Biden administration expected to request more federal spending on domestic issues from Congress

The Biden administration is expected to request another supplemental package from Congress for domestic matters this week, according to sources familiar with the proposal. 

Several Senate aides said the request will include funding for child care, disaster relief, a nonprofit security program to fund synagogues, mosques, churches and other houses of worship, and a Federal Communications Commission program to fund broadband internet for low-income people.

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency website, the nonprofit security grant program would enhance security for nonprofit organizations "that are at high risk of terrorist attack."

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"Adding money to the nonprofit security grant program came up in the call between the administration and Senators immediately after the attack [on Israel]," a source familiar said.

The aide added, "There's functionally unlimited appetite to add money to it." 

The administration has not formally presented the request to Congress yet as details are still being ironed out. 

The request will come as progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., have been urging the administration to sponsor so-called domestic issues, which will likely draw opposition from Republican lawmakers. 

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"Congress cannot approve BILLIONS in a supplemental budget that ONLY addresses critical emergencies around the world," Sanders posted on X Monday. "We have crises here at home too — child care, health care, housing, opioid addiction — that need major funding NOW and must be included in the supplemental."

In August, a month prior to the government shutdown deadline, Sens. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Tim Kaine, D-Va., linked arms with Sens. Tina Smith, D-Minn., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and House Reps. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., and Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., calling on Biden to pour more funding into child care centers. 

"We urge you to join us in supporting an investment of $16 billion a year by any and all means possible – including supporting Congress in efforts to extend the Child Care Stabilization grants passed in ARPA—and through emergency funding for child care in any supplemental appropriations package put forth by the Administration," the lawmakers wrote at the time. 

Additionally, another funding deadline, which will sunset the current temporary spending patch known as a Continuing Resolution (CR), is fast approaching on Nov. 17. Both chambers will have to agree on getting a funding package for government programs across the finish line for the next fiscal year. 

However, the House is falling behind on spending negotiations as the chamber scrambles to elect a new speaker to replace former speaker Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

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The Biden administration sent an emergency supplemental request to Congress on Friday. The proposal includes $61.4 billion for Ukraine, $14.3 billion for Israel (with $10.6 billion allocated for military aid), $13.6 billion for the border crisis (including measures to combat the flow of fentanyl), and significant investments in Indo-Pacific security assistance, totaling around $7.4 billion. Additionally, there's $9 billion earmarked for humanitarian aid in Ukraine, Israel and Gaza.

Manhunt for Massachusetts family man wanted in murder of wife, mom of 4, leads to his abandoned BMW

Massachusetts police on Monday night located a vehicle belonging to Aaron Pennington, the Gardner man wanted for questioning in connection with the Sunday homicide of his wife.

Breanne "Breezy" Pennington, 30, was found dead inside their Cherry Street residence on Sunday. The Massachusetts Department of Children and Family Services safely took four children who were home at the time of Breanne's death into state custody, according to local and state authorities.

Investigators found Aaron's abandoned, white BMW "in a wooded area at Camp Collier," a Boy Scout camp in Gardner.

"After a perimeter was established around the car, the Massachusetts State Police Special Tactical Operations (STOP) Team determined that the car was unoccupied," Massachusetts State Police said in a Tuesday morning press release. "After clearing the car, STOP Troopers, MSP K9 Unit teams and the MSP Air Wing conducted a search of the surrounding wooded area and did not locate PENNINGTON."

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Detectives are currently searching the area for any signs of Pennington's whereabouts. The Worcester District Attorney's Office will release information regarding the results of the search later today.

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Local police issued a shelter-in-place order to residents on Kelton Street in Gardner on Monday evening between 6 and 10 p.m., according to WBZ News.

Authorities said Monday that Pennington, 33, should be considered "armed and dangerous" and are asking members of the public not to approach him directly but to call police if they see him.

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Court documents obtained by WBZ show that the couple's four children went to a neighbor's house on Sunday and said their mother was crying in her bedroom and that they could not find their father. The couple had been having marital issues "for quite some time," and Breanne apparently had plans to move to Texas with their children, the outlet reported.

When police arrived, they found Breanne dead after she had apparently been shot in the face, according to WBZ, citing court records.

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Pennington is a White male, standing 6 feet, 2 inches tall and weighing about 175 pounds. He has blonde hair and blue eyes. 

Aaron Pennington's LinkedIn profile states that he works for Raytheon with a high-level security clearance, but Raytheon said it does not have an employee by that name. His LinkedIn profile also says he served in the U.S. Air Force.

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Breanne Pennington's social media posts suggested the family had just recently moved from California to Massachusetts.

"We’re in the middle of buying this awesome house built in 1880 in north central Massachusetts," she wrote in a Facebook group for old homes, along with photos of the house on Cherry Street where she was found dead. Other posts indicate that she and her husband were renovating the house, which she described as a colonial revival. 

Aaron Pennington wrote multiple Facebook posts about his love for his wife and family, calling her the most "important human being on this earth" and "very smart" in one such post.

Authorities are asking anyone with information regarding Pennington's whereabouts not to approach him and to contact the Massachusetts State Police at 508-829-8236 or the Gardner Police Department at 978-632-5600.

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