US Supreme Court Lets Illinois Keep Ban on Sale of Some Semiautomatic Guns for Now

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The U.S. Supreme Court said Wednesday that Illinois can, for now, keep in place a new law that bars the sale of certain semiautomatic guns and large-capacity magazines. The high court denied an emergency request from people challenging the law, which bans so-called assault weapons. The law’s opponents had asked the court to put the law on hold while a court challenge continues. The court did not comment and no justice publicly dissented. The high court’s action comes at a time when gun violence has been heavily in the news. Since the beginning of the year, 115 people have diedmore

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US Debt Ceiling Looms Over Biden’s Foreign Trips

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The monthslong impasse between the White House and congressional Republicans over raising the debt ceiling to keep the U.S. from defaulting on its obligations could derail Joe Biden’s upcoming meeting with allies in Japan and Australia. The U.S. president is scheduled to depart Washington for Hiroshima on May 17 to attend a meeting of the Group of Seven leaders. On May 22 he is to continue to Sydney for the Quad Summit with a brief stop in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, to meet with Pacific Island Forum leaders. The meetings have been billed as opportunities to deepen cooperation onmore

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In Town Hall, Trump Digs in on Election Lies, Downplays Capitol Riot

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During a tense CNN town hall Wednesday, former President Donald Trump dug in on his lies about the 2020 election, downplayed the violence on Jan. 6, 2021, and repeatedly insulted a woman in response to a civil jury’s finding this week that he was liable in sexually assaulting her. During the contentious back-and-forth in early voting New Hampshire — where moderator Kaitlan Collins sometimes struggled to fact-check his misstatements in real time — Trump continued to insist the election had been rigged, even though state and federal election officials, his own campaign and White House aides, and numerous courts havemore

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Tense White House Debt-Limit Meeting Ends With No Agreement

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Top U.S. lawmakers emerged frustrated and empty-handed after a tense Tuesday meeting with President Joe Biden over the nation’s debt limit. Biden sought to calm global financial jitters, saying he thought the meeting was “productive” and that the group would meet again Friday as the U.S. stares down the possibility of defaulting on its financial obligations for the first time in history. Biden met Tuesday afternoon with Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, as well as Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, in a bid to ensure the government canmore

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US Rep. George Santos Facing Federal Charges, Sources Say

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U.S. Representative George Santos, who faced outrage and mockery over a litany of fabrications about his heritage, education and professional pedigree, has been charged with federal criminal offenses, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. The charges against Santos, filed in the Eastern District of New York, remain under seal. The people could not publicly discuss specific details of the case while it remains under seal and spoke to The AP on condition of anonymity. Reached on Tuesday, Santos said, “This is news to me.” “You’re the first to call me about this,” he said in amore

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Tucker Carlson Will Bring His Show to Twitter After Leaving Fox

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Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who was taken off the air by the network last month, said on Tuesday he would relaunch his show on Twitter “soon.” Fox News Media and its top-rated host agreed to part ways last month, shortly after parent company Fox Corp. settled for $787.5 million a defamation lawsuit in which Carlson played a starring role. The outspoken Carlson embraced conservative issues and delivered his views with a style that made his prime-time show, “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” the highest-rated cable news program in the key 25-to-54 age demographic on the most-watched U.S. cable news network.more

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Biden Seeks to Calm Global Financial Jitters on US Debt Impasse

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U.S. President Joe Biden sought to calm global financial market jitters on the looming debt limit weeks before the nation is at risk of defaulting on its financial obligations for the first time in history. Biden met Tuesday afternoon with Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, as well as Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, in a bid to ensure the government can borrow more money to pay for spending it has already incurred. “We’re going to get started and solve all the world’s problems,” Biden said as the Ovalmore

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Biden, Mexican President Discuss Border Security Before End of Title 42

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U.S. President Joe Biden and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday discussed border security measures as they prepare for a potential migrant wave when a key U.S. border policy ends this week, the White House said. The Biden administration and Texas state authorities are sending reinforcements to the U.S.-Mexico border to prepare for a possible increase in immigration when COVID-19 restrictions known as Title 42 end on Thursday. The order, in place since 2020, allows U.S. authorities to quickly expel migrants to Mexico without giving them the chance to seek U.S. asylum. The policy shift is expected tomore

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Republicans Subpoena FBI for Biden Records

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A top House Republican subpoenaed FBI Director Chris Wray on Wednesday for what he claimed are bureau records related to President Joe Biden and his family, basing the demand on newly surfaced allegations he said an unnamed whistleblower made to Congress. The White House said it was the latest example in the years-long series of “unfounded, unproven” political attacks against Biden by Republicans “floating anonymous innuendo.” Kentucky Rep. James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight Committee and Accountability, is seeking a specific FBI form from June 2020 that is a report of conversations or interactions with a confidential source. Comer,more

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Biden to Meet with Congressional Leaders in Effort to Avoid Default

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President Joe Biden next week will meet with the Democratic and Republican leaders of the House and Senate in an effort to avoid a catastrophic default on the nation’s debts, which could occur in as little as one month. The United States government’s ability to borrow money is constrained by a limit on the amount of debt the U.S. Treasury Department can incur, known as the debt ceiling. The debt ceiling is currently set at $31.4 trillion, which the government hit in January, forcing the Treasury to use what it refers to as “extraordinary measures” to continue paying the nation’smore

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Political Prisoners Share How Jimmy Carter Saved Their Lives

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Jimmy Carter tried like no president ever had to put human rights at the center of American foreign policy. It was a turnabout dictators and dissidents alike found hard to believe as he took office in 1977. The U.S. had such a long history of supporting crackdowns on popular movements — was his insistence on restoring moral principles for real? After Carter, now 98, entered hospice care at his home in Georgia, The Associated Press reached out to several former political prisoners, asking what it was like to see his influence take hold in countries oppressed by military rule. Theymore

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AP Interview: Ukraine, Democracy ‘Must Win,’ Says Pelosi

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“We thought we could die.” The Russian invasion had just begun when Nancy Pelosi made a surprise visit to Ukraine, the House speaker then the highest-ranking elected U.S. official to lead a congressional delegation to Kyiv. Pelosi and the lawmakers were ushered under the cloak of secrecy into the capital city, an undisclosed passage that even to this day she will not divulge. “It was very, it was dangerous,” Pelosi told The Associated Press before Sunday’s one-year anniversary of that trip. “We never feared about it, but we thought we could die because we’re visiting a serious, serious war zone,”more

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Former US Security Adviser Calls for Closer Ties With Taiwan

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A former U.S. national security adviser called for deeper interaction between the United States and Taiwan during a visit Saturday to the self-ruled island, which has seen increasing military threats from China. John Bolton, a potential Republican presidential candidate in 2024, said at a pro-Taiwan independence event in Taipei that national security teams from both sides must develop contingency plans on how to respond to actions Beijing might take, warning it would be too late once an attack occurs. “We have to tell China and Russia what the consequences are if they take actions against Taiwan,” said Bolton. “Not justmore

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Disney Sues DeSantis, Claiming Unlawful Retaliation 

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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ very public feud with the Walt Disney Co. entered a new phase this week, when the entertainment conglomerate filed a lawsuit claiming that the governor and his administration violated the company’s First Amendment rights. Disney, which employs 75,000 people in a cluster of theme parks and hotels in central Florida, said that a series of new restrictions placed on the company were meant to retaliate against it for public criticism of one of DeSantis’ key legislative initiatives. The legislation, commonly known as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, restricts the ability of teachers in Florida schools tomore

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Why Do Democrats Believe Biden Will Win Again?

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Various polls show that American voters, including Democrats, do not want President Joe Biden to run again in 2024, citing his age as one of the primary reasons. Yet he is almost certain to be the Democratic nominee, and the party appears to have little doubt he will win again. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara explains the reason behind their confidence. …

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Biden Notecard Raises Question of Collusion Between White House, Media

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The White House and a newspaper are denying there was collusion this week when a reporter asked U.S. President Joe Biden a question very similar to what was written on a card Biden held while facing journalists in the White House Rose Garden. “We do not have specific questions in advance. That’s not something that we do,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded when asked at Thursday’s briefing about the president’s pocket card, titled “Question # 1,” which contained the name and photograph of Los Angeles Times correspondent Courtney Subramanian, along with a question: “How are YOU squaring YOURmore

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Yoon to Congress: South Korea Will Stand With US to Support Freedom

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In a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress Thursday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol told American lawmakers the 70-year-old alliance between their countries was stronger than ever. Earlier this week, Yoon and U.S. President Joe Biden agreed to strengthen nuclear cooperation in the face of increasing regional tensions. VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson reports. …

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Appeals Court Rejects Trump Effort to Block Pence Testimony

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A federal appeals court on Wednesday night moved former Vice President Mike Pence closer to appearing before a grand jury investigating efforts to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election, rejecting a bid by former President Donald Trump’s lawyers to block the testimony. It was not immediately clear what day Pence might appear before the grand jury, which for months has been investigating the events preceding the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and efforts by Trump and his allies to subvert the election outcome. But Pence’s testimony, coming as he moves closer to entering the 2024more

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Montana Transgender Legislator Silenced After ‘Blood on Your Hands’ Comment

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Montana statehouse Republicans on Wednesday silenced Democratic transgender legislator Zooey Zephyr from floor debates for breaking decorum after she said lawmakers who backed a ban on gender-affirming health care for minors would have “blood on their hands.” Under the motion that passed 68-32, Zephyr will be allowed to vote but is barred from the House floor, anteroom or gallery for the remainder of the legislative session, scheduled to end on May 10. The discord in Montana — which has garnered national attention amid an escalating culture war in the United States over issues such as transgender rights — has brewedmore

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