The Latest Breaking News from McClatchy Washington Bureau

The military designed aircraft with only men in mind. Now they are working to change that

WASHINGTON — As a helicopter pilot in Iraq in 2004, now-Sen. Tammy Duckworth stopped drinking water hours before she climbed into the cockpit of her Army UH-60 Black Hawk for combat missions.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · Dec 23, 2020

Deals, quips and Wally Ballou: Kansas' Pat Roberts exits Capitol Hill after a half-century

WASHINGTON — After Sarah Little watched her former boss of 20 years, Sen. Pat Roberts, deliver his farewell speech on the Senate floor Dec. 10 after 40 years in Congress, she left a voicemail to express her appreciation.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · Dec 22, 2020

Nikki Haley goes all in for Kelly Loeffler in Georgia Senate runoff election

WASHINGTON — Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is teaming up with a political action committee working to elect Republican women to help Sen. Kelly Loeffler in the Georgia runoff election.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · Dec 22, 2020

States thought they would get more COVID vaccines. Pentagon system had wrong numbers

WASHINGTON — A Pentagon system set up for states to keep track of coronavirus vaccines had outdated, inaccurate projections for deliveries that misled governors into expecting they would receive far more doses than will arrive in the coming days, a federal official told McClatchy.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · Dec 18, 2020

Black higher ed groups push for NC Rep. Alma Adams to be Biden’s education secretary

WASHINGTON — Three organizations dedicated to higher education for Black people say U.S. Rep. Alma Adams of North Carolina, a fierce advocate for historically black colleges and universities, should be the next U.S. secretary of education in the Biden administration.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · Dec 17, 2020

Trump weighs executive order for ill veterans who served at toxic ‘black goo’ base

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is considering an executive order to help veterans who became ill after they deployed to a toxic base in Uzbekistan after the 9/11 attacks.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · Dec 15, 2020

In Georgia and beyond, Democrats weigh keeping focus on Trump or shifting to McConnell

WASHINGTON — For prominent Democrats around the country, the message to Georgia voters about January’s runoff elections couldn’t be more clear: Voting for Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock will keep Mitch McConnell from running the U.S. Senate.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · Dec 12, 2020

Veterans who led on toxic exposure call defense bill passage a critical first step

WASHINGTON — A massive defense bill passed by Congress on Friday includes provisions that would require government studies of military toxic exposure among fighter pilots and some of the first forces that deployed after the 9/11 attacks.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · Dec 12, 2020

Officials concerned over risks in vaccinating nursing homes first against COVID-19

WASHINGTON — Government health officials are increasingly concerned that by vaccinating nursing home residents first against COVID-19, any health issues that develop afterward will automatically be attributed to the vaccine, potentially worrying an already skeptical public.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · Dec 12, 2020

Many Black Americans don’t trust the COVID-19 vaccine. Here’s why and what’s being done

WASHINGTON – Confronted with widespread distrust of government in communities of color, the Trump administration is turning to historically Black colleges and churches for help to alleviate fears about the coming coronavirus vaccines and promote them to a population that has been at high risk during the pandemic.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · Dec 11, 2020