White House chief of staff Jeff Zients called former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) to apologize for a Democratic National Committee (DNC) statement that mocked the end of Hutchinson's 2024 presidential campaign. "President Biden has deep respect for Gov. Hutchinson and admires the race he ran," press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, adding Biden knows Hutchinson...
Former President Obama is marking wife Michelle’s milestone birthday, lauding her for making “every day better.” “This is what 60 looks like,” the former commander in chief said in a social media post on Wednesday. Obama shared a photo of his seemingly relaxed-looking spouse, smiling and sporting a yellow sundress in front of a body of water....
A pair of Republican lawmakers are seeking to crack down on "swatting" incidents, introducing legislation on Wednesday to prohibit such calls under the federal criminal hoax statute. Republican Sens. Rick Scott (Fla.) and Tommy Tuberville (Ala.) on Wednesday unveiled the bill, titled the Preserving Safe Communities by Ending Swatting Act, which would amend the federal...
Washington’s desire to maintain U.S. hegemony in the Indo-Pacific does little to secure America’s vital interests.
A Chinese researcher submitted a virus sequence of COVID-19 to a National Institutes of Health (NIH) database in December 2019, two weeks before Beijing released the virus's genome sequence, according to federal documents obtained by a House committee. The House Energy and Commerce Committee obtained documents from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)...
A New York federal judge threatened to kick former President Trump out of his courtroom for being "disruptive" during a trial proceeding Wednesday determining how much he owes writer E. Jean Carroll for defaming her after she alleged he raped her. “Mr. Trump has the right to be present here. That right can be forfeited...
A pair of House Republicans bashed a proposal released by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Wednesday that suggested slashing what the agency views as unnecessary banking overdraft fees. The CFPB’s proposal could reduce the cost of overdrawing from a bank account to as little as $3, which the Biden administration has argued would lower costs for working...
Relying on the expertise of agencies accountable to the public remains a far better way to administer our laws than leaving such questions in the hands of unelected judges.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s campaign and the super PAC supporting him saw some shake-ups in their respective operations Wednesday. The New York Times reported Wednesday that Never Back Down, the super PAC supporting the governor, was laying off some staff following the Iowa caucuses Monday. An official with the super PAC appeared to confirm the...
CNN’s Abby Phillip pushed back on Ben Carson, who served as Housing and Urban Development (HUD) secretary under the Trump administration, after he argued that former President Trump is not a "highly vindictive individual." When asked if he would support his former boss going after President Biden if reelected in November, Carson said he thought...
The Pentagon will install solar panels, part of the first round of $250 million of awards to improve renewable energy at federal buildings, the Energy Department confirmed Wednesday. In addition to the rooftop panels, the Pentagon’s upgrades will include solar thermal panels and a heat recovery pump system. Other recipients will include on-site solar photovoltaics...
Joe Biden isn’t alone: across the party, one of Democrats’ biggest issues in 2020 is all but invisible this year.
Alaska Airlines and Boeing were hit with a lawsuit from four passengers who claimed they experienced "havoc, fear, trauma, [and] severe and extreme distress" during a midair blowout aboard a flight earlier this month. The suit, filed in King County Superior Court in Washington state, is seeking damages for personal injuries after a door plug...
Airbnb is launching an effort to examine how to address the nationwide issue of housing affordability, focusing on increasing the supply and driving down prices. The company announced Wednesday the formation of a new housing council, chaired by former Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who was also the president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. The...
{beacon} 12:30 REPORT It’s Wednesday. Washington, D.C., is covered in a beautiful blanket of snow that hasn’t yet become gross and slushy. Just check out these photos of the sunset last night. Here’s what’s happening in politics today: ABC News and CNN canceled the two scheduled New Hampshire debates after former South Carolina Gov. Nikki...
Expanding Medicaid has placed further strain on a health system already failing to provide adequate access to care to those who need it most.
Nearly 50,000 veterans made use of an emergency suicide prevention program that was launched by the Department of Veterans Affairs last year. The VA announced Wednesday that 49,714 veterans and former service members took advantage of a new benefit that allowed them to go to any VA or non-VA health facility to get free emergency care if they...
Vice President Harris on Wednesday argued that Republicans have nothing to run on and so turn to criticizing President Biden over his age. “So why are they doing it?” she said, referring to Republicans bashing Biden’s age. “Because they have nothing to run on. They have nothing to run on.” “Sadly, there is a push...
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is expanding its probe into Boeing that began in the wake of a midair blowout on a 737 Max 9 aircraft earlier this month. “After taking decisive action to ground 171 Boeing 737-9 MAX airplanes, the FAA is now investigating Boeing’s manufacturing practices and production lines, including those involving subcontractor...
Vice President Harris on Wednesday said she’s scared about the possibility of former President Trump winning back the White House in November, arguing that's motivating her to traverse the country to campaign. “I’m scared as heck, which is why I’m traveling our country,” Harris said on ABC’s "The View" when asked about comments from prominent...
The number of people killed by police officers in the United States reached a new high in 2023, according to new research. The Mapping Police Violence project, which has been tracking police killings in the country since 2013, reported that officers killed 1,329 people last year, representing nearly a 19-percent increase over the 11-year span. The...
Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) are poised to let the political punchlines loose at the Washington Press Club Foundation’s (WPCF) annual Congressional Dinner — the two lawmakers have just been named the gala’s headliners. The organization announced Wednesday that the bipartisan duo will deliver remarks at the Jan. 31 dinner in...
King Charles III is poised to undergo a “corrective procedure” to treat a prostate condition, according to Buckingham Palace. Britain’s 75-year-old king will undergo the procedure next week at a hospital, according to a Wednesday statement. “His Majesty’s condition is benign,” Buckingham Palace said, noting that an enlarged prostate is “common with thousands of men...
The three Palestinian students shot in Vermont in November say they were targeted by the alleged gunman due of their nationality. In an exclusive with NBC News's Tom Llamas, Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ali Ahmad said they think the shooter had seen them before and was possibly waiting for them when they were...
Jay Leno says he’s given up on touching politics in his comedy sets because it tends to suck the funny out of his standup shows. “We live in an era now — I don't even do politics anymore in my act,” the former “Tonight Show” host told ITK in a recent interview. “An audience is...
