Articles

Acting AG Whitaker says Russia probe ‘close’ to being completed

The special counsel’s Russia probe is “close to being completed,” the acting attorney general said in the first official sign that the investigation may be wrapping up. Meanwhile, the sixth former Trump aide indicted in the probe is due to make his initial court appearance today.

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Senate panel set to take up nomination of Trump’s AG pick

The Senate Judiciary Committee this week is set to take up the nomination of William Barr, President Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general. The committee’s Republican chairman, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, said the panel will vote on Barr on Tuesday, though it’s likely Democrats will seek to postpone it.

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Trump, Congress leaders reach deal to end shutdown

Yielding to mounting pressure and growing disruption, President Donald Trump and congressional leaders on Friday reached a short-term deal to reopen the government for three weeks while negotiations continue over the president’s demands for money to build his long-promised wall at the U.S.-Mexico border.

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Divided 7th Circuit: Business owner may seek discharge of back pay debt

A divided panel of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has allowed an Indiana business owner to seek to discharge back pay debt in bankruptcy proceedings, rejecting the National Labor Relations Board’s argument that the debt was not dischargeable because the employees to whom the back pay was owed were “maliciously” fired.

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Bill proposes notice for trains blocking crossings 10 minutes

After the Indiana Supreme Court struck down a state law allowing railroads to be fined for lengthy blockages of train crossings, legislation filed in the 2019 General Assembly seeks another avenue of relief for Hoosier motorists held up by trains, especially motorists driving emergency responders.

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Shutdown goes on as Trump offer doesn’t budge Democrats

Thirty-one days into the partial government shutdown, Democrats and Republicans appeared no closer to ending the impasse than when it began, with President Donald Trump lashing out at his opponents after they dismissed a plan he’d billed as a compromise.

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ABA offering free CLEs to attorneys impacted by government shutdown

With the federal government shutdown coming to the end of its fourth week, the American Bar Association is offering free continuing legal education programs to attorneys and others impacted as a result. Titled “ABA Cares 2019,” the national association is offering five free CLE programs to all lawyers and other professionals affected by the shutdown.

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Trump’s AG nominee Barr asserts his independence

President Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general asserted independence from the White House on Tuesday, saying he believed that Russia had tried to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, that the special counsel investigation shadowing Trump is not a witch hunt and that his predecessor was right to recuse himself from the probe.

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Congress to face same question: When will shutdown end?

Congress returns to Washington for its first full week of legislative business since control of the House reverted to Democrats, but lawmakers will be confronted with the same lingering question: When will the partial government shutdown end?

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Barr as attorney general: old job, very different Washington

When William Barr was attorney general in the early 1990s, his rhetoric reflected his deep-seated personal beliefs and was typical talk at a time when family values and tough-on-crime stances defined the party. Now, as President Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, Barr is poised to return to the same job in a dramatically different Washington.

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Bill on federal workers’ back pay in shutdown heads to Trump

President Donald Trump is edging closer to declaring a national emergency to pay for his long-promised U.S.-Mexico border wall as pressure mounts to end the three-week impasse that has closed parts of the government and deprived hundreds of thousands of workers of their salaries.

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