Lawyers for Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Wednesday they’ll challenge a subpoena demanding that he testify before a special grand jury in Georgia hearing evidence in a probe of possible 2020 election interference by former President Donald Trump and others.

In a statement, Graham’s attorneys Bart Daniel and Matt Austin said the subpoena, in which the grand jury hearing evidence in the Fulton County district attorney’s investigation seeks his testimony, is “all politics.”

“Senator Graham plans to go to court, challenge the subpoena, and expects to prevail,” the statement said.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Pat Cipollone, who served as Donald Trump’s White House counsel, is expected to testify behind closed doors on Friday with the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, a person familiar with the situation said Wednesday.

The interview with Cipollone will be transcribed and videotaped, according to a person familiar with the matter. His appearance before the panel comes as a result of a subpoena issued to him last week.

The committee didn’t return a request for comment.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

A portrait of Robert “Bobby” E. Crimo III as a mysterious and music-obsessed loner began emerging Tuesday, a day after he was arrested in the wake of a mass shooting at a July Fourth parade that left seven dead and traumatized an affluent Chicago suburb.

Crimo, 21, who attempted to disguise himself by wearing women’s clothing during the deadly rampage, aspired to be a rapper and his music got darker and more delusional as he got older and relationships with his parents and a girlfriend frayed, former friends said.

“He was in his own world,” said 22-year-old Nick Pacileo.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

The Georgia special grand jury hearing evidence in an investigation into possible 2020 election interference by former President Donald Trump and others has issued subpoenas to Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and key members of Trump’s legal team, including Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman, NBC News has confirmed.

The Fulton County special grand jury also subpoenaed lawyers Jenna Ellis, Cleta Mitchell and Kenneth Chesebro, all of whom worked with Trump as he contested the election results.

The subpoenas were first reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and obtained by NBC News.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Robert E. Crimo III, identified by police as the person suspected of shooting and killing six people and wounding dozens of others Monday morning at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois, has been arrested, authorities said Monday evening.

Police believe the suspected gunman opened fire shortly after 10 a.m. CT from the rooftop of a business near the parade route. The gun was a “high-powered rifle” and the attack appeared to be “random” and “intentional,” said Christopher Covelli, spokesperson for the Lake County Major Crime Task Force.

Read the rest of the story at CNN

House Jan. 6 committee members said Sunday that they may make criminal referrals to federal prosecutors involving former President Donald Trump and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. 

Fanning out on Sunday programs to discuss the congressional investigation and its public hearings, committee members said that while no formal decision has been made, they can envision multiple referrals to the Justice Department based on evidence they’ve uncovered investigating the events surrounding the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Federal law enforcement was at the Virginia home of Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department official who is at the center of Thursday’s Jan. 6 committee hearing.

A U.S. Attorney’s office spokesman confirmed that the activity took place on Wednesday, but the spokesman had no comment regarding the reason for the activity.

In a Thursday night interview with Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, Clark said it was just before 7 a.m. on Wednesday when he answered his front door to discover federal agents.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

The Senate on Thursday night passed the most sweeping gun bill designed to prevent gun violence in decades, a major victory for advocates and a rare defeat for the National Rifle Association.

The vote was 65 to 33, with all 50 Democratic-voting members and 15 Republicans, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, voting to send the bill to the House for a vote expected Friday.

“The United States Senate is doing something many believed was impossible even a few weeks ago. We are passing the first significant gun safety bill in nearly 30 years,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said immediately before the vote. “The gun safety bill we are passing tonight can be described with three adjectives: bipartisan, commonsense, lifesaving.”

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Constitution provides a right to carry a gun outside the home, issuing a major decision on the meaning of the Second Amendment.

The 6-3 ruling was the court’s second important decision on the right to “keep and bear arms.” In a landmark 2008 decision, the court had said for the first time that the amendment safeguards a person’s right to possess firearms, although the decision was limited to keeping guns at home for self-defense.

The court has now taken that ruling to the next step after years of ducking the issue and applied the Second Amendment beyond the limits of homeowners’ property in a decision that could affect the ability of state and local governments to impose a wide variety of firearms regulations.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

After four years in power, Donald Trump never grasped that government isn’t supposed to be a tool for promoting personal interests, the Jan. 6 committee argued as it presented evidence Thursday about his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.  

Witnesses described Trump’s desperate efforts to rope the Justice Department into a plot to overturn the election — trying at every turn to persuade government attorneys to act as an extension of his campaign. 

Senior officials whom Trump had appointed testified that they tried to explain the department’s unique role to him: They worked for the American people and represented the federal government. The message never stuck. 

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

President Biden on Wednesday called on Congress to suspend the federal gas tax for three months and asked states to suspend their own gas taxes or provide commensurate relief to consumers.

The federal government charges an 18.4-cent tax per gallon of gasoline and a 24.4-cent tax per gallon of diesel. Suspending the tax for three months — through the end of September, will cost about $10 billion, the White House said.

“I fully understand that the gas tax holiday alone is not going to fix the problem,” Biden said in remarks delivered from the South Court Auditorium. “But it will provide families some immediate relief, just a little bit of breathing room, as we continue working to bring down prices for the long haul.”

Read the rest of the story at ABC News

Republicans in Washington are betting that the televised Jan. 6 hearings aren’t breaking through, that voters are more worried about gas prices and inflation and that — basically — no one cares.

But one man is paying attention: Donald Trump. And he’s not happy no one is defending him.

The former president has reserved special criticism for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who made the call last year to yank all five Trump allies from the special panel after Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., rejected two of his picks. 

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Pete Arredondo was put on administrative leave Wednesday as the police chief of the Uvalde, Texas, school district after a month of sharp criticism for his decision to delay confronting the gunman in the shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers, the district superintendent said.

Hal Harrell, the superintendent of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, noted in a written statement Wednesday that he has said the district would wait until the investigation into the May 24 massacre at Robb Elementary School was complete before it made personnel decisions.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Automatic locking doors and law enforcement radios — things that were supposed to protect children from mass shootings — failed in the Uvalde school massacre, a top Texas official testified Tuesday. 

In testimony before the state legislature, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw outlined several school security failures that may have contributed to the tragic outcome at Robb Elementary last month, when a gunman opened fire and killed two teachers and 19 students. 

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Katie Britt, a former top aide to Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., has defeated Rep. Mo Brooks in Alabama’s Republican Senate primary runoff, NBC News projects.

The race to succeed Shelby, who is retiring, had flummoxed former President Donald Trump, whose early endorsement of Brooks was consistent with what had been a close political alliance.

But Trump soured on Brooks, who had expressed a desire to move on from the 2020 election that Trump continues to falsely claim he won. Brooks, once an early favorite in the race, saw his poll numbers decline, and Trump withdrew his endorsement. Brooks ultimately rallied to earn a spot in the runoff against Britt, but she had long since become the GOP front-runner. Trump eventually endorsed herless than two weeks ago.h

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Eric Greitens, the embattled former Missouri governor-turned-GOP Senate candidate, released a campaign ad Monday in which he and a group of armed men in tactical gear are on the hunt for “RINOs” — Republicans in name only.

“We’re going RINO hunting,” a shotgun-toting Greitens, with a handgun holstered at his side, says before he bursts into a house with the men in tactical gear, one of whom throws what appears to be a flash-bang grenade.

“Get a RINO hunting permit. There’s no bagging limit, no tagging limit, and it doesn’t expire until we save our country,” he says at the end of the video, which encourages donors to pay $25 for a “RINO hunting” sticker.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

President Joe Biden said Monday that he is seriously considering temporarily halting the federal gas tax as the White House looks to take steps to lower the cost at the pump ahead of the July 4 holiday. 

White House officials say the July 4 weekend, when tens of millions of people are expected to hit the road, is a target for announcing new measures to help lower record-high gas prices. 

Biden said Monday that he could make a decision on pausing the federal gas tax by the end of this week. “I hope I have a decision based on data,” he told reporters traveling with him in Rehoboth, Delaware. 

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Police officers with rifles and at least one ballistic shield were in a hallway at Robb Elementary School around 19 minutes after a gunman entered classrooms there, according to reports from Texas news organizations Monday.

The Austin American-Statesman said the timeline was based on documents it reviewed following the May 24 attack in Uvalde that killed 19 children and two teachers.

The Texas Tribune on Monday night also reported the new details, citing records and surveillance video it had reviewed.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitolwill present evidence in a public hearing this week about then-President Donald Trump’s involvement in a failed scheme to push slates of bogus electors to overturn the 2020 election results, Rep. Adam Schiff, a member of the panel, said Sunday.

“We’ll show evidence of the president’s involvement in this scheme,” Schiff, D-Calif., said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “We’ll also again show evidence about what his own lawyers came to think about this scheme. And we’ll show courageous state officials who stood up and said they wouldn’t go along with this plan to either call legislators back into session or decertify the results for Joe Biden.”

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

The four U.S. senators leading negotiations on a gun deal met for hours in a Senate basement Thursday in pursuit of a final agreement, but emerged with one major unresolved issue.

The meeting among Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., and Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., did not yield a resolution on how to close the “boyfriend loophole” involving gun rights for abusive partners.

As they craft the federal language, the group is looking at “state statutes” that currently prohibit dating partners convicted of abuse from possessing guns, said Tillis, without elaborating on which states. More than 33 states have already taken steps to close or address the boyfriend loophole. 

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

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Top negotiators on a bipartisan gun safety framework huddled behind closed doors for several hours Wednesday evening to try to solve remaining differences on the package, but the group’s effort to expedite passage of an agreement is stalled, at least for the moment.

Since a group of 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans announced an agreement on a framework of proposals aimed at curbing gun violence in the wake of mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York, on Sunday, a bipartisan group of senators has been working to speedily turn the list of ideas into a bill ready for consideration on the Senate floor next week. But two provisions, one focused on incentivizing states to implement violence prevention programs, and another dealing with closing the so-called “boyfriend loophole,” are now plaguing negotiations, chief Republican negotiator John Cornyn, R-Texas, said Wednesday.

Read the rest of the story at ABC News

Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, has tested positive for Covid-19, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said in a statement Wednesday.

Fauci, 81, has directed the institute since 1984. He is fully vaccinated and has received two booster shots. His positive result came from a rapid test.

“He is currently experiencing mild symptoms,” the institute said. “Dr. Fauci will isolate and continue to work from his home. He has not recently been in close contact with President Biden or other senior government officials.”

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

As former President Donald Trump’s presidential legacy is tested in Washington this week, with the Jan. 6 hearings dominating Capitol Hill, his political power — and the sway of his election denying — saw a renewed test in the midterm primaries in a handful of states. Voters took the polls in South Carolina, Nevada, Maine, North Dakota and Texas’ 34 Congressional District Tuesday night, delivering historic turnout numbers and allowing voters to give Republicans who defied the former president a second chance at keeping their jobs, and some Democrats to lose theirs.

Read the rest of the story at ABC News

Former President Donald Trump on Monday responded in a lengthy statement to the House’s ongoing Jan. 6 committee hearings, assailing the panel as illegitimate and their presentation as one-sided — but rather than refute their evidence, he reiterated the same baseless claims about the 2020 presidential election that are at the center of the proceedings and the group’s case that he had attempted a “coup.”

Trump’s 12-page statement, sent to reporters on Monday night, comes after the second public hearing held by the House select committee investigating last year’s deadly Capitol attack. His statement, marked by characteristic exclamations and insults, called the hearings “a smoke and mirrors show” that failed to include “all exculpatory witnesses, and anyone who so easily points out the flaws in their story.”

Read the rest of the story at ABC News

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Stocks sold off Monday, pushing the S&P 500 to a fresh 2022 low and back into bear market territory, as recession fears grew ahead of a key Federal Reserve meeting this week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 810 points, or about 2.6 percent, the S&P 500 fell 3.5 percent and the Nasdaq Composite tumbled 4.35 percent.

The moves came as investor continued to digest a hotter-than-expected inflation report on Friday and braced for the Fed to raise rates later in the week as the 10-year Treasury yield saw its largest jump since March 2020.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Key senators announced a framework agreement on new gun legislation Sunday, marking a breakthrough on a collection of measures to combat gun violence, including “red flag” laws and enhanced background checks on gun buyers.

The chief negotiators of the deal are Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., an outspoken proponent of gun safety laws, and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a firm Second Amendment advocate who has promised the new measures won’t affect the gun rights of law-abiding Americans. The final bill hasn’t been written yet, sources familiar with the negotiations said.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

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The Senate left town for the weekend without agreeing on gun legislation, but the negotiators planned to meet virtually Friday to hash out the lingering issues as they continue to project optimism.

“We’re not there yet,” Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the chief Republican negotiator, said after an in-person meeting Thursday. “I hope to resolve the remaining differences.”

Some provisions, like mental health funding and school safety, are relatively settled. Others, like “red flag” provisions and background check enhancements, are still being crafted.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

One person more than any other set in motion the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the committee investigating the riot argued at its first public hearing Thursday.   

And that person is Donald Trump.

He sparked the riot at the Capitol and nearly shredded American democracy in pursuit of power, the House Jan. 6 committee contended in what will serve as the opening argument in a weekslong effort to make a case to the public. 

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

An armed man was arrested overnight near the home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh after he called 911 on himself, law enforcement officials said Wednesday.

Officials say the man, identified as Nicholas John Roske, 26, was armed with a handgun, a knife, pepper spray and burglary tools. He was stopped a block from the justice’s house. And when police detained him, he said he was there to kill Kavanaugh, the officials said.

Deputy U.S. marshals spotted Roske — dressed in black and carrying a backpack and a suitcase — getting out of a cab in front of Kavanaugh’s house shortly after 1 a.m. ET Wednesday, according to a criminal complaint. Roske looked at the officers and then started walking down the street and called 911 on himself, the complaint said.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

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The Secret Service says former President Donald Trump’s call to supporters to walk alongside him to the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, led the agency to consider options to secure a motorcade, but ultimately found that transporting the former President to the Capitol unfeasible.

A minute-by-minute accounting of the President’s movements has been a central focus of the House select committee investigating January 6, and sources tell CNN that several members of the Secret Service have testified.

“Secret Service personnel assigned to the President’s detail told administration officials that proposed travel plans to visit the Capitol on January 6 would not be feasible,” Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement Tuesday.

Read the rest of the story at CNN

Actor and Uvalde, Texas, native Matthew McConaughey made an emotional plea to Congress for new gun control legislation from the White House briefing room Tuesday, after meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill and President Biden at the White House. Making schools safer and expanding background checks for people to to get access to guns should be a nonpartisan issue, McConaughey said. 

“We start by making the loss of these lives matter,” he told reporters. 

“We start with laws that save innocent lives and don’t infringe on our Second Amendment rights,” McConaughey said in remarks during which he sometimes appeared to be fighting back tears. 

Read the rest of the story at CBS News

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The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot released new details Thursday about its first hearing, scheduled to kick off in prime time on June 9.

“The committee will present previously unseen material documenting January 6th, receive witness testimony, preview additional hearings, and provide the American people a summary of its findings about the coordinated, multi-step effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and prevent the transfer of power,” the panel said.

Additional information about witnesses will be released next week, the committee said.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

The U.S. and Germany pledged on Wednesday to equip Ukraine with some of the advanced weapons it has long desired for shooting down aircraft and knocking out artillery, as Russian forces closed in on capturing a key city in the east.

Germany said it will supply Ukraine with up-to-date anti-aircraft missiles and radar systems, while the U.S. announced it will provide four sophisticated, medium-range rocket systems and ammunition.

The U.S. is trying to help Ukraine fend off the Russians without triggering a wider war in Europe. The Pentagon said it received assurances that Ukraine will not fire the new rockets into Russian territory.

Read the rest of the story at CBS News

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who was on the receiving end of an infamous Jan. 2, 2021, phone call in which then-President Donald Trump pleaded with him “to find 11,780 votes,” will testify under oath Thursday before a special grand jury investigating Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Raffensperger, whose office oversees Georgia’s elections, is among at least half a dozen people working in his office who have been subpoenaed to testify in June before the special grand jury in Fulton County. The subpoenas, which were first obtained by the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, provide the earliest glimpses into an unprecedented criminal probe of a president’s interactions with state elections officials.

Read the rest of the story at CBS News

Hundreds of thousands of students who attended the for-profit Corinthian Colleges chain will automatically get their federal student loans canceled, the Biden administration announced Wednesday, a move that aims to bring closure to one of the most notorious cases of fraud in American higher education.

Under the new action, anyone who attended the now-defunct chain from its founding in 1995 to its collapse in 2015 will get their federal student debt wiped clean. It will erase $5.8 billion in debt for more than 560,000 borrowers, the largest single loan discharge in Education Department history, according to the agency.

Read the rest of the story at CBS News

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, of South Carolina, and Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, of Connecticut, are making progress as they hammer out details of revised “red flag” legislation that they both hope can win sufficient GOP support to overcome a filibuster in the Senate, according to four people familiar with the discussions who were not authorized to speak publicly. 

Graham and Blumenthal later confirmed in statements to CBS News that their discussions are making progress. 

Read the rest of the story at CBS News

The Justice Department on Tuesday asked a federal appeals court to overturn a U.S. District Court judge’s April orderthat declared the government mandate requiring masks on airplanes, buses and in transit hubs unlawful.

Hours after the federal judge in Florida declared the mandate unlawful, the Biden administration said it would no longer enforce it.

The Justice Department told the appeals court that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention order issued in January 2021 was “within” the agency’s legal authority.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has introduced a bill that would ban the sale, transfer and importation of all handguns nationwide.

Lawrence O’Donnell shared the news on MSNBC Live Tuesday evening. He aired remarks from a press conference, in which Trudeau said Canadians have no business carrying firearms without the explicit intent to hunt with them, or use them for sport.

“Two years ago, our government banned 1,500 models of assault-style weapons,” he said, before he listed off numerous weapons which are now banned in the country.

Read the rest of the story at Mediaite

President Joe Biden will meet Tuesday with Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell as soaring inflation takes a bite out of Americans’ pocketbooks.

The meeting will be the first since Biden renominated Powell to lead the central bank and comes weeks after his confirmation for a second term by the Senate.

The White House said the pair would discuss the state of the U.S. and global economy and especially inflation, described as Biden’s “top economic priority.” The goal, the White House said, is a “transition from an historic economic recovery to stable, steady growth that works for working families.”

Read the rest of the story at ABC News

President Joe Biden, pressed on potential avenues for gun control in the wake of the devastating school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, pointed to an assault weapons ban Monday morning.

“It makes no sense to be able to purchase something that can fire up to 300 rounds,” he told reporters outside the White House after traveling from Delaware. “The idea of these high-caliber weapons — there’s simply no rational basis for it in terms of, about self-protection, hunting and I guess — and, remember, the Constitution, the Second Amendment was never absolute. You couldn’t buy a cannon when the Second Amendment was passed. You couldn’t go out and purchase a lot of weaponry.”

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

The widower of a Texas elementary school teacher killed in a shooting has died of a heart attack days just days after his wife was killed.

Joe Garcia, the husband of Irma Garcia, suffered a fatal heart attack on Thursday, two days after his wife died in a mass shooting at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, the couple’s nephew, John Martinez, and a close family friend confirmed.

Read the rest of the story at ABC News

Thousands of gun owners, throngs of protesters and some prominent Republican politicians are expected in Houston for the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting Friday, just three days after 19 children and two adults were shot to death at an elementary school in South Texas.

The event, which is being held in the George R. Brown Convention Center and will last through Sunday, “will showcase over 14 acres of the latest guns and gear,” the NRA said on its website, describing it as “a freedom-filled weekend for the entire family.”

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Former Representative Beto O’Rourke interrupted a news conference held by Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas on Wednesday to accuse Republicans of “doing nothing” to address gun violence in the aftermath of a shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde.

Mr. O’Rourke, the Democrats’ nominee for governor, stood in front of a stage at a Uvalde High School auditorium during the news conference and shouted that the killings were a “totally predictable” result of lax state and federal gun laws.

When Mr. Abbott’s allies saw Mr. O’Rourke step forward, they began yelling at him.

Read the rest of the story at The New York Times

President Joe Biden on Tuesday called once again for Congress to take action on gun control legislation, urging lawmakers to stand up to the gun lobby, after a mass shooting at a Texas elementary school.

“I am sick and tired of it. We have to act, and don’t tell me we can’t have an impact on this carnage,” Biden said. 

“As a nation we have to ask when in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? When in God’s name will we do what we all know in our gut needs to be done?”

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Historic early turnout meant knockout political races in Georgia, Arkansas, Alabama and Texas primary and runoff elections. With the backdrop of another massacre in which at least 18 schoolchildren and two adults were gunned down in a Texas elementary school, voters took to the polls to sign off on the candidates they believe best meet this political moment.

Here are some key takeaways from Tuesday’s pivotal races:

Read the rest of the story at ABC News

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., took to the Senate floor after Tuesday’s deadly school shooting in Texas and pleaded with his Republican colleagues to take action against gun violence, saying what happened wasn’t “inevitable.”

“I’m here on this floor to beg, to literally get down on my hands and knees and beg my colleagues. Find a path forward here. Work with us to find a way to pass laws that make this less likely,” said Murphy, who was elected to the Senate just weeks before the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, which left 20 children dead.

Murphy said the shooting deaths of 19 students and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday was a uniquely American problem.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

President Joe Biden said Monday the U.S. would intervene militarily if China were to invade Taiwan, declaring the commitment to protect the island is “even stronger” after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It was one of the most forceful presidential statements in support of Taiwan’s self-governing in decades.

Biden, at a news conference in Tokyo, said “yes” when asked if he was willing to get involved militarily to defend Taiwan if China invaded. “That’s the commitment we made,” he added.

Read the rest of the story at ABC News

The House Ethics Committee said Monday it is investigating whether scandal-plagued GOP Rep. Madison Cawthornof North Carolina may have improperly promoted a cryptocurrency and engaged in a relationship with a congressional aide.

The panel announced it had unanimously voted earlier this month to establish a subcommittee to look into whether Cawthorn “improperly promoted a cryptocurrency in which he may have had an undisclosed financial interest, and engaged in an improper relationship with an individual employed on his congressional staff.”

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

President Joe Biden sought Monday to calm concerns about recent cases of monkeypox that have been identified in Europe and the United States, saying he did not see the need to institute strict quarantine measures.

Speaking in Tokyo a day after he said the virus was something “to be concerned about,” Biden said, ”I just don’t think it rises to the level of the kind of concern that existed with COVID-19.”

Monkeypox is rarely identified outside of Africa. But as of Friday, there were 80 confirmed cases worldwide, including at least two in the United States, and another 50 suspected ones. On Sunday, one presumptive case of monkeypox also was being investigated in Broward County in South Florida, which state health officials said appeared to be related to international travel.

Read the rest of the story at ABC News

President Joe Biden said Monday that the United States would be willing to intervene militarily if China were to invade the self-governing island of Taiwan, again sowing confusion over American policy in the region.

Speaking during a news conference in Tokyo alongside Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Biden said Beijing was already “flirting with danger” with its recent decision to hold military drills near Taiwan, which China views as its own territory.

The question came up in the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

The congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot asked Thursday to meet with a House GOP lawmaker about a Capitol tour that took place a day before the attack last year.

Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., asked Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., to meet with the Democratic-controlled panel to discuss events shortly before the riot.

“We believe you have information regarding a tour you led through parts of the Capitol complex on January 5, 2021,” Thompson and Cheney wrote to Loudermilk.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

In the wake of the Buffalo, New York, supermarket shooting that left 10 Black people dead, the House on Wednesday approved a measure to beef up federal efforts to combat domestic terrorism and white supremacy.

The vote was 222-203, with Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Illinois, voting with all Democrats in favor of the proposal.

The bill from Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Illinois, would create new offices within the Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigation to “monitor, analyze, investigate, and prosecute domestic terrorism.”

Read the rest of the story at ABC News

The wait is on in Pennsylvania, where a slugfest of a Republican Senate primary remained too close to call Wednesday.

The leading candidates, celebrity TV doctor Mehmet Oz and former hedge fund executive Dave McCormick, are each projecting confidence that they will prevail when all votes are counted.

But a clear result could be days — if not weeks — away. Pennsylvania law requires an automatic recount if the margin of victory is within a half-percentage point. At noon Wednesday, with 96 percent of the expected ballots tabulated, Oz led McCormick by about 2,400 votes, or about two-tenths of a percentage point.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

First lady Jill Biden is speaking out about the nationwide baby formula shortage in a new public service announcement.

In the PSA released Tuesday, Biden and the U.S. surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy, touch on parents’ frustrations about the lack of formula and how President Joe Biden and his team are “working around the clock” to get them what they need.

“Becoming a mom or dad means falling in love deeper than you ever thought possible,” said Jill Biden, 70. “And in those first few months of sleepless nights of endless diapers and dirty dishes and worrying about every little danger, your love can feel like the only thing that keeps you going.”

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Assuming his role as consoler in chief, President Joe Biden traveled to Buffalo, New York, on Tuesday to visit a community in mourning and call out the dangers of white supremacy on the national stage following Saturday’s racially-motivated mass shooting at a supermarket that left 10 Black people dead, three wounded and others fearing for their lives.

Biden wanted to meet with victims’ families to “try to bring some comfort to the community, particularly to those who lost loved ones” and “grieve with them,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday.

Read the rest of the story at ABC News

Nordic neighbors Finland and Sweden jointly submitted their applications to join NATO on Wednesday, as Russia’s war in Ukraine reshapes European security.

The boost to the Western military alliance — assuming Turkish objections to the pair joining can be overcome — is a major setback for Russian President Vladimir Putin on the global stage. It takes place even as his forces gain full control of the key port city of Mariupol after the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance surrendered.

Read the rest of the story at HuffPost

Fox News personality Tucker Carlson is facing intense scrutiny from extremism experts, media watchdogs and progressive activists who say there is a link between the top-rated host’s “great replacement” rhetoric and the apparent mindset of the suspect in the weekend’sdeadly rampage in Buffalo, New York.

The white suspect accused of killing 10 people and wounding three others Saturday at a supermarket in a predominantly Black neighborhood apparently wrote a “manifesto” espousing the white supremacist “great replacement” conspiracy theory — elements of which Carlson has pushed on his weeknight show.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

In a move to ease a nationwide shortage of infant formula, the Food and Drug Administration on Monday said it has agreed with Abbott Nutrition on a plan to reopen the company’s manufacturing plant in Sturgis, Michigan, after it was shut down following the discovery of a deadly bacteria inside.

The FDA also announced Monday it would make it easier for global manufacturers to sell their product inside the U.S. so long as they meet certain criteria.

Read the rest of the story at ABC News

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., led a Republican congressional delegation to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Saturday in Kyiv.

After leaving Ukraine, McConnell said in a statement that the group witnessed firsthand the “courage, unity and resolve of the Ukrainian people,” and that they “only ask for the tools they need for self-defense.”

Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, John Cornyn of Texas, and John Barrasso of Wyoming were among the delegation.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Justice Clarence Thomas says the Supreme Court has been changed by the shocking leak of a draft opinion earlier this month. The opinion suggests the court is poised to overturn the right to an abortion recognized nearly 50 years ago in Roe v. Wade.

The conservative Thomas, who joined the court in 1991 and has long called for Roe v. Wade to be overturned, described the leak as an unthinkable breach of trust.

“When you lose that trust, especially in the institution that I’m in, it changes the institution fundamentally. You begin to look over your shoulder. It’s like kind of an infidelity that you can explain it, but you can’t undo it,” he said while speaking at a conference Friday evening in Dallas.

Read the rest of the story at ABC News

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., was hospitalized this weekend after suffering a minor stroke, he said Sunday.

He was admitted to George Washington University Hospital after experiencing lightheadedness and acute neck pain while delivering a speech in western Maryland, the senator said in a statement.

An angiogram Sunday indicated he had “experienced a minor stroke in the form of a small venous tear at the back of my head,” Van Hollen said, adding that he has been told there are no “long-term effects or damage as a result of this incident.”

Read the rest of the story at ABC News

President Joe Biden on Thursday addressed the U.S. reaching the milestone of 1 million coronavirus deaths.

“One million empty chairs around the family dinner table,” Biden said in a pre-taped video message. “Each irreplaceable, irreplaceable losses. Each leaving behind a family or community forever changed because of this pandemic. Our heart goes out to all those who are struggling.”

Biden has ordered flags be flown at half-staff at the White House and all federal public buildings and grounds until sunset on May 16 in remembrance of those who lost their lives to the virus.

Read the rest of the story at ABC News

The White House announced a series of measures Thursday to address a shortage of baby formula across the U.S. after President Joe Biden met with key retailers and manufacturers.

The steps include an effort to reduce red tape and to speed formula production and to make it easier to import formula from abroad, as well as a plan to crack down on price gouging nationwide.

“We know families are concerned,” a senior administration official said on a call with reporters. Biden held a “productive” virtual meeting with the heads of Gerber, Reckitt, Target, Walmart and other companies about increasing supply and availability.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul defied leaders of both parties Thursday and single-handedly delayed until next week Senate approval of an additional $40 billion to help Ukraineand its allies withstand Russia’s three-month old invasion.

With the Senate poised to debate and vote on the package of military and economic aid, Paul denied leaders the unanimous agreement they needed to proceed. The bipartisan measure, backed by President Joe Biden, underscores U.S. determination to reinforce its support for Ukraine’s outnumbered forces.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

President Joe Biden hit the road Wednesday to talk about the role American farmers can play in alleviating global food shortages caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

At O’Connor Farms, a family-run farm in Kankakee, Illinois, Biden outlined steps his administration is taking to help farmers ramp up domestic production.

“Right now America is fighting on two fronts,” Biden said. “At home, it’s inflation and rising prices. Abroad, it’s helping Ukrainians defend their democracy and feeding those who are left hungry around the world because Russian atrocities exist.”

Read the rest of the story at ABC News

President Joe Biden on Tuesday continued his sharpened attack on what he’s now calling the GOP’s “ultra-MAGA” agenda as he pitched his plan to tackle inflation.

His remarks came as the national average price of a gallon of gas hit a record high of $4.37 a gallon, AAA said.

“I want every American to know that I am taking inflation very seriously,” Biden said from the podium in the South Court Auditorium. “It is my top domestic priority.”

Read the rest of the story at ABC News

​​Donald Trump failed to deliver a victory Tuesday in a Nebraska GOP primary for a gubernatorial candidate accused of groping multiple women, NBC News projects, handing the former president his first loss of this year’s election season.

University of Nebraska Regent Jim Pillen won the party’s nomination after a heated contest, defeating a state senator and self-funding businessman Charles Herbster, whom Trump campaigned for last week even after eight women — including a Republican state senator — accused Trump’s favored candidate of inappropriately touching or kissing them against their will.

Pillen, boosted by support from term-limited Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts, who bankrolled an outside group, appears set to finish with a comfortable lead over Herbster.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

As he seeks to close the nation’s digital divide, President Joe Biden announced on Monday new commitments from 20 internet service providers to expand discounted, high-speed internet access to tens of millions of low-income Americans under an existing federal program.

“It’s going to change people’s lives,” Biden said from the White House Rose Garden. “From rural Appalachia to Brooklyn, to the Black Belt families who have struggled to get internet.”

Read the rest of the story at ABC News

The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline jumped 15 cents over past two weeks to $4.38 per gallon.

Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey said Sunday that the current price sits just a nickel below the highest average price in history — $4.43, set on March 11.

The average price at the pump is $1.36 higher than it was one year ago.

Read the rest of the story at ABC News

First lady Jill Biden traveled Sunday into war-torn Ukraine, where she met with her Ukrainian counterpart in a Mother’s Day show of solidarity for women fleeing Russia’s invasion.

After she crossed the Slovakian border, Biden traveled to the western city of Uzhhorod, where she met Olena Zelenska, Ukraine’s first lady, at a school. 

“I thought it was important to show the Ukrainian people that this war has to stop and this war has been brutal and that the people of the United States stand with the people of Ukraine,” Biden said.

Read the rest of the story at HuffPost

Russian President Vladimir Putin marked Victory Day, celebrating the Soviet Union’s World War II triumph over Nazi Germany with a grand display of military might and an address from Moscow’s Red Square.

The Russian leader linked his war in Ukraine with that historic struggle in a speech that blamed the West for the conflict but contained no new escalations.

Progress in Ukraine has eluded Putin, with Russian forces devastating but far from defeating the country in a war that has ground on for more than two months. With his military failing to secure the gains Putin may have wanted in order to declare success, analysts have speculated about whether the Kremlin may use the occasion to further intensify its struggling campaign.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

President Joe Biden on Thursday named Karine Jean-Pierre as the new White House press secretary, succeeding Jen Psaki. Jean-Pierre will be the first Black woman and the first openly gay person to hold the position.

“Karine not only brings the experience, talent and integrity needed for this difficult job, but she will continue to lead the way in communicating about the work of the Biden-Harris Administration on behalf of the American people,” the president said in a statement. “Jill and I have known and respected Karine a long time and she will be a strong voice speaking for me and this Administration.”

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

The Federal Reserve ramped up its attack on rapid inflation on Wednesday, approving its biggest interest rate increase since 2000, detailing a plan to shrink its massive bond holdings and signaling that it will continue working to cool the economy as it tries to tamp down the fastest price increases in four decades.

Yet investors found a reason for relief. While the Fed raised interest rates half a percentage point and its chair, Jerome H. Powell, said similarly large increases would be “on the table” at the Fed’s upcoming meetings, he shot down the idea that policymakers were considering an even larger move, as some investors had feared.

Read the rest of the story at The New York Times

Donald Trump Jr. testified Tuesday before the House committee investigating last year’s attack on the Capitol, a person close to the former president‘s oldest son said Wednesday.

Appearing by videoconference for two hours, Trump Jr. spoke to the panel voluntarily, the source said, adding that the discussion was “pretty uneventful.”

A spokesperson for the committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump Jr., through a spokesperson, declined to comment.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

A top Trump political appointee delayed a report on Russian election interference in the 2020 election in a way that created the perception that intelligence was politicized, according to a new report by the Department of Homeland Security watchdog.

The DHS inspector general report also found that employees of DHS’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis made changes to the analysis of foreign election interference “that appear to be based in part on political considerations, potentially impacting I&A’s compliance with Intelligence Community policy.”

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Buoyed by former President Donald Trump’s endorsement, J.D. Vance prevailed in Ohio’s competitive Republican Senate primary Tuesday and will face off in November against Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan, NBC News projects.

In the gubernatorial contest, incumbent Republican Mike DeWine secured the nomination in his bid for re-election, NBC News projects, while former Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley won the Democratic nod.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

CNN chief legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin reacted to a leaked draft of a Supreme Court majority opinion overturning Roe v. Wade on Monday night, warning the same-sex marriage could be next.

Toobin appeared on Don Lemon Tonight, where the eponymous host asked, “What other cases have been decided based on these precedents that could now be in jeopardy?”

Toobin didn’t hesitate.

“Same-sex marriage is, certainly,” he replied. “This came up a lot during the confirmation hearings of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson – that it is quite clear that the Republican majority–the Republican politicians, at least, think this is the time to roll back a whole series of opinions that were passed when the Supreme Court had a very different majority.”

Read the rest of the story at CNN

The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol is requesting interviews with three Republican members of Congress, including one whom members of the Oath Keepers militia group are alleged to have said they needed to protect because he had “critical data.”

Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., contended in letters sent Monday to Reps. Ronny Jackson of Texas, Andy Biggs of Arizona and Mo Brooks of Alabama that the trio have information that could be helpful to the panel’s investigation into “the facts, circumstances, and causes of the January 6th attack.”

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois said Sunday he “would love” for former Vice President Mike Pence to voluntarily appear before the House select committee investigating the January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol.

Pence played a crucial role in the congressional proceedings on January 6, rebuffing pressure by then-President Donald Trump to reject electoral votes from key battleground states he lost and ultimately reaffirming President Biden’s win. While some of his aides have answered questions from House investigators, Pence has not done so.

Asked whether he would like to see the former vice president come forward and meet with the select committee, Kinzinger, one of two Republicans on the panel, said he “would love to see that.”

Read the rest of the story at CBS News

The White House Correspondents’ Dinner made its grand return Saturday night, two years after the pandemic shut it down and six years since the last time a commander-in-chief attended the event.

President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden attended the charity event at the Washington Hilton, the first sitting president to do so since 2016. Former President Donald Trump vocally snubbed his three invitations during his time in office.

Biden referenced his predecessor during his speech and said, “We had a horrible plague followed by two years of COVID.”

Read the rest of the story at ABC News

Moderna asked the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday to expand the use of its Covid-19 vaccine to children ages 6 months to 5 years.

The drugmaker’s request will now be considered by the FDA, which is expected to make a final decision in June.

The agency is expected to seek the advice of its advisory committee, the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

House Republicans on Wednesday rallied behind Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy as he defended himself over audio recordings surfaced of him blaming former President Donald Trump for the Jan. 6 riot and suggesting that some GOP lawmakers were inciting violence and should be kicked off social media platforms.

In the first closed-door GOP meeting since the New York Times released recordings of a Jan. 10, 2021, leadership call in which McCarthy was sharply critical of Trump and some hard-right members of Congress, the California Republican argued that he was speaking hypothetically and walking through various “scenarios” following the attack on the Capitol as Congress met to certify the 2020 election results.

Read the rest of the story at ABC News

A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the Department of Homeland Security to halt its efforts to dissolve a coronavirus-related border restriction initiated in 2020, potentially derailing the Biden administration‘s goal of rescinding the Trump-era policy by late May.

U.S. District Judge Robert R. Summerhays of the Western District of Louisiana, who said Monday he intended to issue the injunction, barred Homeland Security from taking steps to wind down the policy known as Title 42 over the next two weeks. He also set a May 13 hearing date to determine whether the pause should be extended beyond May 23, when the administration aims to fully rescind the rule, which was initiated by former President Donald Trump.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Dr. Anthony Fauci expressed optimism about the state of the pandemic in the U.S. this week.

“We are certainly right now in this country out of the pandemic phase,” Fauci, the White House’s chief medical adviser and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told “PBS NewsHour” on Tuesday.

He later told The Washington Post that the U.S. had entered the “control” stage of the pandemic, as the coronavirus is causing far lower levels of hospitalizations and deaths than during the winter surge of the omicron variant.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Russia’s Foreign Minister said Tuesday that if the U.S. and Ukraine‘s other Western allies continue to arm the country as it battles Moscow’s invading forces, the risk of the war escalating into a nuclear conflict “should not be underestimated.” In an interview with Russian TV, Sergey Lavrov said that by providing weapons, NATO nations were “pouring oil on the fire” and risking “World War III.”

He said the ongoing arms shipments to Ukraine meant NATO was “in essence engaged in war with Russia” already.

The veteran Kremlin diplomat issued his latest warning as U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met in Germany with NATO allies, urging European nations to increase their military aid to Ukraine. Germany’s defense chief announced Tuesday that the country would start sending self-propelled armored anti-aircraft guns to Ukraine.

Read the rest of the story at CBS News

Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., was cited Tuesday for having a loaded 9 mm handgun at a security checkpoint at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina, the second time he has been stopped with a firearm at an airport since he took office last year.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said the incident occurred just before 9 a.m., when it was notified that Transportation Security Administration agents had found a firearm, ammunition and a magazine in Cawthorn’s belongings at a security checkpoint, according to a police report.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Vice President Kamala Harris tested positive for Covid on Tuesday, her office said.

At the time of the test result, Harris was not exhibiting any coronavirus symptoms, said her press secretary, Kirsten Allen. An adviser to the vice president later said Harris’ physician prescribed the therapeutic drug Paxlovid, a Covid antiviral pill from Pfizer that has been cleared for use in people at high risk for developing severe illness.

Advisers have not said whether Harris, 57, is now exhibiting symptoms.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

A New York state judge on Monday found Donald Trump in civil contempt of court and ordered him to pay $10,000 a day until he turns over documents that have been subpoenaed by the state attorney general’s office.

Attorney General Letitia James had sought the fine as a way to force the former president to turn over documents her investigators say they need as part of their civil probe into the Trump Organization’s business practices.

In a pair of tweets, James hailed Justice Arthur Engoron’s ruling as “a major victory.”

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

A federal judge said Monday he intends to temporarily block the Biden administration from lifting the coronavirus border restrictionknown as Title 42.

It would be a victory for Republican-led states and some led by Democrats that sued to keep the immigration policy, which was initiated in the Trump administration.

U.S. District Judge Robert R. Summerhays of the Western District of Louisiana announced his intention to grant the motion in a virtual status conference Monday.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News 

For the second year in a row, Covid was the third-leading cause of death in the U.S., according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report released Friday.

Covid was the underlying cause of more than 415,000 deaths in 2021, or 13 percent of the national total, the report found. That’s an increase from 10 percent in 2020. Per capita, Covid death rates increased among every age group in 2021 except those 85 and older.

In both 2020 and 2021, the only conditions that killed more people than Covid were heart disease, which caused 693,000 deaths last year, and cancer, at 605,000 deaths in 2021. The data is provisional, though, so the numbers could change as the CDC collects more information. The Covid tally also doesn’t include 45,000 deaths for which the coronavirus was a contributing factor rather than an underlying cause.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

A former White House official warned Mark Meadows, who served as former President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, that the events of Jan. 6, 2021, could turn violent, according to a court filing from the House panel investigating the Capitol riot.

Cassidy Hutchinson, a special assistant in the Trump White House, said Meadows received information before the day of the attack that “indicated that there could be violence,” according to transcripts contained in the 248-page filing late Friday.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Philadelphia is ending its indoor mask mandate, city health officials said Thursday night, abruptly reversing course just days after city residents had to start wearing masks again amid a sharp increase in infections.

The Board of Health voted Thursday to rescind the mandate, according to the Philadelphia health department, which released a statement that cited “decreasing hospitalizations and a leveling of case counts.”

The mandate went into effect Monday. Philadelphia had ended its earlier indoor mask mandate March 2.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

President Joe Biden said Thursday that the U.S. would give another $1.3 billion in military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine but that additional funding will soon be needed from Congress to maintain the flow of weapons.

Biden said the latest aid would include $800 million in heavy artillery weapons, including 72 howitzers and 144,000 rounds of ammunition, along with 121 tactical “ghost” drones. The U.S. also plans to provide another $500 million in humanitarian and economic assistance.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

A pregame performance at a Washington Nationals baseball game featuring the Army’s Golden Knights prompted a brief evacuation of the U.S. Capitol.

Capitol Police evacuated the building Wednesday but then said there was no threat in a series of messages to staff members and journalists who work there.

“The Capitol was evacuated out of an abundance of caution this evening. There is no threat at the Capitol. More details to come,” police said in a statement.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

An audio recording obtained by NBC News appears to show that former President Donald Trump’s highly publicized interview with Piers Morgan did not end with Trump storming off the set, as edited promotional video clips suggest.

Instead, according to the recording, which was provided by Trump’s spokesman, the two men thanked each other and laughed at the conclusion of the interview for Talk TV, a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

An attorney for Donald Trump hit back Tuesday at an effort by New York Attorney General Letitia James to have the former president held in contempt, claiming he doesn’t have documents demanded by James.

James’ office asked a state judge on April 7 to issue an order of contempt against Trump, saying he failed to comply with a previous ruling requiring him to turn over documents by March 31 as part of an investigation into his company’s financial practices.

Read the rest of the story at CBS News

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., on Tuesday appealed a ruling by a federal judge in Georgia who said a lawsuit challenging her qualifications to run for re-election can move forward.

U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg denied Greene’s request for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to block the suit Monday. Free Speech for People, an election and campaign finance reform organization, filed the lawsuit last month on behalf of a group of Georgia voters, alleging that Greene facilitated the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.

Russian forces have since retreated from northern Ukraine, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction. The United States and many European countries accused Russia of committing war crimes after graphic images emerged of dead civilians in the town of Bucha, near Kyiv. Moscow is now said to be refocusing its offensive on the eastern Donbas region, as it attempts to capture the besieged port city of Mariupol.

Read the rest of the story at ABC News

Former MSNBC contributor Malcolm Nance revealed Monday he is fighting alongside Ukrainian soldiers as part of the country’s foreign legion.

The network’s former national security analyst has been absent from MSNBC’s coverage of the war in recent weeks. On Monday’s The ReidOut, he revealed why.

Nance, who spent 20 years in the U.S. Navy, told host Joy Reid he left the U.S. just a few weeks into Russia’s unprovoked war in Ukraine after he had seen enough carnage.

Read the rest of the story and see the video at Mediaite

On any given night, Donald J. Trump will stroll onto the patio at Mar-a-Lago and say a few words from a translucent lectern, welcoming whatever favored candidate is paying him for the privilege of fund-raising there.

“This is a special place,” Mr. Trump said on one such evening in February at his private club. “I used to say ‘ground zero’ but after the World Trade Center we don’t use that term anymore. This is the place where everybody wants to be.”

For 15 months, a parade of supplicants — senators, governors, congressional leaders and Republican strivers of all stripes — have made the trek to pledge their loyalty and pitch their candidacies. Some have hired Mr. Trump’s advisers, hoping to gain an edge in seeking his endorsement. Some have bought ads that ran only on Fox News in South Florida. Some bear gifts; others dish dirt. Almost everyone parrots his lie that the 2020 election was stolen.

Read the rest of the story at The New York Times

The former president wound up sending another statement out, this one wishing “Happy Easter to all including the Radical Left Maniacs who are doing everything possible to destroy our Country. May they not succeed, but let them, nevertheless, be happy, healthy, wealthy, and well!”

Read the rest of the story at Mediaite

The Covid-19 pandemic, having shaken the world for the past two years, has entered a new phase, one driven by a combination of fear, apathy and uncertainty. In some parts of the country, masks have become rare sights, and the assumption is the pandemic is over. But in other places, masking is back as concerns rise about a new variant and the potential for another spike in cases.

Last week, Philadelphia announced it was reinstating an indoor mask mandate until rates drop again. Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed course and said masks will continue to be required on commercial flights until at least May 3. That mandate had originally been set to expire Monday.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News