Author

Ashley Murray

Ashley Murray

Ashley Murray covers the nation’s capital as a senior reporter for States Newsroom. Her coverage areas include domestic policy and appropriations.

Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

The jury now will decide Trump’s fate in hush money trial, after lengthy closing arguments

By: - May 28, 2024

WASHINGTON — Closing arguments in the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president concluded Tuesday, leaving the jury to now decide if Donald Trump is guilty of faking reimbursement to his personal lawyer for hush money paid to a porn star just before the 2016 presidential election. Just outside the Lower Manhattan courthouse during […]

Missouri residents affected by radiation exposure push Congress to extend benefits

By: - May 28, 2024

WASHINGTON — A fund to compensate Americans sickened by exposure to atomic bomb tests, uranium mining and radioactive waste expires in just under 20 days, and activists and lawmakers are scrambling to keep the fund active and open to additional victims. A bill to reauthorize and expand the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, often shortened to […]

As Memorial Day arrives, bill unveiled in Congress to assist Purple Heart recipients

By: - May 23, 2024

WASHINGTON — When a Purple Heart recipient named Pat reached out to U.S. Sen. Patty Murray in November to inform her that he couldn’t transfer his GI bill benefits to his children, he wasn’t expecting congressional action to solve the problem. He simply just wanted to let the Washington state Democrat know, he told States […]

Experts eye tax changes ahead of Trump-era cuts’ sunset

By: - May 23, 2024

WASHINGTON — The race to harness the tax code is in full swing as economists and advocates across the political spectrum view the expiring Trump-era tax law as an opportunity to advance their economic priorities. Democratic Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington said Wednesday that reworking the tax code will be “a reflection of what your […]

Trump declines witness stand as testimony in his first trial concludes

By: - May 21, 2024

WASHINGTON — The end of the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president is in sight as Donald Trump’s defense team rested its case Tuesday in Manhattan, where jurors have heard weeks of testimony from nearly two dozen witnesses about Trump’s alleged reimbursement of hush money meant to silence a porn star before the […]

Prosecution rests in Trump hush money trial, after former fixer Cohen is grilled

By: - May 20, 2024

NEW YORK — New York state prosecutors rested their case against Donald Trump Monday after four days of testimony from their key witness, Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen, who says the former president was well aware of a hush money cover-up. The defense paints Cohen as a liar. The Manhattan criminal trial, the first ever […]

U.S. House rebukes Biden administration over pause in heavy bomb shipments to Israel

By: and - May 16, 2024

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House passed legislation Thursday rebuking President Joe Biden’s decision to withhold some military assistance from Israel amid its ongoing war in Gaza. The 224-187 vote approved a bill released over the weekend by a handful of Republicans that, in part, “calls on the Biden Administration to allow all previously approved arms […]

GOP politicians rush to Manhattan to line up behind Trump as hush money trial continues

By: - May 14, 2024

WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers are taking turns supporting former president and presumed 2024 GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump in his trial in Manhattan criminal court, where he is charged with covering up payments intended to silence porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. Dressed alike in navy blue suits and red ties, North […]

Star witness in Trump trial tells of plot to conceal porn star hush money payments?

By: - May 13, 2024

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s former fixer took the stand in a Manhattan courtroom Monday and told jurors that Trump was well aware of a scheme to hide the repayment of money intended to silence porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Michael Cohen, the prosecution’s star witness, told the jury that he […]

Porn star Stormy Daniels in NYC hush money trial alleges sexual encounter with Trump

By: - May 7, 2024

WASHINGTON — Adult film star Stormy Daniels told a Manhattan jury Tuesday about meeting Donald Trump in a penthouse suite in 2006, where he told the actress not to worry about his wife and that she reminded him of his daughter shortly before they had sex. The testimony, reported by journalists in the courtroom, described […]

Parents tote toddlers to D.C. to press for expanded child tax credit, child care funds

By: - May 1, 2024

WASHINGTON — Families gathered outside the U.S. Capitol Tuesday to “make a fuss for babies,” who they believe are being left behind by lawmakers who direct only a fraction of U.S. resources to young children. Parents and kids representing 50 states and the District of Columbia convened for the eighth annual “Strolling Thunder.” Moms and […]

U.S. Supreme Court floats return to trial court for Trump in presidential immunity case?

By: and - April 25, 2024

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court appeared skeptical Thursday of former President Donald Trump’s argument he is immune from criminal charges that he tried to overturn his loss in the 2020 election. But conservatives who dominate the court appeared open to returning key questions to a trial court, possibly delaying Trump’s prosecution beyond the November […]