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Tag: President Trump

  • Supreme Court, with no dissents, rejects GOP challenge to California’s new election map

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    WASHINGTON  — The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that California this fall may use its new election map, which is expected to send five more Democrats to Congress.

    With no dissents, the justices rejected emergency appeals from California Republicans and President Trump’s lawyers, who claimed the map was a racial gerrymander to benefit Latinos, not a partisan effort to bolster Democrats.

    Trump’s lawyers supported the California Republicans and filed a Supreme Court brief asserting that “California’s recent redistricting is tainted by an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.”

    They pointed to statements from Paul Mitchell, who led the effort to redraw the districts, that he hoped to “bolster” Latino representatives in the Central Valley.

    In response, the state’s attorneys told the court the GOP claims defied the public’s understanding of the mid-decade redistricting and contradicted the facts regarding the racial and ethnic makeup of the districts.

    Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed re-drawing the state’s 52 congressional districts to “fight back against Trump’s power grab in Texas.”

    He said that if Texas was going to redraw its districts to benefit Republicans so as to keep control of the House of Representatives, California should do the same to benefit Democrats.

    The voters approved the change in November.

    While the new map has five more Democratic-leaning districts, the state’s attorneys said it did not increase the number with a Latino majority.

    “Before Proposition 50, there were 16 Latino-majority districts. After Proposition 50, there is the same number. The average Latino share of the voting-age population also declined in those 16 districts,” they wrote.

    It would be “strange for California to undertake a mid-decade restricting effort with the predominant purpose of benefiting Latino voters and then enact a new map that contains an identical number of Latino-majority districts,” they said.

    Trump’s lawyers pointed to the 13th Congressional District in Merced County and said its lines were drawn to benefit Latinos.

    The state’s attorneys said that too was incorrect. “The Latino voting-age population [in District 13] decreased after Proposition 50’s enactment,” they said.

    Three judges in Los Angeles heard evidence from both sides and upheld the new map in a 2-1 decision.

    “We find that the evidence of any racial motivation driving redistricting is exceptionally weak, while the evidence of partisan motivations is overwhelming,” said U.S. District Judges Josephine Staton and Wesley Hsu.

    In the past, the Supreme Court has said the Constitution does not bar state lawmakers from drawing election districts for political or partisan reasons, but it does forbid doing so based on the race of the voters.

    In December, the court ruled for Texas Republicans and overturned a 2-1 decision that had blocked the use of its new election map.
    The court’s conservatives agreed with Texas lawmakers who said they acted out of partisan motives, not with the aim of denying representation to Latino and Black voters.

    “The impetus for the adoption of the Texas map (like the map subsequently adopted in California) was partisan advantage pure and simple,” Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote in a concurring opinion.

    California’s lawyers quoted Alito in supporting their map.

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    David G. Savage

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  • Epstein Files Spark Calls for Casey Wasserman to Step Down

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    The latest drop of the Epstein Files has revealed emails between the current chair of the Olympics and Ghislaine Maxwell

    The most recent drop of investigative files from Jeffrey Epstein’s case is stirring controversy as Los Angeles prepares for the 2028 Olympic Games. Provocative emails between the Chair of the LA28 Olympics, Casey Wasserman, and Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s accomplice, were released on Friday.

    In the emails between Wasserman and Maxwell, sent in March and April of 2003, the two carried on in flirtatious exchanges and discussed traveling to each other’s respective cities. 

    “​​So what do I have to do to see you in a tight leather outfit?” Wasserman wrote. 

    Wasserman, the CEO of Wasserman, a sports marketing and talent agency, was married to Laura Ziffren at the time the emails were sent. Aside from the emails, Wasserman’s name can also be found on flight logs from Epstein’s private aircraft. 

    Following the release from the Department of Justice, Wasserman stated he regrets the communications with Maxwell, saying he never had any ties to Epstein aside from a “well-documented” humanitarian trip in which he used his private plane. 

    “I deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell which took place over two decades ago, long before her horrific crimes came to light,” Wasserman stated.

    L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn is now calling for the resignation of Wasserman. 

    “Having him represent us on the world stage distracts focus from our athletes and the enormous effort needed to prepare for 2028,” the 4th District supervisor stated. 

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    Wasserman is not the only high-profile name from the Epstein files with a role in the 2028 Olympic Games. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Aug. 5, 2025, establishing the White House Task Force of the 2028 Summer Olympics and naming himself chair. 

    In response, Wasserman publicly gifted Trump a full set of original 1984 Olympic Medals to commemorate the president’s new position. The 1984 Summer Olympics, during Ronald Reagan’s presidency, were the last time the Olympic Games were held in Los Angeles.

    “Can I say that I won them athletically?” Trump joked during the White House ceremony, in which Wasserman laughed and responded, “Yes, sir.”

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    Taylor Parise

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  • ‘We’re going to get this job done’: GOP Leaders see narrow path to end partial shutdown Tuesday

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    The House is expected to vote today on a funding bill aimed at ending the partial government shutdown, with President Donald Trump urging lawmakers to act swiftly despite Democratic calls for changes to immigration operations.The deal that passed the Senate last week funds the government through the rest of the fiscal year, except for the Department of Homeland Security. Lawmakers would have until Feb. 13 to negotiate Homeland Security funding and immigration enforcement provisions. On Monday, Trump told both sides in the House to send the bill to his desk without any delays, expressing his desire to see the government reopen as soon as possible. “We need to get the Government open, and I hope all Republicans and Democrats will join me in supporting this Bill, and send it to my desk WITHOUT DELAY,” the president wrote on social media.However, many Democrats want to see changes to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol operations before anything is signed.”The American people want to see the masks come off. The American people want to see body cameras turned on, and mandated. The American people want to see judicial warrants,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.House Speaker Mike Johnson argues that requiring immigration officers to remove masks would not have support from Republicans, as it could lead to problems if their personal images and private information are posted online by protesters. Passing this legislation could be a challenge because Johnson is working with a razor-thin majority and can only afford to lose one Republican defection, but he is confident he will pull it off.”We’re going to get this job done, get the government reopened. Democrats are going to play games and the American people can see who really cares,” Johnson said.Lawmakers from both parties are concerned the shutdown will disrupt the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which they rely on to help people after deadly snowstorms and other disasters.Keep watching for the latest from the Washington News Bureau:

    WASHINGTON —

    The House is expected to vote today on a funding bill aimed at ending the partial government shutdown, with President Donald Trump urging lawmakers to act swiftly despite Democratic calls for changes to immigration operations.

    The deal that passed the Senate last week funds the government through the rest of the fiscal year, except for the Department of Homeland Security. Lawmakers would have until Feb. 13 to negotiate Homeland Security funding and immigration enforcement provisions.

    On Monday, Trump told both sides in the House to send the bill to his desk without any delays, expressing his desire to see the government reopen as soon as possible.

    “We need to get the Government open, and I hope all Republicans and Democrats will join me in supporting this Bill, and send it to my desk WITHOUT DELAY,” the president wrote on social media.

    However, many Democrats want to see changes to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol operations before anything is signed.

    “The American people want to see the masks come off. The American people want to see body cameras turned on, and mandated. The American people want to see judicial warrants,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

    House Speaker Mike Johnson argues that requiring immigration officers to remove masks would not have support from Republicans, as it could lead to problems if their personal images and private information are posted online by protesters.

    Passing this legislation could be a challenge because Johnson is working with a razor-thin majority and can only afford to lose one Republican defection, but he is confident he will pull it off.

    “We’re going to get this job done, get the government reopened. Democrats are going to play games and the American people can see who really cares,” Johnson said.

    Lawmakers from both parties are concerned the shutdown will disrupt the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which they rely on to help people after deadly snowstorms and other disasters.

    Keep watching for the latest from the Washington News Bureau:


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  • Trump says federal government should ‘take over’ state elections

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    WASHINGTON — President Trump said Monday that the federal government should “nationalize” elections, repeating — without evidence — his long-running claim that U.S. elections are beset by widespread fraud.

    Speaking on a podcast hosted by former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, Trump said Republicans should “take over the voting in at least 15 places,” alleging that voting irregularities in what he called “crooked states” are hurting the GOP.

    “The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting,” Trump said.

    The proposal would clash with the Constitution’s long-standing framework that grants states primary authority over election administration, and underscored Trump’s continued efforts to upend voting rules ahead of this year’s midterm elections.

    Trump, for example, lamented that Republicans have not been “tougher” on the issue, again asserting without evidence that he lost the 2020 election because undocumented immigrants voted illegally for Democrats.

    “If we don’t get them out, Republicans will never win another election,” Trump said. “These people were brought to our country to vote and they vote illegally, and it is amazing that the Republicans are not tougher on it.”

    In his remarks, the president suggested that “some interesting things” may come out of Georgia in the near future. Trump did not divulge more details, but was probably teasing what may come after the FBI served a search warrant at the election headquarters of Fulton County, Ga.

    Days after FBI agents descended on the election center, the New York Times reported that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was with agents at the scene when she called Trump on her cellphone. Trump thanked them for their work, according to the report, an unusual interaction between the president and investigators tied to a politically sensitive inquiry.

    In the days leading up to the Georgia search, Trump suggested in a speech during the World Economic Summit in Davos, Switzerland, that criminal charges were imminent in connection to what he called a “rigged” 2020 election.

    Georgia has been central to Trump’s 2020 claims. That’s where Trump called Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on January 2021, asking him to “find” 11,780 votes to overturn the state’s results. Raffensperger refused, affirming that a series of reviews confirmed that Democrat Joe Biden had won the state.

    Since returning to office a year ago, Trump has continued to aggressively pushed changes to election rules.

    He signed an executive order in March to require proof of U.S. citizenship on election forms, but months later a federal judge barred the Trump administration from doing so, saying the order violated the separation of powers.

    “Because our Constitution assigns responsibility for election regulation to the States and to Congress, this Court holds that the President lacks the authority to direct such changes,” Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia wrote in October.

    In Congress, several Republican lawmakers have backed legislation to require people provide proof of citizenship before they register to vote.

    Some conservatives are using the elections bill as bargaining chip amid negotiations over a spending package that would end a partial government shutdown that began early Saturday.

    “ONLY AMERICAN CITIZENS SHOULD BE VOTING IN AMERICAN ELECTIONS. This is common sense not rocket science,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) wrote on X on Monday as negotiations were continuing.

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    Ana Ceballos

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  • Meet the un-Gavin. Kentucky’s governor sees a different way to the White House

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    FRANKFORT, Ky. — Gavin Newsom was in his element, moving and shaking amid the rich and powerful in Davos.

    He scolded European leaders for supposedly cowering before President Trump.

    He drew disparaging notice during a presidential rant and captured headlines after being blocked from delivering a high-profile speech, allegedly at the behest of the White House.

    All the while, another governor and Democratic presidential prospect was mixing and mingling in the rarefied Swiss air — though you probably wouldn’t know it.

    Flying far below the heat-seeking radar, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear leaned into the role of economic ambassador, focusing on job creation and other nutsy, boltsy stuff that doesn’t grab much notice in today’s performative political environment.

    Like Newsom, Beshear is running-but-not-exactly-running for president. He didn’t set out to offer a stark contrast to California’s governor, the putative 2028 Democratic front-runner. But he’s doing so just the same.

    Want someone who’ll match Trump insult for insult, over-the-top meme for over-the-top meme and howl whenever the president commits some new outrage? Look to Sacramento, not Frankfort.

    “I think by the time we reach 2028, our Democratic voters are gonna be worn out,” Beshear said during a conversation in his state’s snowy capital. “They’re gonna be worn out by Trump, and they’re gonna be worn out by Democrats who respond to Trump like Trump. And they’re gonna want some stability in their lives.”

    Every candidate enters a contest with a backstory and a record, which is condensed to a summary that serves as calling card, strategic foundation and a rationale for their run.

    Here’s Andy Beshear’s: He’s the popular two-term governor of a red state that three times voted overwhelmingly for Trump.

    He is fluent in the language of faith, well-liked by the kind of rural voters who have abandoned Democrats in droves and, at age 48, offers a fresh face and relative youth in a party that many voters have come to see as old and ossified.

    The fact he’s from the South, where Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton emerged the last time Democrats experienced this kind of existential freak-out, also doesn’t hurt.

    Beshear’s not-yet-candidacy, still in the fledgling phase, offers a mix of aspiration and admonition.

    Democrats, he said, need to talk more like regular people. Addiction, not substance use disorder. Hunger, not food assistance.

    And, he suggested, they need to focus more on things regular people care about: jobs, healthcare, public safety, public education. Things that aren’t theoretical or abstract but materially affect their daily lives, like the costs of electricity, car insurance and groceries.

    “I think the most important thing we should have learned from 2024 is [Democratic voters are] gonna be looking for somebody that can help them pay that next bill,” Beshear said.

    He was seated in the Old Governor’s Mansion, now a historic site and Beshear’s temporary office while the nearby Capitol undergoes a years-long renovation.

    The red-brick residence, built in the Federal style and completed in 1798, was Beshear’s home from age 6 to 10 when his father, Steve, lived there while serving as lieutenant governor. (Steve Beshear went on to serve two terms as the state’s chief executive, building a brand and a brand name that helped Andy win his first public office, attorney general, in 2015.)

    It was 9 degrees outside. Icicles hung from the eaves and snowplows navigated Frankfort’s narrow, winding streets after an unusually cold winter blast.

    Inside, Beshear was seated before an unlit fireplace, legs crossed, shirt collar unbuttoned, looking like the pleasantly unassuming Dad in a store-bought picture frame.

    He bragged a bit, touting Kentucky’s economic success under his watch. He spoke of his religiosity — his grandfather and great-grandfather were Baptist preachers — and talked at length about the optimism, a political rarity these days, that undergirds his vision for the country.

    “I think the American people feel like the pendulum swung too far in the Biden administration. Now they feel it’s swung way too far during the Trump administration,” Beshear said. “What they want is for it to stop swinging.”

    He went on. “Most people when they wake up aren’t thinking about politics. They’re thinking about their job, their next doctor’s appointment, the roads and bridges they drive, the school they drop their kids off at, and whether they feel safe in their community.

    “And I think they desperately want someone that can move the country, not right or left ideologically, but actually forward in those areas. And that’s how I think we heal.”

    Beshear doesn’t shy from his Democratic pedigree, or stray from much of the party’s orthodoxy.

    Seeking reelection in 2023, he seized on the abortion issue and the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe vs. Wade to batter and best his Republican opponent.

    He’s walked the picket line with striking auto workers, signed an executive order making Juneteenth a state holiday and routinely vetoed anti-gay legislation, becoming the first Kentucky governor to attend an LGBTQ+ celebration in the Capitol Rotunda.

    “Discrimination against our LGBTQ+ community is unacceptable,” he told an audience. “It holds us back and, in my Kentucky accent, it ain’t right.”

    For all of that, Beshear doesn’t shrink from taking on Trump, which, essentially, has become a job requirement for any Democratic officeholder wishing to remain a Democratic officeholder.

    After the president’s rambling Davos address, Beshear called Trump’s remarks “dangerous, disrespectful and unhinged.”

    “From insulting our allies to telling struggling Americans that he’s fixed inflation and the economy is amazing, the President is hurting both our families’ financial security and our national security,” Beshear posted on social media. “Oh, and Greenland is so important he’s calling it Iceland.”

    But Beshear hasn’t turned Trump-bashing into a 24/7 vocation, or a weight-lifting contest where the winner is the critic wielding the heaviest bludgeon.

    “I stand up to him in the way that I think a Democratic governor of Kentucky should. When he’s doing things that hurt my state, I speak out,” Beshear said. “I filed 20 lawsuits, I think, and we’ve won almost all of them, bringing dollars they were trying to stop from flowing into Kentucky.

    “But,” he added, “when he does something positive for Kentucky, I also say that too, because that’s what our people expect.”

    Asked about the towel-snapping Newsom and his dedicated staff of Trump trollers, Beshear defended California’s governor — or, at least, passed on the chance to get in a dig.

    “Gavin’s in a very different situation than I’m in. I mean, he has the president attacking him and his state just about every day,” Beshear said. “So I don’t want to be critical of an approach from somebody that’s in a very different spot.

    “But the approach also has to be unique to you. For me, I bring people together. We’ve been able to do that in this state. That’s my approach. And in the end, I’ve gotta stay true to who I am.”

    And when — or make that if — both Newsom and Beshear launch a formal bid for president, they’ll present Democratic voters a clear choice.

    Not just between two differing personalities. Also two considerably different approaches to politics and winning back the White House.

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    Mark Z. Barabak

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  • When Will I Get My Tax Refund? 2026 Details You Should Know

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    Source: Weerayut Chaiwanna / Getty

    Tax filing season for the 2025 tax year is underway, and many taxpayers are wondering, “When will I get my tax refund?”

    The Internal Revenue Service began accepting 2026 returns in late January, and most refunds start going out soon after a return is accepted.

    The IRS says taxpayers who file electronically and choose direct deposit can generally expect refunds within about 21 days. If you file a paper return, your refund could take around six weeks or more to arrive.

    This year could bring larger refunds on average, thanks to tax law changes. Analysts project the average refund could exceed $4,000, or about $1,000 more than last year.

    Tracking your refund status is easier than ever. The IRS recommends using the online “Where’s My Refund?” tool, the IRS2Go mobile app, or an IRS online account. These tools update once a day and provide a projected deposit date.

    Most refunds for the Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, or Additional Child Tax Credit should arrive by early March for taxpayers using direct deposit. Timing varies by bank and refund type.

    One major change for 2026 is the IRS phasing out paper checks for refunds. Most taxpayers must provide accurate direct deposit account and routing numbers to avoid delays.

    Refund timing can also vary if your return needs extra review. Errors, missing information, or certain credits may push processing beyond the typical timeline.

    The federal filing deadline is Wednesday, April 15, 2026. Filing early and electronically with direct deposit remains the best way to speed up your refund.

    Tax Refunds Could Be Bigger Than Usual This Year — Here’s What You Should Know

    President Trump Pardons MLB Legend Darryl Strawberry For Tax Evasion, Social Media Debates

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    Matty Willz

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  • Trump rails against low-income housing in Pacific Palisades. But officials say no projects are planned

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    President Trump’s foray this week into the fire rebuilding process in Pacific Palisades has been met with confusion and rolled eyes from local officials who say he’s now railing against projects that have never even been proposed.

    Trump said Thursday he planned to stop a low-income housing project from being developed in Pacific Palisades. His promise, made during a Cabinet meeting, marked the second time this week he has weighed in on local housing issues in the fire-scarred Palisades.

    “They want to build a low-income housing project right in the middle of everything in the Palisades, and I’m not going to allow it to happen,” Trump said. “I’m not going to let these people destroy the value of their houses.”

    The comments left politicians around Los Angeles and California scratching their heads: what low-income housing project was the president referring to?

    Both Councilmember Traci Park and Mayor Karen Bass said they did not know of a major, low-income housing project coming to the Palisades.

    “There are no plans to bring low-income housing to the Palisades,” Bass said in a phone interview with The Times on Thursday from Washington, D.C. “It’s not true. There couldn’t possibly be a project that neither the councilmember nor the mayor would have any knowledge of.”

    Trump also took aim at Bass and Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday as he announced an executive order to “preempt” the city’s permitting process to make it easier for fire victims to rebuild.

    The order, if implemented, would allow residents to self-certify to federal authorities instead of going through city bureaucracy for permits.

    Bass said Thursday that she would welcome an executive order that would bring the insurance and banking industries together to help Angelenos whose houses burned down get more significant insurance payouts and longer-term mortgages.

    The Governor’s Office also said they had no idea what low-income housing project Trump was referring to on Thursday.

    “The president of the United States is a bumbling idiot and has no idea what he’s talking about,” said Izzy Gardon, a spokesperson for Newsom. “This narrative that Gavin Newsom is trying to build high-density, low-income housing in the Palisades and turn them into ‘Newsomvilles’ is absurd.”

    Gardon said the state is providing resources for developers to rebuild below-market-rate housing that was destroyed in the Palisades fire, which tore through the beach-side enclave in January 2025, killing 12 and destroying thousands of homes and structures.

    In July, the governor committed $101 million to help rebuilding efforts of “affordable multifamily rental housing in the fire-devastated Los Angeles region.”

    The financing was for areas affected by both the Palisades and Eaton fires.

    The program allows affordable housing developers to apply for financing and prioritizes projects that are near wildfire burn areas, ready for immediate construction.

    The program required the developments to remain affordable for more than a half-century to receive the funding.

    Trump did not specify Thursday whether he was speaking about the July announcement or about a specific project.

    “That was money that went to the L.A. area for the four communities impacted by the fires to help developers to rebuild low-income mixed-use housing that was destroyed by the fires,” Gardon said.

    Maryam Zar, a Palisades resident, said that many in the Palisades feared a new project on the site of a Shell gas station that developer Justin Kohanoff said he wanted to build into an eight-story, 100-unit, low-income building.

    Kohanoff’s father, Saeed Kohanoff, declined to comment beyond saying the family has no immediate plans to develop the property.

    The Trump administration did not immediately specify what low-income housing project, if any in particular, the president was speaking about.

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    Noah Goldberg, Ana Ceballos

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  • Newsom Opens TikTok Censorship Investigation After Complaints

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    The inquiry comes less than a week after a coalition of Trump-aligned investors took control of the platform’s U.S. operations

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom is launching an investigation into TikTok’s censorship practices after users reported being unable to post content critical of the Trump administration.

    The inquiry comes less than a week after TikTok struck a deal with a group of non-Chinese investors to create a U.S. TikTok, ending a six-year legal saga that saw Congress ban the popular social media app over national security concerns.

    U.S. TikTok’s new owners feature several Trump-aligned companies, including Oracle, run by longtime Trump ally Larry Ellison, and MGX, an Emirati investment firm, heightening concerns about censorship.

    Some TikTok users reported being unable to mention Jeffrey Epstein in direct messages, while others, including Hacks star Megan Stalter and singer-songwriter Billie Eilish, said content criticizing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was barred on the platform.

    “TikTok is under new ownership and we are being completely censored and monitored,” Stalter wrote. “I’m unable to upload anything about 🧊 even after I tried to trick the page by making it look like a comedy video.”

    Stalter has since deleted her TikTok account and encouraged her followers to delete the app in protest.

    Journalist David Leavitt wrote on X that “TikTok had begun censoring anti-Trump and anti-ICE content,” sharing a screenshot of videos on his profile that had been flagged as “Ineligible for Recommendation.”

    Scroll to continue reading

    Another user saw his comments on videos removed for expressing anti-Nazi rhetoric and pro-Palestine viewpoints.

    None of the users’ claims could be independently verified by Los Angeles Magazine.

    Conversations surrounding social media censorship have risen in prominence since Elon Musk bought Twitter in 2022 and rebranded the platform as X.

    Musk, a self-described “free speech absolutist,” fired the platform’s content moderation team soon after taking control of the company, accusing the department of silencing conservative voices.

    “For Twitter to deserve public trust, it must be politically neutral, which effectively means upsetting the far right and the far left equally,” Musk wrote on the platform shortly after the acquisition. 

    Despite the tech billionaire’s claims of transforming X into a “free speech app,” Musk has been accused of “silencing his critics” on the site by banning journalists and political commentators while tweaking the platform’s algorithm to promote conservative viewpoints.

    Many Democrats fear Oracle and MGX could reshape TikTok in ways similar to Elon Musk’s changes at X.

    “I know it’s hard to track all the threats to democracy out there right now, but this is at the top of the list,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) wrote on X.

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    Aidan Williams

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  • U.S. Moves To Fast-Track Oil, Gas Drilling On National Forest Lands – KXL

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    Sun shines through Douglas fir trees in the Willamette National Forest in Oregon. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman, File)

    WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service on Tuesday finalized revisions to its rules governing oil and gas development on National Forest System lands, a move the Trump administration says will speed permitting and boost domestic energy production but that has drawn concern from officials in the Pacific Northwest over potential environmental harm.

    The updated regulation, published in the Federal Register, streamlines how federal agencies manage oil and gas leasing across millions of acres of public land. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the changes align with President Donald Trump’s executive orders declaring a national energy emergency and calling for expanded U.S. energy production.

    “President Trump has made it clear that unleashing American energy requires a government that works at the speed of the American people, not one slowed by bureaucratic red tape,” Rollins said in a statement. She said the revisions would give energy producers more certainty while “safeguarding forests and communities.”

    Burgum said the rule replaces what he described as delays under the previous administration with a more efficient system that will “boost production, slash energy costs, and guarantee our global leadership.”

    The final rule, known as 36 CFR 228 Subpart E, updates federal oil and gas leasing procedures to allow the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management to coordinate more closely when issuing permits. It establishes a single leasing decision point and reduces duplicative environmental reviews, steps the agencies say will reduce backlogs and speed decisions on applications to drill.

    Under federal law, the Forest Service manages the surface of national forest lands, while the BLM oversees subsurface mineral rights. The agencies jointly develop permitting conditions under their separate authorities.

    According to federal data, 5,154 oil and gas leases currently cover about 3.8 million acres — roughly 2% — of National Forest System lands. About 2,850 of those leases, spanning 1.8 million acres across 39 national forests and grasslands, have producing oil or gas wells.

    Officials in Oregon and Washington, however, have expressed concern that faster leasing and permitting could threaten the region’s natural beauty and sensitive ecosystems, arguing that federal policies should prioritize environmental protection and recreation alongside energy development in the Pacific Northwest’s forests and public lands.

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    Tim Lantz

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  • Obamas condemn federal immigration agents’ conduct: ‘This has to stop’

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    Former President Obama and Michelle Obama called on Americans to recognize the dangers of the increasingly violent Immigration and Customs Enforcement crack-downs in the wake of the deadly shooting of an ICU nurse in Minneapolis.

    “The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy,” the Obamas wrote in a lengthy statement posted on social media. “It should also be a wake up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.”

    Pretti, a 37-year-old Department of Veterans Affairs nurse, was seen using his cellphone to record ICE members deploying Saturday morning in a snowy Minneapolis neighborhood. Witness videos show federal immigration agents shoving a woman and Pretti coming to her assistance. He was then pushed and doused with a chemical spray, then tackled to the ground. He was shot 10 times.

    On Sunday, demonstrations occurred across the country to protest the tactics of federal immigration agents and comments by President Trump and others in his administration. Several administration officials seemed to blame Pretti for his death because he was carrying a weapon during a protest.

    Minneapolis police said Pretti had a license to carry a concealed weapon; gun rights groups have decried some administration rhetoric and called for a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding Pretti’s death.

    Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara on Sunday almost begged for calm for his city that has witnessed hundreds of ICE agents moving in. O’Hara told CBS News “this is not sustainable,” and that his officers were stretched thin trying to contain “all of this chaos.”

    “This has to stop,” the Obamas wrote.

    “Federal law enforcement and immigration agents have a tough job,” the Obamas wrote. “But Americans expect them to carry out their duties in a lawful, accountable way, and to work with, rather than against, state and local officials to ensure public safety.

    “That’s not what we’re seeing in Minnesota. In fact, we’re seeing the opposite,” the former first couple wrote.

    On Sunday, protests grew as people watched cellphone video captured by bystanders of Pretti’s shooting.

    Pretti’s parents, Susan and Michael Pretti, in a statement reported by the Associated Press, described their son as “a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends and also the American veterans whom he cared for as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital.”

    His shooting comes less than three weeks after an ICE agent shot an unarmed mother, Renee Nicole Good, in another Minneapolis neighborhood. The agency said she was attempting to harm an ICE agent although video of the incident appears to show her turning the wheel of her SUV away from the agent when he shot her in the face.

    “For weeks now, people across the country have been rightly outraged by the spectacle of masked ICE recruits and other federal agents acting with impunity and engaging in tactics that seem designed to intimidate, harass, provoke and endanger the residents of a major American city,” the Obamas wrote, describing such methods as “unprecedented tactics.”

    “The President and current administration officials seem eager to escalate the situation, while offering public explanations for the shootings of Mr. Pretti and Renee Good that aren’t informed by any serious investigation — and that appear to be directly contradicted by video evidence,” the Obamas wrote.

    They called on Trump administration officials to “reconsider their approach” and work constructively with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and other state and local authorities “to avert more chaos and achieve legitimate law enforcement goals.”

    “In the meantime, every American should support and draw inspiration from the wave of peaceful protests in Minneapolis and other parts of the country,” the Obamas wrote. “They are a timely reminder that ultimately it’s up to each of us as citizens to speak out against injustice, protect our basic freedoms, and hold our government accountable.”

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    Meg James

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  • Commentary: There’s one state in America with no voter registration. How does that work?

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    When he’s not busy slathering the White House in gold or recklessly sundering foreign alliances, President Trump loves to talk about voter fraud.

    Although the incidence is rare — like, spotting-a-pangolin-in-the-wild rare — Trump persistently emits a gaseous cloud of false claims. About rigged voting machines, dead people casting ballots, mail-in votes being manipulated and other fevered figments of his overripe imagination.

    Voting is the most elemental of democratic exercises, a virtuous act residing right up there alongside motherhood and apple pie. But Trump has treated it as a cudgel, something dark and sinister, fueling a partisan divide that has increasingly undermined faith in the accuracy and integrity of our elections.

    One result is a batch of new laws making it harder to vote.

    Since the 2020 presidential election — the most secure in American history, per the Trump administration’s own watchdogs — at least 30 states have enacted more than 100 restrictive laws, according to New York University’s Brennan Center and the Democracy Policy Lab at UC Berkeley, which keep a running tally.

    Texas passed legislation allowing fewer polling places. Mississippi made it harder for people with disabilities to vote by mail. North Carolina shortened the window to return mail ballots.

    In California, state Sen. Carl DeMaio and allies are working to qualify a November ballot measure that would require a government-issued ID to vote, a solution in desperate search of a problem.

    “We have the lowest level of public trust and confidence in our elections that we have ever seen,” the San Diego Republican said in launching the effort, sounding the way someone would by lamenting the damage a fire has done while ignoring the arsonist spreading paint thinner all around.

    Amid all the manufactured hysteria, there is a place that is unique in America, with no voter registration requirement whatsoever.

    If you’re a U.S. citizen, 18 years or older and have lived in North Dakota for 30 days prior to election day, you’re eligible to vote. It’s been that way for more than 70 years, ever since voter registration was abolished in the state in 1951.

    How’s it working?

    Pretty darn well, according to those who’ve observed the system up close.

    “It works excellent,” said Sandy McMerty, North Dakota’s deputy secretary of state.

    “In general, I think most people are happy with this,” political scientist Mark Jendrysik agreed, “because it lowers the record-keeping burdens and saves money.”

    Jendrysik, who teaches at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, said voter registration was abandoned at a time when the state — now redder than the side of a barn — had vigorous two-party competition and, with it, a bipartisan spirit of prairie populism.

    “There was an idea we should make it easier to vote,” Jendrysik said. “We should open up things.”

    What a concept.

    Walk-up voting hasn’t made North Dakota a standout when it comes to casting ballots. In the last three elections, voter turnout has run close to the national average, which puts it in the middle of the pack among states.

    But there also hasn’t been a high incidence of fraud. In 2022, a study by the state auditor’s office found it “exceptionally” unlikely an election in North Dakota could be fraudulently influenced. (Again, like the country as a whole.)

    In fact, Jendrysik said he can’t recall a single case of election fraud being prosecuted in the 26 years he’s lived in North Dakota and followed its politics.

    It’s not as though just anyone can show up and cast a ballot.

    Voting in North Dakota requires a valid form of identification, such as a state-issued driver’s license, a tribal ID or a long-term care certificate. It must be presented each and every election.

    By contrast, a California voter is not required to show identification at a polling place before casting their ballot — though they may be asked to do so if they are voting for the first time after registering to vote by mail and their application failed to include certain information. That includes a driver’s license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number.

    Could North Dakota’s non-registration system be replicated elsewhere?

    Jendrysik is dubious, especially in today’s political environment.

    North Dakota is a sparsely populated state with hundreds of small communities where, seemingly, everyone knows everyone else. There are about 600,000 eligible voters, which is a lot more manageable number than, say, California’s 30 million adult-age residents. (California has more than a dozen counties with north of half a million registered voters.)

    “It’s unique to this state,” Jendrysik said, “and I think if they hadn’t done it decades ago, it would have never happened.”

    (Fun fact: North Dakota also has no parking meters on its public streets, owing to a state law passed in 1948, according to Jendrysik, who has published two academic papers on the subject.)

    McMerty, of the secretary of state’s office, believes others could emulate North Dakota’s example.

    It would require, she suggested, rigorous data-sharing and close coordination among various state agencies. “We’re updating our voter rolls daily — who’s obtained a driver’s license, births, deaths. That kind of thing,” McMerty said.

    Again, that’s a much easier task in a state with the population the size of North Dakota’s. (About 800,000 at last count.)

    And there’s no particular impetus for others to end their systems of voter registration — unless it could be proved to significantly boost turnout.

    We should be doing all we can to get people to vote and invest in our beleaguered political system. Rather than wasting time chasing shadows and phantoms or indulging the delusions of a sore-loser president.

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    Mark Z. Barabak

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  • TikTok finalizes a deal to form a new American entity

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    TikTok has finalized a deal to create a new American entity, avoiding the looming threat of a ban in the United States that has been in discussion for years on the platform now used by more than 200 million Americans.The social video platform company signed agreements with major investors including Oracle, Silver Lake and the Emirati investment firm MGX to form the new TikTok U.S. joint venture. The new version will operate under “defined safeguards that protect national security through comprehensive data protections, algorithm security, content moderation and software assurances for U.S. users,” the company said in a statement Thursday. American TikTok users can continue using the same app.President Donald Trump praised the deal in a Truth Social post, thanking Chinese leader Xi Jinping specifically “for working with us and, ultimately, approving the Deal.” Trump added that he hopes “that long into the future I will be remembered by those who use and love TikTok.”Adam Presser, who previously worked as TikTok’s head of operations and trust and safety, will lead the new venture as its CEO. He will work alongside a seven-member, majority-American board of directors that includes TikTok’s CEO Shou Chew.The deal ends years of uncertainty about the fate of the popular video-sharing platform in the United States. After wide bipartisan majorities in Congress passed — and President Joe Biden signed — a law that would ban TikTok in the U.S. if it did not find a new owner in the place of China’s ByteDance, the platform was set to go dark on the law’s January 2025 deadline. For a several hours, it did. But on his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to keep it running while his administration sought an agreement for the sale of the company.“China’s position on TikTok has been consistent and clear,” Guo Jiakun, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson in Beijing, said Friday about the TikTok deal and Trump’s Truth Social post, echoing an earlier statement from the Chinese embassy in Washington.Apart from an emphasis on data protection, with U.S. user data being stored locally in a system run by Oracle, the joint venture will also focus on TikTok’s algorithm. The content recommendation formula, which feeds users specific videos tailored to their preferences and interests, will be retrained, tested and updated on U.S. user data, the company said in its announcement.The algorithm has been a central issue in the security debate over TikTok. China previously maintained the algorithm must remain under Chinese control by law. But the U.S. regulation passed with bipartisan support said any divestment of TikTok must mean the platform cuts ties — specifically the algorithm — with ByteDance. Under the terms of this deal, ByteDance would license the algorithm to the U.S. entity for retraining.The law prohibits “any cooperation with respect to the operation of a content recommendation algorithm” between ByteDance and a new potential American ownership group, so it is unclear how ByteDance’s continued involvement in this arrangement will play out.“Who controls TikTok in the U.S. has a lot of sway over what Americans see on the app,” said Anupam Chander, a professor of law and technology at Georgetown University.Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX are the three managing investors, each holding a 15% share. Other investors include the investment firm of Michael Dell, the billionaire founder of Dell Technologies. ByteDance retains 19.9% of the joint venture.___Associated Press writers Chan Ho-him in Hong Kong and Didi Tang in Washington contributed to this report.

    TikTok has finalized a deal to create a new American entity, avoiding the looming threat of a ban in the United States that has been in discussion for years on the platform now used by more than 200 million Americans.

    The social video platform company signed agreements with major investors including Oracle, Silver Lake and the Emirati investment firm MGX to form the new TikTok U.S. joint venture. The new version will operate under “defined safeguards that protect national security through comprehensive data protections, algorithm security, content moderation and software assurances for U.S. users,” the company said in a statement Thursday. American TikTok users can continue using the same app.

    President Donald Trump praised the deal in a Truth Social post, thanking Chinese leader Xi Jinping specifically “for working with us and, ultimately, approving the Deal.” Trump added that he hopes “that long into the future I will be remembered by those who use and love TikTok.”

    Adam Presser, who previously worked as TikTok’s head of operations and trust and safety, will lead the new venture as its CEO. He will work alongside a seven-member, majority-American board of directors that includes TikTok’s CEO Shou Chew.

    The deal ends years of uncertainty about the fate of the popular video-sharing platform in the United States. After wide bipartisan majorities in Congress passed — and President Joe Biden signed — a law that would ban TikTok in the U.S. if it did not find a new owner in the place of China’s ByteDance, the platform was set to go dark on the law’s January 2025 deadline. For a several hours, it did. But on his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to keep it running while his administration sought an agreement for the sale of the company.

    “China’s position on TikTok has been consistent and clear,” Guo Jiakun, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson in Beijing, said Friday about the TikTok deal and Trump’s Truth Social post, echoing an earlier statement from the Chinese embassy in Washington.

    Apart from an emphasis on data protection, with U.S. user data being stored locally in a system run by Oracle, the joint venture will also focus on TikTok’s algorithm. The content recommendation formula, which feeds users specific videos tailored to their preferences and interests, will be retrained, tested and updated on U.S. user data, the company said in its announcement.

    The algorithm has been a central issue in the security debate over TikTok. China previously maintained the algorithm must remain under Chinese control by law. But the U.S. regulation passed with bipartisan support said any divestment of TikTok must mean the platform cuts ties — specifically the algorithm — with ByteDance. Under the terms of this deal, ByteDance would license the algorithm to the U.S. entity for retraining.

    The law prohibits “any cooperation with respect to the operation of a content recommendation algorithm” between ByteDance and a new potential American ownership group, so it is unclear how ByteDance’s continued involvement in this arrangement will play out.

    “Who controls TikTok in the U.S. has a lot of sway over what Americans see on the app,” said Anupam Chander, a professor of law and technology at Georgetown University.

    Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX are the three managing investors, each holding a 15% share. Other investors include the investment firm of Michael Dell, the billionaire founder of Dell Technologies. ByteDance retains 19.9% of the joint venture.

    ___

    Associated Press writers Chan Ho-him in Hong Kong and Didi Tang in Washington contributed to this report.

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  • ‘I will not be intimidated’: Former special counsel Jack Smith defends Trump investigation

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    WASHINGTON — Former special counsel Jack Smith on Thursday defended his findings that President Trump “willfully broke the law” in his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, telling lawmakers that Republican efforts to discredit the probe are “false and misleading.”

    “No one should be above the law in our country, and the law required that [Trump] be held to account. So that is what I did,” Smith said during a frequently heated five-hour hearing before the House Judiciary Committee.

    Smith appeared at the request of Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who accused him of pursuing a politically driven investigation and “muzzling a candidate for a high office.”

    “It was always about politics and to get President Trump, they were willing to do just about anything,” Jordan said.

    Jordan called investigations into the Jan. 6 insurrection “staged and choreographed,” and said Smith would have “blown a hole in the 1st Amendment” if his charges against Trump had been allowed to proceed.

    Trump has repeatedly called for Smith to face prosecution over the probe, demanding he be disbarred and suggesting that Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi look into his conduct.

    “I believe they will do everything in their power to [indict me] because they have been ordered to do so by the president,” Smith said at the hearing.

    Smith’s 2023 investigation found that following Joe Biden’s 2020 victory, Trump led a months-long disinformation campaign to discredit the results, evidenced by audio from a call in which he pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes.”

    Trump’s attempt to sow election discord culminated in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection, Smith said. The president directed rioters to halt the certification of the election results, he added.

    In closed-door testimony to the committee last month, Smith said the Department of Justice had built a strong base of evidence of Trump’s criminal schemes to overturn the election.

    A separate case alleged that the president unlawfully kept classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago club after the loss.

    Trump was indicted in the documents case in June 2023, and later for the alleged election conspiracy and fraud claims. Both cases were abandoned after his victory in the 2024 election on the basis of presidential immunity.

    In his opening remarks, Smith reiterated his findings.

    “President Trump was charged because the evidence established that he willfully broke the law, the very laws he took an oath to uphold,” he said. “Rather than accept his defeat, President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results and prevent the lawful transfer of power.”

    Republicans asserted that Justice Department subpoenas of phone records were an abuse of prosecutorial power and constituted surveillance of top government officials.

    Smith replied that obtaining such data was “common” in conspiracy investigations and that the records showed call dates and times — not content — encompassing the days around Jan. 6, 2021.

    Jordan questioned the special counsel’s judgment in personnel selections, which included Department of Justice investigators who probed the Trump campaign over alleged collusion with Russia in the 2016 presidential election.

    “Democrats have been going after President Trump for 10 years — a decade — and we should never forget what they’ve done,” he said.

    Smith, who has since left the Justice Department to open a private firm with his former deputies, was quick to defend the integrity of his team, adding that Trump has since sought to seek revenge against career prosecutors, FBI agents and support staff for their involvement in the cases.

    “Those dedicated public servants are the best of us,” he said. “My fear is that we have seen the rule of law function in our country for so long that many of us have come to take it for granted.”

    The hearing routinely devolved into disputes between party adversaries, with Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) lodging scathing accusations against Smith, butting heads with Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) over procedure and yielding his time “in disgust” of the witness.

    GOP committee members attempted to poke holes in Smith’s findings about the events of Jan. 6. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) accused Republicans on the committee of trying to “rewrite the history” of Jan. 6.

    Midway through the hearing, Trump called Smith a “deranged animal” in a Truth Social post where he once again suggested his Department of Justice investigate the former special counsel.

    “I will not be intimidated,” Smith said. “We followed the facts and we followed the law. That process resulted in proof beyond a reasonable doubt that he committed serious crimes. I’m not going to pretend that didn’t happen because he threatened me.”

    The hearing came as Trump continues to repeat false claims that he had won in 2020.

    “It was a rigged election. Everybody knows that now. And by the way, numbers are coming out that show it even more plainly,” Trump said Tuesday at a White House news briefing.

    In an address to a global audience in Davos, Switzerland, the following day, he said that “people will soon be prosecuted for what they did.”

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    Gavin J. Quinton

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  • Trump backs away from military force, says U.S. has ‘framework’ for Greenland’s future

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    NUUK, Greenland — President Trump retreated Wednesday from his most serious threats toward Denmark, easing transatlantic tensions and lifting Wall Street after rejecting the prospect he would use military force to annex Greenland, a Danish territory and the world’s largest island.

    Instead, the United States struck a “framework” agreement in talks with NATO’s secretary general regarding the future of Greenland, “and in fact, the whole Arctic region,” Trump wrote on social media. He did not immediately provide details on the contents of the plan.

    The whiplash of developments followed weeks of escalating threats from the president to control Greenland by any means necessary — including by force, if left with no other choice.

    Now, “the military’s not on the table,” Trump told reporters at the economic forum in Switzerland, acknowledging sighs of relief throughout the room.

    “I don’t think it will be necessary,” he said. “I really don’t. I think people are going to use better judgment.”

    It was a turn of events that came as welcome news in Nuuk, where signs hang in storefronts and kitchen windows rejecting American imperialism.

    “It’s difficult to say what are negotiating tactics, and what the foundation is for him saying all of this,” said Finn Meinel, an attorney born and raised in the Greenlandic capital. “It could be that joint pressure from the EU and NATO countries has made an impact, as well as the economic numbers in the states. Maybe that has had an influence.”

    President Trump speaks during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Wednesday.

    (Evan Vucci / Associated Press)

    In his speech at Davos, Trump took note of the market turmoil his threats against Greenland had caused entering the conference. Announcing the agreement framework on social media Wednesday, he said he would pause punitive tariffs planned against longstanding European allies that had refused to support his demands.

    Prominent world leaders — including from Canada, France and the United Kingdom, among Washington’s closest allies — had warned earlier this week that Trump’s militant threats against a fellow NATO member were ushering in a new era of global order accommodating a less reliable United States.

    For years, Trump has called for U.S. ownership over Greenland due to its strategic position in the Arctic Circle, where ice melting due to climate change is making way for a new era of competition with Russia and China. An Arctic conflict, the president says, will require a robust U.S. presence there.

    While the president rejects climate change and its perils as a hoax, he has embraced the opportunities that may come with the melting of Greenland’s ice sheet, the world’s largest after Antarctica, including the opening of new shipping lanes and defense positions.

    The United States already enjoys broad freedom to deploy any defense assets it sees fit across the island, raising questions in Europe over Trump’s fixation on outright sovereignty over the land.

    “We want a piece of ice for world protection, and they won’t give it. We’ve never asked for anything else,” Trump said, addressing members of the NATO alliance.

    “I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force,” Trump said. But Europe still has a choice. “You can say yes, and we will be very appreciative,” he continued, “or you can say no, and we will remember.”

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    The day before Trump’s speech, allies warned about a “rupture” in a global order in which the United States could be relied upon as a force of good. Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, in a speech Tuesday characterized Trump’s push to acquire Greenland as an example of why “the old order is not coming back.”

    Trump apparently took note of Carney’s remarks, and told the crowd on Wednesday that Canada “should be grateful.”

    “But they are not,” Trump said. “Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements.”

    The president struck a similar tone with his demands for Greenland, repeatedly characterizing the United States as a “great power” compared with Denmark in its ability to protect the Arctic territory. At one point, he cited the American military’s role in World War II to justify his demands, telling the eastern Swiss audience that, “without us, you’d all be speaking German, or a little Japanese perhaps.”

    It was a slight carried forward by the president’s treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, who derided Copenhagen for its decision to divest from U.S. treasuries. “Denmark’s investment in U.S. treasury bonds like Denmark itself is irrelevant,” the secretary said.

    In several instances, Trump framed the transatlantic alliance as one that benefits other countries more than the United States.

    “We will be with NATO 100%, but I’m not sure they will be there for us,” Trump said. But NATO Secretary Gen. Mark Rutte responded to the concern in their meeting, noting that the alliance’s Article 5 commitment to joint defense has only been invoked once — by the United States, after the September 11th attacks. “Let me tell you: they will,” Rutte said.

    But Trump expanded on his thinking over Greenland in his speech to the summit, describing his fixation on Greenland as “psychological,” and questioning why the United States would come to the island’s defense if its only investment was a licensing agreement.

    “There’s no sign of Denmark there. And I say that with great respect for Denmark, whose people I love, whose leaders are very good,” Trump said. “It’s the United States alone that can protect this giant, massive land – this giant piece of ice – develop it, and improve it, and make it so that it’s good for Europe, and safe for Europe, and good for us.”

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom was among the people in the audience reacting to Trump’s remarks in real time. The president’s speech, he told CNN afterward, was “remarkably boring” and “remarkably insignificant.”

    “He was never going invade Greenland. It was never real,” Newsom said. “That was always a fake.”

    Wilner reported from Nuuk, Ceballos from Washington, D.C.

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    Michael Wilner, Ana Ceballos

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  • ‘This will be an interesting trip’: President Trump to speak in Switzerland amid Greenland uproar

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    President Donald Trump will deliver a speech today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, focusing on a plan to make housing more affordable, while his comments about acquiring Greenland continue to stir tensions with European allies.”This will be an interesting trip. I have no idea what’s going to happen, but you are well represented,” Trump told reporters before departing the White House for Switzerland.The speech comes shortly after he threatened to impose tariffs on Denmark and seven other allies due to their opposition to his interest in acquiring Greenland. Trump announced that the tariffs would start at 10% next month and increase to 25% by June. The tensions over the U.S. interest in the Danish territory have already affected Wall Street, with stocks rattled on Tuesday.In Davos, Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney warned global leaders that the world is “facing a rupture,” emphasizing the risks of countries trying to avoid conflict by compliance. “There is a strong tendency for countries to go along to get along, to accommodate to avoid trouble, to hope that compliance will buy safety. Well, it won’t,” Carney said.Carney also added that Canada opposes tariffs over Greenland. Trump’s speech is expected to focus largely on housing, and following his address, he will meet with leaders at the forum, according to the White House.Home sales in the U.S. are at a 30-year low with rising prices. Reports show elevated mortgage rates are keeping prospective home buyers out of the market. Rent, for several years, has been the largest contributor to inflation.This comes as Trump announced his plan to buy $200 billion in mortgage securities to help lower interest rates on home loans. He’s also called for a ban on large financial companies buying houses. Keep watching for the latest from the Washington News Bureau:s

    WASHINGTON —

    President Donald Trump will deliver a speech today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, focusing on a plan to make housing more affordable, while his comments about acquiring Greenland continue to stir tensions with European allies.

    “This will be an interesting trip. I have no idea what’s going to happen, but you are well represented,” Trump told reporters before departing the White House for Switzerland.

    The speech comes shortly after he threatened to impose tariffs on Denmark and seven other allies due to their opposition to his interest in acquiring Greenland.

    Trump announced that the tariffs would start at 10% next month and increase to 25% by June.

    The tensions over the U.S. interest in the Danish territory have already affected Wall Street, with stocks rattled on Tuesday.

    In Davos, Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney warned global leaders that the world is “facing a rupture,” emphasizing the risks of countries trying to avoid conflict by compliance.

    “There is a strong tendency for countries to go along to get along, to accommodate to avoid trouble, to hope that compliance will buy safety. Well, it won’t,” Carney said.

    Carney also added that Canada opposes tariffs over Greenland.

    Trump’s speech is expected to focus largely on housing, and following his address, he will meet with leaders at the forum, according to the White House.

    Home sales in the U.S. are at a 30-year low with rising prices. Reports show elevated mortgage rates are keeping prospective home buyers out of the market. Rent, for several years, has been the largest contributor to inflation.

    This comes as Trump announced his plan to buy $200 billion in mortgage securities to help lower interest rates on home loans. He’s also called for a ban on large financial companies buying houses.

    Keep watching for the latest from the Washington News Bureau:

    s

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  • Anti-Trump protesters join ‘Free America’ walkout in downtown L.A. and across SoCal

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    On Tuesday afternoon, hundreds of protesters walked out of school and off the job to march in downtown Los Angeles and decry President Trump’s actions during his first year back in office.

    The “Free America Walkout” at Los Angeles City Hall was among dozens of rallies taking place across Southern California and the nation. The event was coordinated by the Women’s March and intended to demonstrate opposition to violent ICE raids, the increased presence of military personnel in cities, families harmed by Trump’s immigration policies and escalating attacks on transgender rights.

    Hundreds of protesters marched along Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena. Among the slogans on their signs: “Democracy doesn’t fear protest, dictators do” and “We choose freedom over facism.” Meanwhile, similar marches took place in Burbank, Long Beach and Santa Monica. Scores of students at Garfield and Roosevelt high schools in East L.A. ditched class to join the downtown rally.

    “I just don’t know if he’s [Trump] actually done anything that is positive,” downtown protester Mario Noguera told ABC7 News. “Everything’s been about depleting everything: resources, rights. I just don’t feel like we’re getting anywhere.”

    The walkout took place on the anniversary of Trump’s inauguration, an event he commemorated with a nearly two-hour news conference in which he called his first year in office “an amazing period of time” where his administration accomplished more than any other in history.

    “We have a book that I’m not going to read to you, but these are the accomplishments of what we’ve produced, page after page after page of individual things,” Trump said, holding up a thick stack of papers. “I could sit here, read it for a week, and we wouldn’t be finished.”

    Among the list of accomplishments he touted were his tariffs, his immigration crackdown, the economy and his actions in Gaza and Venezuela.

    The Free America Walkout began at 2 p.m. local time in cities across the U.S. and was designed to differ from mass weekend actions such as the No Kings protests by deliberately taking place during the workday.

    Organizers said that, whereas protests demonstrate collective anger, walkouts demonstrate collective power.

    “A walkout interrupts business as usual,” stated organizers. “It makes visible how much our labor, participation, and cooperation are taken for granted — and what happens when we withdraw them together.”

    In downtown L.A., protesters condemned the effects of ICE raids locally as well as in Minneapolis, where a federal agent recently shot and killed wife and mother Renee Good.

    Earlier this month, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Los Angeles as part of the “ICE Out for Good” weekend of action, a national protest movement in response to Good’s killing.

    Roxanne Hoge, chairman of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County, criticized the stream of local anti-Trump protests on Tuesday.

    “Their boring, predictable tantrums are now part of the L.A. landscape, much like the dilapidated RVs and dangerous encampments that their policies result in,” Hoge told the LA Daily News. “We are interested in good governance and public safety, and wish our Democrat friends would join us in advocating for both.”

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    Clara Harter

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  • State GOP seeks Supreme Court injunction to block California’s new, voter-approved congressional districts

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    The state Republican Party on Tuesday filed an emergency application asking the U.S. Supreme Court to issue an injunction to stop the congressional districts California voters approved last year from going into effect.

    Arguing that the districts created by Proposition 50 violate federal law because the race of voters was considered when they were configured, the filing urges the court to act by Feb. 9 because of ensuing deadlines for candidates to file to run for office.

    “Our emergency application asks the Supreme Court to put the brakes on Prop. 50 now, before the Democrats try to run out the clock and force candidates and voters to live with unconstitutional congressional districts,” state GOP Chairwoman Corrin Rankin said in a statement. “Californians deserve fair districts and clean elections, not a backroom redraw that picks winners and losers based on race.”

    A spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom, who led the rare middecade redistricting effort and is one of the respondents in the lawsuit, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    The redrawing of congressional districts typically occurs once a decade, after the U.S. census, to account for population shifts. In California, the boundaries are drawn by a voter-approved independent commission to stop partisan gerrymandering and incumbent protection.

    After President Trump urged leaders in Texas and other GOP-led states to redraw their delegation’s districts to boost the number of Republicans elected to Congress in the November midterm election, Newsom and other Democratic leaders responded by crafting a plan to increase the number of their party’s members in the California delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives. Republicans currently have a razor-thin majority, and the party that controls Congress after the November election will determine whether Trump is able to continue enacting his agenda during his final two years in office.

    California voters handily passed Proposition 50, one of the most expensive ballot measure campaigns in state history. The state GOP and others immediately challenged the new districts, but earlier this month, two members of a three-judge federal panel rejected their claim that the district boundaries were drawn to illegally favor Latino voters.

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    Seema Mehta

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  • Congressman Ami Bera says Republicans privately concerned about President Trump

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    As Congress returns from recess this week, Sacramento Congressman Ami Bera says Republican lawmakers have privately expressed growing concern over President Donald Trump’s recent decisions.“I think they are very worried about what they’re seeing coming out of the President,” Bera said. “Even the actions with Venezuela — they weren’t consulted about any of this.”Bera, a Democrat who serves on the House Foreign Affairs and Intelligence Committees, returned Sunday from South America, where he met with Peru’s foreign minister. He said it was too dangerous for him to travel to Venezuela, describing the country as fragile following U.S. military action that led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro.“They’re happy Maduro is gone,” Bera said of Peruvian officials. “They want to see a stable Venezuela, but they’re cautious because you still have the Maduro regime in place, and a lot could go wrong.”He added that while Peru welcomes Maduro’s removal, leaders there are concerned that ongoing instability could lead to increased migration into neighboring countries.Back in Washington, Congress faces a potential government shutdown at the end of the month. Bera said lawmakers must address unresolved issues, including healthcare subsidies and immigration policy, after the action in Minneapolis. He also pointed to President Trump’s recent remarks about taking control of Greenland, which Trump has said is necessary for national security.“President Trump is not listening to anyone,” Bera said. “Now he’s talking about invading Greenland, and our closest allies in Europe are pissed off with us. He’s alienating everyone. I hope when I get back there tomorrow, Republicans will say enough is enough — let’s go around the president and get some of this stuff done.”Despite the challenges, Bera said he remains optimistic that a shutdown can be avoided.“I do not think the government will shut down because we saw how it hurt Americans,” he said. “We should negotiate. There’s going to be give and take. As Democrats, we’re not going to get everything we want. That’s how we’ve passed the appropriations bills so far, and I hope we get it done this week.”Bera also highlighted bipartisan support for extending health care subsidies, noting that 17 Republicans joined Democrats to back the measure, despite opposition from President Trump.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

    As Congress returns from recess this week, Sacramento Congressman Ami Bera says Republican lawmakers have privately expressed growing concern over President Donald Trump’s recent decisions.

    “I think they are very worried about what they’re seeing coming out of the President,” Bera said. “Even the actions with Venezuela — they weren’t consulted about any of this.”

    Bera, a Democrat who serves on the House Foreign Affairs and Intelligence Committees, returned Sunday from South America, where he met with Peru’s foreign minister. He said it was too dangerous for him to travel to Venezuela, describing the country as fragile following U.S. military action that led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro.

    “They’re happy Maduro is gone,” Bera said of Peruvian officials. “They want to see a stable Venezuela, but they’re cautious because you still have the Maduro regime in place, and a lot could go wrong.”

    He added that while Peru welcomes Maduro’s removal, leaders there are concerned that ongoing instability could lead to increased migration into neighboring countries.

    Back in Washington, Congress faces a potential government shutdown at the end of the month. Bera said lawmakers must address unresolved issues, including healthcare subsidies and immigration policy, after the action in Minneapolis. He also pointed to President Trump’s recent remarks about taking control of Greenland, which Trump has said is necessary for national security.

    “President Trump is not listening to anyone,” Bera said. “Now he’s talking about invading Greenland, and our closest allies in Europe are pissed off with us. He’s alienating everyone. I hope when I get back there tomorrow, Republicans will say enough is enough — let’s go around the president and get some of this stuff done.”

    Despite the challenges, Bera said he remains optimistic that a shutdown can be avoided.

    “I do not think the government will shut down because we saw how it hurt Americans,” he said. “We should negotiate. There’s going to be give and take. As Democrats, we’re not going to get everything we want. That’s how we’ve passed the appropriations bills so far, and I hope we get it done this week.”

    Bera also highlighted bipartisan support for extending health care subsidies, noting that 17 Republicans joined Democrats to back the measure, despite opposition from President Trump.

    See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

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  • Adam Schiff Slams Trump Over Reuters Interview, Midterms & ICE

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    The junior senator from California took to X to counter Trump’s comments on the midterm elections, ICE and the economy

    Suspending midterm elections, sending armed federal agents into American cities and the state of the economy – these were just some of the issues Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) touched on in a video responding to President Trump’s latest interview with Reuters.

    In a nearly eight-minute clip posted to X yesterday, the junior senator from California rebuked the president’s suggestion of canceling midterm elections, saying that Trump “knows he’s gonna lose” and is trying to discourage voter and volunteer participation.

    “We’re having a midterm election whether he likes it or not,” Schiff told his 3.3 million followers on X. “Do not let Donald Trump persuade you otherwise.”

    White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later claimed that Trump was “simply joking” and “speaking facetiously,” telling reporters the president was saying, “we’re doing such a great job, maybe we should just keep rolling.”

    Schiff also touched on the state of the economy, which Trump told Reuters was the strongest “in history.”

    “We’re still plagued by high inflation, we’re seeing unemployment numbers tick up,” Schiff said. “Trump has failed to keep his campaign promise to bring down prices on day one or even the first year.”

    While prices for staple goods such as eggs, milk and gas have fallen since Trump took office, overall annual inflation remains above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, resting at 2.7%, down from 3% in January last year.

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    The Democratic senator went on to criticize Trump for calling the shooting of Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer “unfortunate,” while continuing to increase ICE’s presence in American cities.

    “What Trump doesn’t acknowledge is that the provocation he creates by sending armed federal agents into American cities is endangering communities and causing tragic losses of life,” Schiff said.

    He also attacked Trump over blaming Ukraine for failing to reach a peace settlement with Russia and shrugging off bipartisan criticism of threats to invade Greenland and investigate Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

    Schiff’s latest clip is part of a recent campaign to create daily social media videos focused on “identifying something really important that happened today, what we should make of it” and how Democrats can fight back.

    The first-term Senator consistently ranks among the top-performing Democratic lawmakers on social media by embracing what he calls an “all-of-the-above” approach to engaging with digital platforms.

    “We need to make sure people hear our message, and that we’re not just talking to the same people over and over again,” Schiff said in an interview with Axios.

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    Aidan Williams

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  • Venezuela opposition leader Machado says she ‘presented’ her Nobel Peace Prize to Trump

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    WASHINGTON — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said Thursday that she “presented” her Nobel Peace Prize medal to President Trump during a private meeting at the White House, but he has not changed his view that she does not have the support to lead her country.

    Machado, who won the prize last year for her work to promote democracy in Venezuela, said she presented the 18-carat gold medal to Trump as a “recognition of his unique commitment to our freedom.” It is unclear whether the president, who has been fixated on getting the prize in recent year, accepted it. The Nobel Peace Center has maintained the award cannot be transferred.

    The gesture was made on the day the two leaders met for the first time at the White House. The highly anticipated get-together came as the United States has allowed top deputies of deposed president Nicolás Maduro’s regime to remain in charge as Trump oversees the transition of power.

    White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump went into the meeting without any expectations, other than to have a “frank and positive discussion about what’s taking place in Venezuela.”

    Leavitt added that Trump continues to assert that Machado does not have the “support” or “respect” to lead Venezuela, an assessment he first made on the day of Maduro’s capture to the surprise of many Venezuelans.

    “At this moment in time, his opinion on that matter has not changed,” Leavitt said at a news briefing.

    While Leavitt described Machado as a “remarkable and brave voice for many of the people in Venezuela,” she also said the United States had found an “extremely cooperative” partner in Maduro’s handpicked vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, who is serving as acting president of Venezuela.

    “They have met all of the demands and requests of the United States and the president,” Leavitt said, noting that the Venezuelan government already agreed to release political prisoners and reached a $100-billion deal to rebuild Venezuela’s energy sector.

    As Machado left the White House, the scope of the discussions between her and the president remained unclear. She did not take questions from the reporters, but a few of them were able to capture a moment on video when she was greeted by supporters outside the White House. She told them: “Know that we can count on President Trump for Venezuela’s freedom.”

    She then left to meet with a bipartisan group of U.S. senators on Capitol Hill. It was after this meeting that Machado told reporters she had presented the medal to the president.

    Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) was one of 14 senators who met with Machado. After the meeting Scott said Machado was “very appreciative of the U.S. military” capturing Maduro and was pushing for “free and fair elections and free press.”

    “We have got to continue to understand that Delcy Rodriguez is not the leader, she was never elected as a president, she is still the leader of drug cartels,” Scott said. “We need to make sure we hold her accountable.”

    It appears unlikely that much will change for Machado after meeting with Trump, who largely has sidelined her and Edmundo González Urrutia, the opposition candidate who won the 2024 presidential election that was stolen by Maduro.

    Days after Maduro was captured, Machado told CBS News the people of Venezuela had “already chosen” González Urrutia as the rightful leader of the country and that they were “ready and willing to serve our people, as we have been mandated.”

    Trump, however, has maintained that before elections can take place in Venezuela, the United States needs to “fix” the country.

    Asked if the president was committed to holding elections in Venezuela, Leavitt said Trump hopes to see “elections in Venezuela one day” but did not have a timeline for them yet.

    Trump says he is happy with his administration’s working relationship with Rodríguez. At a White House event Wednesday, Trump called Rodríguez a “terrific person.”

    The praise came after Trump said he had a “very good call” with her that morning that left him feeling hopeful that the United States and Venezuela could have a “spectacular” working relationship.

    Rodriguez, in turn, used her first state of the union address Thursday to promote oil industry reforms that would drawn in foreign investment, which is in line with the Trump administration’s goals. She also criticized the Washington officials and said there was a “stain on our relations” but said she was open to strengthening the relationship.

    “Let us not be afraid of diplomacy,” with the U.S., Rodriguez said in Venezuela.

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    Ana Ceballos

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