on the panel while Feinstein usually did not appear. “It’s time for Sen. Feinstein to step down from her leadership position on the Senate Judiciary Committee,” said Brian Fallon, the executive director of Demand Justice, which opposes conservative nominees to the courts.

Republican senators, including Committee Chairman Sen. Lindsey Graham, revived complaints of censorship and anti-conservative bias against the social media platforms. The actions that Twitter and Facebook took to quell the spread of disinformation angered Trump and his supporters. They have focused their concern on hate speech and incitement on social media platforms that can spawn violence. Twitter and Facebook have both slapped a misinformation label on some content from Trump, most notably his assertions linking voting by mail to fraud. For days after the election as the vote counting went on, copycat “Stop the Steal” groups were easily found on Facebook.

It said the country was showing a trend of declining average daily cases over the last two months. Worldwide, more than 54 million coronavirus cases have been reported with more than 1.3 million deaths. ___CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia has set another weekly record for the number of confirmed coronavirus cases, even with one day left to count. The state set three daily marks for confirmed cases in the past week, including a record 821 cases on Friday. The seven-day rolling average for new daily cases stood at 145,400 on Saturday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.