legislation

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Australia's Social Media Ban a Step Closer to Becoming Law

Senate to take up debate after bill passes House 102-13

(Newser) - Australia's House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill that would ban children younger than 16 from social media, leaving it to the Senate to finalize the world-first law. The major parties backed the bill that would make platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X, and Instagram liable for...

GOP Senator: 'Long Past Time' to End Education Department

Sen. Mike Rounds intros bill to shut down agency, 'rehome' programs into other departments

(Newser) - Earlier this week, President-elect Trump nominated WWE co-founder Linda McMahon to head the Department of Education—but if Mike Rounds has his way, there soon won't be any department for her to lead. The GOP senator from South Dakota introduced a bill on Thursday that would shut down the...

Louisiana Looks to Criminalize Possession of Abortion Drugs

Bill would make mifepristone and misoprostol 'controlled dangerous substances'

(Newser) - Louisiana could become the first state to label abortion pills as controlled dangerous substances. Lawmakers have added a last-minute amendment to a bill, SB 276, that would criminalize an abortion involving a pregnant woman given abortion pills without her consent. The bill unanimously passed the Senate last month. The amendment...

NJ's Ban on Self-Serve Gas Now the Last of Its Kind

Some want to see it fall, just like Oregon's

(Newser) - New Jersey is about to be the only state in the country where you're not allowed to pump your own gas. Last week, Oregon's Senate voted 16-9 to overturn a ban on self-serve gas that's been in place since 1951. As Quartz reports, half of the state'...

Critics Slam DeSantis' New 'Medical Freedom' Law

Florida bill allows doctors, insurers to refuse services based on religious, moral, ethical beliefs

(Newser) - On Thursday, Ron DeSantis signed what his office is touting as "the strongest legislation in the nation for medical freedom," with four separate bills that the Republican governor says offer "expanded protections [that] will help ensure that medical authoritarianism does not take root in Florida." One...

Dogs Here May Soon See Big Changes to Their Car Rides

New Florida bill would ban pups sticking their heads out windows of moving cars, sitting in driver's lap

(Newser) - When dogs go for car rides, many of them use the time to "drive and chill," sticking their heads out the window to catch the cool breeze as their human cruises along the thoroughfare. In Florida, however, that kind of carefree canine behavior may soon be coming to...

His Own Fox Bite Inspires Congressman to Pen New Bill

Rep. Ami Bera wants to make vaccine less expensive for uninsured Americans

(Newser) - According to government estimates, as many as 60,000 Americans need a rabies vaccine each year. Democratic California Rep. Ami Bera was one of them. Bera was one of numerous people who suffered a fox bite on Capitol Hill in April. A fox was captured and euthanized after testing positive...

Rules Boss Cuts Bill's Penalties for Drugmakers

Senate parliamentarian keeps much of Democrats' economic package intact

(Newser) - The Senate parliamentarian on Saturday dealt a blow to Democrats' plan for curbing drug prices but left the rest of their sprawling economic bill largely intact. Party leaders prepared for first votes on a package containing many of President Biden's top domestic goals, the AP reports. Elizabeth MacDonough, the...

Top Democrats Push to Legalize Pot at Federal Level

They're calling for an end to prohibition

(Newser) - Top Senate Democrats have unveiled draft legislation to legalize marijuana, remove federal penalties, and erase nonviolent federal cannabis-related criminal records. The proposal from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, and Sen. Cory Booker, dubbed the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, would remove marijiuana, now fully...

Vote Establishes Commission on Slavery Reparations

House Judiciary Committee advances bill HR 40

(Newser) - A House panel advanced a decades-long effort to pay reparations to the descendants of slaves by approving legislation Wednesday that would create a commission to study the issue. It's the first time the House Judiciary Committee has acted on the legislation, per the AP . Still, prospects for final passage...

'About Bloody Time:' Scotland Announces a Bold First

Country is first to make period products free for all in move to end 'period poverty'

(Newser) - The struggle to find and buy menstrual products is over for women and girls in Scotland. On Tuesday, the country became the first to approve legislation to provide free and universal access to menstrual products in public facilities, following a four-year campaign. It involved ushering menstruation into public discourse and...

Trump: 25th Amendment Ploy Is About Biden, Not Me

President accuses Pelosi of plotting to replace Biden with Kamala Harris

(Newser) - House Democrats followed through on their promise to raise the profile of the 25th Amendment on Friday, introducing legislation that would create a 17-member panel to judge a president's fitness for the job. Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, a former professor of constitutional law, reintroduced a version of the...

Deputy Actions at Kobe Bryant Crash Scene Will Be Illegal

Law bans unauthorized photos of accident or crime scenes

(Newser) - Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva's wish has come true . Beginning Jan. 1, it will be illegal in California to take unauthorized photos of a crime or accident scene, as occurred in the aftermath of the Jan. 26 helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and...

Trump Doubles Down on Base Renaming With New Threat

'I will Veto' $740B annual defense bill if Elizabeth Warren-proposed amendment is included

(Newser) - An amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act regarding the renaming of US military bases paying tribute to Confederate leaders has already been approved in a voice vote by the Senate's Armed Services Committee. But President Trump has just made clear he doesn't intend to let it get...

Hard-Won Budget, Debt Deal Clears the Senate

The drama-free solution involved compromise on both sides

(Newser) - A hard-won budget and debt deal easily cleared the Senate on Thursday, powered by President Trump's endorsement and a bipartisan drive to cement recent spending increases for the Pentagon and domestic agencies, the AP reports. The legislation passed by a 67-28 vote as Trump and his GOP allies relied...

Scott Walker Stuns With His Version of Venn Diagram

Wisconsin's governor made the Venn diagram 'particularly useless'

(Newser) - To no one's surprise, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker signed legislation Friday limiting the power of Gov-elect Tony Evers. But he did throw the world a curveball by explaining the new law with a uniquely reimagined Venn diagram, per the Milwaukee Sentinel-Journal . At a Green Bay news conference, Walker displayed...

Trump Trade Legislation Has Unfortunate Acronym: FART

Critics pounce on the FART Act, which would give president broad new powers

(Newser) - President Trump is no fan of the World Trade Organization, and Axios reports that he ordered his advisers to work up a bill that would give him broad power to circumvent WTO rules and negotiate his own deals. The story by Jonathan Swan uses the words "insane" and "...

House Takes Aim at US Opioid Addiction

New legislation encourages states to expand treatment through Medicaid

(Newser) - The House has overwhelmingly approved legislation designed to give health-care providers more tools to stem an opioid crisis that is killing more than 115 people in the United States daily, the AP reports. The legislation passed Friday by a vote of 396-14. It incorporates dozens of opioid-related bills that lawmakers...

Craigslist's 'Regretful' Move Has It Axing Big Part of Site

Site takes down its personal ads section to avoid liability for prostitution promotions

(Newser) - Everyone who has visited Craigslist over the years to find a mate or gawk at the "Missed Connections," "Casual Encounters," and "Rants and Raves" sections is going to have to find a new gathering ground. CNET reports the online classified-ads site has shuttered its much-frequented...

Tenn. Schools May Soon Have to Show 'Cornerstone of Freedom'

Bill to prominently display national motto of 'In God We Trust' now on Gov. Haslam's desk

(Newser) - It's up to Bill Haslam now whether one of America's most famous mottos ends up prominently displayed in his state's schools. The Tennesseean reports a bill is headed toward the Tennessee governor's desk to call for the conspicuous display in schools of the "In God...

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