MICHAEL BURGESS

Final congressional approval of a $40 billion Ukraine aid bill seems certain within days.

The House has emphatically approved a fresh $40 billion Ukraine aid package that beefs up President Joe Biden’s initial request.

With vaccination rates lagging in red states, Republican leaders have begun stepping up efforts to persuade their supporters to get the shot, at times combating misinformation spread by some of their own.

House Democrats has approved legislation that they say would help close the gap between what men and women are paid in the workplace, though the measure faces little chance of overcoming Republican opposition in the Senate.

Labor and delivery are thought of as the riskiest times for new mothers, but many women die in the months after giving birth. The legislation gives states the option of extending Medicaid coverage to women with low to modest incomes for a full year after childbirth. Maternal health advisory groups in 19 states, from Texas to Massachusetts, and Washington to Tennessee, have recommended such an extension. AdSome Republicans who disdain the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package say they would like to see the maternal health provisions made permanent. “We must strive to improve maternal health outcomes and reduce maternal mortality,” said Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas, who cosponsored legislation with Kelly, the Chicago Democrat, in the last Congress.

The National Football League said it will reconsider its donations but did not commit to suspending them. “We are re-evaluating our political giving policies through the Gridiron PAC,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told the AP in a statement Wednesday. Others, like MLB, have postponed political giving to both political parties altogether. The Office of The Commissioner of Major League Baseball Political Action Committee has donated $669,375 to Senate and House candidates since the 2016 election cycle, with 52.4% of that money going to Republican candidates, according to The Center for Responsive Politics. Since the 2016 election cycle, MLB has made contributions to two senators and nine representatives who were among those opposing certification of Biden's victory.