Author

Ariana Figueroa

Ariana Figueroa

Ariana covers the nation's capital for States Newsroom. Her areas of coverage include politics and policy, lobbying, elections and campaign finance.

Activists call on President Biden to not resume student loan payments in February 2022 and to cancel student debt near The White House on December 15, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for We, The 45 Million)

Six GOP-led states win national injunction against Biden student debt relief plan

By: - November 15, 2022

WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court on Monday issued a nationwide injunction indefinitely blocking the Biden administration’s student debt relief program in response to a challenge by six GOP-led states. The unanimous ruling by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis came after the six states — Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and […]

University of Memphis students photographed in 2021 by Karen Pulfer Focht.

Biden student debt relief plan thrown out by Texas judge; new applications halted

By: - November 11, 2022

WASHINGTON — Late Thursday a federal judge in Texas struck down the Biden administration’s student debt relief plan, ruling that the program is unlawful, in a blow to 16 million student debt borrowers already approved for relief. The U.S. Department of Education now is no longer accepting applications for the program, according to the student […]

(Photo: Jon Dragonette for TIRRC Votes)

Young Black and Latino voters seen as key in turning back midterm ‘red wave’

By: - November 11, 2022

WASHINGTON — Young Black and Latino voters were critical in holding off the Republican “red wave” in several battleground states for U.S. Senate seats and in tight U.S. House races in the midterm elections, according to analyses by researchers and grassroot organizations.  Young, diverse voters between the ages of 18 and 29 had the second-highest […]

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 18: The U.S Capitol Building is prepared for the inaugural ceremonies for President-elect Joe Biden as American flags are placed in the ground on the National Mall on January 18, 2021 in Washington, DC. The approximately 191,500 U.S. flags will cover part of the National Mall and will represent the American people who are unable to travel to Washington, DC for the inauguration. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

U.S. Senate control too close to call as multiple states grapple with tight vote counts

By: , and - November 9, 2022

WASHINGTON —  Control of the U.S. Senate remained unclear early Wednesday as races in a handful of swing states in the midterm elections were still too close to call, and it appeared it might be days — or even weeks — before a final result was known. But Democrats flipped the open Pennsylvania Senate seat, […]

The U.S. Capitol. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

No GOP ‘wave,’ but Republicans could still gain control of U.S. House

By: , and - November 9, 2022

WASHINGTON — Republicans fell short of their greatest ambitions for major gains in the U.S. House, with control of the chamber still in doubt early Wednesday.  Republicans are still likely to narrowly win control of the U.S. House, based on expert projections. But of 20 races rated by elections forecaster Inside Elections as true toss-ups, […]

Tennessee Democratic candidates, from left, Dr. Jason Martin, Randal Cooper and Odessa Kelly at a Wednesday press conference addressing voting issues in Nashville in which voters were given incorrect ballots. (Photo: John Partipilo)

Misinformation about voting crops up around the U.S. as midterm elections near

By: - November 3, 2022

In Colorado, an error in early October involving voter registration postcards that were mailed to non-citizens in the state morphed into a conspiracy theory about voter fraud. In Iowa, voters in late September received phone calls spreading misinformation about how they could vote, with Iowans falsely told they could cast their ballots over the phone, […]

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 24: People protest in response to the Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 24, 2022 in Washington, DC. The Court's decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health overturns the landmark 50-year-old Roe v Wade case and erases a federal right to an abortion. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Biden vows codifying Roe v. Wade will top his agenda if Democrats expand control

By: - October 18, 2022

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Tuesday promised that if Democrats keep control of the U.S. House and gain a few more Democratic seats in the Senate, then “the first bill that I will send to Congress will be to codify Roe v. Wade.”  He also told supporters at a Democratic National Committee event that […]

New guidelines announced by the Biden Administration will give some Venezuelan migrants a path to temporary residence in the United States. In September, Venezuelans who crossed the U.S. border from Mexico waited in line for dinner at a hotel provided by the Annunciation House in El Paso, Texas. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

New plan for Venezuelan migrants will accept some into the U.S., send others to Mexico

By: - October 18, 2022

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration  announced new guidelines for Venezuelan migrants, under which some will have a pathway to temporary residence in the United States and others who crossed the border without authorization will be sent back to Mexico. U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas announced an agreement between Mexico and the U.S. […]

The U.S. Capitol. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

The battle for control of Congress: Abortion, inflation, crime and Biden

By: , and - October 10, 2022

WASHINGTON — Members of Congress are fanning out to every district in the country, leaving the wonky floor debates on Capitol Hill behind for the campaign trail in advance of the crucial Nov. 8 midterm elections.  Democrats are fighting to hold their razor-thin majorities in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate, citing two years of […]

U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, DC (Photo by Al Drago/Getty Images)

Alabama case that could limit Voting Rights Act heard at U.S. Supreme Court

By: - October 4, 2022

WASHINGTON – U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday heard oral arguments in a case that challenges an Alabama redistricting map and could potentially eliminate remaining federal safeguards against racial gerrymandering. Voting rights advocates fear that the high court’s conservative majority will further weaken the Voting Rights Act, with implications for voters in states across the […]

Federal Correctional Institute, Memphis. (Photo: Bureau of Prisons)

Federal prisons ‘riddled with mismanagement’ probed by U.S. Senate panel

By: - October 1, 2022

WASHINGTON — Members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in a Thursday hearing grilled the top leader of federal prisons on how the agency would address staffing shortages and reports of abuse of incarcerated people.  “The Bureau (of Prisons) has been riddled with mismanagement and, sadly, with scandal,” said the chair of the committee, Illinois […]

(Photo illustration by John Partipilo)

An ‘unprecedented flood’ of book bans engulfs U.S. school districts, PEN report says

By: - September 20, 2022

WASHINGTON — More than 1,600 book titles across 32 states were banned from public schools during the 2021-2022 school year, with the bulk of the ban requests coming from a handful of right-wing groups pushing for censorship of books that feature LGBTQ+ characters and characters of color, a new report issued Monday said. “What I […]