House unveils $674B defense spending bill for 2019
The House Appropriations Committee unveiled a $674.6 billion defense spending bill Wednesday.
US News
Social Security says system’s costs will exceed income this year
The Social Security program’s costs are expected to exceed its income this year, marking the first time that has happened since 1982 and forcing the U.S. government to dip into the retirement system’s trust fund to pay benefits to participants. The program’s trustees said the shortfall trend could worsen in the decades to come.
Supreme Court rules for Colorado baker who refused to make cake for same-sex wedding
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday in favor of a Colorado baker who objected to making a cake for a gay couple’s wedding due to his religious opposition to gay marriage.
ICE: NYC released 440 ‘dangerous’ illegal immigrants over 3 months, many rearrested
Over just three months this year, New York City, which acts as a ‘sanctuary city’ for criminal illegal immigrants, released 440 ‘dangerous’ offenders sought for deportation, and 10 percent went on to commit more crime, according to a new review.
Supreme Court likely to rack up more reversals for West Coast’s 9th Circuit
The federal appeals court that covers the country’s West Coast is doing little to shake its reputation as the most out-of-touch circuit, already having notched seven cases that have been reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court so far this year and 115 over the past decade.
US job growth might have picked up in May despite trade rift
U.S. employers are thought to have hired at a solid pace in May and helped extend the economy’s nearly nine-year expansion — the second-longest on record — despite uncertainty caused by trade disputes.
Blockbuster term: Justices could determine limits of courts’ ability to check Trump administration
The Supreme Court over the next month is poised to upend the way the country picks representatives to Congress, decide whether the First Amendment protects people who refuse to do business with same-sex couples and rule on whether President Trump’s tweets can be used in court to derail his agenda.
Supreme Court Rejects Planned Parenthood Over Arkansas Law
The U.S. Supreme Court let Arkansas start enforcing a law that effectively bars pill-induced abortions, turning away an appeal by two Planned Parenthood clinics and at least temporarily leaving the state with only one abortion provider.
Iowa Republicans target Roe v. Wade with new abortion law
Iowa Republicans are hoping their new law banning abortion after six weeks lands in the Supreme Court, but experts say it’s not clear the fight will get that far, and say it might first require a shift in the court’s composition.
Decision time: Supreme Court will soon rule on gay rights, gerrymandering, unions
The Supreme Court is heading into the final month of its term, facing decisions on gerrymandering, unions, gay rights, abortion and President Trump’s travel ban.
Thousands evacuate as Storm Alberto powers toward Florida
Thousands of Florida residents evacuated homes on Sunday as Subtropical Storm Alberto picked up strength as it headed north through the Gulf of Mexico, with forecasters saying it could bring life-threatening inundation to Southern coastal states.
CA Judge Issues Final Decision in Wedding Cake Case
A California judge has handed down his final judgment in the case of a Bakersfield Christian baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a homosexual couple, ruling that cakes celebrating events are a form of speech.
FBI, Justice Department Leaders Meet Over Trump Informant Allegations
Two highly classified briefings with the FBI and Justice Department took place Thursday about an FBI informant who contacted the Trump campaign.
House Republicans refuse Democrats’ job training, child care plans to keep welfare reform on track
Republicans rejected Democrats’ efforts Wednesday to increase money for job training or child care for those on welfare, keeping their massive reform bill on track for approval in a key committee
Federal judge rules Trump cannot block people on Twitter
A federal judge in Manhattan ruled Wednesday it is a violation of the First Amendment for President Trump to block critics from viewing his Twitter account.
House Passes Trump-Backed Prison Reform Bill
The House passed a bipartisan bill Tuesday that would help give prison inmates a second chance at life.
Congress Passes Bill Rolling Back Banking Rules
Congress has moved to dismantle some key rules for banks that were installed to prevent a replay of the 2008 financial crisis.
House Republicans to call for second special counsel to investigate alleged FISA abuse, Hillary Clinton probe
A group of congressional Republicans plans to introduce a resolution Tuesday calling for the appointment of a second special counsel to investigate alleged misconduct at the FBI and Justice Department.
Rod Rosenstein asks DOJ inspector general to review possible Trump campaign infiltration
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein asked the Justice Department’s inspector general Sunday to review whether there was improper politically motivated surveillance of the Trump campaign in 2016.
Trump’s stealth victory: Reshaping the courts
With less than two years under his belt, President Trump has managed to make a substantial imprint on the U.S. judicial system — one that could be felt for decades to come — by getting the Senate to confirm key judicial nominees.