President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States will effectively govern Venezuela following a U.S. military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, marking a dramatic escalation in Washington’s confrontation with the South American nation. “We’re going to run the country until such time …
Read More »Trump Backs Off National Guard Deployments in Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he is abandoning — at least for now — his effort to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon, after courts repeatedly blocked the moves. “We will come back, perhaps in a much different and stronger form, when crime begins …
Read More »FBI Says It Foiled New Year’s Eve Terrorist Plot in North Carolina
The FBI said Friday that it thwarted a planned terrorist attack targeting a grocery store and a Burger King restaurant in suburban Charlotte on New Year’s Eve, arresting an 18-year-old man accused of attempting to support the Islamic State terrorist group. Federal authorities announced that Christian Sturdivant, 18, of Mint …
Read More »Trump Defends Health, Says He Takes High-Dose Aspirin and Denies Falling Asleep in Meetings
President Donald Trump pushed back this week against questions about his health and stamina, telling The Wall Street Journal that he does not fall asleep during meetings and that visible bruising on his hands is caused by his long-term use of high-dose aspirin. “They say aspirin is good for thinning …
Read More »Mamdani Sworn In as New York City’s Mayor, Vowing to Govern as a Democratic Socialist
Zohran Mamdani was sworn in Thursday as the 112th mayor of New York City, pledging to pursue an unapologetically progressive agenda and declaring that he intends to govern exactly as he campaigned — as a democratic socialist. “I was elected as a democratic socialist, and I will govern as a …
Read More »House Republicans Release Jack Smith Deposition Detailing Case Against Trump
The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday released the full transcript and video of former special counsel Jack Smith’s closed-door deposition before the Republican-led panel earlier this month, making public more than eight hours of testimony detailing his criminal cases against President Donald Trump. The release includes a 255-page transcript and …
Read More »Baltimore Drove Down Gun Deaths. Now Trump Has Slashed Funding for That Work.
David Fitzgerald knows how tough it is to prevent gun violence. In 15 years working in some of Baltimore’s deadliest neighborhoods for a program called Safe Streets, he said, he’s defused hundreds of fights that could have led to a shooting. The effort, part of Baltimore’s more than $100 million …
Read More »SNAP Food Restrictions to Take Effect in Five States Starting Thursday
Starting Thursday, low-income Americans in five states will face new limits on what they can buy with government assistance for groceries, as the Trump administration begins rolling out restrictions on soda, candy and other foods under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Utah and West Virginia are the …
Read More »Trump Administration Freezes Minnesota Child Care Funds After Viral Fraud Claims
The Trump administration on Tuesday froze all federal child care payments to Minnesota, an extraordinary escalation triggered by a viral right-wing video alleging widespread fraud — and one that state officials and Democrats are denouncing as politically motivated collective punishment. In a statement and video posted to X, senior officials …
Read More »Democrats Retain Iowa Senate Seat in West Des Moines after Special Election
Renee Hardman, a West Des Moines council member and president and CEO of Lutheran Services in Iowa, won a special election Tuesday for Iowa Senate District 16, according to unofficial results. Hardman’s win means Democrats retain the seat, formerly held by the late Sen. Claire Celsi, and they have stopped …
Read More »U.S. Military Kills Two in Latest Drug Boat Strike as Legal Questions Mount
The U.S. military said Monday it carried out another lethal strike on a vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean that it claims was involved in drug trafficking, killing two people — the latest escalation in a monthslong campaign ordered by President Donald Trump that has drawn growing legal and political …
Read More »Musicians Cancel Kennedy Center Shows After Trump Name Change
More musicians have canceled scheduled performances at the Kennedy Center after its board voted to rename the Washington performing arts institution to include President Donald Trump’s name, a move that has intensified political backlash and sparked legal action. Canceled performances now include shows that had been scheduled for Christmas Eve, …
Read More »Rural Health Funding Tied to Trump Policy Agenda as States Face Clawback Threats
The Trump administration is offering states $10 billion next year for rural health care — while reserving the right to take the money back if governors refuse to adopt policy priorities favored by the White House. Federal officials announced Monday that all 50 states applied for funding from the new …
Read More »VA Moves to Reinstate Near-Total Abortion Ban after Justice Department Opinion
The Department of Veterans Affairs is reinstating a near-total ban on abortion services for veterans and their families, citing a new Justice Department legal opinion that says federal law largely prohibits the agency from providing abortions. The change follows a memo issued last week by the Justice Department’s Office of …
Read More »Trump, Zelenskyy say Peace Deal is Close After Talks, but Key Disputes Remain
President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that negotiations to end Russia’s war in Ukraine are nearing completion, but offered no concrete breakthroughs after a high-stakes face-to-face meeting that underscored how unresolved the most contentious issues remain. Speaking after their talks at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property, both leaders …
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