Author

Jennifer Shutt

Jennifer Shutt

Jennifer covers the nation’s capital as a senior reporter for States Newsroom. Her coverage areas include congressional policy, politics and legal challenges with a focus on health care, unemployment, housing and aid to families.

What monkeypox outbreak? Little planning by colleges as students resume classes

By: - August 19, 2022

WASHINGTON — College students are heading back to campus following more than two years of a pandemic that led many schools to empty out for full semesters and later move to hybrid schedules in a struggle to curb the spread of COVID-19.  But the attempt by colleges and universities to return to something resembling normal […]

syringe used for shot

Biden administration asks state, local officials to boost monkeypox vaccine outreach

By: - August 18, 2022

WASHINGTON — Federal public health officials said Thursday they are working with state and local health departments to boost messaging and vaccinations for those most likely to contract monkeypox, including at large-scale events. But Biden administration officials at a press briefing also struggled to explain differing statements about how the vaccines should be administered, a […]

Biden signs into law Democrats’ wide-ranging climate change, health care and tax bill

By: - August 16, 2022

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed his party’s signature climate, health care and tax package into law Tuesday, capping off more than a year of tumultuous negotiations that saw his original proposal to Congress slimmed down considerably. Flanked by a handful of Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn and […]

Twenty states, D.C. join in opposing Texas lawsuit on emergency abortion care

By: - August 16, 2022

WASHINGTON — Attorneys general from Oregon and 19 other states along with the District of Columbia filed a brief in federal court on Tuesday, challenging Texas’ assertion that states shouldn’t have to comply with a federal law that protects doctors who end a pregnancy to save the patient’s life.  “As a border state with Idaho, […]

U.S. House Democrats send sweeping climate, health and tax legislation to Biden

By: - August 14, 2022

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House on Friday cleared Democrats’ long-sought climate, health care and tax package, sending it to President Joe Biden for his signature.  The roughly $750 billion measure is much smaller than the $2 trillion reconciliation package the House originally sent to the Senate in November. The final product left out dozens of […]

Search warrant shows Trump under investigation for possible Espionage Act violations

By: - August 12, 2022

WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Friday unsealed the warrant that allowed the Federal Bureau of Investigation to search former President Donald Trump’s property at Mar-a-Lago in Florida earlier this week, revealing he’s under investigation for possibly violating the Espionage Act and obstruction of justice. The seven-page document, which includes a brief description of everything […]

Biden signs landmark bill aiding veterans exposed to burn pits overseas

By: - August 10, 2022

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed legislation into law Wednesday that will provide health care and benefits to veterans exposed to burn pits in Afghanistan and Iraq, achieving a long-term, personal goal. “I was in and out of Iraq over 20 times,” Biden said of prior trips to the war zone he took as both […]

Biden administration proposes changing how monkeypox vaccine is administered

By: - August 9, 2022

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration began encouraging health care providers Tuesday to change the way they’re administering vaccines to protect against monkeypox, in an attempt to stretch out doses fivefold.  The latest shift in strategy comes as the administration races to curtail the spread of the virus, which jumped from 778 cases one month ago […]

Four members of U.S. Senate unveil bipartisan bill ensuring nationwide abortion rights

By: - August 1, 2022

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of U.S. senators released legislation Monday that would codify Roe v. Wade, ensuring pregnant patients throughout the country once again have the right to an abortion.  Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins, Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, Alaska GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Arizona Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema said the measure, […]

Biden tests negative for Covid, announces he’s back to in-person work

By: - July 27, 2022

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden held a celebratory speech in the Rose Garden on Wednesday, marking his return to the Oval Office less than a week after testing positive for COVID-19.  Biden used the event to encourage Americans to keep updated on their Covid-19 boosters, to test for the virus using the free rapid tests […]

GOP support for same-sex marriage protections builds in U.S. Senate

By: - July 26, 2022

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate appears on track to send President Joe Biden a bill in the coming weeks that would guarantee same-sex and interracial couples can marry, even if the Supreme Court overturns the landmark cases that enshrined those rights.  “I think we’re very close,” Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins said Tuesday of efforts […]

Biden tests positive for COVID-19

By: and - July 21, 2022

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing mild symptoms, the White House announced Thursday morning.  Biden, 79, is fully vaccinated against the virus and has twice received booster doses, according to the statement. He is taking Paxlovid, an antiviral prescription medication that is meant to reduce the severity of […]