SHEILA JACKSON LEE

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The House Judiciary Committee passed a package of gun control measures Thursday after several hours of heated debate. They’re dead children.”The committee passed the Democrat-backed “Protecting Our Kids Act” which links several gun control measures together. The time for stalling and obstruction in the face of senseless killing after senseless killing is over. pic.twitter.com/RB1ayLbIJV — House Judiciary Dems (@HouseJudiciary) June 3, 2022The proposal raises the minimum purchase age to 21 for certain rifles and shotguns. Bipartisan negotiations in the Senate, meanwhile, are also on-going about gun control legislation.

The final vote to advance the bill was 25-19, with Democrats accounting for all the yes votes and Republicans accounting for all the no votes. Pelosi also pledged a hearing on a bill banning military-style semiautomatic rifles. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, defended his chamber's proposals as popular with most Americans. But he insisted the House bill would do nothing to stop mass shootings. A chief feature of the House bill requires those buying semi-automatic weapons to be at least 21.

Scott Applewhite) (J. Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON — (AP) — The House is swiftly working to put its stamp on gun legislation in response to mass shootings in Texas and New York by 18-year-old assailants who used semi-automatic rifles to kill 31 people, including 19 children. The Democratic legislation, called the Protecting Our Kids Act, was quickly added to the legislative docket after last week's school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. However, with Republicans nearly all in opposition, the House action will mostly be symbolic, merely putting lawmakers on record about gun control ahead of this year's elections. But he insisted the House bill would do nothing to stop mass shootings. “We’ve been down this road before.”President Joe Biden was asked Wednesday if he was confident Congress would take action on gun legislation.

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

Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Texas) said she will hold hearings on the massacre and push for gun legislation to move through Congress.

And with that, the nation's first female and first Black vice president announced the confirmation of the first Black woman to the Supreme Court. Ketanji Brown Jackson will join the high court following Justice Stephen Breyer's retirement this summer. “We have a dark-skinned, Black woman on the Supreme Court with locks and she’s going to be looking for clerks,” said first year student Jasmine Marchbanks-Owens, 27, referring to the young lawyers who spend a year helping Supreme Court justices with their work. District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser, the city’s second Black woman to be mayor, called it “a day filled with great hope for the future of our country.”Lawmakers weren't the only ones cheering. Representation does matter,” Jackson State University President Thomas K. Hudson wrote to students, faculty and staff at the historically Black school in Mississippi.

Lawmakers erupted in cheers after Vice President Kamala Harris announced the confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.

Scott Applewhite) (J. Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON — (AP) — Moments before the Senate began Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's confirmation vote to become the first Black woman on the Supreme Court, the chamber filled with the swell of history. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus walked through the doors of the Senate to witness the moment. A short delay emerged when Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky was late, making him the last to vote and slightly prolonging the inevitable outcome. The assignment for the only two Black Democrats in the Senate, she told them, was to write a letter to a young Black woman in their life to mark this day in history. After the vote, the vice president, herself a history-making leader, took stock of the moment, at a time of brutal war overseas.

Scott Applewhite) (J. Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON — (AP) — Moments before the Senate began Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's confirmation vote to become the first Black woman on the Supreme Court, the chamber filled with the swell of history. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus walked through the doors of the Senate, entering the chamber to witness the moment. Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky was late, making him the last to vote while slightly prolonging the outcome. Many Republican senators had already left. The remaining Republican senators filed out of the chamber.

Moments before the Senate began Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation vote to become the first Black woman on the Supreme Court, the chamber filled with the swell of history.

California took a big step this week toward becoming the first U.S. state to make some form of restitution a reality by tackling the divisive issue of which Black residents should be eligible to receive reparations for the atrocity and injustices of slavery and racism.

Congress has renewed a 1990s-era law that extends protections to victims of domestic and sexual violence.

Eight House Democrats are demanding the Bureau of Prisons make public an audit of sexual assault reports at a federal women's prison in California where inmates say they were subjected to rampant abuse.

H.R. 40 would create a commission on reparations for Black Americans modeled on the process Japanese Americans went through to receive reparations for being imprisoned in internment camps during World War II.

Distrust between the parties is high a year after the violent insurrection. And it has impacted how the institution operates.

Republican leader Kevin McCarthy seized control of the House floor for more than eight hours overnight, preempting passage of President Joe Biden’s big domestic policy bill with a rambling speech full of vitriol.

Texas Republicans have approved redrawn U.S. House maps that favor incumbents and could decrease political representation for growing minority communities in the nation’s largest red state.

Texas lawmakers are on the brink of finishing redrawn U.S. House maps that would shore up their eroding dominance as voters peel away from the GOP in the state’s booming suburbs.

Voting Rights March The Rev. Many activists view the fight over voting rules as the civil rights issue of the era. Marches were also scheduled for Atlanta, Miami, Phoenix and other cities under the banner of “March On for Voting Rights,” organized by Sharpton and King. Terry Mackey, the pastor of Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church, urged those attending an indoor rally to honor those who fought and shed blood for voting rights. “I want you to stand up and fight," he said, "until every person in this state has the same voting rights as anybody else.”___Calvan reported from New York.

Thousands of voting rights advocates are rallying across the country Saturday to call for sweeping protections against a further erosion of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

In the nation’s capital on Saturday, multiracial coalitions of civil, human and labor rights leaders are convening rallies and marches to urge passage of federal voter protections that have been eroded since the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

President Joe Biden signed legislation Thursday establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery, following the passage of a bipartisan Congressional bill. State governments that had not already declared Juneteenth a holiday were also scrambling to respond the new federal holiday. Instead, he said the company sent an email acknowledging the federal holiday and pledging to consider time off in the future. But the federal holiday declaration brought it to the attention of some Americans for the first time. Still, Eve said the declaration of Juneteenth as a federal holiday will make companies that don't follow suit increasingly look bad.

The declaration of Juneteenth as a federal holiday is putting the pressure on more U.S. companies to give their employees the day off, accelerating a movement that took off last year in response to the racial justice protests that swept the country.

His audience included scores of members of Congress and Opal Lee, a 94-year-old Texas woman who campaigned for the holiday. Juneteenth is the 12th federal holiday, including Inauguration Day once every four years. It's also the first federal holiday since the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday was added in 1983. Before June 19 became a federal holiday, it was observed in the vast majority of states and the District of Columbia. He said the Juneteenth holiday will help promote understanding and unity.

Black Americans are rejoicing after President Joe Biden signed legislation establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday.

President Joe Biden on Thursday signed into law legislation declaring a legal public holiday the date of the end of slavery.

His audience included scores of members of Congress and Opal Lee, a 94-year-old Texas woman who campaigned for the holiday. Juneteenth is the 12th federal holiday, including Inauguration Day once every four years. It's also the first federal holiday since the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday was created in 1983. Before June 19 became a federal holiday, it was observed in the vast majority of states and the District of Columbia. He said the Juneteenth holiday will help promote understanding and unity.

The 94-year-old Lee began a campaign in 2016 to have the holiday recognized at the national level. She walked 1,400 miles from Fort Worth to Washington to bring awareness to the celebration.

Biden signed into law a bill to make Juneteenth, or June 19, the 12th federal holiday. The House voted 415-14 on Wednesday to send the bill to Biden, while the Senate passed the bill unanimously the day before. It’s the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was created in 1983. The White House moved quickly after the House debated the bill and then voted for it. Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., said creating the federal holiday was an effort to celebrate “identity politics."

The Senate passed the bill yesterday under a unanimous consent agreement that expedites the process for considering legislation.

(AP Photo/John Minchillo, File) (John Minchillo)WASHINGTON — (AP) — The United States will soon have a new federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery. The House voted 415-14 on Wednesday to make Juneteenth, or June 19th, the 12th federal holiday, and President Joe Biden is scheduled to sign the bill into law on Thursday. It’s the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was created in 1983. Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., said creating the federal holiday was an effort to celebrate “identity politics." Under the legislation, the federal holiday would be known as Juneteenth National Independence Day.

For many Black Americans, especially those from Southern states, Juneteenth has been an important day in history for over 150 years.

(AP Photo/John Minchillo, File) (John Minchillo)WASHINGTON — (AP) — The United States will soon have a new federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery. The House voted 415-14 Wednesday to make Juneteenth, or June 19th, the 12th federal holiday. It’s the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was created in 1983. Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., said creating the federal holiday was an effort to celebrate “identity politics." Under the legislation, the federal holiday would be known as Juneteenth National Independence Day.

The United States will soon have a new federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery.

President Joe Biden has signed legislation Thursday establishing a new federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery, saying he believes it will go down as one of the greatest honors he has as president.

For many Black Americans, especially those from southern states, Juneteenth has been an important day in history for over 150 years.

The House voted 415-14 Wednesday to make Juneteenth, or June 19th, the 12th federal holiday. It’s the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was created in 1983. Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., said creating the federal holiday was an effort to celebrate “identity politics." The vast majority of states recognize Juneteenth as a holiday or have an official observance of the day, and most states hold celebrations. Under the legislation, the federal holiday would be known as Juneteenth National Independence Day.

Lawmakers from both parties say once-stalled legislation on Capitol Hill that would change the nation's policing laws is now closer than ever to consensus.

Bolstered with new momentum, Congress is ready to try again to change the nation’s policing laws.

A House panel has advanced a decades-long effort to pay reparations to the descendants of slaves, approving legislation Wednesday night that would create a commission to study the issue.

The House Judiciary Committee plans to prepare and vote on the measure first proposed by the late Congressman John Conyers in 1989.

The reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act passed 244-172 with 29 Republicans joining Democrats in supporting the legislation. The White House announced its support earlier Wednesday for reauthorizing VAWA, which aims to reduce domestic and sexual violence and improve the response to it through a variety of grant programs. AdPresident Joe Biden introduced the original Violence Against Women Act in June 1990 when serving as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. A subsequent version was eventually included in a sweeping crime bill that President Bill Clinton would sign into law four years later. Congress has reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act three times since.

A coalition of 150 organizations nationwide is opposing the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. The Movement for Black Lives argues the bill is entrenched in strategies that have historically failed to address police violence across the country and fails to meet the moment." The bill, designed by the Movement for Black Lives’ Electoral Justice Project, would also redirect funding toward communities to address the nation’s systemic racial injustices. “It’s not just about after the fact accountability,” said Gina Clayton-Johnson, the lead BREATHE Act architect and leadership team member of the Movement for Black Lives’ Policy Table. AdBut the movement faces a significant uphill battle in securing needed political support from lawmakers who will be key in pushing forward the BREATHE Act or revamping the Justice in Policing Act.

Houston and several surrounding cities are under a boil water notice as many residents are still without running water in their homes. But the crisis was far from over in parts of the South, where many people still lacked safe drinking water. The next phase of the state’s disaster response will be to test drinking water from systems knocked offline by the cold. Power was cut to a New Orleans facility that pumps drinking water from the Mississippi River and generators were used until electricity was restored. Drinking water was made available at fire stations throughout Jackson and officials also planned to set up bottled water pickup sites.

President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting with labor leaders in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021, in Washington. Biden backs the idea of studying the issue, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday, though she stopped short of saying he would sign the bill if it clears Congress. Even with Democrats controlling both chambers of Congress and the White House, passing a reparations bill could prove difficult. Most Black Americans favored reparations, 74%, compared with 15% of white Americans. AdRep. Burgess Owens, a first-term Republican from Utah, argued against a reparations commission.

The date - June 19th - is not a federal holiday, and many non-black Americans have only recently become of aware of the day. Several of her employees are spending the day volunteering for the Juneteenth Freedom Phonebank, an initiative encouraging Census participation. Declaring the date a federal holiday would add considerable momentum, and there is growing support for the idea. Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, introduced legislation Thursday to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. In contrast, 93% of employers close on Independence day, with similar rates for Labor Day, Christmas Day and Thanksgiving.

During her questioning Tuesday, Texas Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee asked Lewandowski about an alleged interaction between him and Trump outlined in the Mueller report. Jackson Lee asked. At this point, panel Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, a New York Democrat, indicated that Jackson Lee's allotted five minutes to question Lewandowski had expired. "Well, we will expose the truth," Jackson Lee continued, as Nadler continued trying to conclude her time. Lewandowski asked Jackson Lee, "Could you repeat the question?

President Donald Trump's former campaign manager called a question asked Tuesday by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee "just a rant." Distributed by LAKANA. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.