President Joe Biden announced $200 million in pre-approved aid for Ukraine after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s marathon day of meetings here on Tuesday.

The latest tranche of assistance came as the Ukrainian president visited the White House and Capitol Hill to make the case for additional U.S. support as an aid package with billions in funds for the war-torn country stalls amid partisan disagreements over immigration policies.

“We’ll continue to supply Ukraine with critical weapons and equipment as long as we can, including $200 million I just approved today in critical needed equipment, additional air defense interceptors, artillery and ammunition,” Biden said during a news conference with Zelenskyy. “But without supplemental funding, we’re rapidly coming to an end of our ability to help Ukraine respond to the urgent operational demands that it has.”

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Special counsel Jack Smith on Monday asked the Supreme Court to immediately step in to decide whether former President Donald Trump has immunity from prosecution for his actions seeking to overturn the 2020 election.

“This case presents a fundamental question at the heart of our democracy: whether a former President is absolutely immune from federal prosecution for crimes committed while in office,” Smith wrote in the court filing.

Smith said it was “of imperative public importance” that the high court decide the question so that Trump’s trial, currently scheduled for March, can move forward as quickly as possible.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., is in plea negotiations with federal prosecutors over the criminal charges filed against him this year, according to a new court filing.

“The parties are presently engaged in plea negotiations with the goal of resolving this matter without the need for a trial,” prosecutors wrote Monday in a document submitted to the district judge overseeing the case. “The parties wish to continue those negotiations over the next thirty days.”

Santos lawyer Joe Murray would not confirm whether Santos would be taking a plea deal. A spokesperson for the Eastern District of New York declined to comment.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

The Texas Supreme Court temporarily blocked a historic lower court ruling on Friday that allowed a Texas woman to get an emergency abortion.

The state’s attorney general asked the high court to reverse a judge’s decision granting a woman’s request for an abortion for a pregnancy with a severe anomaly.

The Supreme Court said it will weigh in on the matter and put the lower court’s decision on hold until it has more time to consider the case, according to court documents.

Read the rest of the story at ABC News

President Joe Biden invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the White House for a meeting on Tuesday and he has accepted, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and another White House official said Sunday.

Biden intends to “underscore the United States’ unshakeable commitment to supporting the people of Ukraine” in its war against Russia, Jean-Pierre said.

“As Russia ramps up its missile and drone strikes against Ukraine, the leaders will discuss Ukraine’s urgent needs and the vital importance of the United States’ continued support at this critical moment,” she added.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Senator Tommy Tuberville, Republican of Alabama, on Tuesday lifted his blockade of nearly all the military promotions he had delayed for almost a year in protest of a Pentagon policy ensuring abortion access for service members, saying he would continue to hold up only the most senior generals.

Hours after Mr. Tuberville said he would allow the promotions of about 440 service members, the Senate confirmed all of them in one fell swoop, by a single voice vote.

“Thank God,” Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, said after he pushed the promotions through. “These military officers will now get the promotions they so rightfully earned.”

Read the rest of the story at The New York Times

A classified briefing for senators on the White House‘s request for aid for Israel and Ukraine became “heated” Tuesday, with Republican members storming out of the meeting.

The briefing, led by the secretaries of defense and state, as well as the director of national intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was held behind closed doors to allow all 100 senators to ask questions about the administration’s funding request.

But it fell apart, senators from both parties said, after Republicans began asking about the border. GOP members in both chambers have demanded serious changes to immigration policy to address rising migrant crossings in exchange for passing new aid for Ukraine.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

President Joe Biden said Tuesday that his re-election campaign was prompted in part by Donald Trump’s decision to run for president again and an effort to block his predecessor from reclaiming the White House.

“If Trump wasn’t running, I’m not sure I’d be running,” Biden said at a campaign event in Boston, adding that he “cannot let him win.”

Upon returning to the White House on Tuesday night, Biden was asked by a reporter if he would bow out of the race if Trump drops out. “No, not now,” the president responded.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Former President Donald Trump will likely attend his civil fraud trial on Thursday, according to sources familiar with the matter. He is not expected to be in attendance on Wednesday when his son Eric testifies.

Trump last attended the trial on Nov. 6 when he testified as the last state witness. In total, the former president has attended the trial for eight of the 39 days the court has been in session.

Trump is scheduled to testify on Monday, Dec. 11, as the last witness in the case.

Read the rest of the story at ABC News

Sen. John Fetterman commissioned expelled Rep. George Santos to unwittingly make a video on the celebrity video message platform Cameo telling Sen. Bob Menendez – whom Fetterman has called on to resign over charges he acted as a foreign agent to Egypt – to “stay strong.”

“I thought my ethically-challenged colleague @BobMenendezNJ could use some encouragement given his substantial legal problems. So, I approached a seasoned expert on the matter to give ‘Bobby from Jersey’ some advice,” Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat, tweeted Monday.

In the video, Santos, the New York Republican who last week became only the sixth lawmaker to be expelled from Congress after a damning ethics report, says, “Hey, Bobby! I don’t think I need to tell you, but these people that want to make you get in trouble and want to kick you out and make you run away, you make them put up or shut up!”

Read the rest of the story at CNN

Republicans on the House Oversight Committee released a document showing payment from Hunter Biden’s business entity, Owasco PC, to President Joe Biden when he was not in office, but neglected to include evidence that the president’s son was repaying his father for a car.

The redacted document provided to CNN shows that an account affiliated with Hunter Biden paid Joe Biden $1,380 on September 17, 2018. The document states the payments would occur on a monthly basis, and the panel is aware of at least three monthly payments to Joe Biden in total, a source familiar with the committee’s work told CNN.

But documents provided to CNN appear to show that Hunter Biden was repaying his father for a Ford Raptor, information that had already been publicized. A source familiar with the payment told CNN that Hunter Biden’s credit was low at the time while he was struggling with addiction, so he couldn’t finance the car and his father signed for the car, which was in Joe Biden’s name.

Read the rest of the story at CNN

Representative James Comer (KY) claimed his fellow House Republicans have enough votes to advance their impeachment inquiry into President Joe Bidenbecause — as he put it — the Walmart shoppers have spoken.

The House Oversight Committee chairman joined Maria Bartiromo for Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, where they spoke about when and if Republicans would secure the votes needed to launch the inquiry. Comer was confident they have enough moderates on board to move forward now since… well, here’s how he explained it:

I had a reporter ask ‘Well, what’s changed,’ you know, because the press has been riding ‘We didn’t have the votes forever.’

Read the rest of the story at Mediaite

The chair of Florida’s Republican Party says he will not resign over a woman’s allegation that he raped her, saying in an email to supporters that he is innocent. He did not address any specifics of the accusation that has roiled the state’s conservative politics.

Christian Ziegler sent the statement to state Republicans on Saturday, saying that he and his wife, Bridget Ziegler, are being targeted because they are “such loud political voices.” His wife co-founded the conservative group Moms for Liberty, which has led a campaign with Gov. Ron DeSantis to roll back sex education in Florida schools.

DeSantis said last week that while Christian Ziegler is innocent until proven guilty, he should resign to avoid becoming a distraction to their party. Ziegler insists he won’t quit.

Read the rest of the story at ABC News

The Israeli military said Sunday its ground offensive had expanded to every part of Gaza, and it ordered more evacuations in the crowded south while vowing that operations there against Hamas would carry “no less strength” than its shattering ones in the north.

Heavy bombardment followed evacuation orders, and Palestinians said they were running out of places to go in the sealed-off territory bordering Israel and Egypt. Many of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are crammed into the south after Israel ordered civilians to leave the north in the early days of the war, which was sparked by the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack in Israel that killed about 1,200, mostly civilians.

The United Nations estimates that 1.8 million Palestinians in Gaza have been displaced. Nearly 958,000 of them are in 99 U.N. facilities in the south, said Juliette Toma, director of communications at the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees.

Read the rest of the story at CBS News

Former President Donald Trump is on trial in New York in a $250 million civil lawsuit that could alter the personal fortune and real estate empire that helped propel Trump to the White House.

Trump, his sons Eric Trump and and Donald Trump Jr., and other top Trump Organization executives are accused by New York Attorney General Letitia James of engaging in a decade-long scheme in which they used “numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentation” to inflate Trump’s net worth in order get more favorable loan terms. The trial comes after the judge in the case ruled in a partial summary judgment that Trump had submitted “fraudulent valuations” for his assets, leaving the trial to determine additional actions and what penalty, if any, the defendants should receive.

Read the rest of the story at ABC News

Israeli officials obtained Hamas’s battle plan for the Oct. 7 terrorist attack more than a year before it happened, documents, emails and interviews show. But Israeli military and intelligence officials dismissed the plan as aspirational, considering it too difficult for Hamas to carry out.

The approximately 40-page document, which the Israeli authorities code-named “Jericho Wall,” outlined, point by point, exactly the kind of devastating invasion that led to the deaths of about 1,200 people.

The translated document, which was reviewed by The New York Times, did not set a date for the attack, but described a methodical assault designed to overwhelm the fortifications around the Gaza Strip, take over Israeli cities and storm key military bases, including a division headquarters.

Read the rest of the story at The New York Times

Israel renewed its assault on the Gaza Strip on Friday after the end of a weeklong deal with Hamas to pause the fighting and release more than 100 hostages as well as Palestinian prisoners.

Israel’s military said it had “resumed combat” shortly after the truce deal was due to expire at 7 a.m. Friday local time (midnight Thursday ET) — accusing Hamas of violating the terms of the agreement by firing rockets toward Israel from Gaza.

Around an hour before that announcement, the Israel Defense Forces said it had successfully intercepted a launch from Gaza.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

One of former president Donald Trump’s current attorneys told special counsel Jack Smith’s team that, within days of the Justice Department issuing a subpoena last year for all classified documents at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, she “very clearly” warned Trump that if he failed to fully comply — but then swore he did — “it’s going to be a crime,” according to sources familiar with the matter.

Sources said the lawyer, Jennifer Little, told investigators Trump “absolutely” understood the warning, which came during a pivotal meeting at Mar-a-Lago with Trump and another attorney, Evan Corcoran, who had recently joined Trump’s legal team.

What Little allegedly told Smith’s team earlier this year may shed further light on how Smith came to accuse Trump of knowingly violating the law, saying in his June 9 indictment against Trump that the former president defied a subpoena by hiding more than 100 classified documents from the FBI and even his own legal team, and then having his legal team certify otherwise.

Read the rest of the story at ABC News

Speaking at the 2023 DealBook Summit in New York on Wednesday, Elon Musk, the owner of social media site X (formerly Twitter), scoffed at advertisers leaving the platform because of antisemitic posts he amplified there.

“If somebody’s gonna try to blackmail me with advertising? Blackmail me with money? Go f—yourself. Go. F—. Yourself. Is that clear?” Musk singled out Disney CEO Bob Iger in the audience, saying “Hi Bob!”

He also implied that his fans would boycott those advertisers in kind. “The whole world will know that those advertisers killed the company and we will document it in great detail,” Musk threatened.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Henry Kissinger, the toweringly influential former secretary of state who earned a reputation as a sagacious diplomat but drew international condemnation and accusations of war crimes for his key role in widening the American presence in Vietnam and the U.S. bombing of Cambodia, died Wednesday. He was 100.

Kissinger’s consulting firm announced his death, saying he died at his home in Connecticut. No cause was given.

Kissinger, a Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany, reached the pinnacle of the American political establishment and in turn became an unlikely household name. He was secretary of state and national security adviser under two Republican presidents, Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, and advised powerful leaders in both American political parties for decades.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

The gunfire, bombardment and cries of anguished relatives have for days now largely been replaced by the relief and joy of hostages reunited with loved ones and growing diplomatic murmurs of an extended cease-fire.

But while the U.S. and others push for a broader deal, government rhetoric and public opinion in Israel seem unequivocal: Sooner or later the intense military campaign in the Gaza Strip must and will resume.

A four-day pause in Israel’s war against Hamas has been extended by two days. And CIA Director William Burns is in Qatar, which hosts Hamas leaders and has mediated negotiations, focusing on ways to extend the reprieve so more hostages can be released, according to a senior administration official.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News 

The political network financed largely by billionaire Charles Koch is endorsing former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley in the Republican primary, affording her new support against her Republican rivals in the fight to be the alternative to Donald Trump.

The announcement was made in a memo to grassroots activists via the network’s advocacy arm Tuesday and is being backed by a multimillion-dollar ad campaign beginning this week in states that hold early primary contests and several that vote on Super Tuesday.

“When we announced our decision to engage in our first ever Republican presidential primary, we made it clear that we’d be looking for a candidate who can turn the page on our political dysfunction — and win. It’s clear that candidate is Nikki Haley,” Emily Seidel, senior advisor to AFP Action, said in a statement. “Nikki Haley represents a new generation of leadership and offers a bold, positive vision for our future. AFP Action is proud to be endorsing her and we will be doing everything we can to help make her the next President of the United States.” 

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Eleven more hostages who were abducted from Israel on Oct. 7 have been released and are in the custody of the Red Cross, an Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson said.Read More

The 11 hostages released from Gaza Monday were dual citizens — from Israel as well as France, Germany and Argentina — while the 33 released Palestinians are comprised of 30 minors and three women, Qatari officials said.

Israel identified the returned hostages as 12-year-old Eitan Yahalomi, 51-year-old Karina Engel-Bart, 18-year-old Mika Engel, 12-year-old Yuval Engel, 34-year-old Sharon Aloni-Cunio, 3-year-old Yuli Cunio, 3-year-old Emma Cunio, 16-year-old Sahar Calderon, 12-year-old Erez Calderon, 16-year-old Or Yaakov and 12-year-old Yagil Yaakov.

Read the rest of the story at ABC News

Former President Jimmy Carter is in Atlanta, expected to attend services Monday and Tuesday honoring the late first lady Rosalynn Carter, according to a source with knowledge of his whereabouts.

The former president is expected to attend a ceremony on Monday at the Carter Center as well as services on Tuesday at Emory University, but the source cautioned that it depends on how well he rests and how he is feeling. A spokesperson for the Carter Center confirmed separately on Monday that Carter would attend a tribute service on Tuesday at Glenn Memorial Church.

Jimmy Carter, 99, entered hospice care in February and has since rarely been seen in public.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

The George Santos saga could soon come to an end on Capitol Hill, though his legal troubles will continue well into 2024.

As soon as this week, the House could vote to expel Santos, the indicted New York Republican congressman, after a blistering Ethics Committee report concluded he had used his campaign funds to pay for personal expenses, including rent, trips, luxury items, cosmetic treatments like Botox and a subscription to the adult content site OnlyFans.

The report also found that Santos deceived his donors and knowingly filed false campaign finance statements. (Santos, who blasted the report as “biased,” has pleaded not guilty to the federal charges.)

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Former President Donald Trump was met with loud boos as he arrived at Williams-Brice Stadium in South Carolina on Saturday ahead of the Palmetto Bowl.

Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential primary, was in Columbia to watch the Palmetto Bowl college football game between the University of South Carolina’s Gamecocks and Clemson University’s Tigers.

The former president remains a popular figure in South Carolina, a state where he beat President Joe Biden by 12 points in 2020. South Carolina is a key early voting state, and Trump has maintained a commanding lead in polls over his GOP rivals, including former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.

Read the rest of the story at Newsweek

As the truce between Hamas and Israel enters its fourth and final day Monday, both parties have discussed the possibility of extending it, a move which has the support of key nations, including the US and Qatar.

In a statement released Sunday evening, Hamas said it wants “to extend the truce after the four-day period ends, through serious efforts to increase the number of those released from imprisonment as stipulated in the humanitarian ceasefire agreement.”

The agreed upon truce already includes a provision for an extension of one extra day for every ten hostages Hamas is ready to free.

Read the rest of the story at CNN

Donald Trump renewed his attacks on the judge overseeing his civil fraud trial in New York and the judge’s law clerk, baselessly accusing them both of political bias in a Thanksgiving Day social media post.

Trump had repeatedly raged against Judge Arthur Engoron and his clerk, leading the judge to impose a gag order last month on the second day of the $250 million New York civil fraud trial against the former president. The gag order was later expanded, placing similar restrictions on members of Trump’s legal team.

A New York appeals court last week temporarily blocked the gag order, issuing a stay after Trump’s attorneys had appealed the order as “unconstitutional.” The pause will be in effect until at least Nov. 27, when a panel of appeals court judges will consider the issue.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

The judge overseeing the Fulton County election racketeering case declined Tuesday to send one of Donald Trump’s co-defendants to jail over recent social media posts and other comments he made targeting witnesses.

Judge Scott McAfee said that while the defendant, Harrison Floyd, made “technical violations” of his bond agreement, “not every violation compels revocation.”

The judge, however, modified Floyd’s bond agreement, adding a restriction on his social media activity. Floyd is prohibited from making any social media post “of any kind on any platform, whether public or private, concerning any codefendant or witness in this case or concerning any person specifically named in the indictment,” according to the modified bond agreement.

Read the rest of the story at CNN

After four days of testimony and two trips to the witness stand, former Trump Organization controller Jeff McConney broke down in tears on Tuesday, telling the court the toll of the numerous investigations and accusations of misconduct drove him to leave the company he loved working for after 35 years.

“I just couldn’t do it anymore,” McConney said. “I just wanted to relax and stop being accused of misrepresenting assets for the company that I loved working for.”

The emotional outcry came when Jesus Suarez, an attorney for former President Donald Trump, asked McConney before the lunch break why he left the Trump Org.

Read the rest of the story at CNN

The Colorado Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to hear appeals related to a judge’s ruling against an effort to keep former President Donald Trump off the state’s ballot in 2024.

The appeals were filed by both Trump and the Colorado voters arguing he is ineligible to hold office. Trump took issue with the state judge’s finding that he “engaged in insurrection,” while the voters disagreed with the ruling that the constitutional clause about ineligibility does not apply to the presidency.

State Judge Sarah B. Wallace last week dismissed a legal challengebrought by a group of Colorado voters represented by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which argued Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and his conduct surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot violated Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, making him ineligible for office.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

A federal appeals court moved on Monday to drastically weaken the Voting Rights Act, issuing a ruling that would effectively bar private citizens and civil rights groups from filing lawsuits under a central provision of the landmark civil rights law.

The ruling, made by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, found that only the federal government could bring a legal challenge under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, a crucial part of the law that prohibits election or voting practices that discriminate against Americans based on race.

The opinion is almost certain to be appealed to the Supreme Court. The court’s current conservative majority has issued several key decisions in recent years that have weakened the Voting Rights Act. But the justices have upheld the law in other instances, including in a June ruling that found Alabama had drawn a racially discriminatory congressional map.

Read the rest of the story at The New York Times

House Speaker Mike Johnson met with former President Donald TrumpMonday night at Mar-a-Lago, according to a GOP source familiar with the meeting.

The meeting at the former president’s Florida resort comes nearly a week after the newly minted speaker publicly endorsed Trump’s 2024 bid for the White House, becoming the highest-ranking Republican so far to do so. It was not immediately clear what the pair discussed during the meeting.

Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, is a longtime Trump ally and served on the former president’s impeachment team, though the role was largely ceremonial. He voted to sustain the objection to electoral votes on January 6, 2021.

Read the rest of the story at CNN

Former President Donald Trump on Sunday visited Texas near the US-Mexico border as he escalates his anti-immigrant rhetoric and campaigns on hard-line immigration policy proposals.

During the visit, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination received the endorsement of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

“We need Donald J. Trump back as our president of the United States of America,” the Republican governor said at an event with the former president in Edinburg, Texas.

Speaking in front of a small crowd at the South Texas International Airport, Trump bashed President Joe Biden over his handling of the border, arguing the US now has the “most unsecure border in the history, I believe, really, of the world.”

Read the rest of the story at CNN

Congressional leaders are hoping to muster a supplemental package to aid the war efforts in Ukraine and Israel, as well as make improvements to the U.S. immigration system, by the end of the year, according to multiple people involved in discussions.

The ambitious timeline would mean striking a deal that satisfies the funding requested by the Department of Defense to aid conflict zones, while simultaneously crafting an immigration package that not only provides resources for border security but includes a suite of policy changes to appease conservatives without alienating progressive Democrats.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Rosalynn Carter, who as first lady worked tirelessly on behalf of mental health reform and professionalized the role of the president’s spouse, died Sunday at the age of 96, according to The Carter Center.

Rosalynn Carter passed away peacefully with family by her side at her home in Plains, Georgia, the center said in a statement.

“Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished,” her husband, former President Jimmy Carter, said. “She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me.”

Read the rest of the story at CNN

Israeli soldiers have recovered the body of one of the hostages kidnapped during the Hamas-led attack on Israel last month from a building next to the Al-Shifa Hospital complex in Gaza City, the Israeli military said on Thursday night.

The body of Yehudit Weiss, 65, a resident of Be’eri, a kibbutz near the border with Gaza, was found by troops who in recent days have taken control of much of the hospital, the largest in the Gaza Strip, and were searching within and beneath it. Israeli officials say the hospital complex hosts major Hamas facilities, some in underground bunkers, a claim rejected by Hamas and hospital officials.

Read the rest of the story at The New York Times

A federal jury on Thursday convicted the man who attacked Paul Pelosi, the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, with a hammer during a break-in last year at the couple’s San Francisco home.

David DePape looked down and showed no emotion as the panel found him guilty of attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official.

The 12 jurors were pulled from a pool of 15 jurors and alternates comprising 12 men and three women. They deliberated for seven hours over two days, about 4½ hours on Wednesday and 2½ hours on Thursday.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Embattled Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., said Thursday he will not seek re-election next year after the House Ethics Committee released a scathing report that concluded there is “substantial evidence” he “violated federal criminal laws,” including using campaign funds for personal purposes and filing false campaign reports.

“I will continue on my mission to serve my constituents up until I am allowed. I will however NOT be seeking re-election for a second term in 2024 as my family deserves better than to be under the gun from the press all the time,” Santos said in a statement on X.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) gave a lengthy floor speech on Wednesday blasting Democrats and Republicans over what he sees as the failed leadership of the country, particularly on the issues of cutting spending and standing up to adversaries like China and Iran.

After throwing an elbow at Nikki Haley for her comment that anonymous online posting needs to end, Roy declared, “This country is in trouble, and the time for excuses is over.”

“No more excuses. No more excuses from my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. But most importantly of all, no more excuses from my colleagues on this side of the aisle,” he said, blasting his own party.

Read the rest of the story at Mediaite

President Joe Biden met face to face with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, on Wednesday and said afterward they had agreed to revive dormant military communication channels, crack down on fentanyl trafficking and work jointly to address rapid advances in artificial intelligence.

The four-hour summit broke a yearlong silence marked by rising tensions that have stoked fears that the two countries are on a path toward direct conflict.

At a news conference afterward, Biden said, “I believe they were some of the most productive and constructive discussions we’ve had.”

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Police said they evacuated the area around the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee in Washington, D.C., after making arrests at a chaotic pro-Palestinian rally Wednesday night.

U.S. Capitol Police said on X that a “large group of illegal protesters…have cleared out, but USCP officers will stay on scene out of an abundance of caution.” They previously put the number of demonstrators at about 150 and said they were “violently protesting in the area.”

Six officers were treated for injuries as a result of the demonstration, and one person was arrested and accused of assault on an officer, Capitol Police said on X.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Tensions erupted on Capitol Hill on Tuesday after a fistfight nearly broke out in a Senate hearing and a Republican congressman accused former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of assaulting him.

At a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing, an argument almost turned into a fistfight between GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma and the president of the Teamsters union, Sean O’Brien.

The exchange occurred when Mullin, a former MMA fighter, recalled an interaction he had with O’Brien in June on Twitter, now known as X.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Speaker Mike Johnson’s proposal to avert a government shutdown at the end of the week ran into increasing opposition on Monday from hard-line Republicans. But with Democratic opposition softening, it appeared the plan could be headed toward bipartisan approval within days.

The shifting alliances came as the House planned to take its first action on the bill as early as Tuesday. The legislation would fund federal agencies into early 2024 with two staggered deadlines, allowing lawmakers time to try to finish off the annual spending bills and putting off a debate over wartime aid to Israel and Ukraine.

It was reminiscent of the situation in the House about six weeks ago. Kevin McCarthy, the speaker at the time, was facing right-wing opposition to a measure to keep federal funding flowing and was forced to turn to Democrats to push through a temporary extension. The move cost Mr. McCarthy his speakership.

Read the rest of the story at The New York Times

The husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., recalled Monday being bludgeoned by a hammer-wielding assailant and waking up in a pool of his own blood.

Paul Pelosi, 83, took the witness stand to testify against the man accused of attacking him with a hammer in a politically motivated attack on Oct. 28, 2022.

“The door opened, and a very large man came in with a hammer in one hand and some ties in the other, and he said, ‘Where’s Nancy?’ as I think that woke me up,” Pelosi testified.  “I’m asleep, and he bursts in the door, and that woke me up.”

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

The Supreme Court on Monday announced it has formally adopted what it called a new code of conduct following allegations of ethics lapses, although its impact is likely to be limited because the justices are left to enforce it themselves.

The court issued a 14-page document that included five canons of conduct on issues such as when justices should recuse themselves and what kind of outside activities they can engage in.

“The undersigned justices are promulgating this Code of Conduct to set out succinctly and gather in one place the ethics rules and principles that guide the conduct of the Members of the Court,” the justices said in an attached statement. All nine justices signed the statement.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

None of the operating rooms at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza are functioning due to lack of electricity, the medical center’s director told Al-Araby TV on Sunday.

“The operating rooms are completely out of service, and now the wounded come to us and we cannot give them anything other than first aid,” Dr. Muhammad Abu Salmiya said.

The hospital director said staff were trying to keep premature babies at the hospital alive after oxygen ran out and they had to be moved from the neonatal unit’s incubators.

Read the rest of the story at CNN

New House Speaker Mike Johnson may already be losing his first big clash with the hard-right lawmakers who are making the Republican majority and the nation ungovernable as time races down to yet another federal funding cut-off.

The Louisiana conservative, who was just lifted from obscurity to second in line to the presidency, may soon find himself in the position that doomed his predecessor Rep. Kevin McCarthy — needing Democratic votes to keep the government open.

A funding deadline of Friday night means Washington again faces a wild ride of shutdown brinkmanship caused by extreme GOP lawmakers who either cannot or don’t want to help run the country. The imbroglio is not just harming America’s image as a functioning democracy abroad. It has already wasted every week of the House majority party’s term since the summer and threatens to further weaken the key swing-district members critical to the GOP’s hopes of keeping the gavel in next year’s election.

Read the rest of the story at CNN

Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina announced Sunday night that he is dropping out of the 2024 Republican presidential campaign, shocking a TV interviewer and even his own campaign staff with an abrupt departure from the race.

“When I go back to Iowa, it will not be as a presidential candidate. I am suspending my campaign,” Scott said in an appearance on former GOP Rep. Trey Gowdy’s Fox News program.

“I think the voters, who are the most remarkable people on the planet, have been really clear that they’re telling me: not now,” Scott continued.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Israel will implement four-hour pauses in fighting in parts of the northern Gaza Strip each day, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said on Thursday.

Already, tens of thousands of people have fled from northern Gaza to the south in recent days as Israeli forces held brief battle pauses amid their bombardment of the north, where humanitarian conditions have continued to worsen.

Going forward, an announcement will be made three hours before each pause and a second route along a coastal road will allow thousands more civilians to reach southern Gaza, Kirby said. Israeli officials told the U.S. there will be no operations in designated areas during those times, he told reporters in a briefing.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Federal law enforcement officials are investigating reports of suspicious letters sent to public officials, a Justice Department spokesperson said Thursday.

“We are aware of the reports and the FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service are investigating this matter,” the department spokesperson said in response to an inquiry from CNN.

Public officials in California, Georgia, Nevada, Oregon, Texas and Washington state have reported receiving suspicious mail. Most of the letters appear to have targeted election offices.

Investigators are treating all the letters as connected for now, given the timing, a law enforcement official told CNN.

Read the rest of the story at CNN

Her father went on the attack. Her brothers backed away. And on Wednesday, Ivanka Trump calmly sidestepped accusations that her family’s business prospered thanks to a lie.

Ms. Trump, the fourth member of her family to take the witness stand in the civil fraud case brought by the New York attorney general, was questioned for five hours about her father’s net worth and the loans he received because of it.

While some evidence suggested that Ms. Trump had dealt directly with her father’s annual financial statements, which listed the value of his assets, she said that her focus had been elsewhere.

Read the rest of the story at The New York Times

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said Wednesday that Gaza should be unified with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority once the war is over, offering a strong signal about what the United States sees as its preferred endgame in the fight between Israel and Hamas.

The message, delivered during a meeting of foreign ministers in Tokyo, came as President Biden feels growing pressure to use his leverage to push for sustainable, long-term goals in the region and minimize civilian casualties. But increasingly, the United States and Israel are showing signs that their interests are diverging.

Read the rest of the story at The New York Times

Hollywood actors are heading back to work.

SAG-AFTRA, the union representing more than 150,000 film and television performers, reached a tentative deal on a new contract with the entertainment world’s top studios Wednesday — a major step that would revive an industry that has been virtually paralyzed for months.

“In a unanimous vote this afternoon, the SAG-AFTRA TV/Theatrical Committee approved a tentative agreement with the AMPTP bringing an end to the 118-day strike,” the actors guild said in a statement, adding that the strike officially ends at 12:01 a.m. Thursday.

SAG-AFTRA said the tentative deal will go to the union’s national board Friday for “review and consideration” and that more details will be released after that meeting.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Republican Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer is planning to issue multiple subpoenas aimed at President Joe Biden’s family, which are expected to start being issued as soon as Wednesday, sources tell ABC News.

The move would mark an attempt by Republicans to ramp up their impeachment inquiry into President Biden, which had faced delays during the weeks-long House speaker dispute.

Newly installed House Speaker Mike Johnson has said Republicans will “follow the evidence” when asked if the inquiry is heading toward impeaching President Biden. Johnson has also defended the prospects of subpoenaing Hunter Biden, telling Fox News that “desperate times call for desperate measures and that perhaps is overdue,” but a final decision had not been made.

Read the rest of the story at ABC News

The White House on Tuesday repeated its opposition to an Israeli reoccupation of Gaza after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told ABC News “World News Tonight” anchor David Muir he believed Israel will oversee Gaza’s security for “an indefinite period.”

On Monday, Netanyahu, in his first U.S. media interview since the conflict erupted following the deadly Hamas terror attack on Oct. 7, was asked by Muir who should control Gaza when the conflict ends.

The prime minister said he thinks Israel will have “overall security responsibility” over Gaza for an “indefinite period.” President Joe Biden, meanwhile, has warned against Israel reoccupying Gaza and is pressing for a two-state solution with the Palestinian Authority taking control.

Read the rest of the story at ABC News

CNN chief legal analyst Elie Honig was unimpressed with former President Donald Trump’s testimony in his civil fraud trial in New York on Monday.

Trump was questioned by state attorneys about the valuations of his assets, which Attorney General Letitia James says he and the Trump Organization inflated to defraud banks and insurance companies. In September, Judge Arthur Engoronagreed with that charge and issued a partial summary judgment to that effect. James is seeking $250 million from Trump and the revocation of his business licenses.

The former president said he relied on his accountants when valuing his company’s assets.

Read the rest of the story at Mediaite

Voters across the country will be heading to the polls Tuesday to weigh in on a slew of statewide and local races, which could provide clues about the national mood ahead of 2024.  

In Kentucky and Mississippi, voters will weigh whether to give Govs. Andy Beshear (D) and Tate Reeves (R), respectively, a second term, while voters in several states including Virginia and New Jersey will be determining partisan control of their state legislatures.

Meanwhile in Ohio, Democrats and abortion rights advocates are looking to enshrine abortion protections into the state constitution — the first attempt of its kind in the state that’s trended increasingly red over the years.  

Read the rest of the story at The Hill

If you’re like most Americans, you couldn’t care less about elections held the year before a presidential contest.

Only a few states – all with relatively small populations – have statewide contests for elective offices this year. Virginia and New Jersey are holding elections for their state legislatures. Ohio voters will decide on two ballot initiatives. And several cities will be electing mayors.

But before you dismiss Tuesday’s elections out of hand, I want to draw your attention to what will be perhaps the last best test for both parties heading into 2024.

Read the rest of the story at CNN

Former President Donald Trump mocked former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie by claiming he was not calling “a fat pig” during a GOP conference in Florida.

The Republican frontrunner gave his speech at the Florida GOP Freedom Conference on Saturday where he directed his aim at Christie, one of his most vocal opponents in the primary.

Earlier in the day, Christie had been booed and jeered by the conference crowd who demanded he exist the stage. Trump mentioned the incident during his stage before blasting Christie for his weight.

Read the rest of the story at Mediaite

President Joe Biden met with new House Speaker Mike Johnsonand Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries at the White House on Thursday to discuss his request for nearly $106 billion for Israel, Ukraine and other national security needs.

Johnson, a staunch conservative allied with Donald Trump, has shown little interest in providing additional money from Congress to support Ukraine in its war against Russia.

Later, the new Republican speaker insisted Congress is “not going to abandon” Ukraine.

Instead, Johnson said House Republicans would first bring a separate bill to provide $14.5 billion in aid to Israel, but they need more information about the Biden administration’s Ukraine strategy.

Read the rest of the story at The Associated Press

U.S. military aircraft have carried out strikes in eastern Syria against facilities associated with Iranian-backed militant groups believed to be responsible for more than a dozen rocket and drone attacks on American troops in Iraq and Syria that injured 21 service members, the military said Thursday night.

“Today, at President Biden’s direction, U.S. military forces conducted self-defense strikes on two facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated groups,” said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in a statement.

“These precision self-defense strikes are a response to a series of ongoing and mostly unsuccessful attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed militia groups that began on October 17,” he said.

Read the rest of the story at ABC News

In a reversal, Democratic Rep. Jared Golden of Maine said he now supports a ban on assault-style rifles following shootings this week in his home state that left at least 18 people dead.

During a news conference Thursday, Golden discussed his previous stance on legislation largely backed by fellow Democrats that would prohibit assault weapons and said he was wrong to oppose those measures.

“I have opposed efforts to ban deadly weapons of war, like the assault rifle used to carry out this crime,” Golden said.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

A Manhattan judge on Wednesday ordered Donald J. Trump to the witness stand, questioned him personally, found that his answers were not believable and fined him $10,000.

The judge, Arthur F. Engoron, who is presiding over Mr. Trump’s civil fraud trial, issued the punishment after determining that Mr. Trump had violated an order against discussing court staff when he spoke to reporters earlier in the day.

From the stand, Mr. Trump, wearing a navy suit and curtailing his usual monologue, insisted that his spontaneous comments in a courthouse hallway had been about his former lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, a witness.

Read the rest of the story at The New York Times

House lawmakers on Wednesday elected little-known Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana as the 56th speaker of the House, capping more than three weeks of dysfunction and chaos on Capitol Hill.

It’s a stunning rise for the conservative Donald Trump ally and low-ranking member of the GOP leadership team who is now second in line to the presidency. While known for his affability, Johnson is arguably the most ideologically conservative person to serve as speaker since Newt Gingrich in the 1990s, and he played an instrumental role in the GOP’s effort to overturn the 2020 election.

After weeks of disarray, the GOP demonstrated remarkable unity: All 220 Republicans cast their vote for Johnson, while all 209 Democrats voted for Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

New York Attorney General Letitia James hit back at former President Donald Trump after a day of fireworks that included attacks on former Trump fixer-turned-star fraud trial witness Michael Cohen.

Trump was in court once again Wednesday for his trial in the fraud case brought by AG James. Several times throughout the day, Trump held court with reporters to attack Cohen and impeach his credibility.

There were fireworks in the afternoon that culminated with Trump stunning his Secret Service detail by abruptly storming out of court after repeated legal smackdowns by Judge Arthur Engoron that included a $10,000.oo fine for violating his gag order again.

Read the rest of the story at Mediaite

Jenna Ellis, a pro-Trump lawyer who amplified former President Donald J. Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud as part of what she called a legal “elite strike force team,” pleaded guilty on Tuesday as part of a deal with prosecutors in Georgia.

Addressing a judge in an Atlanta courtroom, she tearfully expressed regret for taking part in efforts to keep Mr. Trump in power after he lost the 2020 election.

Ms. Ellis, 38, pleaded guilty to a charge of aiding and abetting false statements and writings, a felony. She is the fourth defendant to plead guilty in the Georgia case, which charged Mr. Trump and 18 others with conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Mr. Trump’s favor.

Read the rest of the story at The New York Times

For five years, Michael D. Cohen has waged battle with Donald J. Trump from afar: on social media, on cable television and in the pages of his books.

But on Tuesday, Mr. Cohen confronted his onetime boss from the witness stand in a Manhattan courtroom, attacking the former president as a criminal and a cheat and defending his own credibility under a barrage of questions.

Mr. Cohen, once Mr. Trump’s loyal fixer and now his antagonist, was testifying in a civil fraud case that threatens to upend the former president’s family business and undermine his public image as a businessman. It was the first time the men had come face to face since 2018, and the reunion was tense. Mr. Trump, seated feet away at the defense table, scoffed and shook his head in apparent frustration.

Read the rest of the story at The New York Times

Rep. Mike Johnson, a relatively little-known Louisiana Republican and low-ranking member of the GOP leadership team, became the party’s latest nominee for House speaker Tuesday night after three other hopefuls fizzled out.

He was nominated just hours after Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., beat Johnson and six other candidates to seize the nomination, only to quickly drop his bid after he failed to secure the near-unanimous GOP support needed on the House floor.

Johnson, the GOP Conference vice chair, could suffer a fate similar to Emmer’s. It remains unclear whether he can garner the 217 Republican votes — a simple majority of the full House — needed to win the coveted gavel.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Some of the first images of freed hostage Yocheved Lifshitz show the frail 85-year-old grandmother walking to a waiting ambulance, more than two weeks after she was snatched by Hamas militants from her home in kibbutz Nir Oz.

Hamas released Lifshitz and her neighbor and friend Nurit Cooper, 79, on Monday, and later they were reunited with family members who rushed to their bedside at Ichilov hospital in Tel Aviv.

“She’s talking, she can walk, she can hug her grandchildren … It is incredible that we see her,” said Lifshitz’s grandson Daniel, who heard of her release while staying at a hotel in Eilat with other evacuees from Nir Oz.

Read the rest of the story at CNN

Former President Donald Trump on Monday compared himself to Nelson Mandela, who spent 27 years in South African prisons before emerging to lead the nation out of decades of apartheid rule, as he railed against the numerous criminal charges against him.

Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, sought to paint himself as a victim of political persecution, telling a crowd of supporters at a Derry, New Hampshire, rally, “I don’t mind being Nelson Mandela, because I’m doing it for a reason.”

The remark from Trump, who has been indicted four times and faces 91 criminal charges across the cases, came after he filed to appear on the presidential ballot in New Hampshire.

Read the rest of the story at CNN

A three-judge panel will consider whether former President Donald Trump can claim presidential immunity against damages sought by the writer E. Jean Carroll for remarks he made about her in 2019.

Carroll, a former Elle magazine columnist, sued Trump in November 2019 over comments he made shortly after Carroll publicly accused him of raping her in a Manhattan department store dressing room in the 1990s. In statements Trump made denying the accusation, Trump said Carroll was “not my type” and suggested she fabricated her accusation for ulterior and improper purposes, including to increase sales of her then-forthcoming book.

In a hearing Monday, the three-judge panel from the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals asked Trump’s attorneys why Trump did not raise a presidential immunity defense earlier in the case.

Read the rest of the story at ABC News

In a closed-door meeting Thursday, Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., told GOP colleagues he might resign as speaker pro tempore if Republicans push him to try to move legislation on the floor without an explicit vote to expand his powers, according to multiple lawmakers in the room.

“If you guys try to do that, you’ll figure out who the next person on Kevin’s list is,” McHenry told the room, three sources said, referring to former Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s secret list of GOP lawmakers who would serve as temporary speaker in the event of a vacancy.

McHenry’s comments underscore the quandary Republicans are in: They can’t really do anything until they choose a new speaker, but they can’t agree on someone who can get the votes to be that new speaker.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Former Trump attorney Sidney Powell pleaded guilty Thursday morning in the Georgia election interference case just a day before jury selection in her trial alongside co-defendant Kenneth Chesebro was set to begin.

Powell pleaded guilty to six misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to commit election interference in Fulton County Superior Court as part of a deal reached with prosecutors.

Powell agreed to serve six years of probation and pay a $6,000 fine and $2,700 in restitution to the state of Georgia. She also agreed to submit an apology letter to the citizens of Georgia and to testify at related court proceedings.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Shaking his head, throwing his hands in the air, whispering, former President Donald Trump appeared frustrated Wednesday in a New York City courtroom during his ongoing civil trial.

Trump has already been found liable for fraud, but the trial is proceeding on several other accusations, including falsification of business records and conspiracy. The state is demanding $250 million and severe restrictions on the Trump businesses. He and his co-defendants have denied all wrongdoing in the case.

On the stand was a real estate executive and appraiser who expressed surprise Tuesday that he was cited in Trump Organization datasets as having advised the company on valuation methods. 

Read the rest of the story at CBS News

For a second time in two days, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, fell short of the 217 votes needed to be elected speaker, another serious blow to the Donald Trump-backed candidate’s chances of seizing the prized gavel.

Jordan, the GOP’s latest nominee for speaker, received 199 votes; that was one net vote fewer than he received on Tuesday and a sign that Jordan is bleeding support rather than winning over his detractors. Compared to the first ballot, he lost four votes, flipped two in his favor and added one who was initially absent.

The backward movement indicates that Jordan’s hopes of securing the job are in peril, prolonging an unprecedented stretch of chaos for the Republican-controlled House, which has no clear path to electing a new leader.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

An aggressive campaign by Rep. Jim Jordan‘s supporters is sparking backlash from Republican holdouts, making it harder for him to become the next House speaker.

Several GOP lawmakers, as well as one member’s spouse, have reported a barrage of calls and messages pushing them to back Jordan, R-Ohio, in his struggling candidacy. One even said she has received death threats.

The wife of Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., has received anonymous, threatening text messages this week pressuring her to persuade her husband to support Jordan.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

The judge overseeing the federal election interference case on Monday issued a partial gag order forbidding former President Donald Trump from making statements about potential witnesses or disparaging comments about the prosecutors.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said she would not impose restrictions on Trump’s statements about Washington, D.C., and its residents, nor on statements criticizing the government or the Justice Department generally. But she imposed a restriction on all parties, including Trump, that banned them from making or reposting any statements publicly targeting the special counsel or his staff, as well as court staff members or personnel.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Centrist and politically vulnerable Republicans face a moment of reckoning as the House is expected to vote on whether to elect Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio as the next speaker.

Jordan is a right-wing firebrand and fierce Donald Trump ally, a Freedom Caucus co-founder who worked his way up to be Judiciary Committee chairman and became the party’s nominee for speaker last week after it ousted Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and forced Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., to withdraw due to a lack of support.

A House vote could take place as early as Tuesday, and while it’s still unclear if Jordan has the votes, the trends are in his favor.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

The global crisis unfolding in Israel is putting renewed scrutiny on Congress, which has been without a permanent House speaker since Kevin McCarthy was ousted last week.

Hamas on Saturday launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, killing hundreds of people and escalating a decadeslong conflict in the region. President Joe Biden said that U.S. support for Israel is ironclad.

But as an unelected speaker pro tempore, Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., is effectively powerless on the matter. Under House rules, the interim speaker can act only on matters that relate to the election of a new speaker: gavel in, gavel out, and preside. That post-9/11 rule was designed for continuity of government, not for an unprecedented political situation like the current one. Two scholars with knowledge said the House would need to elect McHenry as speaker pro tem for that to change.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

The office of Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said he isn’t backing down on his monthslong blockade on hundreds of military promotions, even amid Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel, a close U.S ally.

“The Pentagon clearly thinks forcing taxpayers to facilitate abortion is more important than confirming their top nominees wit

Sen. Tommy Tuberville won’t lift his military blockade amid Israel-Hamas conflict

hout a vote. They could end this situation TODAY by dropping their illegal and immoral policy and get everyone confirmed rapidly, but they refuse,” Tuberville spokesperson Steve Stafford said in a statement to NBC News. “If the Biden administration wants their nominees confirmed then Senate Democrats can do what Coach just did in September and file a cloture petition to force a vote.”

As thousands of people danced at a music festival in an Israeli desert area in the early hours of Saturday, Hamas militants from Gaza descended upon the revelry.

Videos show young Israelis dancing to trance music under a giant Buddha statue and prayer flags around dawn — right around when festivalgoer Eliav Klein said he saw rockets launched from Gaza, startling everyone.

A total of 260 people were killed at the event, according to a spokesperson for ZAKA, an Israeli nongovernmental rescue and recovery organization.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

President Joe Biden on Thursday said his administration had no choice but to build about 20 miles more southern border wall — after he’s long dismissed Donald Trump‘s wall as a waste of money that doesn’t work to stop illegal immigration.

“Money was appropriated for the border wall,” Biden told reporters, referring to congressional action during the Trump administration. “I tried to get them to reappropriate — to redirect the money. They didn’t, they wouldn’t. And in the meantime, there’s nothing under the law other than they have to use the money for what is appropriated. I can’t stop that.”

The White House proposed funds for border barrier construction be rescinded in 2021, but Congress essentially ignored the request. Officials said a series of procedural regulatory steps were required before the project could move forward.

Read the rest of the story at ABC News

The two leading candidates to become the next Republican speaker of the House worked the phones and the halls of the Capitol on Thursday, vying for support from within their party’s fractured ranks as the chamber remained in a state of paralysis after the ouster of Representative Kevin McCarthy of California.

Representatives Steve Scalise, the majority leader, and Jim Jordan, the Judiciary Committee chairman, had each landed more than a dozen endorsements by the afternoon as they raced toward a vote of Republicans tentatively scheduled for Tuesday. An election on the House floor could follow the next day, though the process could stretch much longer if no consensus can be reached.

Then early Friday, former President Donald J. Trump, whose far-right acolytes in Congress helped lead the rebellion that has plunged the House into chaos, weighed in.

Read the rest of the story at The New York Times

President Joe Biden on Wednesday touted his administration’s efforts to address student debt, including an additional $9 billion in relief that the White House announced.

The additional relief, set to help about 125,000 Americans, brings the Biden administration’s total approved debt cancellation to $127 billion for nearly 3.6 million Americans, Biden said in remarks at the White House.

“This kind of relief is life-changing for individuals and their families, but it’s good for our economy as a whole as well. By freeing millions of Americans from the crushing burden of student debt, it means they can go and get their lives in order,” Biden said.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Sen. Bob Menendez‘s then-girlfriend, now his wife, struck and killed a pedestrian in December 2018, newly revealed police records show.

Four months after the incident, Nadine Arslanian and Menendez, D-N.J., were allegedly given a new Mercedes as a gift as part of what federal prosecutors have described as a bribery conspiracy to cash in on Menendez’s power and influence. Police records indicate the fatal collision badly damaged Arslanian’s Mercedes.

The crash, which was first reported Wednesday by the Recordnewspaper of Bergen and The New York Times, happened on the night of Dec. 12, 2018, in the New Jersey town of Bogota

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

The judge presiding over Donald Trump’s $250 million civil fraud trial in New York issued a partial gag order Tuesday after the former president trashed his law clerk on social media.

“Personal attacks on members of my court staff are unacceptable, inappropriate and I won’t tolerate it,” an angry Judge Arthur Engoron said following Trump’s post and comments about his law clerk.

“Consider this a gag order on all parties with respect to posting or publicly speaking about any member of my staff,” Engoron said, warning that violations would be met with swift and meaningful sanctions.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Last Wednesday, three days before a widely feared government shutdown, far-right Rep. Matt Gaetz stood on the steps of the U.S. Capitol and issued a categorical threat.

If House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., relied on Democrats to keep the government open, said Gaetz, R-Fla., there would “very likely” be “a motion to vacate that the speaker would face.”

“It’s so obvious I can’t believe I have to say it out loud,” Gaetz told NBC News at the time.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Donald Trump was in the courtroom Monday for the beginning of the New York attorney general’s $250 million civil fraud trial against him, his company and two of his children — a case that could have widespread implications for the former president’s businesses.

Trump, who was not required to attend the trial, sat with his arms crossed for most of AG attorney Kevin Wallace’s presentation to Judge Arthur Engoron, occasionally tapping his foot. The trial puts Trump’s business acumen into focus as the AG’s office seeks to portray the image-fixated ex-president as a fraud who intentionally overstated his successes.

After opening statements were done, Trump walked out of the courtroom, shooting an angry glare at Attorney General Letitia James.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, was carjacked Monday night about a mile from the Capitol.

His chief of staff confirmed the incident in a statement and said he was not injured.

“As Congressman Cuellar was parking his car this evening, 3 armed assailants approached the Congressman and stole his vehicle. Luckily, he was not harmed and is working with local law enforcement. Thank you to Metro PD and Capitol Police for their swift action and for recovering the Congressman’s vehicle,” the statement said.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Former President Donald Trump said he will go to court in New York for his civil fraud trial on Monday.

“I’m going to Court tomorrow morning to fight for my name and reputation,” he posted on Truth Social Sunday evening.

Trump had been expected to attend, and law enforcement and court employees had already been making security preparations for his potential appearance at the courthouse in Lower Manhattan on Monday and possibly Tuesday.

Read the rest of the story at CNN

It was Democrats in the House who helped avert a partial government shutdown this weekend, in the final hours before funding ran out amid “brinkmanship” and “theater” by hard-line conservatives, President Joe Biden’s budget director argued on Sunday.

“I will tell you, if I’m sick of it, I can only imagine what the American people are feeling,” White House Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl. “Why go down this road, take us so close?”

Read the rest of the story at ABC News

Donald Trump and his sons Don Jr. and Eric will be among the witnesses in next week’s $250 million civil fraud trial against the former president and his companies, new court filings show.

Trump and his two oldest sons — both senior executives at his company, the Trump Organization — were named on witness lists filed Thursday by lawyers for the Trumps and New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office, which alleges the Trumps have been wildly exaggerating their business assets for years.

Also named on the witness lists is Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization who pleaded guilty last year to running a 15-year tax fraud scheme at the company. He testified against the company in a criminal trial last year and was sentenced to five months in jail. The company was convicted and fined $1.6 million.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Congress is hurtling toward a government shutdown, with money set to run out in a little more than two days and no sign of a short-term funding deal between the Republican-led House and Democratic-controlled Senate.

With time running short, the two chambers are moving in different directions and remain far from converging on a path to resolve their disputes.

The Senate has been slowly advancing a bipartisan stopgap bill, known as a continuing resolution or CR, with overwhelming support in the chamber; it would fund the government at current levels through Nov. 17 and provide roughly $6 billion in aid for Ukraine and another $6 billion for disaster aid.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Attorneys for Donald Trump have notified a Fulton County court that the former president will not seek to have his Georgia election interference case removed to federal court.

The move comes three weeks after a judge denied a bid by co-defendant Mark Meadows, Trump’s former chief of staff, to have his case moved.

Meadows had sought the move to federal court on the basis that his alleged actions were all performed while he was acting “under color” of his role as chief of staff.

Read the rest of the story at ABC News

The federal judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s election interference case in Washington has denied his request that she recuse herself because of her comments in criminal cases against other Jan. 6 defendants.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan wrote in her opinion that her comments in other Jan. 6 cases, which Trump’s team took issue with, “reflect the information and arguments presented by the defense in each case.”

Chutkan wrote that she “has never taken the position the defense ascribes to it: that former ‘President Trump should be prosecuted and imprisoned.'” Trump faces charges in four separate indictments. This case is one of two federal cases being prosecuted by special counsel Jack Smith, who was named in November.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

After 148 days, leaders of the Writers Guild of America have unanimously voted to lift its strike, allowing writers to return to work Wednesday, Sept. 27.

“The WGAW Board and WGAE Council also voted unanimously to lift the restraining order and end the strike as of 12:01 am PT/3:01 am ET on Wednesday, September 27th. This allows writers to return to work during the ratification process, but does not affect the membership’s right to make a final determination on contract approval,” The union announced on Tuesday.

The WGA, which represents nearly 11,500 screenwriters, released the entire seven-page agreement.

Read the rest of the story at ABC News

Senate leaders released a short-term funding billTuesday — with four days left to avert a government shutdown at the end of this month — to keep money flowing until Nov. 17 to give Congress more time to reach a larger agreement.

The bipartisan bill, negotiated between leaders of the Democratic majority and the Republican minority, includes about $6 billion in aid to Ukraine and $6 billion in emergency disaster relief funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It would also prevent a lapse in Federal Aviation Administration authorities through the end of the year and prevent a pay cut for federal firefighters.

The Senate will begin voting Tuesday evening to debate the measure, with the hope of passing it before Sunday to prevent a shutdown. It’s unclear whether the chamber can pass it before the 12:01 a.m. Sunday deadline, as it would be likely to require unanimous consent to hold a quick vote.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

President Joe Biden made history Tuesday when he visited a picket line in Michigan in a show of loyalty to autoworkers who are striking for higher wages and cost-of-living increases.

Biden, who is looking to polish his pro-labor persona, is the first sitting president to appear on a picket line.

Speaking through a bullhorn, he told the striking autoworkers in Wayne County, “You deserve what you earned, and you’ve earned a hell of a lot more than you’re getting paid now.”

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and California Gov. Gavin Newsom will take part in a televised 90-minute debate moderated by Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Nov. 30, the network announced Monday.

The debate will air on Hannity’s namesake show from Georgia, though a specific location in the key battleground state remains “to be determined,” Fox News said in a news release.

“I look forward to the opportunity to debate Gavin Newsom over our very different visions for the future of our country,” DeSantis said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson fell short of qualifying for the second GOP presidential primary debate this week, but the seven other candidates who were there for the first debate in August will be back onstage Wednesday in California.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., have all qualified for the second debate Wednesday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, the Republican National Committee said in a statement.

That means they met all three of the party’s qualifying criteria — a unique donor threshold, a minimum polling requirement and signed pledges that include supporting the party’s eventual nominee. Former President Donald Trump, who also skipped the first GOP debate, easily surpassed the first two requirements, according to NBC News’ analysis. But he has refused to sign the party pledges, without which he can’t qualify.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Two Democratic senators called for Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., to resign Monday, joining a growing chorus of lawmakers urging him to step down amid federal corruption charges.

Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio — chairman of the Banking Committee, where Menendez chairs a subcommittee — and Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont called on Menendez to leave Congress. Over the weekend, Sen. John Fetterman of neighboring Pennsylvania became the firstSenate Democrat to say he should resign.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., also said Monday night that Menendez should step aside.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Sunday that he has “no interest” in running for the recently indicted Sen. Bob Menendez’s seat if his presidential run is unsuccessful.

“No, I have no interest in being in the United States Senate,” Christie, who’s running for the 2024 GOP nomination, told NBC News’ Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press.”

“I had a chance to appoint myself to the United States Senate” after Sen. Frank Lautenberg died in 2013, Christie said. “If I didn’t appoint myself, the easiest way to get there, I sure as heck am not going to run for it,” he said.

Read the rest of the story at NBC News

Former President Donald Trump spent his Sunday night on Truth Social raging at NBC News and MSNBC and pledging to have them investigating for “country-threatening treason.”

Trump before and after leaving office has often deemed media outlets who do provide him favorable coverage as the “enemy of the people.”

Now as the former president faces four criminal indictments, his rhetoric regarding unfriendly press and turned into threats.

Using his Truth Social media platform, Trump threatened to have Comcast, the parent company of NBC News and MSNBC, investigated for “threatening treason” while claiming they are not “entitled to use the very valuable Airwaves of the USA” for free.

Read the rest of the story at Mediaite

The Writers Guild of America and Hollywood’s top media companies reached a tentative agreement Sunday that could resolve the writers strike and bring a close to one of the longest walkouts in entertainment industry history.

“WGA has reached a tentative agreement with the AMPTP,” the guild said in a statement. “This was made possible by the enduring solidarity of WGA members and extraordinary support of our union siblings who joined us on the picket lines for over 146 days.”

The union said that there would be no further comment at this time and that details will be released after the WGA West Board and the WGA East Council vote on the agreement, tentatively scheduled for Tuesday. Members would then need to ratify it with a vote.

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President Joe Biden roasted congressional Republicans on Thursday, hours after it was announced they were calling it a week despite appearing to make no tangible progress toward legislation to potentially avoid a shutdown.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was dealt yet another blow on Thursday by members of his conference. In an emblematic sign of dysfunction, a mere procedural vote on military funding failed when six Republicans voted with Democrats to sink the measure.

The speaker is facing pressure from hardliners in his party to bring 12 separate appropriations bills to the floor instead of a single omnibus package that would fund the entire federal government. It seems increasingly unlikely the chamber will pass the appropriations bills in time – let alone have the Democratic Senate and White House sign off on them. McCarthy is reportedly seeking a 30-day stopgap funding bill to avert a shutdown, which will happen if Congress and the White House do not agree on legislation to fund the government.

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As the Republican stalemate over government funding continues, two freshman GOP House members opened the door Thursday to end-running their party’s leadership and working with Democrats to fund the government.

Reps. Marc Molinaro and Mike Lawler, two New York Republicans who represent Hudson Valley-area districts that voted for President Joe Biden in 2020, said they’re willing to consider a “discharge petition” to force votes on a short-term funding bill — if their party fails to get its act together.

“It is absolutely an option,” Molinaro said outside the Capitol steps. “Working to ensure the government remains functional and that Congress is making the legitimate choices as it relates to funding … is an important principle.”

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Mere hours after some House Republicans reported progress on a proposal to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the month, Donald Trumpdemanded they use the opportunity to “defund” Special Counsel Jack Smith and his team.

Smith is prosecuting Trump in federal court in Florida and Washington, D.C., where the former president will stand trial over his retention of government documents and his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, respectively.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has had his hands full trying to get his own conference to agree on a proposal to keep the government funded beyond Sept. 30. Hardline Republicans such as Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) have demanded the House pass 12 individual single-subject spending bills rather than one large omnibus package that funds the entire federal government.

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) issued a warning to his Republican counterparts in the House on Tuesday, telling them a looming government shutdown will hurt the party.

Unless Congress and the White House agree to a resolution to fund the federal government beyond Sept. 30, it will shut down on Oct. 1. The Republican-controlled House is currently in abject disarray, with GOP members unable to agree on a workable solution among themselves.

On Tuesday, Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) canceled a procedural vote on a spending proposal after it became clear that the measure did not have adequate Republican support to pass.

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The entire world has a vested interest in helping defeat the Russian invasion of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine told the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, casting his appeal for more allies and aid as a matter of security — even survival — for many other nations.

Delivering one of the most anticipated speeches of the annual gathering of world leaders, Mr. Zelensky painted Russia as a habitual aggressor, citing Moscow’s military interventions in Moldova, Georgia and Syria, its increased control over Belarus and its threats against the Baltic States.

Read the rest of the story at The New York Times

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Vice President Kamala Harris was “absolutely” the best choice to be President Joe Biden’s running mate in 2024 and rejected concerns over Biden’s age during an interview with CNN on Monday.

“New CBS News poll shows only one-third of American voters think that Joe Biden will stay in office through a second term,” said CNN host Dana Bash during her interview with Newsom. “I know you are downplaying concerns about his age, but do you believe that voters don’t have any reason to be concerned that he would be 86 years old by the end of his second term?”

Newsom replied that while “voters have every right to be concerned,” he “couldn’t imagine three years ago that this president could accomplish so much in such a short period of time” in the White House.

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The idea that Rep. Matt Gaetz will run for Florida governor in 2026 has been the topic of several conversations in Tallahassee over the past few days, including during a reception Sunday night for the incoming speaker of the Florida House.

Gaetz has long been considered on the shortlist of those who will try to seek the Republican nomination for governor, a field that is expected to be crowded because the incumbent, Ron DeSantis, will be facing term limits. DeSantis is currently running for president but would have two years remaining in the governor’s mansion if that run falls short.

Gaetz, like most other Florida Republican politicians, was in Tallahassee for the designation ceremony of Miami Republican state Rep. Danny Perez, who starting next year will serve as speaker of the Florida House.

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Former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani was sued Monday by his onetime lawyers in a lawsuit that says he owes $1.36 million in unpaid legal fees.

Robert Costello, a partner at the law firm Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, sued Giuliani in New York Supreme Court. He and his law firm are seeking payment of legal services that Giuliani has received since 2019.

According to the lawsuit, Costello’s firm began providing Giuliani legal services around November 2019, which continued through July of this year. The lawsuit said legal services provided by the firm included early representation in what became the election interference cases in Georgia and Washington, D.C.

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REP. LAUREN BOEBERT addressed the incident where she was kicked out of a Denver performance of the musical Beetlejuice, claiming in an interview with One America Newsthat she was removed from the theater for being “a little too eccentric.”

That’s certainly one way of framing it. Theater surveillance footage from last Sunday shows Boebert recording part of the performance and vaping, prompting a pregnant audience member to tap the congresswoman on the shoulder in an apparent attempt to ask her to stop. Video also shows Boebert exchanging words with the audience member. Several patrons lodged complaints, and Boebert was asked to leave the theater and responded, “Do you know who I am?” according an incident report from the city obtained by 9News Denver. The report said that two individuals were asked to leave the performance because they were “vaping, singing, causing a disturbance.”

Read the rest of the story at Rolling Stone

Drew Barrymore put out an apologetic statement to announce she is backing off her attempt to restart her talk show until the end of the ongoing Writers’ Guild of America strike.

The actress and talk show host released her statement on Instagram, saying “I have listened to everyone” after her attempted show restart generated major outrage.

“I am making the decision to pause the show’s premiere until the strike is over,” Barrymore wrote. “I have no words to express my deepest apologies to anyone I have hurt and, of course, to our incredible team who works on the show and has made it what it is today. We really tried to find our way forward. And I truly hope for a resolution for the entire industry very soon.”

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Key factions of the House Republican Conference reached a tentative agreement Sunday to keep the government funded temporarily and avert a shutdown scheduled for the end of the month, pairing it with a conservative border security measure, multiple GOP sources with knowledge of the agreement said.

House Republicans released a bill after the far-right Freedom Caucus and the center-right Main Street Caucus reached a tentative agreement, the sources said. The deal, which would keep the government funded through Oct. 31 but includes cuts to domestic spending, is expected to pave the way to pass a defense spending bill this week that has been tied up in the standoff between Republican leadership and the far right.

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• At midnight, the United Auto Workers union officially went on strike against all three of the Big Three automakers.
• Members walked out at three plants: a GM site in Wentzville, Missouri; a Stellantis center in Toledo, Ohio; and a Ford assembly location in Wayne, Michigan.
• How Detroit’s Big Three automakers are fighting to dominate the next generation of the car industry
• Why the United Auto Workers want big raises
• What’s at stake in a possible UAW strike

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Federal prosecutors have indicted Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, on gun charges, court documents show. 

Biden was indicted Thursday in federal court in Delaware on three counts tied to possession of a gun while using narcotics.

Two counts accuse Biden of having completed a form indicating he was not using illegal drugs when he bought a Colt Cobra revolver in October 2018. The third count alleges he possessed a firearm while using a narcotic. The indictment says Biden certified on a federally mandated form “that he was not an unlawful user of, and addicted to, any stimulant, narcotic drug, and any other controlled substance, when in fact, as he knew, that statement was false and fictitious.”

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A fugitive who escaped from a Pennsylvania prison just days after being sentenced to life without parole in the fatal stabbing of his ex-girlfriend was captured early Wednesday after he tried to crawl away and was taken down by a law enforcement K-9 named Yoda, Pennsylvania State Police said.

Danelo Cavalcante was captured at 8:14 a.m. Wednesday, officials said. He was found hiding in or near a large pile of logs behind a John Deere store in South Coventry Township, about 30 miles from a county-run prison where he escaped 14 days ago.

“Today is a great day in Chester County. Our nightmare is finally over and the good guys won,” Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan said at a news conference Wednesday morning.

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Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee and an outspoken critic of former President Donald Trump, will not run for re-election next year, he said in a video statement Wednesday.

“I have spent my last 25 years in public service of one kind or another. At the end of another term, I’d be in my mid-80s. Frankly, it’s time for a new generation of leaders. They’re the ones that need to make the decisions that will shape the world they will be living in,” Romney said.

He added: “While I’m not running for re-election, I’m not retiring from the fight. I’ll be your United States senator until January 2025.”

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North Korea’s Kim Jong Un has arrived at the Vostochny Cosmodrome for his planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Putin greeted him in front of the building. The two shook hands and walked inside.

“I’m very glad to see you,” Putin said upon greeting Kim, according to RIA News, a state-run media outlet.

The high-level summit began at about 2:30 p.m. local time, coming after days of speculation over when and where the meeting would take place. The Kremlin, which announced on Monday that the meeting was planned, had said on Tuesday it would take place in the coming days.

Read the rest of the story at ABC News