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An angry Trump pledges to appeal ‘this scam’ conviction as Republicans vow resistance
WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump, now a convicted felon, vowed to launch an appeal based “on many things” he considered unfair during his New York trial, he said Friday in the lobby of Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan. Meanwhile Friday, legal and political analysts predicted he will spend little if any time in jail […]
U.S. Supreme Court chief declines to discuss Alito flag uproar, ethics with Senate Dems
U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. told leading Democrats on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday he will not meet with them to discuss the court’s code of ethics, following revelations of displays of politically oriented flags at the homes of Justice Samuel Alito. Individual justices will continue to decide their own […]
On second try, U.S. House approves GOP bill to ease mining on federal lands
The U.S. House passed, 216-195, a bill Wednesday that would loosen a restriction on mining operations, reversing a vote last week to return the bill to committee. The bill, written by Nevada Republican Mark Amodei, would clarify that mining companies can conduct mining support operations on federal lands, even without first documenting a known mineral […]
Still much unknown on how marijuana policies would change in states under Biden plan
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has proposed loosening the illegal status of marijuana at the federal level – but that doesn’t mean the federal government now condones recreational or medicinal use in the many states that have legalized the drug. Moving marijuana from the government’s list of the most dangerous and least useful substances to […]
TikTok sues to block new U.S. law banning app if it is not sold
TikTok and its Chinese parent company on Tuesday challenged a recently enacted federal law banning the short-form video platform from the United States if it is not sold to a non-Chinese owner. TikTok Inc., the U.S. company that operates the popular social media service, and ByteDance, its parent company founded by Chinese entrepreneurs, filed suit […]
Biden administration to greatly ease marijuana regulations
The Biden administration plans to remove marijuana from a list of the most dangerous and highly regulated drugs, the Department of Justice said Tuesday night. The Drug Enforcement Administration will propose moving the drug from a Schedule I substance, which also includes heroin and methamphetamine, to Schedule III, which is the category for regulated-but-legal drugs […]
U.S. Supreme Court floats return to trial court for Trump in presidential immunity case?
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court appeared skeptical Thursday of former President Donald Trump’s argument he is immune from criminal charges that he tried to overturn his loss in the 2020 election. But conservatives who dominate the court appeared open to returning key questions to a trial court, possibly delaying Trump’s prosecution beyond the November […]
Trump makes one last presidential immunity argument to the U.S. Supreme Court
Hours after Donald Trump sat in a New York courtroom and became the first former president in U.S. history to be a defendant in a criminal trial Monday, his attorneys filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court renewing his claim of absolute presidential immunity in another criminal case against him. In a reply brief […]
Trump’s repeated escapes from political damage to be tested in NYC trial
Donald Trump on Monday in a New York City courtroom will make history as the first former U.S. president to stand trial in criminal proceedings. And it raises new issues for the presumptive Republican nominee for president in November, even as he builds a political brand that so far has seemed immune from accusations of […]
Democrats join in U.S. Senate vote to repeal Biden rule tracking tailpipe emissions
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate voted Wednesday to roll back a Transportation Department rule that targeted greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles traveling on highways. The rule, issued by the Transportation Department’s Federal Highway Administration in December, established greenhouse gas reductions as one of the 18 performance measures for state transportation departments and local planning organizations […]
Biden to visit Port of Baltimore Friday to review federal response on Key Bridge
President Joe Biden will tour the Port of Baltimore and the site of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse Friday as long-term efforts to reopen the port continue, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday. “President Biden will travel to Baltimore on Friday to visit the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge, meet with state […]
Federal rebuild of Baltimore bridge ‘will not be quick or easy or cheap,’ Buttigieg says
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg outlined Wednesday the immediate and longer-term priorities the Biden administration is pursuing in the aftermath of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore that left six presumed dead. While many questions remained roughly 36 hours after a massive cargo ship struck the bridge and caused the deadly collapse, Buttigieg […]