Feds’ bureaucratic hellscape gnaws at New Yorkers’ health, hope

Thousands of injured or sick workers in the New York City area are spending the holiday season in bureaucratic limbo as they wait to see if they qualify for federal disability payments. They are among more than a million injured or sick workers nationwide whose initial claims for Social Security disability benefits were denied and are now stuck in a monstrous backlog of cases waiting for an administrative law judge to decide their appeal.

Democrats hope to use tax overhaul as a club against GOP

One of her counterparts in California dismisses estimates of tax savings for most U.S. households and says the legislation is "just putting money in the pocket of the wealthy." And in Kansas, a Democratic candidate for governor says it's "a recipe for disaster" that signals inevitable cuts to popular programs like Social Security and Medicare.

After chaotic start, Republicans make their mark in Congress

After a halting start, the Republican-controlled 115th Congress - sometimes in collaboration with President Donald Trump, often despite him - has enacted surprisingly far-reaching conservative achievements in its first year, among them a long-promised rewrite of the tax code, oil drilling in the Arctic and a series of lifetime appointments to the judiciary. For the new year, Republican leaders in the House have their sights on decades-old programs for the poor that they say are too easily exploited by those who do not need them.

Departing GOP lawmakers warn that their party could lose majorities in 2018

Republicans could easily lose their congressional majorities in 2018, two retiring GOP lawmakers warned Sunday, pointing to a lack of diversity in the party and President Donald Trump's pattern of catering to his narrow conservative base as likely harbingers of bad news for their party. "When you look at some of the audiences cheering for Republicans sometimes, you look out there and you say, 'Those are the spasms of a dying party,' " Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., said on ABC's "This Week."

Trump retweets image depicting ‘CNN’ squashed beneath his shoe

President Donald Trump participates in NORAD Santa Tracker phone calls at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., on Dec. 24, 2017. President Donald Trump participates in NORAD Santa Tracker phone calls at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., on Dec. 24, 2017.

Rep. Peter King: FBI’s McCabe Should Step Aside Over Conflicts

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., on Sunday called on FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe to "step aside" amid apparent conflicts of interest and "contradictions" over his alleged political bias. In remarks on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures," King, a member of the House Intelligence and Homeland Security committees, said he's worked with McCabe over the years, but now, "there's been so many questions raised."

Venezuelan socialists release some political prisoners ‘for Christmas’

Delcy Rodriguez, president of the National Constituent Assembly, speaks during a meeting of the Truth Commission in Caracas, Venezuela, in this file photo taken Aug 16. CARACAS: Three dozen opponents of Venezuela's socialist government were released from prison and reunited with loved ones on Sunday as part of a wider Christmas release, a local rights group said. Lambasted by critics at home and abroad for holding around 270 activists in prison, President Nicolas Maduro's administration said on Saturday it was releasing 80 of them with alternative sentences like community service.

Fallout from Corker retirement is Tennessee’s top 2017 story

Republican Bob Corker's war of words with President Donald Trump and his surprise decision to retire from the Senate after two terms is the top Tennessee news story of 2017, according to an annual Associated Press survey of reporters, editors and broadcasters. Corker's retirement set off a scramble among potential candidates to succeed him.

Dems aim to turn tax plan into cudgel in 2018 midterms

In this Dec. 20, 2017, file photo, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif., left, standing with Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of N.Y., right, speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Democratic candidates in the 2018 midterms plan to argue that the legislation favors the wealthy and breaks President Donald Trump and Republicans' promises to the middle class.

Dems aim to turn tax plan into cudgel in 2018 midterms new

One of her counterparts in California dismisses estimates of tax savings for most U.S. households and says the legislation is "just putting money in the pocket of the wealthy." And in Kansas, a Democratic candidate for governor says it's "a recipe for disaster" that previews inevitable cuts to popular programs like Social Security and Medicare.

Most N.J. lawmakers did the right thing on GOP tax bill. But how about with spending cuts? | Opinion

Last week the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate passed a GOP tax bill that rewards profitable corporations and wealthy families while putting middle-class and low-income families across the country at risk. All but one of New Jersey's 14 members of Congress -- including four of the state's five Republican House members -- voted against the bill.

Pennsylvania police shootings were ‘terror attack,’ DHS says

Authorities said Ahmed Aminamin El-Mofty, 51, was shot and killed by police Friday in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, after he fired several times at law enforcement officers throughout the city. The string of shootings began just steps from the state's Capitol building when El-Mofty fired several times at a Capitol Police officer and then, shot and injured at a state trooper.

Medicinal pot advice OK at VA but no Rxs

Once Arkansas allows medical marijuana sales, veterans in the care of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs physicians can discuss the drug with their doctors, but that's it. In the federal government's eyes, marijuana is an illegal, Schedule 1 controlled substance, meaning the VA won't recommend, prescribe or pay for cannabis.

One senator has an idea for confirming presidential nominees more quickly

President Trump will never have a full complement of political appointees if the Senate doesn't start voting more quickly, according to a Republican who thinks he can convince Democrats to speed up the process. "We may disagree on the exact solution or the exact timing of the solution but, we understand there is a real problem," Sen. James Lankford told the Washington Examiner .