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White House plans to limit Biden's graduation speeches as campuses erupt in protests

WASHINGTON — Amid growing protests on college campuses by pro-Palestinian demonstrators, the White House is planning for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to have a minimal presence for a traditional rite of spring: delivering commencement addresses.

Gov. Kristi Noem says she shot and killed her dog. What to know about the controversy.

The controversial politician revealed in her new book that she killed her dog.

A 'coat hanger' could unlock Mar-a-Lago storage room where Trump stored classified docs: Witness

A coat hanger or "very tiny screwdriver" could be used to unlock the Mar-a-Lago storage room where former President Donald Trump stored highly classified documents for more than a year, according to a witness in Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation. The account was relayed to FBI agents by an unidentified aide to Trump in January 2023, according to newly released exhibits, and further undercuts claims by Trump that the highly-classified materials he's accused of taking with him after leav

Biden and Trump inch closer to debate stage

After a full court press from Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and its allies, he and Joe Biden may be one step closer to meeting on the debate stage ahead of voters deciding who will hold the Oval Office next year.

Ex-Trump aide on Melania watching hush money trial: ‘I’m sure she’s not happy about it’

Stephanie Grisham, the former press secretary for former President Trump, said former first lady Melania Trump is watching her husband’s hush money trial and is sure she’s not happy with the new details coming to light. While Trump sat in a Manhattan courtroom this week, he complained about being away from Melania on her birthday.…

Trump rails against RFK Jr., calling him a ‘wasted protest vote’

The wild card independent candidate has been a source of increasing anxiety for the GOP as he threatens to pull votes from Donald Trump in November.

RNC urges police to extend protestor restrictions around Milwaukee convention venue

The Republican National Committee (RNC) has reportedly sent a letter to the Secret Service asking them to keep protesters further away from the Milwaukee convention venue in July. The three-page letter, reported first by The New York Times, objected to a plan that had a specific area where protesters would be able to demonstrate. Todd…

Biden administration reinstates LGBTQ+ protections in health care

The Biden administration announced Friday it is reinstating federal protections for LGBTQ+ people seeking health care that had been unraveled during the Trump administration. The move comes after years of legal disputes and pressure from activists to protect patients who are undergoing gender affirming treatment or who received abortions from being denied other forms of health care. Conservatives oppose the rules prohibiting discrimination, contending they would force providers to provide servic

Barr suggests people may take Trump rhetoric ‘too literally’

Former Attorney General Bill Barr suggested Friday that people may take former President Trump “too literally,” and Trump wouldn’t carry out serious actions he threatens against other people. When CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins asked Barr if he remembered when the former president said the person who leaked information about him going to a bunker during…

GOP Rep. Bill Posey won't seek re-election

Florida GOP Rep. Bill Posey announced Friday that he won't seek re-election.

Harris addresses criticism of her laugh: ‘Don’t be confined to other people’s perception’

Vice President Harris opened up about criticism over her laugh in an upcoming interview. Harris, in an interview with “The Drew Barrymore Show” that will air Monday, acknowledged that people often like to make fun of public figures when they trip or fall, and then mentioned the talk about how she laughs. “You were asking…

Disillusionment plagues young Latinos who could decide the 2024 race in battleground states

Interviews with nearly two dozen young Latino students on college campuses in battleground states revealed many are uninterested in backing the two main candidates.

Democratic governors admonish Noem for shooting her dog by posing with their pets

A group of Democratic governors mocked Gov. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) on social media after a passage from her upcoming book entered the spotlight over a story about killing her family dog. In the story, Noem describes getting frustrated with the nearly 14-month-old “Cricket,” a wirehaired pointer, during a hunting trip. The Democrats responded to the…

Trump says Republicans are leaders on IVF in latest Newsom rebuke

Former President Donald Trump, in a rebuke of California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) over the continued battle on how to approach in vitro fertilization (IVF), said Republicans are the “leader[s]” on the issue. “Gavin Newscum, the failed Governor of California, who is allowing his once beautiful State to go to Hell, refuses to recognize that…

President Biden scraps 'Bidenomics' after slogan falls flat

President Joe Biden has stopped using "Bidenomics" in public remarks after the term fell flat with voters and even fellow Democrats.

White House Correspondents’ Dinner gives Biden a chance to flex his funny bone

President Joe Biden on Saturday night will attend the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, giving the president a stage and primetime slot to needle the media and his rival former President Donald Trump.

Biden will give election-year roast at annual correspondents' dinner as protests await over Gaza war

President Joe Biden is set to deliver an election-year roast Saturday night before a large crowd of journalists, celebrities and politicians against the backdrop of growing protests over his handling of the Israel-Hamas war. In previous years, Biden, like most of his predecessors, has used the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner to needle media coverage of his administration and jab at political rivals, notably Republican rival Donald Trump. Criticism of the Biden administrat

Echoing Their Client, Trump’s Lawyers Pursue an Absolutist Defense

NEW YORK — Donald Trump is a thrice-married man accused of covering up a sex scandal with an adult film actor after the world heard him brag about grabbing women by their genitals. But when Trump’s lawyers introduced him to a jury at his Manhattan criminal trial this past week, they dwelt on a different dimension: “He’s a husband. He’s a father. And he’s a person, just like you and just like me.” That half-hour opening statement encapsulated the former president’s influence over his lawyers and

Who is Rhona Graff, Trump’s Former Assistant Who Is Testifying Against Him?

NEW YORK — For decades, few people had access to Donald Trump like Rhona Graff. Now, Graff, his former personal assistant at the Trump Organization, became the second person to testify against Trump in his criminal trial in lower Manhattan. At Trump Tower, Graff served as Trump’s gatekeeper. She had an office right outside his door, placing her within earshot of Trump’s requests to get someone on the phone. And when someone wanted to reach Trump, they first had to go through Graff, often requiri

From New York to Arizona: Inside the head-spinning week of Trump's legal drama

Even by Donald Trump's standards, this was a dizzying week. The first criminal prosecution of a former president began in earnest with opening statements and testimony in a lower Manhattan courtroom. Twice during the week, lawyers for Trump were simultaneously appearing in different courtrooms.

How TikTok grew from a fun app for teens into a potential national security threat

If it feels like TikTok has been around forever, that's probably because it has, at least if you're measuring via internet time. Starting in 2017, when the Chinese social video app merged with its competitor Musical.ly, TikTok has grown from a niche teen app into a global trendsetter. On Wednesday, President Joe Biden signed legislation requiring TikTok parent ByteDance to sell to a U.S. owner within a year or to shut down.

Migration roils US elections. Mexico sees mass migration too, but its politicians rarely mention it

Republican activists gathered in a school lunchroom last month to hear political pitches from candidates and agreed on the top issue in the Denver suburbs these days: immigration. The area has been disrupted by the arrival of largely Venezuelan migrants coming north through Mexico, they said. “We’ve lived here our whole lives, and now we have to pay for hotels and debit cards and health care” for the migrants, through government spending, said Toni Starner, a marketing consultant.

A flurry of new rules from the Biden administration attempt to ban noncompetes, boost overtime pay, and increase refunds for delayed flights

The Biden administration introduced new rules aiming to hand some power back to workers, but business groups are gearing up to challenge them.

A former Democratic Georgia congressman hopes abortion can power his state Supreme Court bid

May's election for the Georgia Supreme Court is playing out as races for the state's highest court have for decades: sitting justices running uncontested. Justice Andrew Pinson is the only one of four incumbents seeking election to draw a challenge, and it's a formidable one. Former U.S. Rep. John Barrow, a Democrat, hopes to harness a voter backlash to abortion restrictions to unseat Pinson in what could be a model for future Georgia court contests in a state that has become a partisan battle

Trump promised big plans to flip Black and Latino voters. Many Republicans are waiting to see them

Donald Trump says he wants to hold a major campaign event at New York’s Madison Square Garden featuring Black hip-hop artists and athletes. Aides speak of Trump making appearances in Chicago, Detroit and Atlanta with leaders of color and realigning American politics by flipping Democratic constituencies. The Trump campaign removed its point person for coalitions and has not announced a replacement.

Indiana voters to pick party candidates in competitive, multimillion dollar primaries

In deep red Indiana, where Republicans hold a supermajority in both chambers of the state legislature and most top offices are held by GOP politicians, the May 7 primary will determine the outcome of the general election in many races. The most-watched is the GOP race for governor, a six-way competition of office-seekers who all have cast themselves as outsiders in an appeal to conservative voters. Indiana also will send at least three new representatives to the U.S. House following a series o

Former Rep. Peter Meijer ends Michigan GOP Senate campaign

Peter Meijer, who lost his House seat after voting to impeach then-President Donald Trump, has dropped out of a crowded Republican Senate primary in Michigan.

The central question hanging over Trump’s legal cases: From the Politics Desk

The central question hanging over Donald Trump's legal cases, Mitch McConnell's next big fight, and why Joe Biden is feeling optimistic about the 2024 election.

Biden administration delays plans to ban menthol cigarettes

The Biden Administration has delayed plans to ban menthol cigarettes, a proposal announced by the Food and Drug Administration years ago.

FEC fines ex-Congressman Rodney Davis $43,475 for campaign finance violations

The Federal Election Commission has fined the campaign fund of a former Illinois congressman $43,475 for failing to refund excess contributions in a timely manner. A letter from the FEC this month reports the fine against Republican Rodney Davis' campaign committee, Rodney for Congress, and its treasurer, Thomas Charles Datwyler.

Former Rep. Peter Meijer ends his longshot bid for the GOP nomination in Michigan's Senate race

Former Rep. Peter Meijer withdrew his name from the U.S. Senate race in Michigan on Friday, ending a longshot bid to become the Republican nominee and return to Congress after being ousted by voters for supporting an effort to impeach then-President Donald Trump. Meijer announced his candidacy in November and contended for the Republican nomination against former U.S. Reps. Mike Rogers and Justin Amash, in addition to wealthy businessman Sandy Pensler. Meijer met an April 23 deadline to turn i

Tennessee governor signs bills to allow armed teachers nearly a year after deadly Nashville shooting

Tennessee teachers and staff will be allowed to carry concealed handguns on public school grounds under legislation signed into law by Gov. Bill Lee on Friday. Lee, a Republican, had announced his support for the proposal just the day before while flanked by top Republican legislative leaders who had helped shepherd the bill through the GOP-dominant General Assembly. As the idea of arming teachers began to gain support inside the General Assembly, gun control advocates and families began swarm

Trump on Trial: What we learned from David Pecker’s testimony

We’ve now finished our first week of testimony in former president Donald Trump’s criminal trial – and have one major witness in the books.

In private, Biden shifts from frustration to confidence that he'll beat Trump

Over the past several weeks, Biden has privately expressed confidence that he’s going to win the November election, according to three people familiar with his comments, in a shift from the frustration with the status of his campaign that he was venting to aides just a couple months ago.

Florida's Bob Graham remembered as a governor, senator of the people

Former Democratic Gov. and U.S. Sen. Bob Graham was remembered Friday by Republicans and Democrats alike as a man whose love for people and his state of Florida transcended partisanship, many of them smiling with memories of his five decades in politics as they passed by his casket in the historic old Capitol. A bouquet of white flowers sent by President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, was alongside the coffin, as Graham's wife, Adele, and four daughters greeted hundreds of mourners. “The true f

Commerce Department announces new restrictions on U.S. firearms exports

The Commerce Department on Friday announced new restrictions on U.S. firearms exports in an effort to prevent the guns from ending up in the hands of drug traffickers and criminals in other nations. Oversight of legal firearms exports has become a political struggle in Washington since the Trump administration in 2020 moved oversight from the State Department to the Commerce Department — a move that was widely seen as favorable to the firearms industry. President Joe Biden during his 2020 camp

Charges revealed against a former Trump aide and 4 lawyers in Arizona fake electors case

Authorities revealed Friday the conspiracy, fraud and forgery charges filed against an ex-aide of former President Donald Trump and four attorneys in Arizona’s fake elector case, but the names of former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows and lawyer Rudy Giuliani remained blacked out. The Arizona attorney general's office released a copy of the indictment that revealed nine felony counts had been filed against Mike Roman, who was Trump’s director of Election Day operations, and attorneys John Eas

Planning for potential presidential transition underway as Biden administration kicks it off

President Joe Biden's administration on Friday formally began planning for a potential presidential transition, aiming to ensure continuity of government no matter the outcome of November's general election. Shalanda Young, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, sent memos to all executive departments and agencies, directing them to name a point person for transition planning by May 3. Next week, White House chief of staff Jeff Zients — who also chaired Biden's 2020 transition ef

A California bill aiming to ban confidentiality agreements when negotiating legislation fails

A bill that sought to ban the use of confidentiality agreements when negotiating potential laws in California has failed to pass a state legislative committee. The proposal by Republican Assemblymember Vince Fong failed to get enough votes to pass out of the Assembly Elections Committee on Thursday. The legislation was inspired by last year's negotiations over a bill that mandated a $20 minimum wage for fast-food workers.

U.S. reviewing whether to sanction IDF unit accused of human rights abuses

The Biden administration is reviewing whether to restrict aid to an Israeli military battalion after determining that it was one of three battalions credibly implicated in gross human rights violations against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank prior to Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, according to a letter obtained by NBC News.

TikTok general counsel to move to new role focused on fighting US sale

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Erich Andersen, general counsel for TikTok and Chinese parent company ByteDance, will step down from that role in June to focus on fighting efforts to force a sale of the video app in the U.S., the company said on Friday. Andersen will remain at the company and become its special counsel to lead TikTok's effort to overturn legislation signed into law by President Joe Biden on Wednesday that gives ByteDance 270 days to divest short-video app TikTok in the United States or f

Judge upholds disqualification of challenger to judge in Trump’s Georgia election interference case

A judge upheld the disqualification of a candidate who had had planned to run against the judge presiding over former President Donald Trump’s 2020 Georgia election interference case. Tiffani Johnson is one of two people who filed paperwork to challenge Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee. An administrative law judge earlier this month found that she was not qualified to run for the seat after she failed to appear at a hearing on a challenge to her eligibility, and Secretary of Sta

Talk of an Immigrant ‘Invasion’ Grows in Republican Ads and Speech

WASHINGTON — A campaign ad from a Republican congressional candidate from Indiana sums up the arrival of migrants at the border with one word. He doesn’t call it a problem or a crisis. He calls it an “invasion.” The word invasion also appears in ads for two Republicans competing for a Senate seat in Michigan. And it shows up in an ad for a Republican congresswoman seeking reelection in central New York, and in one for a Missouri lieutenant governor running for the state’s governorship. In West V

How Abrupt U-Turns Are Defining U.S. Environmental Regulations

The Biden administration’s move on Thursday to strictly limit pollution from coal-burning power plants is a major policy shift. But in many ways it’s one more hairpin turn in a zigzag approach to environmental regulation in the United States, a pattern that has grown more extreme as the political landscape has become more polarized. Nearly a decade ago, President Barack Obama was the Democrat who tried to force power plants to stop burning coal, the dirtiest of the fossil fuels. His Republican s

A ban in Kansas on gender-affirming care also would bar advocacy for kids' social transitions

A proposed ban in Kansas on gender-affirming care for minors also would bar state employees from promoting it — or even children's social transitioning. Teachers and social workers who support LGBTQ+ rights worry that they could be disciplined or fired for helping kids who are exploring their gender identities. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed the proposed ban, and top Republicans anticipated Friday that the GOP-controlled Legislature will attempt to override her action before lawmakers adjo

Jordan Klepper on campus protests: ‘You’re not going to resolve tension by adding violence’

Late-night hosts discuss the crackdown on, and Republican criticism of, college campus protests against Israel’s war in Gaza

Trump wishes Melania happy birthday from the hallway outside his NY criminal trial

Donald Trump did not address why Melania hasn't attended the trial to show her support.

US tests show pasteurized milk safe as bird flu spreads to Colorado

(Reuters) -Additional tests of milk showed that pasteurization killed the bird flu virus, federal health officials said on Friday, as Colorado became the ninth U.S. state to report an infected dairy herd. Federal lawmakers urged the Biden administration to further contain the virus' spread as tests showed one in five U.S. commercial milk samples contained remnants of the virus, suggesting the outbreak is more widespread than previously thought. It did not say how many milk products it had test

Trump's criminal charges and Biden's age rank as voters' top worries about the candidates

Voters continue to rank President Joe Biden’s age and former President Donald Trump’s legal woes as the most compelling reasons to oppose them in November.

First Amendment Law Firm Recruiting TikTok Creators To Challenge Possible Ban: Report

TikTok has already announced it is planning legal action against the divestiture bill recently signed by President Joe Biden.