• Reuters

    Biden administration awards $85 million to ease affordable housing development

    The Biden administration on Wednesday announced the award of $85 million in housing funds to 21 state and local governments for a new program aimed at helping them remove barriers to the development and preservation of more affordable housing units. Vice President Kamala Harris and Department of Housing and Urban Development Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman said the awards from HUD's initial Pathways to Removing Obstacles (PRO) to Housing program would help update state and local housing plans, revise land use policies and streamline the permitting process for new developments. HUD's PRO Housing program was created in the fiscal 2023 appropriations bill and the awards were timed with an administration push this week to show that President Joe Biden is taking action to address high housing costs that have become a major concern for younger voters.

  • The Independent

    Man arrested in connection with Westminster ‘honeytrap’ scandal

    Multiple victims have been informed by the Metropolitan Police that a man has been arrested in London on suspicion of offences under the Online Safety Act and harassment

  • Reuters

    Biden announces process to pardon US veterans convicted by military for gay sex

    President Joe Biden issued a proclamation on Wednesday that would set in motion a process to pardon U.S. veterans convicted by the military for gay sex, which was illegal until the provision was repealed in late 2013. The Biden administration estimates that the proclamation could affect thousands of individuals convicted of consensual sexual conduct and who may be eligible for a pardon, senior administration officials said. "Our Nation's service members stand on the frontlines of freedom, and risk their lives in order to defend our country," Biden said in a statement.