Login | December 30, 2025
Portage County Legal News.
Business
House backs bill to speed permitting reviews for new energy and infrastructure projects
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House approved legislation recently aimed at speeding up permitting reviews for new energy and infrastructure projects that now take five or more years to complete, as lawmakers seek to meet growing demand for electricity and other forms of energy.
The bill, dubbed the SPEED Act, would also limit judi ... (full story)
What’s an ETF?
Q: What's an ETF? -- K.Y., Tulsa, Oklahoma
A: It's an exchange-traded fund -- a grouping of stocks, bonds and/or other securities very much like a mutual fund. Unlike a mutual fund, it trades like a stock throughout each trading day on a stock exchange. We're big fans of many low-fee index-fund ETFs, such as ones that track the ... (full story)
These are Americans' biggest priorities for the government in 2026, according to a new AP-NORC poll
WASHINGTON (AP) — Julia Dvorak is worried her 83-year-old mother's emergency room trips for seizures are depleting her retirement savings and will soon force her to go on Medicaid.
At the same time, Dvorak, who's 56 and suffers from a chronic knee condition that keeps her on state and federal assistance, expects her own he ... (full story)
Local
immigration policy could make the US health care workforce shortage worse
(THE CONVERSATION) As Americans gather for holiday celebrations, many will quietly thank the health care workers who keep their families and friends well: the ICU nurse who stabilized a grandparent, the doctor who adjusted a tricky prescription, the home health aide who ensures an aging relative can bathe and eat safely.
Far few ... (full story)
Trump's second term is reshaping US science with unprecedented cuts and destabilizing policy changes
(THE CONVERSATION) Before 2025, science policy rarely made headline news. Through decades of changing political winds, financial crises and global conflicts, funding for U.S. research and innovation has remained remarkably stable, reflecting the American public's strong support for investing in basic science.
In his first year b ... (full story)
State
How a Trump Media deal with a crypto firm exposes potential conflicts of interest
WASHINGTON (AP) — Crypto.com was under siege.
For more than a year, the firm had been investigated by President Joe Biden's Democratic administration, part of an aggressive push to regulate the largely unregulated cryptocurrency industry. Financial regulators had told the company that enforcement action was likely.
The ... (full story)
Trump's handpicked board votes to rename Washington performing arts center the Trump Kennedy Center
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's handpicked board voted reccently to rename Washington's leading performing arts center as the Trump Kennedy Center, the White House said, in a move that made Democrats fume, saying the board had overstepped its legal authority.
Congress named the center after President John F. Ken ... (full story)
Trump's blockade of sanctioned Venezuelan oil raises new questions about legality
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's "blockade" of sanctioned oil tankers off Venezuela's coast is raising new questions about the legality of his military campaign in Latin America, while fueling concerns that the U.S. could be edging closer to war.
The Trump administration says its blockade is narrowly ta ... (full story)