January 24, 2025 1:48 pm
FLETCHER, N.C. (AP) — President Donald Trump says he is considering “getting rid of” the Federal Emergency Management Agency. His comment on Friday offers the latest sign of how he is weighing sweeping changes to the nation’s central organization for responding to disasters. Speaking while on the first trip of his second term, Trump made the remark in North Carolina during a briefing on the monthslong recovery from Hurricane Helene. FEMA, Trump said, “has been a very big disappointment.” He said the agency is bureaucratic and slow.
January 24, 2025 1:45 pm
FLETCHER, N.C. (AP) — President Donald Trump has ended the federal security detail for Dr. Anthony Fauci, the infectious disease expert who advised him on the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s according to a person familiar with the matter. Fauci is the latest in a string of former Trump aides-turned-critics to see their federal protection canceled despite ongoing threats to their lives. Speaking to reporters Friday in North Carolina, Trump said he wouldn’t feel any responsibility if harm befell the former government officials. A person familiar with the matter says Fauci’s federal security detail was ended on Thursday and he has since hired private security.
January 24, 2025 1:50 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has barred Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes from entering Washington, D.C., without the court’s approval after President Donald Trump commuted the extremist group leader’s 18-year prison sentence in the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol attack. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta issued the order two days after Rhodes visited Capitol Hill, where the Texas resident met with at least one lawmaker, chatted with others and defended his actions the day of the riot. Mehta’s order applies to seven other defendants charged in one of the most serious conspiracy cases brought by the Justice Department over the riot. The order prohibits them from entering the Capitol building or surrounding grounds without the court’s permission.
January 24, 2025 4:58 am
President Donald Trump is criticizing California water policy as he prepares to tour wildfire damage in Los Angeles. Since the fires broke out Jan. 7, Trump has accused the state of sending too much water to the Pacific Ocean instead of south toward Los Angeles. But the federally managed Central Valley Project doesn’t carry water to the nation’s second most-populous city and mostly supplies farms. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California says it has ample storage to meet the region’s water needs.
January 24, 2025 5:00 am
DALLAS (AP) — President Donald Trump has ordered the release of thousands of classified governmental records related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The executive order Trump signed Thursday also aims to declassify the remaining federal records relating to the assassinations of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. The order is among a flurry of actions Trump has quickly taken as he begins a second term. Only a few thousand of the millions of governmental records related to the JFK assassination have yet to be fully declassified.
January 24, 2025 5:02 am
SEATTLE (AP) — A federal judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order ending the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship regardless of the parents’ immigration status. U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour in Seattle ruled on Thursday in the case brought by the states of Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon. The states argue that the 14th Amendment and Supreme Court case law have cemented birthright citizenship. Coughenour called Trump’s order “blatantly unconstitutional.”
January 24, 2025 5:04 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Pete Hegseth, President Donald Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, paid $50,000 to the woman who accused him of sexual assault in 2017. That’s according to answers he provided to a senator during his confirmation process that The Associated Press has obtained. The answers were provided to Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren in response additional questions she had for Hegseth as part of the vetting process. Hegseth attorney Timothy Parlatore declined to comment on the dollar figure Thursday. Hegseth told police at the time that the encounter had been consensual and denied any wrongdoing. The news of the payment comes the same day the Senate advanced Hegseth’s nomination along a party-line vote.
January 24, 2025 2:24 am
The Washington County Local Share Account Review Committee is recommending a total of 67 projects to receive more than $10 million. The grants come from a portion of gaming revenue generated at the Hollywood Casino at the Meadows. The list includes local governments, non-profits and other eligible entities throughout Washington County. Washington County Commissioners Chairman Nick Sherman says “from improvements to parks and facilities to upgrades in municipal sewage and classroom environments, these diverse recommendations will enhance our communities by completing and jump-starting essential projects”. Officials say the grants will be leveraged by more than $68.3 million in additional funding. Among the projects: $500,000 to the Washington Wild Things for upgrades at their ballpark, $500,00 to the Canonsburg Education and Cultural Institute for an auditorium development project, $438,000 to the Carroll Township Authority for the nearly $3-million Ginger Hill sewer extension, and $400,000 for a Lemoyne Community Center expansion project. The Board of Commissioners are expected to act on the recommendation at their February 6 public meeting. For the complete list of recommendations, Click Here.
January 23, 2025 5:16 pm
SEATTLE (AP) — A federal judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order ending the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship regardless of the parents’ immigration status. U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour in Seattle ruled on Thursday in the case brought by the states of Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon. The states argue that the 14th Amendment and Supreme Court case law have cemented birthright citizenship. Coughenour called Trump’s order “blatantly unconstitutional.”
January 23, 2025 5:20 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has confirmed Donald Trump’s pick to lead the CIA. John Ratcliffe was director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term and is the first person to have held that position and the top post at the CIA, the nation’s premier spy agency. Ratcliffe is the second of Trump’s nominees to be confirmed, following Marco Rubio as secretary of state. Ratcliffe told senators at a hearing last week that the CIA must do better when it comes to using technology like artificial intelligence to confront adversaries including Russia and China.
