WEATHER ALERT
POLITICS/GOVERNMENT
Blinken heads to last G7 meeting of Biden presidency with Ukraine and Mideast topping the agenda
Read full article: Blinken heads to last G7 meeting of Biden presidency with Ukraine and Mideast topping the agendaSecretary of State Antony Blinken is leaving on a diplomatic trip to Europe that includes a meeting of foreign ministers from the leading industrialized nations that will focus on the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
An influx of outsiders and money turns Montana Republican, culminating in a Senate triumph
Read full article: An influx of outsiders and money turns Montana Republican, culminating in a Senate triumphDemocrats’ crushing loss in Montana’s nationally important U.S. Senate race settled a fierce political debate over whether a surge of newcomers in the past decade favored Republicans.
Trump raced to pick many Cabinet posts. He took more time to settle on a treasury secretary
Read full article: Trump raced to pick many Cabinet posts. He took more time to settle on a treasury secretaryPresident-elect Donald Trump launched a blitz of picks for his Cabinet, but he took his time settling on billionaire investor Scott Bessent as his choice for treasury secretary.
What to know about Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Trump's pick for labor secretary
Read full article: What to know about Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Trump's pick for labor secretaryPresident-elect Donald Trump has named Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer to lead the Department of Labor, elevating a Republican congresswoman who has strong support from unions in her district but lost reelection in November.
Trump taps a Fox News personality, a surgeon and a former Congressman to lead public health agencies
Read full article: Trump taps a Fox News personality, a surgeon and a former Congressman to lead public health agenciesPresident-elect Donald Trump has nominated a critic of COVID-19 health measures to lead the Food and Drug Administration.
What to know about Scott Bessent, Trump's pick for treasury secretary
Read full article: What to know about Scott Bessent, Trump's pick for treasury secretaryPresident-elect Donald Trump has chosen money manager Scott Bessent, an advocate for deficit reduction and deregulation, to serve as his next treasury secretary.
Trump chooses Bessent to be treasury secretary, Vought as budget chief, Chavez-DeRemer for Labor
Read full article: Trump chooses Bessent to be treasury secretary, Vought as budget chief, Chavez-DeRemer for LaborPresident-elect Donald Trump has chosen hedge fund manager Scott Bessent, an advocate for deficit reduction, to serve as his next treasury secretary.
Fox attorneys seek to dismiss shareholder lawsuit over reporting of vote rigging allegations in 2020
Read full article: Fox attorneys seek to dismiss shareholder lawsuit over reporting of vote rigging allegations in 2020Attorneys for Fox Corp. are asking a Delaware judge to dismiss a lawsuit seeking to hold current and former company officials personally liable for the financial fallout from Fox News reports regarding alleged vote rigging in the 2020 election.
Louisiana lawmakers pass income and corporate tax cuts, raising statewide sales tax to pay for it
Read full article: Louisiana lawmakers pass income and corporate tax cuts, raising statewide sales tax to pay for itLouisiana’s GOP-dominated legislature passed tax cuts on personal and corporate income on Friday in exchange for a statewide sales tax increase.
Supreme Court steps into fight over FCC's $8 billion subsidies for internet and phone services
Read full article: Supreme Court steps into fight over FCC's $8 billion subsidies for internet and phone servicesThe Supreme Court has stepped into a major legal fight over the $8 billion a year the federal government spends to subsidize phone and internet services in schools, libraries and rural areas, in a new test of federal regulatory power.
Judge reduces prison sentence for Capitol rioter who berated and insulted him
Read full article: Judge reduces prison sentence for Capitol rioter who berated and insulted himA federal judge has imposed a one-year reduction in a prison sentence for a man who stormed the U.S. Capitol and then engaged in a pattern of disruptive courtroom behavior, including berating and insulting the judge.
Vance takes on a more visible transition role, working to boost Trump's most contentious picks
Read full article: Vance takes on a more visible transition role, working to boost Trump's most contentious picksAfter several weeks working behind closed doors, Vice President-elect JD Vance returned to Capitol Hill this week in a new, more visible role.
Trump gave Interior nominee one directive for a half-billion acres of US land: 'Drill.'
Read full article: Trump gave Interior nominee one directive for a half-billion acres of US land: 'Drill.'Donald Trump assigned Doug Burgum a singular mission in nominating the governor of oil-rich North Dakota to lead an agency that oversees a half-billion acres of federal land and vast areas offshore: “Drill baby drill.”.
Trump-backed Derek Merrin concedes to Democratic U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur in Ohio
Read full article: Trump-backed Derek Merrin concedes to Democratic U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur in OhioDemocratic U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur’s Trump-endorsed rival said he called the veteran Ohio congresswoman to concede defeat in the 2024 election.
Judge delays Trump hush money sentencing in order to decide where case should go now
Read full article: Judge delays Trump hush money sentencing in order to decide where case should go nowA judge has confirmed that President-elect Donald Trump won’t be sentenced this month in his hush money case.
Supreme Court allows multibillion-dollar class action to proceed against Meta
Read full article: Supreme Court allows multibillion-dollar class action to proceed against MetaThe Supreme Court is allowing a multibillion-dollar class action investors’ lawsuit to proceed against Facebook parent Meta stemming from the privacy scandal involving the Cambridge Analytica political consulting firm.
Beyond evangelicals, Trump and his allies courted smaller faith groups, from the Amish to Chabad
Read full article: Beyond evangelicals, Trump and his allies courted smaller faith groups, from the Amish to ChabadDonald Trump’s lock on the white evangelical vote is legendary, but he didn't focus exclusively on large religious voter blocs.
AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Mississippi's judicial runoff elections
Read full article: AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Mississippi's judicial runoff electionsVoters in central Mississippi and the Delta and Gulf Coast areas will return to the polls Tuesday for a runoff election to resolve two state judicial races in which no candidate received the required vote majority in the Nov. 5 general election.
JD Vance is leaving the Senate for the vice presidency. That's set off a scramble for his Ohio seat
Read full article: JD Vance is leaving the Senate for the vice presidency. That's set off a scramble for his Ohio seatJD Vance’s election as vice president has opened up one of Ohio’s U.S. Senate seats for the third time in as many years.
Gaetz's withdrawal highlights how incoming presidents often lose Cabinet nominees
Read full article: Gaetz's withdrawal highlights how incoming presidents often lose Cabinet nomineesLosing a Cabinet nominee to the confirmation process isn’t unheard of for incoming presidents — including for Donald Trump when he was elected the first time.
Democrats strike deal to get more Biden judges confirmed before Congress adjourns
Read full article: Democrats strike deal to get more Biden judges confirmed before Congress adjournsThe Senate won’t hold votes on four of President Joe Biden’s appellate court nominees as part of a deal with Republicans to allow for speedier consideration of other judicial nominations.
McConnell to head subcommittee overseeing defense spending as he prepares to step down as GOP leader
Read full article: McConnell to head subcommittee overseeing defense spending as he prepares to step down as GOP leaderSen. Mitch McConnell says he will lead a subcommittee overseeing defense spending as he carves out new roles once he relinquishes his long-running post as Senate Republican leader.
Democrat Bob Casey concedes to Republican David McCormick in Pennsylvania Senate contest
Read full article: Democrat Bob Casey concedes to Republican David McCormick in Pennsylvania Senate contestDemocratic Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania is conceding his reelection bid to Republican David McCormick.
North Carolina elections chief wants senator to take back comment about vote manipulation
Read full article: North Carolina elections chief wants senator to take back comment about vote manipulationThe North Carolina State Board of Elections’ top administrator wants a powerful legislator to retract a comment that he made suggesting this month’s results were being manipulated.
Trump convinced Republicans to overlook his misconduct. But can he do the same for his nominees?
Read full article: Trump convinced Republicans to overlook his misconduct. But can he do the same for his nominees?President-elect Donald Trump has tried to act with impunity while staffing his new administration, choosing loyalists who often lack expertise or sometimes face sexual misconduct allegations.
Trump has promised again to release the last JFK files. But experts say don’t expect big revelations
Read full article: Trump has promised again to release the last JFK files. But experts say don’t expect big revelationsThe nation is set to mark 61 years since President John F. Kennedy was assassinated as his motorcade passed through downtown Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963.
Republicans rally around Hegseth, Trump's Pentagon pick, as Gaetz withdraws for attorney general
Read full article: Republicans rally around Hegseth, Trump's Pentagon pick, as Gaetz withdraws for attorney generalPresident-elect Donald Trump’s allies on Capitol Hill are rallying around Pete Hegseth, Trump’s Pentagon pick.
Trump's team is delaying transition agreements. What does it mean for security checks and governing?
Read full article: Trump's team is delaying transition agreements. What does it mean for security checks and governing?President-elect Donald Trump’s team still hasn’t signed the agreements required to begin the transition process to the White House.
Attorneys want the US Supreme Court to say Mississippi's felony voting ban is cruel and unusual
Read full article: Attorneys want the US Supreme Court to say Mississippi's felony voting ban is cruel and unusualMississippi's practice of removing voting rights for certain felonies is cruel and unusual.
A Mexican cartel leader arrested in the US faked his death and assumed a phony name, prosecutors say
Read full article: A Mexican cartel leader arrested in the US faked his death and assumed a phony name, prosecutors sayThe Justice Department says a high-ranking member of a Mexican drug cartel accused of faking his own death and living in the U.S. under a fake identity has been arrested on federal charges.
Several of Trump's Cabinet picks — and Trump himself — have been accused of sexual misconduct
Read full article: Several of Trump's Cabinet picks — and Trump himself — have been accused of sexual misconductFormer congressman Matt Gaetz has withdrawn his name as President-elect Donald Trump's choice for attorney general in the face of sexual misconduct allegations.
Gaetz withdraws as Trump's pick for attorney general
Read full article: Gaetz withdraws as Trump's pick for attorney generalPresident-elect Donald Trump has named Pam Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida, to be U.S. attorney general just hours after his other choice, Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name.
Elon Musk's budget crusade could cause a constitutional clash in Trump's second term
Read full article: Elon Musk's budget crusade could cause a constitutional clash in Trump's second termDonald Trump has put Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy in charge of finding ways to cut government spending and regulations.
House passes bill that would allow Treasury to target nonprofits it deems to support terrorism
Read full article: House passes bill that would allow Treasury to target nonprofits it deems to support terrorismThe U.S. House passed legislation that would give the Treasury Department unilateral authority to strip the tax-exempt status of nonprofits it claims support terrorism.
Airline CEOs and Transportation Secretary Buttigieg fight over regulations even after election
Read full article: Airline CEOs and Transportation Secretary Buttigieg fight over regulations even after electionThe Biden administration is on its way out of power, but that's not ending the arguments between the administration and airlines that think they are being over-regulated.
The biggest remaining unsanctioned Russian bank hit with U.S. sanctions, nearly three years into war
Read full article: The biggest remaining unsanctioned Russian bank hit with U.S. sanctions, nearly three years into warRussia’s third largest bank, Gazprombank and its six foreign subsidiaries were hit with U.S. sanctions on Thursday.
The FBI and DHS leaders won't testify publicly about national security threats before the Senate
Read full article: The FBI and DHS leaders won't testify publicly about national security threats before the SenateThe leaders of the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security have declined to testify publicly at a scheduled Senate hearing on global national security threats.
Police report reveals assault allegations against Hegseth, Trump's pick for defense secretary
Read full article: Police report reveals assault allegations against Hegseth, Trump's pick for defense secretaryA woman told police that she was sexually assaulted in 2017 by Pete Hegseth after he took her phone, blocked the door to a California hotel room and refused to let her leave.
US regulators seek to break up Google, forcing Chrome sale as part of monopoly punishment
Read full article: US regulators seek to break up Google, forcing Chrome sale as part of monopoly punishmentU.S. regulators want a federal judge to break up Google to prevent the company from continuing to squash competition through its dominant search engine after a court found it had maintained an abusive monopoly over the past decade.
New study shows voting for Native Americans is harder than ever
Read full article: New study shows voting for Native Americans is harder than everA study of access to polls during elections has found systemic barriers to voting on tribal lands contribute to substantial disparities in turnout.
Senate rejects effort from Bernie Sanders to block some weapons for Israel over Gaza deaths
Read full article: Senate rejects effort from Bernie Sanders to block some weapons for Israel over Gaza deathsThe Senate has rejected attempts by Sen. Bernie Sanders to block the sale of offensive weapons to Israel.