ADRIANO ESPAILLAT

She said Biden “is looking at other executive authority options he has to bring relief to people who have student loans." Even so, remarks by several Democrats suggest a broad effort to ease student debt could help the party with minority voters. Cardenas said he told Biden that Hispanic students with college debt typically face higher long-term debt burdens than white students. The pandemic prompted then-President Donald Trump and Congress to begin providing student loan relief in March 2020. Other participants at that meeting said Biden expressed opposition to the restrictions but did not specifically say what he would do.

President Joe Biden has signaled he might forgive some student loan debt and further extend the federal moratorium on repayments.

Two modest rooms in New York City are the first places in the United States where local officials are allowing illicit drug use to make it less deadly.

The nation’s military academies provide a key pipeline into the leadership of the armed services and, for the better part of the last decade, they have welcomed more racially diverse students each year.

Top Democrats have abruptly postponed an expected House vote on their 10-year, $1.85 trillion social and environment measure.

For the third time this year, Democrats were planning to ask the Senate parliamentarian whether an immigration proposal could be inserted into their package of social and environmental initiatives. Helping immigrants is a major priority for progressive Democrats, and Biden used the first days of his presidency to propose helping 11 million migrants become citizens. The immigration proposal was described by two people who discussed it only on condition of anonymity. The White House economic framework provided just a broad description about how the $100 billion would be used. In recent weeks, the Senate parliamentarian has ruled against two previous immigration proposals.

Senate Democrats want to again try letting millions of immigrants stay temporarily in the U.S. as part of President Joe Biden's economic plan.

Senate Democrats were preparing to try letting millions of immigrants stay temporarily in the U.S. as part of the party's massive economic plan, people involved in the effort said Thursday, as the White House released an outline of President Joe Biden's trophy domestic legislation. While that effort's odds of succeeding were unclear, supporters were celebrating Biden's inclusion of $100 billion for immigration programs in his pared-down framework. Helping immigrants has long been a major goal for progressive Democrats.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and two other legislators have reintroduced a bill in the House to put immigrants who cleared debris after the Sept. 11 attacks on a fast track to legal immigration status in the U.S. Immigrants in New York who worked after the attacks have long asked to obtain legal immigration status as a way to compensate for the subsequent health problems they have suffered.

A memorial grove to COVID-19 victims has been planted in Ohio, and governors and lawmakers elsewhere are pursuing similar permanent remembrances.

When Rep. Maxine Waters urged people to be “confrontational” in the pursuit of justice for George Floyd, advocates for racial equity heard a leading Black voice in the nation's long march toward civil rights.

The president is set to nominate David Chipman, a former special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, to lead the agency.

(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.

FILE - In this Monday, Aug. 24, 2020, file photo, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., questions Postmaster General Louis DeJoy during a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on the Postal Service on Capitol Hill, in Washington. On Monday, Feb. 1, 2021, a teary-eyed Ocasio-Cortez recounted hiding in her office bathroom as a man repeatedly yelled Where is she?" during the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, and also revealed a sexual assault in her past as she talked about trauma. Phillips said that, as he heard the screams, he realized a pencil was about all he had for defense. Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., said that, as representatives in Congress, the attack against the Capitol was an attack on their constituents.

(Chip Somodevilla/Pool via AP, File)SANTA ANA, Calif. – A California congressman contracted the coronavirus before he could get a second dose of vaccine that would have improved his immunity. Democratic Rep. Lou Correa announced Saturday he tested positive upon returning home from Washington, D.C., prompting him to self-quarantine away from his family. Democratic Rep. Adriano Espaillat of New York said Thursday he contracted the coronavirus even after getting the second dose of the vaccine. The vaccine is about 52% effective after the first dose, Pfizer-BioNTech said. The efficacy of the vaccine rises to about 95% after the second dose.

As of Thursday, there are roughly 7,000 Guard members in Washington, with thousands more on the way. Officials say Guard members from all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, are deploying to the city. As of Thursday, there are roughly 7,000 Guard members in Washington, with thousands more on the way. Officials say 3,000 to 4,000 of those Guard members are armed. Pentagon officials approved requests to have some Guard members armed with either long guns or handguns, particularly those Guard members assigned near the U.S. Capitol.

(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)BEIJING — China says it is now treating more than 1,000 people for COVID-19 as numbers of cases continue to surge in the country’s north. ___AUSTIN, Texas — Texas has distributed more than 1 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, Gov. State health officials say Texas had more than 14,000 COVID-19 patients in hospitals and its death toll has passed 30,000. ___COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina will now allow medical students, retired nurses and other qualified professionals to administer the COVID-19 vaccine. ___MADRID — Spain reported 35,878 confirmed coronavirus cases and 201 new deaths from the coronavirus.

Copenhagen, Denmark -- U.S. rapper A$AP Rocky should be held for another week in pre-trial detention to allow police to finish investigating a June 30 fight in downtown Stockholm, a prosecutor said Friday. Daniel Suneson has asked Stockholm's District Court to hold A$AP Rocky -- the stage name of Rakim Mayers -- until July 25. Suneson said police "have worked intensively" with the preliminary investigation but need more time to complete their probe. Swedish Officials: #JusticeForRocky Demand that Rocky Be Released from Swedish Officials https://t.co/SkxNesQ2ZV via @Change Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) July 19, 2019Soon after the news of his arrest broke, the movement #JusticeForRocky pushed for the rapper's release. It is not a fair process," the congressman earlier said in a statement to The Associated Press.

Charles Rangel faces tough fight for re-election In New York's 13th district, 22-term Democratic incumbent Charles Rangel faces a tough primary challenge from national newcomer Adriano Espaillat thanks to the redrawing of district lines. If Espaillat wins the primary and general election, he’ll become the first Dominican elected to Congress. Maurice DuBois reports.