Author

Samantha Dietel

Samantha Dietel

Samantha Dietel is a reporter intern in Washington, D.C. She is pursuing a degree in journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia. She has previously covered the Missouri legislature in Jefferson City as a reporter for the Columbia Missourian.

Michigan congresswoman pushes ‘Restaurant Workers Bill of Rights’

By: - September 19, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan Democrat, re-introduced legislation Tuesday aimed at improving the lives of U.S. restaurant workers. The “Restaurant Workers Bill of Rights” would raise wages and improve work conditions for restaurant staff. Tlaib, who also pushed this legislation last year, held a press conference Tuesday alongside U.S. House colleagues and […]

Democrats push to extend child care grant program

By: - September 13, 2023

WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats introduced a bill Wednesday to extend funding for five years for a pandemic-era child care subsidy program set to expire at the end of the month. The legislation would extend the child care stabilization grant program, which Congress established in 2021 to help child care providers meet additional costs during the […]

U.S. Senate hearing on book bans probes censorship attempts in local libraries

By: - September 12, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. senators at a committee hearing Tuesday discussed the consequences of book bans and parents’ desire to control what their kids read — though they also acknowledged it’s not an issue for Congress to settle. The Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony about book bans, focusing on how censorship limits liberty and literature. The […]

Congress and nonprofit working to put women’s suffrage monument on National Mall

By: - September 7, 2023

As Congress considers a bill to place a women’s suffrage monument on the National Mall, a nonprofit is working to raise the estimated $50 million needed to build it. The Women’s Suffrage National Monument Foundation, the nonprofit backing the effort, launched a donation campaign Tuesday in an effort to raise funds for a memorial honoring […]

Jill Biden tests positive for COVID-19; President, testing negative, maintains schedule

By: - September 5, 2023

WASHINGTON — First Lady Jill Biden tested positive for COVID-19 Monday night, the White House said in a statement. Biden has mild symptoms and will spend the week at home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, the White House said. President Joe Biden tested negative Monday night and Tuesday. He will continue to be tested “at a […]

Gun law raises funding concerns for school hunting programs

By: - September 5, 2023

WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers are concerned that the Biden administration is interpreting last year’s bipartisan gun safety law to cut funding for school archery and hunting programs, though programs themselves say they haven’t been affected. A provision in the law — a bipartisan effort to curb gun violence that established new criminal offenses, and expanded […]

Trump absent but still dominates as GOP presidential rivals clash at first debate

By: , and - August 23, 2023

Eight Republican presidential candidates gathered onstage Wednesday night in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for a heated first primary debate heavily influenced by former President Donald Trump, though the party’s front runner refused to attend the two-hour event. Trump instead recorded a competing 46-minute interview with former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson that aired on X, formerly known […]