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Mike Magner

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Rep. Tim Burchett talks with reporters at the Capitol on March 11. The Tennessee Republican is one of Congress’ most vocal members when it comes to unidentified aerial phenomena.

A believer in UAPs (or UFOs) takes aim at UAVs (or drones)

By Mike Magner
Posted April 1, 2025 at 6:00am
Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke says park superintendents are prepared for a busy tourist season.

Workforce cuts raise concerns over national park upkeep

By Mike Magner
Posted March 11, 2025 at 5:00am
President Donald Trump said he has told the U.S. Treasury to stop producing pennies. Efforts against the coin have a long history in Congress.

‘Stop making cents’ could be easier said than done

By Mike Magner
Posted February 19, 2025 at 6:15am
An eagle emblem sits atop a flag pole in a Dirksen Senate Office Building hallway as workers renovate a nearby room. The bald eagle has held symbolic significance for centuries.

Bill naming bald eagle national bird on way to White House

By Mike Magner
Posted December 16, 2024 at 5:27pm
Fallen trees and debris are seen on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina in October after Hurricane Helene hit in late September.

Disaster aid for national parks deemed ‘critical’ by advocates

By Mike Magner
Posted December 11, 2024 at 5:13pm
View from the Oconaluftee Overlook of the Oconaluftee Valley at sunrise in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina.

Private donations pour in for cash-strapped national parks

By Mike Magner
Posted December 2, 2024 at 6:59am
Challenger, a non-releasable bald eagle cared for by the American Eagle Foundation, comes in for a landing during the Teaming with Wildlife Coalition rally outside the Capitol on Feb. 28, 2007.

High hopes for bald eagle bill in the lame duck

By Mike Magner
Posted November 8, 2024 at 2:37pm
Exterior of the Oconaluftee Visitor Center at Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Cherokee, N.C. The center was among facilities and roads closed as of Monday, according to the National Park Service.

America’s most popular national park crippled by Helene

By Mike Magner
Posted October 2, 2024 at 6:00am
(CQ Roll Call file photo)

House readies to help bald eagle soar as national bird

By Mike Magner
Posted September 3, 2024 at 4:28pm
Delegates wave signs as President Joe Biden speaks during the 2024 Democratic National Convention on Monday. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

‘Unconventional’ party platform heavy on partisan attacks

By Mike Magner
Posted August 20, 2024 at 3:14pm
The Chesapeake Bay stretches out past the downtown area following two days of heavy rain from Tropical Storm Ophelia on September 24, 2023 in Crisfield, Md. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Storms and wildfires swamp FEMA as disaster funds dry up

By Mike Magner
Posted August 12, 2024 at 2:00pm
The bald eagle is used as a national symbol in the military and beyond

Senate swoops in, centuries late, to name bald eagle national bird

By Mike Magner
Posted August 5, 2024 at 8:36am
Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su said the department is developing a national heat standard on water, shade and paid rest periods.

As heat waves intensify, so does criticism of government support

By Mike Magner
Posted June 24, 2024 at 12:27pm
“We have to have at least an ability for veterans, if they wish, to go in front of a jury and tell their story,” said Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., who sponsored the bill.

Bills seek to speed up lawsuits over Camp Lejeune contamination

By Mike Magner
Posted June 20, 2024 at 12:00pm
Specialty Equipment Market Association CEO Mike Spagnola looks over modified cars at SEMA’s “Cars at the Capitol” event on Capitol Hill on May 9.

Auto parts suppliers fear a crash with shift to EVs

By Mike Magner
Posted May 29, 2024 at 7:00am
A Rivian electric vehicle charges outside of Blink Charging’s new flagship manufacturing facility in Bowie, Md., in March.

Election year politics roil the EV transition

By Mike Magner and Valerie Yurk
Posted May 20, 2024 at 12:09pm
Photographers and camera crew on Enewetak Atoll during Koa nuclear test as part of Operation Hardtack, a series of 35 nuclear tests conducted by the United States in 1958 at the Pacific Proving Grounds.

Radiation compensation bill’s backers plan Hill blitz

By Mike Magner
Posted May 14, 2024 at 5:31am
Fuel pumps are seen at the Red Hill underground fuel storage facility in Honolulu.

Navy in court over Pearl Harbor water contamination

By Mike Magner
Posted May 1, 2024 at 11:09am
The Teck Metals smelter in Canada is blamed for contaminating 150 miles of the Columbia River in Washington state.

Superfund plan for Columbia River sparks debate in Northwest

By Mike Magner
Posted April 10, 2024 at 6:00am
Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

Jury trials denied in Camp Lejeune lawsuits

By Mike Magner
Posted February 6, 2024 at 7:37pm
Comedian and activist Jon Stewart speaks to Jerry Ensminger, a Camp LeJeune survivor, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House on Aug. 10, 2022.

Landmark study documents cancer cases among Camp Lejeune victims

By Mike Magner
Posted February 6, 2024 at 1:12pm
Texas Republican Rep. Roger Williams says, “I’m not against EVs, but I’m for competition.”

Tighter vehicle emission standards are a tightrope for Biden

By Valerie Yurk and Mike Magner
Posted January 24, 2024 at 3:42pm
Sen. Josh Hawley, back left, meets with Dawn Chapman, center, and other advocates for victims of radiation from nuclear weapons development.

Victims of nuclear weapon development plan Hill barrage

By Mike Magner
Posted January 11, 2024 at 12:32pm
A boat pushes coal barges up the center of the Mississippi River after the water level dropped to near historical lows in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on October 18. For the second straight year the largest North American river has sunken to record low levels amid ongoing drought.

Trouble comes to the Mississippi from prolonged drought

By Mike Magner
Posted November 16, 2023 at 7:00am
Comedian and activist Jon Stewart, right, speaks to Marine Corps veteran Jerry Ensminger on Aug. 10, 2022, during a signing ceremony for the PACT Act, which allows those harmed at Camp Lejeune to file damage claims.

Key study of Camp Lejeune cancers in limbo as cases go to court

By Mike Magner
Posted November 14, 2023 at 6:00am
In this handout photo from the National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park employee housing falls into Yellowstone River on June 13, 2022, during heavy flooding.

Maintenance backlog grows at national parks as funding tightens

By Mike Magner
Posted October 3, 2023 at 6:30am
A welcome sign stands outside the U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

Long road to compensation for Camp Lejeune victims takes a turn

By Mike Magner
Posted September 20, 2023 at 11:26am
Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala., called the greenhouse gas program a 'slush fund' and offered legislation to repeal it.

Billions for clean energy caught in a partisan tug of war

By Mike Magner
Posted August 4, 2023 at 6:30am
House Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers says the proposed standards will add to the price of buying a car.

GOP readies fight against new fuel economy standards

By Valerie Yurk and Mike Magner
Posted August 1, 2023 at 1:51pm
Automakers contend the Biden administration’s goal of electric vehicles comprising 67 percent of new cars sold by 2032 is not reasonable or achievable.

Nervous automakers await rules pushing them toward EVs

By Mike Magner and Valerie Yurk
Posted July 25, 2023 at 5:30am
President Joe Biden speaks during his June visit to Baylands Nature Preserve in Palo Alto, Calif., to highlight his environment initiatives aimed at helping protect Bay Area wetlands from climate change's rising sea levels.

Republicans take aim at climate funds in spending bills

By Mike Magner
Posted July 11, 2023 at 6:30am
Democratic Sen. Jack Reed and Republican Sen. Susan Collins have introduced environmental literacy legislation dubbed the No Child Left Inside Act.

Bill seeks to teach kids the ‘power of the outdoors’

By Mike Magner
Posted June 8, 2023 at 6:30am
Comedian and activist Jon Stewart spoke to claimant Jerry Ensminger, during a White House signing ceremony for the toxic exposure benefits law in August 2022.

Camp Lejeune health claims are mired despite law allowing suits

By Mike Magner
Posted March 23, 2023 at 6:30am
Alan Shaw, president and CEO of Norfolk Southern Corp., testifies during a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing Thursday.

Norfolk Southern CEO pledges environment, economic restoration at crash site

By Mike Magner
Posted March 9, 2023 at 1:29pm
Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, seen at an April hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, has proposed an amendment that would limit legal fees for attorneys in cases stemming from contaminated water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune.

Camp Lejeune amendment backers relent on NDAA vote

By Mike Magner
Posted December 15, 2022 at 4:58pm, Updated at 8:25pm
Rep. Fred Upton poses this month in front of his portrait in the House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing room. The Michigan Republican is retiring.

A moderate in a ‘toxic’ place, Fred Upton says goodbye to Congress

By Mike Magner
Posted December 15, 2022 at 6:15am
President Joe Biden on Wednesday signs a bill to provide health care and disability benefits to veterans who were exposed to toxic substances while deployed overseas.

‘They’ve been killing’ our Marines: Inside the long push to aid Camp Lejeune victims

By Mike Magner
Posted August 11, 2022 at 11:31am
Comedian and activist Jon Stewart speaks during a rally on Aug. 1 to call on the Senate to pass a bill to expand health care benefits for veterans sickened due to toxic exposure, including to burn pits, they experienced while deployed. It would also allow victims of poisoning at Camp Lejeune to sue the government for compensation, the subject of this week's Political Theater podcast.

Camp Lejeune tragedy moves closer to justice

By Todd Ruger and Mike Magner
Posted August 5, 2022 at 9:00am
Gravestones at the Jacksonville city cemetery near Camp Lejeune, N.C., for the three daughters of Nancy "Catherine" Daniels. All died at birth when she lived at Camp Lejeune during a period when the water was contaminated with toxic chemicals related to U.S. military activity.

Long push for Camp Lejeune toxic water lawsuits clears Congress

By Mike Magner
Posted August 2, 2022 at 9:56am
Two tiger brothers relax at the Wild Animal Sanctuary on April 1, 2020 in Kennesburg, Colorado after their rescue from Joe Exotic's Greater Wynnewood Animal Park in Florida.

Bill to declaw ‘big cat’ breeders heading to the Senate

By Mike Magner
Posted August 1, 2022 at 2:37pm
Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden has highlighted his Irish heritage in the past.

Could Joe Biden give a boost to an Irish American museum?

By Mike Magner
Posted March 17, 2020 at 6:00am
Sandra Alcala, a third-generation Mexican American from San Antonio, is director of member services for the House Democratic Caucus. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)

Who staffs the most diverse Congress ever? Sandra Alcala, for one

By Mike Magner
Posted June 25, 2019 at 7:00am
The Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, center left, with Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil-rights protesters in the 1960s.(Courtesy O’Malley Creadon Productions)

How Father Ted outdid Forrest Gump

By Mike Magner
Posted May 15, 2019 at 5:00am
The Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, center left, with Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil-rights protesters in the 1960s.(Courtesy O’Malley Creadon Productions)

Movie night: The Catholic priest who shepherded civil rights

By Mike Magner and Toula Vlahou
Posted May 14, 2019 at 4:28pm
Protesters descend on Washington on Jan. 20, 2018, as they arrive for the Women's March one year after the inauguration of President Donald Trump. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)

Grassroots Have Grown Deeper Since Trump. Now Comes the Hard Part

By Jonathan Miller and Mike Magner
Posted November 1, 2018 at 5:02am
Protesters call for higher taxes on big banks in 2012. (Neilson Barnard/Getty Images file photo)

Wall Street Regulator Coddles Big Banks but Clobbers Small Firms

By Mike Magner
Posted June 21, 2018 at 11:12am
earthday-soundcloud.jpg

Podcast: Troubled Climate for Trump’s First Earth Day

By David Hawkings, Jeremy Dillon and Mike Magner
Posted April 19, 2017 at 3:23pm
The question of where we are going with the National Mall — and how much Americans are willing to pay for it — is a long way from being answered. (CQ Roll Call file photo)

The National Mall Faces Crises of Funding and Identity

By Mike Magner
Posted October 11, 2016 at 6:00am