Politics
- WorldAssociated Press
Cyprus could become a member of NATO when conditions permit, the country's president says
Cyprus could apply to become a member of NATO once its armed forces receive the necessary training and equipment with U.S. help to bring them up to the standards of the world's premier military alliance, the president of the Mediterranean island nation said Thursday. President Nikos Christodoulides put Cyprus on a trajectory for possible NATO membership, ending weeks of media speculation about his government's intentions following his meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington last mon
2 min read - PoliticsAssociated Press
Trump promised federal recognition for the Lumbee Tribe. Will he follow through?
When Kamala Harris and Donald Trump campaigned in North Carolina, both candidates courted a state-recognized tribe there whose 55,000 members could have helped tip the swing state. Trump in September promised that he would sign legislation to grant federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe, a distinction that would unlock access to federal funds. Now, as Trump prepares to return to the White House in January, the promise will be put to the test.
6 min read - PoliticsAssociated Press
Zuckerberg dines with Trump in Mar-a-Lago
Donald Trump dined on Wednesday with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, bringing together the Facebook founder and the former president who was once banned from that social network. Stephen Miller, who has been appointed deputy chief of staff for Trump’s second term, said Zuckerberg, like other business leaders, wants to support Trump’s economic plans. “Mark, obviously, he has his own interest, and he has his own company and he has his own agenda,” Mi
2 min read - USPolitico
Court backs Texas over razor wire installed on US-Mexico border
The ruling is in a dispute between Texas and the Biden administration.
2 min read - WorldCBS News
Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire takes hold, fueling new push for Gaza truce
As Israel and Hezbollah cease fire after a year, President Biden says Palestinians in war-torn Gaza also "deserve an end of the fighting and displacement."
7 min read - USNBC News
Several Trump picks for top jobs targeted with bomb and 'swatting' threats
Several of President-elect Donald Trump's planned Cabinet nominees and administration appointees were subjected to bomb threats and "swatting" attacks.
5 min read - USLA Times
Rep. Katie Porter obtains temporary restraining order against ex-boyfriend on harassment allegations
The House Democrat from Irvine accused Julian Willis in court filings of bombarding her with hundreds of messages that she described as 'persistent abuse and harassment.'
3 min read - USNBC News
Democrat Derek Tran unseats GOP Michelle Steel in razor-thin Orange County House race
Democrat Derek Tran has defeated Republican incumbent Michelle Steel for a House seat representing California’s Orange County and Los Angeles, NBC News projects, after a contentious race that centered on the candidates’ Asian American identities and use of aggressive anti-China messaging.
6 min read - WorldAssociated Press
El Salvador president proposes ending country's metals mining ban
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele proclaimed himself in favor of mining gold in the Central America country Wednesday and called his nation’s 7-year-old ban on metals mining “absurd,” immediately putting in jeopardy the historic prohibition. The unmined gold would be “wealth that could transform El Salvador,” he wrote on the social platform X. Bukele's party controls El Salvador's Congress by a wide margin and his political opposition has been devastated, so a formal proposal to end the ban is
2 min read - USAssociated Press
FACT FOCUS: Posts misrepresent Biden administration spending on EV charging stations
As President Joe Biden's term comes to an end, social media users are falsely claiming that his administration spent billions of dollars on the construction of just a handful of electric vehicle charging stations. Multiple high-profile figures, including sitting members of Congress, have promoted the claims. The claims misrepresent funding set aside by the 2021 Infrastructure and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, for a national network of publicly available electric ve
4 min read - PoliticsThe Guardian
Republican senator introduces bill to abolish US Department of Education
Mike Rounds submitted bill that needs supermajority to pass, unlikely even in GOP-controlled Senate next year
5 min read - PoliticsNBC News
Trump selects retired Gen. Keith Kellogg as special envoy to Russia, Ukraine
President-elect Donald Trump said Wednesday he will nominate retired Gen.
4 min read - PoliticsAssociated Press
Democrat Derek Tran defeats GOP Rep. Michelle Steel in Southern California swing House district
Democrat Derek Tran ousted Republican U.S. Rep. Michelle Steel in a Southern California House district Wednesday that was specifically drawn to give Asian Americans a stronger voice on Capitol Hill. Steel said in a statement that “like all journeys, this one is ending for a new one to begin.” When she captured the seat in 2020, Steel joined Washington state Democrat Marilyn Strickland and California Republican Young Kim as the first Korean-American women elected to Congress.
2 min read - PoliticsAssociated Press
Republican Miller-Meeks wins reelection after recount in close Iowa congressional race
Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks won her reelection bid Wednesday after a recount confirmed her lead, helping her party pad its thin majority in the U.S. House and retain control of all four of Iowa’s congressional seats. Miller-Meeks said in a post on the social platform X that she was “deeply honored” after she defeated Democrat Christina Bohannan in a rematch of 2022, when Miller-Meeks won by 7 percentage points. The margin this year was much tighter — Miller-Meeks' lead over Bohann
3 min read - PoliticsAssociated Press
Trump turns to outsider to shake up Navy, but his lack of military experience raises concerns
President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be secretary of the Navy, John Phelan, has not served in the military or had a civilian leadership role in the service. While officials and defense experts said the Navy is in sore need of a disruptor, they cautioned that Phelan's lack of experience could make it more difficult for him to realize Trump's goals. Trump late Tuesday nominated Phelan, a major donor to his campaign who founded the private investment firm Rugger Management LLC. The Trump tra
5 min read - PoliticsAssociated Press
Judge upholds a Missouri law requiring voters to show photo ID to cast a regular ballot
A law requiring Missouri voters to show government-issued photo identification to cast regular ballots will stand after a lower-court judge found it constitutional Tuesday. Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem's decision upholds the law, which was made possible by a 2016 voter-approved constitutional amendment allowing lawmakers to enact photo ID requirements. “To maintain a secure system for voting, it only stands to reason that a photo ID should be essential,” Missouri Republican Secretary o
3 min read - USNBC News
Arizona man charged with threatening to kill Donald Trump
An Arizona man has been arrested after he posted videos online showing him holding an AR-15-style rifle and threatening to kill President-elect Donald Trump.
2 min read - PoliticsAssociated Press
Canada is already examining tariffs on certain US items following Trump's tariff threat
Canada is already examining possible retaliatory tariffs on certain items from the United States should President-elect Donald Trump follow through on his threat to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian products, a senior official said Wednesday. Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico if the countries don't stop what he called the flow of drugs and migrants across southern and northern borders.
4 min read - USAssociated Press
Federal court dismisses defamation lawsuit against Fox News for Jan. 6 conspiracy theory
A federal judge on Wednesday threw out a defamation lawsuit against Fox News by a former Donald Trump supporter who said he received death threats when the network aired false conspiracy theories about his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection. Raymond Epps, a former Marine, was falsely accused by Fox of being a government agent causing trouble near the Capitol that day so that it would be blamed on Trump fans. U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Hall in Delaware granted, without c
1 min read - USAssociated Press
Ex-US Sen. Bob Menendez seeks new trial, citing prosecutors' recently admitted error
Bob Menendez asked a judge Wednesday to set aside guilty verdicts that forced his resignation from the U.S. Senate and grant a new bribery trial. Lawyers for the New Jersey Democrat said in papers filed in Manhattan federal court that a recent revelation by prosecutors that improper evidence was put on a computer used by jurors during deliberations means that a new trial is “unavoidable.” The 70-year-old Menendez was convicted in July of 16 charges, including bribery, in part based on an alleg
2 min read - USNBC News
Trump picks John Phelan, a businessman with no military experience, to be secretary of the Navy
President-elect Donald Trump has chosen John Phelan, a businessman and investor with no military experience, to become the next secretary of the Navy.
2 min read - PoliticsNBC News
Trump picks Jay Bhattacharya, a critic of Covid lockdowns, to lead National Institutes of Health
Donald Trump plans to nominate Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a Stanford professor known for his criticism of Covid lockdowns, to lead the National Institutes of Health.
3 min read - WorldThe Guardian
China releases three US citizens held for years in prisoner swap
Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung freed after Biden administration forges rare agreement with Beijing
3 min read - WorldAssociated Press
US sanctions more allies of Maduro over alleged post-election crackdown in Venezuela
The United States has imposed sanctions on an additional 21 allies of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, accusing them on Wednesday of perpetrating some of the repression with which officials in the country responded to July's disputed presidential election. The security and cabinet-level officials sanctioned by the Department of the Treasury include the head of the nation's corrections agency, the director of an intelligence service and the minister of Maduro’s Office of the President. The
1 min read - WorldNBC News
Ceasefire brings calm in Israel and Lebanon, but fears remain among the displaced
The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon appears to be holding following announcements by President Biden, Prime Minister Netanyahu and others.
6 min read - USAssociated Press
More sand is in sight for a Jersey Shore resort town's deteriorating beaches
Patrick Rosenello, the mayor of North Wildwood, says his town has reached an agreement with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to drop claims on both sides and move forward with measures to widen beaches in the community, popular with tourists from the Philadelphia area. The agreement, which is up for a vote Tuesday by North Wildwood's council, would resolve all outstanding disputes between the parties, the Republican mayor said. The agreement includes canceling the $12 mill
3 min read - PoliticsBusiness Insider
Mexico vows to retaliate with its own trade barriers, putting US joint ventures at risk
Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo said her country would go after the US with its own tariffs if Donald Trump pushed ahead with his.
3 min read - BusinessBusiness Insider
The world reacts to Donald Trump's latest trade plans
Donald Trump's new trade proposals target China, Mexico, and Canada.
7 min read - PoliticsAssociated Press
A Catholic family's answer to opposing abortion: adopt, foster and vote
For the Young family in rural Sunbury, Ohio, activism begins at home. The conservative Catholic family chooses to live their anti-abortion beliefs through adoption, foster-parenting and raising their children to believe in the sanctity of life. The night before this year's presidential election, Erin and Mike Young gathered their children, Lucas, 8, Gianna, 7, and Isaac, 5, around a bonfire near their farmhouse to pray for Donald Trump as “the pro-life candidate.”
2 min read - PoliticsNBC News
The Florida effect: Trump's administration heavily shaped by the Sunshine State
It was supposed to be treasury day at Mar-a-Lago, or so President-elect Donald Trump’s team thought.
6 min read - USLA Times
This red California county had an election surprise in 2020. What happened this year?
Biden won in rural Inyo County in eastern California by 14 votes in 2020 after its voters supported Trump in 2016. This year, the Republican won by a larger margin.
4 min read - PoliticsHuffPost
How Ruben Gallego Threaded The Needle In Purple Arizona
The Phoenix congressman had to push aside independent Kyrsten Sinema without hurting his chances against Republican Kari Lake.
19 min read - BusinessBusiness Insider
In an F-35 funding fight, Musk will need to win over a skeptical Congress and Trump
As Musk takes up the DOGE initiative, the billionaire is taking aim at the F-35, but any effort to cut the program will run headlong into Congress.
5 min read - WorldNBC News
Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire takes effect
A cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah appeared to be holding Wednesday after President Joe Biden said the agreement to end fighting across the Israeli-Lebanon border was "designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities."
4 min read - PoliticsNBC News
Trump transition signs White House agreement after delay
After a lengthy delay, President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team has signed a memorandum of understanding with the White House, allowing the next administration to coordinate with federal agencies.
3 min read - USNBC News
Appeals court agrees to dismiss Trump's classified documents case
An appeals court on Tuesday agreed to dismiss charges related to Donald Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents, effectively ending Special Counsel Jack Smith's prosecution of Trump.
2 min read - PoliticsAssociated Press
Trump picks Jay Bhattacharya, who backed COVID herd immunity, to lead National Institutes of Health
President-elect Donald Trump has chosen health economist Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a critic of pandemic lockdowns and vaccine mandates, to lead the National Institutes of Health, the nation's leading medical research agency. Trump, in a statement Tuesday evening, said Bhattacharya, a 56-year-old physician and professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, will work in cooperation with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., his pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, "to direct the Nation’s
4 min read - PoliticsAssociated Press
Trump fills out his economic team with two veterans of his first administration
President-elect Donald Trump is turning to two officials with experience navigating not only Washington but the key issues of income taxes and tariffs as he fills out his economic team. Trump on Tuesday announced he has chosen international trade attorney Jamieson Greer to be his U.S. trade representative and Kevin Hassett as director of the White House National Economic Council.
3 min read - PoliticsNBC News
The senators who will determine the fate of Trump's Cabinet picks: From the Politics Desk
Meet the Republican and Democratic senators will will determine whether Trump's Cabinet picks will be confirmed next year.
6 min read - USNBC News
Ex-FBI informant charged with lies at 'heart' of Biden impeachment effort indicted on new tax charges
WASHINGTON — A former FBI informant whose false claims about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden were at "the heart" of the Republican impeachment inquiry against the president has now been indicted on tax charges.
2 min read - USAssociated Press
Kentucky attorney general targets another big pharmacy benefit manager in opioid-related lawsuit
Kentucky's attorney general has expanded an opioid-related lawsuit to target another big pharmacy benefit manager that he claims contributed to the state's deadly addiction crisis. OptumRx has been added as a new defendant in the suit that was filed two months ago, Attorney General Russell Coleman said Tuesday. The Republican attorney general accused Optum of playing a central role in what he called the reckless promotion, dispensing and oversupply of opioids.
3 min read - PoliticsAssociated Press
Southwest states certify election results after the process led to controversy in previous years
The states that saw the most active attacks against election certification two years ago certified the results of this year’s races without controversy this week, prompting the Arizona secretary of state to proclaim that “election denialism” is a thing of the past. Certification proceeded normally this year in part because Donald Trump won the presidential race, quieting his supporters after he had spent the campaign making unsubstantiated claims that he could lose only through widespread cheat
5 min read - PoliticsLA Times
Trump tees up tariff hikes on top trading partners. What's at stake for California?
Donald Trump's proposed tariffs could have major consequences for California's economy, which has a lot riding on trade, especially with China and Mexico.
9 min read - HealthAssociated Press
Bird flu virus was found in raw milk. What to know about the risks
President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for the nation's top health job, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has vowed to allow wider distribution of raw milk across America. “You have to assume that raw milk, unpasteurized milk, has potential infectious agents that can cause serious illness in the people who drink it," said Michael Osterholm, a University of Minnesota infectious disease researcher who has investigated foodborne illness outbreaks. Raw Farm LLC, of Fresno, California, voluntarily recalled on
5 min read - PoliticsReuters
Trump team signs transition agreement with Biden White House after delays
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's transition team has signed a memorandum of understanding with the White House that will allow Trump to formally begin his transition to power, his incoming chief of staff said on Tuesday, after weeks of delays. The move will allow Trump's team to coordinate directly with federal agencies and access documents. The unusual delay in signing the agreement after the Nov. 5 election had raised concerns among some critics about potential hiccu
3 min read - USAssociated Press
Tim Walz accepts turkey presentation as he eases back into his duties as Minnesota's governor
As feathers flew, Tim Walz accepted the symbolic presentation of a turkey Tuesday as he eases back into his duties as Minnesota's governor following the Harris-Walz ticket's defeat in the presidential election. Unlike the Minnesota-grown turkeys that President Joe Biden pardoned at the White House on Monday, Walz didn't pardon this turkey, he said, “because in Minnesota we know turkeys are delicious.”
3 min read - BusinessReuters
Trump tariffs could raise grocery, liquor bills - from beef and pork to avocados and tequila
WASHINGTON/REGINA, Saskatchewan (Reuters) -U.S. prices may rise next year for avocados, strawberries and other fresh produce, and consumers could face shortages, if President-elect Donald Trump follows through on plans to slap tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, agricultural economists and industry executives said. Mexico and Canada are by far the top two suppliers of farm products to the United States, with imports of agricultural goods valued at nearly $86 billion last year, according to
5 min read - PoliticsNBC News
Ex-politician who faced bathroom ban in Italy says Sarah McBride is the subject of 'rank politics'
Former member of Parliament Vladimir Luxuria, said she relates to the controversy facing Sarah McBride, the first openly transgender person elected to the Congress.
5 min read - PoliticsAssociated Press
Biden's public lands director named to lead environmental group
A senior official in President Joe Biden's administration who oversaw its contentious efforts to address climate change by curbing oil drilling and coal mining on federal lands while expanding renewable power was named Tuesday as the next president of a prominent environmental group. U.S. Bureau of Land Management Director Tracy Stone-Manning will become president of The Wilderness Society effective next February, the Washington, D.C.-based group announced. The land bureau shifted sharply away
4 min read - PoliticsAssociated Press
Harris' campaign leaders say there was a 'price to be paid' for shortened campaign against Trump
The leaders of Kamala Harris' presidential campaign insist they simply didn't have enough time to execute a winning strategy against Donald Trump, pointing to “ferocious" political headwinds that were ultimately too much to overcome in the 107-day period after President Joe Biden stepped aside. Harris' leadership team, speaking on the “Pod Save America” podcast that aired on Tuesday, defended strategic decisions over the campaign's closing days, some of which have faced scrutiny in the weeks si
4 min read
