President Joe Biden signed legislation Thursday designed to curtail a dramatic rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
The House sent the bill to the White House after passing it by a vote of 364-62 on Tuesday. Senators had voted 94-1 in favor of the bill in April.
The legislation will expedite Justice Department reviews of hate crimes and make grants available to help local law enforcement agencies improve their investigation, identification and reporting of incidents driven by bias, which often go underreported.
Speaking at a ceremony in the White House East Room attended by lawmakers of both parties, Biden praised members of Congress for their bipartisanship on the issue, saying they proved "democracy can work and deliver for the American people."
Biden said for too long, all of this hate has been hiding "in plain sight." He said for centuries, Asian Americans "have helped build this nation only to be often stepped over, forgotten or ignored."
The president said "hate can be given no safe harbor in America," adding that "silence is complicity."
To many Asian Americans, the pandemic has invigorated deep-seated biases that in some cases date back to the Chinese Exclusion Act of more than a century ago.
And as cases of the illness began to rise in the U.S., so too did the attacks, with thousands of violent incidents reported in the past year.
Yet to some activists, including organizations representing gay and transgender Asian Americans, the legislation is misguided. More than 100 groups have signed onto a statement opposing the bill for relying too heavily on law enforcement while providing too little funding to address the underlying issues driving a rise in hate crimes.
Four women who attended the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, including a current cadet, are expected to testify at a Senate committee hearing about sexual assault and harassment.
The Air Force has taken disciplinary action against 15 personnel after classified documents were allegedly leaked by 21-year-old airman Jack Teixeira earlier this year.
Attorneys for Gov. Ron DeSantis are asking a federal judge on Tuesday to dismiss a free speech lawsuit filed by Disney after the Florida governor took over Walt Disney World's governing district in retaliation for the company opposing a state law that banned classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades.
Federal investigators have gained access to former president Donald Trump's phone records which could be used as evidence in his 2020 election interference trial.
The Texas Supreme Court has ruled against a woman seeking an abortion while in Arizona, the state Supreme Court will begin hearing oral arguments in an abortion rights case.
Attorneys for a pregnant Texas woman who sought court permission for an abortion in an unprecedented challenge to one of the most restrictive bans in the U.S. say she has left the state to obtain the procedure.
A New Hampshire man has been accused of sending text messages threatening to kill a presidential candidate ahead of a scheduled campaign event Monday, federal prosecutors said.
Special counsel Jack Smith on Monday asked the Supreme Court to take up and rule quickly on whether former President Donald Trump can be prosecuted on charges he plotted to overturn the 2020 election results.
Wildlife officials plan to release gray wolves in Colorado in coming weeks, at the behest of urban voters and to the dismay of rural residents who don't want the predators but have waning influence in the Democratic-led state.
