White House officials allegedly sought to recruit congressional lawmakers and the US intelligence community to help throw cold water on stories about communications between Russia and people in President Donald Trump’s inner circle. According to a Washington Post report published Friday evening, some of those lawmakers were asked by the White House to talk to reporters and refute stories from The New York Times and CNN that alleged frequent communication between Trump allies and the Kremlin before the election.
Category: US News
Helicopter crashes near New Jersey apartment complex
Police and fire officials remain at the scene of helicopter that crash-landed in the parking lot of Chatham Village Apartments in Chatham, N.J., Friday, Feb. 24, 2017. The FAA says the helicopter, a Robinson R44, is registered to a Delaware address.
Wall Street Week Ahead: Record-Setting Stock Rally Faces Test in Trump Speech
U.S. President Donald Trump’s planned economic agenda has fanned the flames forWall Street’s record-setting run, but some investors worry that his first major address to Congress next week risks dousing it if his plans look slow to execute or are overly vague. The benchmark S&P 500 has surged 10 percent since Trump’s Nov. 8 election, with optimism running high over the Republican administration’s domestic proposals, including plans to reform taxes paid by businesses.
5 Things Republicans Want To Change About Obamacare But Might Not Be Able To
One of President Donald Trumps major campaign talking points was that he and the Republican-controlled Congress would repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act . Despite a major Republican election victory, that task may still be easier said than done.
‘It transformed me’: Donna Brazile reflects on ‘constant…
Outgoing Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile, in some of her first public comments since the presidential election, opened up Friday about how Russian hacking of the DNC last year colored not only the outcome of the election but also her personal experience in politics. In an interview with Business Insider at the DNC winter meeting on Friday, the chair reflected on the effects of the release of hacked emails from the committee and Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman that were published by WikiLeaks last year.
Al Gore just sold $29 million of Apple stock
Former US Vice President Al Gore sold 215,437 shares of Apple this week at an average price of $136.72 per share – a transaction netting him about $29.4 million. The sales appear to represent a significant portion of Gore’s stake in the iPhone maker.
It looks like the FCC wants to roll back rules that’d force…
Federal Communications Commission boss Ajit Pai is pushing to halt part of an Obama-era set of privacy rules that would require internet service providers to get explicit consent before they share consumers’ browsing data and other personal information with advertisers. Some background: Those rules were approved this past October under previous FCC chairman Tom Wheeler, who stepped down once President Trump took office .
Details Still Missing on Republicans’ ‘Once in a Generation’ Tax Plan
The GOP has lit a match on tax reform, but nobody seems to know the length or texture of the fuse. “Are you ready to tear this tax code up by its roots?” Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady asked the audience as he took the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C. on Friday.
Herbert Hoover’s Radio Malware Turns 90
On February 23, 1927, Babe Ruth had still to hit 60 home runs in a season. Yet President Calvin Coolidge would that day sign a bill that would establish how radio spectrum-the “economic oxygen” of the emerging information age-would still be governed 90 years later.
Trump to Speak at Conservative Forum
President Donald Trump takes the stage on Friday at an annual conservative forum, looking to plant his personal stamp firmly on the political movement even as some activists fret his immigration and trade policies go too far. Trump will address the third day of the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, which has focused on how to fulfill long-held Republican goals to revamp the U.S. tax code, repeal federal regulations on industry and repeal former Democratic President Barack Obama’s healthcare law.
Poll shows Mark Cuban in surprisingly competitive position…
Billionaire business mogul Mark Cuban would be competitive in a prospective presidential race against President Donald Trump, according to a new poll. The poll, set to be released Friday by the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling, found that Cuban, if he were to seek the presidency and be Trump’s Democratic opponent, would trail the sitting president by a single percentage point.
Democratic senator on GOP colleague Lindsey Graham in Trump…
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse thinks his Republican colleague, Lindsey Graham, has been “politically brave” in his approach toward President Donald Trump. But as he explained in calling Graham a “great guy,” Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat, said that attribute is nothing new for the South Carolina senator.
Hillary Clinton to speak in father’s Pennsylvania hometown
In this Nov. 9, 2016, file photo, former President Bill Clinton applauds as his wife, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks in New York. Hillary Clinton has been selected to speak at a St. Patrick’s Day event in her late father’s Pennsylvania hometown.
Ajit Pai adopts a ‘light touch’ leading Trump’s FCC
The head of the Federal Communications Commission wants to embrace a “light touch” approach to regulation under his leadership and the new administration. “Light touch regulation means that we create broad regulatory frameworks that can protect consumers to ensure an overall competitive marketplace,” FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” last week.
Khanna says Democrats must be more “far more bold” at first town hall
Hundreds of people packed an auditorium at Ohlone College in Fremont on Wednesday night to hear freshman U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna speak on a broad range of topics at his first town hall event as a congressman. Khanna defeated fellow Democrat and eight-term incumbent Mike Honda on a campaign platform focused on moving the Democratic Party to a more progressive stance, and he pushed those same points to a receptive crowd Wednesday.
Trump says GOP import tax could create jobs
President Trump tiptoed closer to the House Republican plan to adjust corporate taxes at the border, saying Thursday that the reform would boost jobs. “It could lead to a lot more jobs in the United States,” Trump said of the proposal, speaking from the Oval Office in an interview with Reuters.
Republicans Are Trying to Let Internet Providers Sell Your Data
The Affordable Care Act is far from the only Obama-era policy Republicans want to take down now that they control the government. A set of internet privacy rules passed by the Federal Communications Commission last year has also become a target.
Trump Tower Protection Cost NY City $24M From Election to Inauguration
It cost New York City about $24 million to provide security at Trump Tower, President Donald Trump’s skyscraper home in Manhattan, from Election Day to Inauguration Day, or $308,000 per day, New York’s police commissioner said on Wednesday. The revelation prompted renewed calls for Congress to reimburse the city for the cost of protecting Trump’s private residence on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, where his wife and their son continue to reside.
Most Americans dona t know the truth about crime
Interpretation of the news based on evidence, including data, as well as anticipating how events might unfold based on past events In his inaugural address President Trump offered a characteristically bleak vision of an America beset by “crime and gangs and drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential,” and he promised that “this American carnage stops right here and stops right now.” The subject of crime has been a driving force of the first 100 days of the Trump administration.
FCC defends not fighting legal challenge to prison call rates
The Federal Communications Commission is defending its decision not to fight a legal challenge to its rate cap on prison phone calls that it passed under the Obama administration. Brendan Carr, the commission’s acting general counsel, wrote in a letter to Rep. Bobby Rush that the FCC’s stance has changed now that the group is chaired by Republican Ajit Pai, who criticized the original rule when it first passed.
FCC defends not fighting legal challenge to prison call rates
The Federal Communications Commission is defending its decision not to fight a legal challenge to its rate cap on prison phone calls that it passed under the Obama administration. Brendan Carr, the commission’s acting general counsel, wrote in a letter to Rep. Bobby Rush that the FCC’s stance has changed now that the group is chaired by Republican Ajit Pai, who criticized the original rule when it first passed.
Trump admin lays out new approach to illegal immigration
In this photo taken Feb. 7, 2017, released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an arrest is made during a targeted enforcement operation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement aimed at immigration fugitives, re-entrants and at-large criminal aliens in Los Angeles. The Trump administration is wholesale rewriting the U.S. immigration enforcement priorities, broadly expanding the number of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally who are priorities for deportation, according to a pair of enforcement memos released Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017.
Kansas governor to wield veto pen on tax bill
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, speaks of the tax bill he was sent last week at the Kansas Chamber annual dinner in Topeka, Kan., Tuesday night, Feb. 21, 2017. Brownback said Tuesday that he will veto a bipartisan bill that would roll back personal income tax cuts he’s championed to help balance the state budget.
Senators Want Sessions to Review AT&T, Time Warner Deal
The planned $85 billion merger between AT&T and Time Warner could be facing further scrutiny as top senators on the Judiciary Committee are urging the DOJ to look into the deal further, due to antitrust concerns. Subcommittee chair Sen. Mike Lee and Amy Klobuchar sent a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions highlighting parts of the deal they find concerning, The Hill reports.
AT&T says its merger with Time Warner is exactly what customers want
With AT&T planning to avoid a Federal Communications Commission review of its merger with Time Warner, Senate Democrats led by Al Franken recently asked the company to prove that the acquisition will benefit Americans. AT&T gave its response on Friday with a letter that describes the merger’s promised benefits-including targeted advertising.
Secretary Tillerson to Visit Mexico as Homeland Unveils Deportation Plan
Immigration law enforcement agencies have reportedly been directed to quickly identify, capture, and deport every undocumented immigrant they come across. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly will both visit Mexico this week to discuss securing the border, among other topics, likely to include the strained relations between the U.S. and Mexico.
Obamacare launched a new wave of start-ups. Now they’re bracing for what’s next.
Four years ago, Noah Lang saw an opportunity in Obamacare. With an eye toward the millions of people set to purchase health insurance on their own for the first time, the 29-year-old Silicon Valley entrepreneur founded a start-up, Stride Health, that helps them compare and choose between plans – and do it all from a smartphone.
President Trump captured on tape telling golf club supporters to…
Leaked audiotape from inside President Trump’s New Jersey golf club shows him inviting members to “come along” to see him interview candidates for top government positions, shortly after winning the US election. In the tape obtained by Politico, the recently-elected President thanks members of the Bedminster club for their support throughout the campaign and congratulates them on picking a winner.
Draft DHS guidelines sharpen focus on those here illegally
US Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly speaks during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017. The annual weekend gathering is known for providing an open and informal platform to meet in close quarters.
Draft DHS guidelines sharpen focus on those here illegally
US Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly speaks during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017. The annual weekend gathering is known for providing an open and informal platform to meet in close quarters.
McCain: Dictators get started by ‘suppressing the free press’
Senator John McCain defended the free press on Saturday following President Donald Trump’s attacks on the media. I hate the press, I hate you especially,” McCain told NBC’s Chuck Todd on Saturday .
The top 20 presidents in US history, according to historians
It should come as little surprise to anyone that, for the third time in a row, historians agree that Abraham Lincoln was the best US President. As part of C-SPAN’s third Historians Survey of Presidential Leadership , almost 100 historians and biographers rated the 43 former presidents on ten qualities of presidential leadership: Public persuasion, crisis leadership, economic management, moral authority, international relations, administrative skills, relations with congress, vision, pursued equal justice for all, and performance within the context of his times.
Milo Yiannopoulos Tapped as Keynote Speaker at Conservative Political Action Conference
The controversial figure, known as a harsh critic of Hollywood liberalism, will get more stage time at the conservative event than any other speaker, inlcuding VP Mike Pence and Sen. Ted Cruz. Milo Yiannopoulos is about to go mainstream Republican, sort of, grabbing himself a keynote address at the Conservative Political Action Conference next month.
Trump Team Sounding Out Tech Firms Ahead of Delayed Cyber Order
The Trump administration has quietly consulted technology industry leaders ahead of issuing a delayed executive order on cybersecurity, even as executives have clashed with the White House over policies including the president’s efforts to limit entry to the U.S. President Donald Trump delayed the signing of a cybersecurity directive that had been planned for Jan. 31 just as legal challenges stalled his effort to ban travel to the U.S. by citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries. While no new date has been set for signing the cyber order, executives attending a security conference in San Francisco this week said the administration has sought input to help smooth the rollout.
In Case You Missed It, Democrats Also Have a Bill to Completely Reform Social Security
More than 41.2 million retired workers receive Social Security checks each month, and for most that check represents at least half of their monthly income. Social Security is, and is expected to remain, a means by which a large percentage of seniors avoid living in poverty.
The Sad Way Trump’s War with CNN Could Keep Cable Cheaper
This week, President Trump’s senior advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner reportedly met with Time Warner executives to complain about CNN’s coverage of the president. Any visit from a White House official seeking to stifle journalists is disturbing.
John McCain just spent 9 minutes picking apart Trump’s…
Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona just spent nine minutes picking apart President Donald Trump’s worldview without mentioning his name once at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Friday. “In recent years, this question would invite accusations of hyperbole and alarmism; not this year,” McCain said of the event’s provocative title.
The “Master Manipulator” Of The Watergate Coverup Is Feeling Deja Vu
Former Nixon counsel John Dean, who went to jail, is troubled by Trump’s Russia scandal but doesn’t think it will lead to impeachment. John W. Dean III , the fired White House Counsel, is sworn in 6/25 as the Senate Watergate Committee resumes its investigation of the Watergate affair.
Rep. King: Need complete repeal of Obamacare
Feb. 17, 2017 – 5:32 – Judiciary Committee Member, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) on repealing Obamacare and the fallout over the intelligence leaks.
How The Department Of Labor Organized Against Andrew Puzder
A Senate committee will begin hearings this week on the confirmation of Donald Trump’s nominee for labor secretary, fast-food magnate Andrew Puzder. And like most Trump cabinet nominations, Puzder is controversial.