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Americans can now renew passports online and bypass cumbersome paper applications

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans can now renew their passports online, bypassing a cumbersome mail-in paper application process that often caused delays. The State Department announced Wednesday that its online renewal system is now fully operational, after testing in pilot programs, and available to adult passport holders whose passport has expired within the past five years or will expire in the coming year. It is not available for the renewal of children’s passports, for first-time passport applicants for renewal applicants who live outside the United States or for expedited ...

Railroads and regulators must address the dangers of long trains, report says

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — As freight trains have grown longer, the U.S. has seen an increase in the number of a type of derailment caused by the forces of railcars pushing and pulling against each other, the National Academies of Sciences said Tuesday in a long-awaited report that urges regulators, ...

Speaker Johnson sets House vote on government funding bill after a one-week postponement

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson will move ahead with a temporary spending bill that would prevent a partial government shutdown when the new budget year begins on Oct. 1, despite the headwinds that prompted him to pull the bill from consideration last week. The bill includes a requirement that people registering to vote must provide proof of citizenship, which has become a leading election-year priority for Republicans raising the specter of noncitizens voting in the U.S., even though it’s already illegal to do so and research has shown that such voting is rare. “I ...

Speaker Johnson calls off a vote on a bill to avoid a partial government shutdown

WASHINGTON (AP) — Speaker Mike Johnson pulled a vote Wednesday on a temporary spending bill that would keep federal agencies and programs funded for six months as it became increasingly clear the measure lacked the support to pass as a potential partial government shutdown looms. The legislation to continue government funding when the new budget year begins on Oct. 1 includes a requirement that people registering to vote must provide proof of citizenship. Johnson, R-La., signaled that he was not backing off linking the two main pillars of the bill. “No vote today because we’re ...

Johnson pushes ahead on funding bill with proof of citizenship mandate

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson vowed Tuesday to press ahead with requiring proof of citizenship for new voters as part of a bill to avoid a partial government shutdown in three weeks, though the measure appeared likely to be voted down. Democrats overwhelmingly oppose the measure. Enough Republicans were also coming out against the bill, though for different reasons, that its prospects of passing the House appeared dim. Even if it does pass the House on Wednesday, the bill would go nowhere in the Senate. Johnson said the issue of election security is too critical to ...