ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s Ethics Commission says a political action committee linked to what federal investigators have called a Ponzi scheme illegally sought to influence elections. The complaint, filed Wednesday, says the spending came from the now-dissolved Georgia Republican Assembly PAC between 2021 and 2024. The committee was headed by Edwin Brant Frost V, the […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump lashed out at Sen. Josh Hawley on Wednesday after the Republican’s proposal to ban stock trading by members of Congress — and the president and vice president — won bipartisan approval to advance in a committee vote. It’s the second time in as many days that Trump laid into […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate confirmed President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent, on Wednesday evening as Republicans looked past his connections to right-wing extremists and support for conspiracy theories about the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Kent won confirmation on a 53-44 party-line vote. He had […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has been getting his way on trade, strong-arming the European Union, Japan and other partners to accept once unthinkably high taxes on their exports to the United States. But his radical overhaul of American trade policy, in which he’s bypassed Congress to slam big tariffs on most of the […]
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order Wednesday aimed at supporting men and boys and improving their mental health outcomes, in an effort to lower suicide rates among young men and help them feel less isolated. The order directs the state Health and Human Services Agency to recommend ways to […]
A dozen Democratic members of Congress who have been blocked from making oversight visits at immigration detention centers filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against the Trump administration that seeks to ensure they are granted entry into the facilities, even without prior notice. The lawsuit, filed in the District of Columbia’s federal court, said the Department […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — Brown University on Wednesday said it reached a deal with the Trump administration to regain access to federal research funding and end investigations into alleged discrimination. The Ivy League school agreed to pay $50 million in workforce development grants in Rhode Island over 10 years as part of the agreement. ____ The […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — A longtime close aide to President Joe Biden on Wednesday denounced Republican investigations into the former president as “baseless” in testimony to lawmakers and defended Biden as capable of carrying out his presidential duties “at all times.” Steve Ricchetti, a senior advisor to Biden during his presidency, wrote in his opening statement […]
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — President Donald Trump has downplayed the influence of Laura Loomer, a right-wing provocateur known for her incendiary social media presence, in his administration’s decision-making. But the list of administration officials who have drawn Loomer’s ire and swiftly thereafter gotten the axe from Trump has been growing. Among the latest is Dr. […]
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. fashion retailer American Eagle Outfitters wanted to make a splash with its new advertising campaign starring 27-year-old actor Sydney Sweeney. The ad blitz included “clever, even provocative language” and was “definitely going to push buttons,” the company’s chief marketing officer told trade media outlets. It has. The question now is […]
NEW YORK (AP) — The Secretary of the Army on Wednesday directed the U.S. Military Academy at West Point to review its hiring practices, bar outside groups from choosing employees and remove a newly announced hire who led the nation’s cybersecurity agency under President Joe Biden. The directive, shared Jen Easterly was announced as the […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — The agency responsible for carrying out President Donald Trump’s mass deportations is launching a recruiting campaign to entice “brave and heroic Americans” to serve as new deportation officers, lawyers and investigators as the government gears up for a major expansion of immigration enforcement thanks to a recent infusion of money from Congress. […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s planned announcement Wednesday of a new private health tracking system that would make it easier for patients to access their health records and monitor their wellness is raising a host of privacy concerns. The collaboration between the federal government and Big Tech would allow patients to more seamlessly track […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans are considering changing Senate rules to speed up confirmation of President Donald Trump’s executive branch nominees, forcing a possible clash with Democrats as Trump pressures them to fill dozens of administration posts before they leave town for the monthlong August recess. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has already more than […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — The children’s savings program included in President Donald Trump’s tax break-and-spending cut law “is a back door for privatizing Social Security,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday. Bessent’s remarks, which he made at a forum hosted by Breitbart News, were striking after Trump’s repeated promises that he would not touch Social Security. […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed an threatened 50% tariffs on Brazil, setting a legal rationale that Brazil’s policies and criminal prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro constitute an economic emergency under a 1977 law. Trump had threatened the tariffs July 9 in a letter to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. But the […]
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio city whose Haitian migrants were disparaged by President Donald Trump last year as he pitched voters on his plans for an immigration crackdown is now bracing to defend the community against possible deportation. A group of about 100 community members, clergy and Haitian leaders in Springfield, Ohio, gathered this […]
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former Vice President Kamala Harris will not run for California governor next year, leaving open the possibility that she could mount a third run for the White House in 2028. “Over the past six months, I have spent time reflecting on this moment in our nation’s history and the best way […]
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Malta told a high-level U.N. meeting Wednesday that it will formally recognize the state of Palestine in September, joining France and the United Kingdom in stepping up pressure to end the nearly 80-year Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Christopher Cutajar, the permanent secretary at Malta’s Foreign Ministry, made the announcement at the U.N. General […]
DANVILLE, Va. (AP) — A city councilmember in Virginia was set on fire by a man who entered a local magazine office, police said Wednesday. Investigators believe the attack stemmed from a “personal matter” and was unrelated to his politics or work as councilman, authorities said. Lee Vogler, 38, is an elected official in Danville, […]
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The U.S. Treasury Department said Wednesday it was imposing sanctions on Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes over alleged suppression of freedom of expression and the ongoing trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro is accused of masterminding a plot to stay in power despite his 2022 election defeat […]
NEW YORK (AP) — A U.S. Senate committee voted Wednesday to advance President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the agency that secures the nation’s critical infrastructure, including election systems. Members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 9-6 to recommend Sean Plankey ’s nomination for director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is freezing $108 million in research funding to Duke University as the federal government accuses the school of racial discrimination in the form of affirmative action, according to a person familiar with the matter. The National Institutes of Health halted the funding to the private university in North Carolina, […]
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The U.S. Treasury is seeking to recoup COVID-19 pandemic relief funds from hundreds of local governments that received millions of dollars but never complied with requirements to report how they used the money. The federal government distributed $350 billion to state, local, territorial and tribal governments as part of the […]
