CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO

Federal officials announced plans Thursday to spend $401 million in grants and loans to expand the reach and improve the speed of internet for rural residents, tribes and businesses in 11 West and Central U.S. states.

With large numbers of working-class voters, a fragile tourist ecosystem and some of the highest inflation rates in the country, Nevada will be an especially stark test of Democrats’ ability to counter the GOP’s overriding message about the economy.

The House will also vote later in the week on legislation that would protect access to birth control and protect health-care providers from penalties for administering it. While still expressing their disappointment at the Supreme Court ruling, Democrats have predicted overturning abortion access could give them a lift with voters. A New York Times/Siena College poll of registered voters this month saw majority support for abortion access increase since September 2020, from 60 percent to 65 percent. Among registered voters, abortion ranked fifth behind crime, gun policies and the economy as the issues guiding their vote in November. House Republicans have not introduced any legislation that would bar access to birth control or in vitro fertilization.

The House is poised to vote on bills to codify abortion rights and to prohibit states from preventing women to travel to obtain an abortion. The bills face Republican opposition in the Senate, where they probably will stall.

While Democrats have leaned heavily into elevating abortion concerns, Republicans in midterm races have often been avoiding questions or taking pains to shift the topic.

Democrats believe fight for abortion rights will galvenize voters ahead of November.

Nevada voters head to the polls with some high-profile races for Senate and Governor — each of which has been swept by Democrats in recent years.

Nevada voters head to the polls with some high-profile races for Senate and Governor — each of which has been swept by Democrats in recent years.

In swingy Nevada, Democratic incumbents appear safe in their own primaries Tuesday but may face serious challenges from Republicans endorsed by former President Donald Trump this November.

Adam Laxalt is likely the frontrunner in the Republican U.S. Senate primary in Nevada. In South Carolina, former President Donald Trump has endorsed two challengers to GOP U.S. House incumbents.

Many of the nation’s most vulnerable Democrats are actively trying to distance themselves from Washington — and their party — as the midterm season enters its next phase.

Primary voters on Tuesday will decide the fate of two South Carolina Republicans who are clinging to their seats in the U.S. House after defying Donald Trump.

Voters in Maine, Nevada, North Dakota and South Carolina take to the polls Tuesday for midterm election primaries.

Republican candidates who have have made false or misleading claims about voting are running in Tuesday's primary to become the top election official in Nevada, a perennial presidential battleground state.

The CDC will reevaluate the need for the testing requirement every 90 days and it could be reinstated if a troubling new variant emerges.

The Biden administration is lifting its requirement that international air travelers to the U.S. take a COVID-19 test within a day before boarding their flights.

Republicans are pushing an anti-Big Tech message in the midterm campaigns as they look to tap into the resentment toward large technology companies that increasingly courses through their party.

The Senate has fallen far short in a vote toward enshrining Roe v.

U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland wants to do more than just put a bandage on a crisis that she says has been decades in the making.

For decades, Democrats have tried to motivate their voters by warning of the conservative fight to outlaw abortion.

President Joe Biden is turning to a Cold War-era law to boost production of lithium and other minerals used to power electric vehicles.

In this edition: Fundraising takeaways from the first quarter, a Democratic mess in New York, and more polls that Joe Biden probably shouldn't look at.

Republicans have blocked a Democratic attempt to begin Senate debate on a $10 billion COVID-19 compromise that is just a day old.

At least 10 GOP votes will be needed in the 50-50 Senate for the measure to reach the 60 votes it must have for approval. Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., want Congress to approve the pandemic bill before lawmakers leave in days for a two-week recess. There should be a plan and I’ve been calling for it all along.”Shortly before Tuesday’s vote, Schumer showed no taste for exposing his party to a divisive immigration vote. The restrictions, known as Title 42, have been harder to justify as pandemic restrictions have eased. But Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said he would support a Senate Covid-19 aid bill if it included the GOP effort to retain the Trump immigration restrictions.

Ban on Russian oil is likely to further spike prices at the pump, creating a potential political headache for Democrats.

Republican missteps that include intense infighting are threatening the GOP’s path to the Senate majority.

Some are looking to a gas tax holiday to bring relief to consumers faced with skyrocketing prices.

Word of Justice Stephen Breyer's pending retirement may be lifting Democratic hopes ahead of midterm elections.

The coins are the first in the U.S. Mint's American Women Quarters Program.

Harry Reid, the former Senate majority leader and Nevada’s longest-serving member of Congress, has died at home in Henderson, Nevada.

Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has died.

Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is being remembered by Democrats as well as Republicans as a skilled dealmaker who was both strong and compassionate.

Legislative efforts to overturn the government's employer mandate are likely doomed, but a broader legal and political fight is set to rage on.

Vulnerable Democrats from Nevada to New Hampshire are promising to make abortion a centerpiece of their political strategy heading into the midterm elections.

Republican Adam Laxalt hopes to win the race for Nevada's U.S. Senate seat by drawing stark contrast between his positions and the direction he says Democrats and their allies in Big Tech, Hollywood and the media are taking the country.

U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton told a crowd of about 4,000 Nevada Republicans that Adam Laxalt plans to run for the U.S. Senate against incumbent Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto.

Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) has repeatedly promised “big and bold” solutions to the problems ailing America. He now may be on the cusp of delivering them amid his most perilous test of leadership yet.

Cities in the U.S. West are preparing for considerable growth in the coming decades despite a historic drought and shrinking water supplies.

The head of the Senate Republican political arm says he expects former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt to challenge Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada next year.

The head of the Senate Republican political arm says he expects former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt to challenge Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada next year. Florida Sen. Rick Scott, the chair of the National Republican Senate Committee, told The Associated Press that he has been in touch with Laxalt, whom he considers “a great candidate.” “I think Adam will run,” Scott said in a recent interview.

Vice President Kamala Harris gives her order to Germaine Turnbow, while stopping for lunch at Tacotarian, Monday March 15, 2021, in Las Vegas. President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and their spouses are opening an ambitious, cross-country tour to highlight the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan and its benefits. After weeks of swearing in Cabinet members, appearing alongside President Joe Biden and making stops in the Washington area, the vice president was on the road on her first big outing since taking office. As the first woman, Black person and Indian American to be elected vice president, Harris has plenty of eyes on her in her new position. ___Associated Press writer Michelle Price in Las Vegas and Kathleen Ronayne in Sacramento, Calif., contributed to this report.

The state Democratic Party in Nevada has been built up by Reid and for years has been among the strongest state Democratic parties in the country. While the state party and national Democratic Party have been working to smooth the ideological split since then, progressives have been organizing, winning key state party positions and pulling off Sanders’ 2020 win in Nevada’s presidential caucuses. In apparent anticipation of the wins, the state Democratic Party transferred $450,000 from the state party's campaign accounts to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. A former party staffer who declined to speak on the record, citing a fear of online backlash that the outgoing party staff received, said the staff resigned because the newly elected party officers and their supporters had been antagonistic toward the party and party staff and the staff did not feel comfortable working closely with them. He acknowledged that Cortez Masto asked him to consider running as the state party chair against Whitmer.

The pivotal Georgia runoff election this month was decisive in handing Democrats the majority in the Senate. Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON – Easing off a stalemate, the Senate moved forward Tuesday with a power-sharing agreement in the evenly-split chamber after Republican leader Mitch McConnell backed off his demand that Senate Democrats preserve the procedural tool known as the filibuster. The stand-off between McConnell and new Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had all but ground the Senate to a halt in the early days of the Democratic majority and threatened President Joe Biden's agenda. “I'm glad we're finally able to get the Senate up and running,” Schumer said Tuesday as he opened the chamber. Schumer's office said the Republican leader had no choice but to set aside his demands.

This isnt a party convention, its a Trump convention, said Rory Cooper, a Republican strategist and former congressional staffer who opposes Trump. If Republicans lose the Senate in November, we should look back at this week as a lost opportunity to introduce the country to more GOP congressional candidates. Scalise made no direct reference to the GOP's faint hopes of regaining the House majority in November's elections. Sean Parnell, a GOP challenger for a Democratic-held seat in western Pennsylvania, didnt specifically ask listeners to award Republicans House control. The inattention to the GOP's congressional efforts might have changed Wednesday when Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, delivered prime-time remarks.

In this image from video, former Georgia House Democratic leader Stacey Abrams, center, and others, speak during the second night of the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. (Democratic National Convention via AP)Sustaining energy through four days of a political convention is never easy. On the second night of the Democratic National Convention, party leaders tried to blend its past with its future. Here are key takeaways from night two. But the 2020 Democratic convention is notable for the consistency of dire warnings about the other partys leader.

(Scott Olson/Pool via AP)NEW YORK After a night in which television struggled to keep up with the Democrats' virtual convention, networks were rewarded with the most traditional of political events a powerful speech. This will not be like any convention we have seen before, ever, CNNs Anderson Cooper said at the opening of his networks coverage. Segments spent on broadcast networks previewing speeches by Obama and Sanders seemed like time-wasters when there were other things to show. Wallace's colleague, Dana Perino, stumbled into an unfortunate word choice in an effort to convey enthusiasm for Obama's address. Four years ago, when Hillary Clinton was nominated, 25 million people tuned in to the first night.

In this combination image from video, former first lady Michelle Obama, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and former Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich speak during the first night of the Democratic National Convention on Monday, Aug. 17, 2020. But it was an opportunity for Democrats and some Republicans to rally behind Biden, the party's presidential nominee. Trump sought to undermine the Democrats' big night by hosting a political rally in Wisconsin, where Biden's party had originally planned this week's convention. The Republican president made two swing-state campaign appearances on Monday, first in Minnesota and then in Wisconsin, which was to be the location for the Democrats' convention before the coronavirus outbreak.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistribu)The 2020 Democratic National Convention will kick off on Monday night with a slate of virtual speeches. Monday’s slate of speakers includes: Former First Lady Michelle Obama, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Rep. Jim Clyburn, Convention Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, Rep. Gwen Moore, Former Gov. Related: 2020 Watch: Can a virtual convention generate excitement? Watch live coverage below:

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistribu)The 2020 Democratic National Convention will kick off on Monday night with a slate of virtual speeches. Mondays slate of speakers includes: Former First Lady Michelle Obama, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Rep. Jim Clyburn, Convention Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, Rep. Gwen Moore, Former Gov. Related: 2020 Watch: Can a virtual convention generate excitement? Watch live coverage below:

Protestors demonstrate outside of a burning fast food restaurant, Friday, May 29, 2020, in Minneapolis. Protests over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody Monday, broke out in Minneapolis for a third straight night. PROTESTS RAGE FOR A 3RD NIGHT IN MINNEAPOLIS Protesters torch a police station and cause damage elsewhere as violent demonstrations continued over the death of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who died in police custody. US-CHINA FALLOUT ESCALATES The Trump administration may soon expel thousands of Chinese graduate students enrolled at U.S. universities. 4. WHO PULLED OUT OF BIDENS VEEPSTAKES Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada says that shes not interested in serving as running mate to the presumptive presidential nominee.