May 8, 2024 5:24 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans are welcoming a police crackdown that cleared a pro-Palestinian tent encampment at George Washington University and led to the arrests of 33 protesters. But one of the students arrested in Washington, Moataz Salim, says authorities merely “destroyed a beautiful community space that was all about love.” Police broke up the gathering Wednesday. House Speaker Mike Johnson said it should not have required “threatening to haul D.C.’s mayor before Congress” for police to end the protest. Mayor Muriel Bowser says city officials acted because the situation was becoming more volatile. She was to testify to a House panel about her handling of the protest but the hearing was canceled after the crackdown.
May 8, 2024 5:08 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Stormy Daniels will return to the witness stand in Donald Trump’s hush money trial, as the defense tries to undermine the credibility of the porn actor’s salacious testimony about an alleged sexual encounter and the money she got to keep quiet. Defense attorneys will get another chance on Thursday to question Daniels, whose account is central to the prosecutors’ case accusing Trump of scheming to illegally influence the 2016 presidential campaign by burying unflattering stories. Trump looked on in the courtroom as Daniels for hours on Tuesday described an unexpected sexual encounter she says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent in the final weeks of the 2016 campaign. Trump denies they ever had sex.
May 8, 2024 5:00 am
JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military says it has reopened the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza. The key terminal for the entry of humanitarian aid was closed over the weekend after a Hamas rocket attack killed four Israeli soldiers nearby. An Israeli tank brigade seized the nearby Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt early Tuesday, and it remained closed. But that limited incursion does not appear to be the start of the full-scale invasion of the crowded southern city that Israel has repeatedly promised. The looming operation threatens to widen a rift between Israel and its main backer, the United States. Israel has linked the decision over launching a full-scale offensive to ongoing talks over a cease-fire and hostage release.
May 8, 2024 4:59 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S. That’s according to a senior administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter. The shipment was supposed to consist of 1,800 2,000-pound bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs, according to the official, with the focus of U.S. concern being the larger explosives and how they could be used in a dense urban setting. More than 1 million civilians are sheltering in Rafah after evacuating other parts of Gaza amid Israel’s war on Hamas, which came after the militant group’s deadly attack on Israel on Oct. 7.
May 8, 2024 4:52 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Republican lawmakers are advancing a $3 billion tax cut, their newly unveiled counterproposal to a budget proposal from Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro as each side offers a competing vision for how to use a massive cash surplus. The legislation cutting taxes on income and electric service passed the Republican-controlled Senate on a 36-14 vote Tuesday. Republicans said it would be the largest tax cut in the state’s history. In the coming weeks, budget negotiations could revolve around Shapiro’s bid to boost spending by $3 billion, versus the Republican counterproposal to cut taxes by $3 billion. Democrats warn that the Senate GOP’s tax bill won’t pass in the Democratic-controlled House.
May 8, 2024 4:49 am
NEW YORK — (WPXI) Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was mentioned Tuesday during Stormy Daniels’ testimony in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial, NBC News reports. Daniels testified under oath about the sexual encounter she says she had with Trump in 2006 and the alleged $130,000 deal to keep it a secret, made just days before the 2016 election. NBC News reports that in court, Trump’s bodyguard reached out to Daniels the day after their alleged encounter to meet him at a hotel bar. Daniels testified that when she arrived, Trump was with Roethlisberger. This is not the first time Roethlisberger has been connected to Daniels. NBC Sports reports that in her 2018 book, Daniels wrote that the day after her alleged encounter with Trump, he asked Roethlisberger to walk her to her hotel room. Daniels wrote that Roethlisberger requested a “good night kiss” and stayed outside her room for several minutes before leaving.
May 8, 2024 2:35 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives is backing legislation aimed at regulating how online social media platforms interact with children. However, its provisions are similar to those in state laws being blocked in federal courts. The bill passed Wednesday nearly along party lines, 105-95, with most Democrats for it and most Republicans against it. It faces an uncertain future in the Republican-controlled state Senate, and the nation’s highest court may soon decide whether such state-level provisions can be enforced. The bill would require social media platforms to respond to reports of threats or bullying, require users under 18 to get parental consent and bar the platforms from “data mining” users under 18.
May 7, 2024 1:24 pm
IRVING, Texas (AP) — The Boy Scouts of America is changing its name for the first time in its 114-year history. The Texas-based organization is announcing at its annual meeting in Florida on Tuesday that it will become Scouting America. It’s a significant shift for the organization as it emerges from bankruptcy after a flood of sexual abuse claims, and focuses on including everyone after decades of turmoil. The organization steeped in tradition has made seismic changes, from finally allowing gay youth to welcoming girls throughout its ranks. CEO Roger Krone says the organization wants any youth in America to feel very, very welcome. (Photo: AP)
May 7, 2024 1:15 pm
(AP) – TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance are suing the U.S. federal government over a law that would ban the popular video-sharing app unless it’s sold to another company. The lawsuit filed on Tuesday may be setting up what could be a protracted legal fight over its future in the United States. The popular social video company alleged the law, which President Joe Biden signed as part of a larger $95 billion foreign aid package, is so “obviously unconstitutional” that the sponsors of The Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act are trying to portray the law not as a ban, but as a regulation of TikTok’s ownership. (Photo: AP)
May 7, 2024 12:50 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The go-broke dates for Medicare and Social Security have been pushed back as an improving economy has contributed to changed projected depletion dates. That’s according to Monday’s annual Social Security and Medicare trustees report. Still, officials warn that policy changes are needed lest the programs become unable to pay full benefits to retiring Americans. Medicare’s go-broke date for its hospital insurance trust fund was pushed back five years to 2036. Meanwhile, Social Security’s trust funds — which cover old age and disability recipients — will be unable to pay full benefits beginning in 2035, instead of last year’s estimate of 2034.
