Author

Laura Olson

Laura Olson

Laura covers the nation's capital as a senior reporter for States Newsroom, a network of nonprofit outlets that includes Colorado Newsline. Her areas of coverage include politics and policy, lobbying, elections, and campaign finance.

Feds try to ease vaccine backlog by enlisting retired nurses and doctors

By: - January 27, 2021

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced a move Wednesday to bolster the number of people who can administer COVID-19 vaccines by making it easier for retired doctors and nurses to give those shots. The federal government also will allow current doctors and nurses to administer vaccines in states other than where they are licensed. The […]

COVID-19 vaccine

Biden administration unveils boost to state COVID-19 vaccine shipments

By: - January 26, 2021

WASHINGTON — Amid frustrations at the slow pace of the national COVID-19 vaccination effort, President Joe Biden says his administration is boosting the number of doses sent to states each week and will be giving state officials more certainty on the number of doses they can expect in future shipments. Starting next week, a minimum […]

Biden orders tougher mask rules as part of overhauled COVID-19 strategy

By: - January 22, 2021

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s first policy focus after being sworn in? Overhauling the disjointed federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which claimed another 4,400 American lives on his first day in office alone. “The brutal truth is, it’s going to take months before we can get the majority of Americans vaccinated,” Biden said Thursday. […]

President Biden urges a divided nation to ‘end this uncivil war’ in inaugural address

By: and - January 20, 2021

WASHINGTON — Calling on Americans to bridge the widening divisions in the country, Joe Biden became the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday, completing the peaceful transition of presidential power on the same stage where a violent mob just two weeks ago sought to prevent him from taking office. Standing before an unusually […]

Biden takes the oath of office with troops on guard and towering challenges ahead

By: and - January 20, 2021

WASHINGTON — Joe Biden is set to become the 46th president of the United States at noon, when he will take the oath of office while standing on the same platform where insurrectionists swarmed just two weeks ago as they sought to prevent Congress from certifying Biden’s victory. That violent mob of rioters damaged the […]

COVID-19 vaccine

Biden pledges massive vaccine uptick as states struggle with confusion over dosage numbers

By: - January 15, 2021

WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden on Friday sketched out his proposal for overhauling the country’s slow and uneven effort to vaccinate Americans against COVID-19, pledging to open more centers for administering those shots, boost the public health workforce, and improve the information flow to states so they can better plan. Biden has called for administering […]

More than 21,000 Guard members from 50 states headed to D.C., and numbers may grow

By: - January 15, 2021

WASHINGTON — Wednesday’s presidential inauguration ceremony may have a scaled-down audience due to the pandemic, but the security presence on hand to ensure it goes smoothly will be supersized. At least 21,000 National Guard men and women — from all 50 states, three territories and the District of Columbia — will provide security support for […]

Biden rolls out $1.9 trillion emergency package to battle pandemic and economic crises

By: - January 14, 2021

WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden is calling on Congress to approve a sweeping package for economic and pandemic relief with a price tag twice that of the emergency aid passed in December after months of acrimonious negotiations. Biden’s $1.9 trillion proposal, which he is set to outline in a speech Thursday evening, is framed around […]

U.S. House votes to again impeach Trump, as a ‘clear and present danger’

By: and - January 13, 2021

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House voted Wednesday to impeach President Donald Trump for a second time, charging him with inciting violent rioters last week who rampaged through the U.S. Capitol, temporarily derailing the tally of presidential votes and leading to at least five deaths. The 232-197 vote concluded a swift, truncated process in the House, […]

Boebert slams new U.S. Capitol security after setting off metal detector

By: - January 12, 2021

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado encountered a new obstacle Tuesday evening to her plan to carry her handgun on Capitol Hill: the heightened security measures within the U.S. Capitol building. As of Tuesday, lawmakers entering the U.S. House of Representatives have to pass through magnetometers in order to walk on the House […]

Feds tell states to give COVID-19 vaccine to anyone over 65 in bid to speed rollout

By: - January 12, 2021

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Tuesday directed state officials to expand who is getting vaccinated for COVID-19, and announced that all available doses will be distributed to states instead of holding back a reserve of follow-up doses. Under the policy changes outlined by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, states should begin vaccinating […]

U.S. House Democrats say they have enough votes to impeach Trump

By: - January 11, 2021

WASHINGTON — At least 214 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have signed on to a measure to impeach President Donald Trump that was introduced Monday, charging him with inciting the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last week. Supporters of the impeachment effort say they would have enough votes to send charges against Trump […]