Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 16 additional years in prison on Thursday during his second criminal trial over sexual assault charges. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa Lench handed down the sentence after she denied a motion from Weinstein’s attorneys for a new trial. The former Hollywood producer was convicted on one count...
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has fined four electronic cigarette manufacturers over their alleged sales of unauthorized products. The FDA said in a release on Wednesday that the agency filed a complaint against BAM Group LLC, Great American Vapes LLC, the Vape Corner Inc. and 13 Vapor Co. LLC for allegedly producing and selling...
The White House on Thursday dismissed Republican attacks on Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg over his handling of a train derailment in East Palatine, Ohio, as “pure politics.” Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended Buttigieg in response to GOP lawmakers who have called on him to resign and questioned his competence in the job in the aftermath...
The White House praised Oman’s decision on Thursday to open its airspace to all civilian planes, including those from Israel, following a similar move from Saudi Arabia last year. “This historic step completes a process begun last year, during President Biden’s visit to the Middle East region, when Saudi Arabia similarly opened its airspace to...
The main Super PAC aligned with House Democrats has announced a $45 million blitz in New York after the party underperformed in the state during the 2022 midterms, helping lead to the slim Republican majority in the House. The House Majority PAC said this week it was launching the spending plan in New York for...
The U.S. housing market suffered the largest decline in home values since 2008 as buyer demand slowed partly in reaction to rising mortgage rates. A new report from real estate brokerage site Redfin shows the total value of U.S. homes fell from a record high of $47.7 trillion in June 2022 to $45.3 trillion...
Republicans listed fentanyl and opioids as the top public health threat plaguing the U.S. in a new Axios-Ipsos survey, as both parties in Congress seek to spotlight the country's overdose crisis. The new poll, published on Thursday, found that 37 percent of Republican respondents list fentanyl and other opioid drugs as the top public health...
A pregnant inmate in Florida is trying to be released from prison on the grounds that her unborn child is innocent and did not commit any crimes.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) on Wednesday criticized the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for draft federal rules that would let plant-based milk alternative products keep the “milk” label, saying the allowance would hurt American dairy farmers. “I took a stand for Wisconsin dairy farmers by calling out @US_FDA’s guidance allowing plant-based products to be labeled...
First lady Jill Biden on Thursday said the U.S. and Namibia face similar challenges, pointing to climate change, economic inequality and strengthening democracy, as she spoke at an event on the second day of her trip to Africa. Biden attended a luncheon at the Namibian state house, along with Namibian President Hage Geingob, Namibian first lady Monica Geingos...
Environmental activist Erin Brockovich has called the derailment of a train carrying hazardous chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio, earlier this month a disaster “like one I’ve never seen.” Brockovich, who discovered that groundwater contamination from Pacific Gas and Electric Company was sickening residents in the small town of Hinkley, Calif., in the 1990s, told “CNN...
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced a statewide task force to address "street takeovers," which are instances where people block off intersections so that vehicles can perform stunts including donuts and drifting. "Despite the foolish attempts by some local officials to defund and demoralize our brave law enforcement officers, Texas is and remains a law-and-order...
A bipartisan duo of lawmakers, Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah.), are urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) to further its investigation into possible anticompetitive conduct by events companies Live Nation and Ticketmaster. In a letter sent on Thursday to Jonathan Kanter, DOJ’s Antitrust Division Assistant Attorney General, the senators wrote that they’re...
The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday announced another $550 million that it is putting toward addressing environmental inequity after previously outlining $100 million in funding for the issue. Through this latest round of funding, the EPA will select up to 11 community-based nonprofits that will then dole out grants aimed at cutting pollution. The latest...
Members of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are slated to speak with reporters Thursday afternoon during a press briefing. The briefing comes after the NTSB released results of an investigation into the Norfolk Southern train derailment on Feb. 3 in East Palestine, Ohio. Officials say the derailment caused a release of toxic chemicals into...
The National Transportation Security Board (NTSB) issued its first preliminary report Thursday on the Feb. 3 derailment of a train carrying hazardous chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio. While the report seemingly faults an overheated bearing for the derailment, the NTSB investigation is ongoing, and a number of questions remain. Here are five remaining questions about...
Mass killings in the U.S. by people with ties to extreme causes or movements have spiked significantly in the past decade, according to new research from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). Of 46 total extremist-related, ideologically-motivated mass killings identified by the ADL’s Center on Extremism in the more than five decades since 1970, 26 have occurred...
Federal prosecutors accused FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried of making illegal political donations worth tens of millions of dollars to acquire influence in Washington, D.C., according to a new indictment unsealed on Thursday. The superseding indictment comprises four counts of fraud and eight conspiracy charges, along with new allegations about Bankman-Fried’s extensive political donations. Prosecutors accused...
Lawyers for former President Trump labeled the Georgia special grand jury probe into the 2020 election "clown-like" after the forewoman of the jury made remarks to multiple media outlets. Defense attorneys for Trump, Drew Findling and Jennifer Little, spoke to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Wednesday and indicated they may file court motions in response to...
Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom, who has become popular in Republican circles and frequently appears on conservative TV shows, says he is considering running for office. “I actually do, yes,” Kanter Freedom said on Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria” when asked if he had interest in running for office. “I would actually, when...
President Biden on Thursday nominated Ajay Banga, the former CEO of Mastercard, to be president of the World Bank with an eye towards focusing on climate at the international agency. Biden in a statement noted Banga being raised in India gives him a "unique perspective on the opportunities and challenges facing developing countries and how...
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calf.) defended his decision to grant Fox News host Tucker Carlson access to tens of thousand of hours of security footage from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by saying he had "promised" to release the video. “I promised,” McCarthy told The New York Times on Wednesday. “I was asked in...
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is heaping praise on former President Trump for helping boost his name recognition ahead of his 2018 bid to become governor, lauding the former president for his “star power” in the governor's upcoming book. “I knew that a Trump endorsement would provide me with the exposure to GOP primary voters...
The Hill’s new FAST Channel — The Hill TV — has been named a finalist for Best FAST Channel by Digiday Video & TV Awards. It’s the second honor this month for The Hill TV after it won Cynopsis’ Best of the Best Award for Best Streaming News Service last week. The channel brings The Hill’s...
