Politics

More than a decade ago, a federal court found that the New York City Police Department had been unconstitutionally stopping and frisking Black and Hispanic residents. The ruling laid out required fixes, including something quite basic: The NYPD would review officers’ stops to make sure they were legal.

The Trump administration’s cancellation of more than $100 million in humanities grants to scholars, writers, research groups and other organizations was unconstitutional, and the Department of Government Efficiency had no authority to end the funding, a federal judge in New York ruled on Thursday.

Netflix (NFLX.O) was sued on Monday by Texas ​Attorney General Ken Paxton, who accused the streaming company of spying ‌on children and other consumers by collecting their data without consent, and designing its platform to be addictive.

The U.S. Commerce Department removed details from its website about its ​agreement with Google, xAI and Microsoft to ‌test their artificial intelligence models for security vulnerabilities, according to a Reuters review of the agency’s site.

Gov. Ron DeSantis is now backing plans to shutter Florida’s state-run immigration detention facility in the Everglades, 10 months after the state opened it and after spending hundreds of millions of dollars on its construction and operation.

Last August, a married couple went before a Broward County court in what was expected to be a routine surrogacy case.

Hantaviruses are usually carried by rodents, but human transmission of the Andes strain - which the World Health Organization (WHO) believes was contracted by some of the Dutch ship’s passengers while in South America - is possible.

A U.S. judge on Wednesday ruled that the Justice Department can keep 2020 election ballots seized during an FBI search ​in January, a win for President Donald Trump’s administration as it pursues the president’s false claims of widespread voter fraud.

President Donald Trump’s abrupt reversal on his plan to help ships go through the Strait of Hormuz came after a key Gulf ally suspended the U.S. military’s ability to use its bases and airspace to carry out the operation, according to two U.S. officials.

Lutnick is the highest-ranked administration official, besides President Donald Trump, to be named in the Epstein case files. The Republican president has consistently denied any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and has said he ended their relationship years ago. Epstein died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

For decades, federal agencies have gathered data on everything from climate risk to the rising cost of childcare. It is information funded by taxes, and that belongs to the American people. This data is often how the government decides what to do: what is a problem, what is a policy priority, what should be funded. It tells the story of America.

They put this information in a video that you can’t share directly. You have to scroll down to listen to it.

“Myself and others started placing bets before that poll came out,” the staffer, who was working on a statewide campaign in the South, told NPR on the condition of anonymity over fear for their future employment. “And then, sure enough as soon as that poll came out, the stock went up and everybody made money.”

“We have a Department of Justice today that targets people for criminal prosecution simply because the president doesn’t like them,”

On Tuesday, The New York Times reported confirmation from the Department of Health and Human Services that the Food and Drug Administration had blocked the publication of studies showing the safety and efficacy of vaccines against COVID-19 and shingles. The revelation follows a report from The Washington Post last month that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scrapped a scientifically vetted study previously scheduled for publication that found COVID-19 vaccines sharply cut the risk of emergency care and hospitalization among healthy adults. The study was ultimately rejected by Kennedy’s acting CDC director, who claimed to have concerns about the study’s methodology.

In 2002, journalist Vicky Ward—then a writer for Vanity Fair magazine—was assigned to investigate a mysterious New York City financier named Jeffrey Epstein. During her reporting, she stumbled upon sexual abuse allegations against Epstein by Maria and Annie Farmer, whose account was ultimately cut from Ward’s piece, titled “The Talented Mr. Epstein.” That decision sparked recriminations between Ward and then–Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter that have continued for more than a decade.

The FBI has launched a criminal leak investigation focusing on an Atlantic magazine journalist who wrote a deeply unflattering account last month of Director Kash Patel’s work habits, two people familiar with the matter told MS NOW.

The Office of Personnel Management on Monday rolled out a new AI tool, called USA Class, that can generate and fine-tune position descriptions for hiring managers to use in job announcements. OPM said the tool will help reduce time-to-hire and administrative work for HR employees.

The controversial deal is unusual: other airports named after presidents don’t have trademarks owned by private companies. Trump’s companies and Palm Beach County administrators have argued the trademark agreement is necessary to protect the county from lawsuits, not for private profit.

This is an old article, but Iowa just complied.

The Washington state Supreme Court on Monday ruled that voters cannot bring a referendum against the newly passed “millionaires tax.”

Wall Street’s top regulator on Tuesday proposed ending quarterly earnings reporting requirements for U.S.-traded companies and allowing them to switch to twice-annual reports.

Microsoft, Google and Elon Musk’s xAI agreed to give the U.S. government early access to new ​artificial intelligence models for national security testing, as U.S. officials grow alarmed by the hacking capabilities ‌of Anthropic’s newly unveiled Mythos.

The U.S. military said it launched another strike on a boat accused of ferrying drugs in the Caribbean Sea, killing two people Monday.

Leaders of the prison gang known as Los Tiburones, or the Sharks, were selling drugs to inmates not only for money, but for their votes. Specifically, votes for now-Gov. Jenniffer González-Colón, a longtime Republican and supporter of President Donald Trump, investigators found.

It was against this backdrop that GOP lawmakers unveiled the details of their reconciliation bill, which included an unexpected element. NBC News reported:

Noem, who was ousted as DHS secretary in March, is reportedly still occupying a taxpayer-funded U.S. Coast Guard home in Washington, D.C.​

Another person detained by ICE has died in the agency’s custody, according to reports released by the Department of Homeland Security and private prison company CoreCivic.

The states of California, Arizona and Nevada have proposed voluntary water-saving measures for the next three years aimed at buying time while negotiations remain deadlocked over the future of shrinking reservoirs filled by the Colorado River.

In 23 states, including five presidential swing states, candidates who have denied election results are running for offices that will have a direct role in certifying future elections.

The Supreme Court on Monday granted a temporary pause to an appeals court ruling that blocked the telehealth provision and mailing of the abortion pill mifepristone nationwide as litigation continues.

A controversial bill in Colorado that would have undone some repair protections in the state has failed. The bill had been the target of right-to-repair advocates, who saw it as a bellwether for how tech companies might try to undo repair legislation more broadly in the US.

The struggling budget airline had been negotiating with the Trump administration for a $500 million rescue package that would have provided cash in exchange for equity-like warrants, giving the government up to a 90 percent stake. However, the effort has stalled because Spirit has been unable to secure the necessary backing from bondholders and government stakeholders, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal Friday.

At least a half-dozen House Republicans told Scripps News they would not support a bipartisan Senate bill to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security — then voted for it anyway Thursday, ending the longest government shutdown in history after 76 days.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles announced new autonomous vehicle regulations on Tuesday that will, among other things, allow police officers to issue moving violations to AV companies like Waymo and Tesla when their robotaxis break the law.

On Friday, Nebraska became the first state to enact Medicaid work requirements, mandatory for states with Medicaid expansion due to Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Notably, the state did it seven months before the deadline.

The Defense Department has struck agreements with some of the nation’s largest technology companies to deploy their advanced artificial intelligence capabilities on its classified networks, part of a broader push to accelerate the military’s adoption of AI.

Activists worldwide gathered for May Day rallies and street protests Friday, calling for peace, higher wages and better working conditions as many workers grapple with rising energy costs and shrinking purchasing power tied to the Iran war.

Standing behind a placard declaring Florida “the education state,” Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed into law two measures that make it harder for teachers to collectively bargain pay and working conditions.

The Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that state regulators may criminalize Delta-8 THC, the intoxicating compound found in some hemp products — a significant blow to an industry fighting for its survival.

Every Tuesday, almost like clockwork, the U.S. Department of Education would update a public list of schools and colleges it was investigating for possible violations of students’ civil rights.

The second US circuit court of appeals was divided late on Wednesday in its decision, ultimately, to reject proceeding to a so-called en banc hearing, a rare meeting of all of its judges to consider a conclusion.

The FAA had previously only advised that drone pilots avoid flying near “mobile assets” operated by the Department of Defense and Department of Energy, such as naval warships and truck convoys transporting nuclear materials between US national labs. But the “notice to airmen” alert in January—NOTAM FDC 6/4375—had created the equivalent of roving, 3,000-foot no-fly zones around federal agents’ cars and other vehicles operating in cities and towns across the country. And it didn’t just affect those trying to film federal agents. Because it was practically impossible to ensure compliance with the new flight restrictions, any drone pilot could be at risk during any flight.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ plans to upend childhood vaccination requirements continues to be thwarted by his fellow Republicans.

President Donald Trump says he’s nominating Fox News Channel contributor Nicole Saphier for surgeon general after Casey Means’ path forward stalled in the Senate over questions about her experience and her stance on vaccines.

Lawyers made arguments in hearings for two separate lawsuits against President Trump and the Kennedy Center’s board this week.

The chief financial official for the Pentagon, Jules Hurst III, told lawmakers that the estimated cost of the war with Iran is $25 billion so far, adding that most of the expense has been on munitions. The military has also spent money on running the operations and equipment replacement, he said.

Hemorrhaging cash and in bankruptcy court, Spirit Airlines is on the brink of liquidation. The nation’s largest budget airline has been struggling for years and has been forced to drastically downsize by selling planes and cutting routes. With the federal government reportedly close to stepping in with a $500 million bailout plan, Trump apparently wants to buy it outright and run it.

In fact, while running for the White House in 2024, Kennedy did speak at length about “reparenting” American children on wellness farms, which he proposed building in rural communities across the U.S. Kennedy raised the idea during a podcast interview in June of 2024 and again during a separate podcast conversation in July.

The First Choice facilities seek to steer women away from having abortions. Platkin issued the subpoena as part of a state investigation into whether First Choice deceived donors and potential clients into falsely believing the facilities offered abortions and other reproductive healthcare services in violation of a state consumer-protection law and other statutes.

In a 6-3 decision, the conservative justices sided with a challenge to new districts in Louisiana that were created to comply with a landmark Civil Rights law meant to protect black Americans from racial discrimination.

More than half of U.S. adults (55 per cent) say their financial situation is getting worse, according to a Gallup poll published Tuesday, pointing to high inflation along with elevated costs of energy, housing, healthcare, college, transportation and childcare.

Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, engaged in a “brazen, shocking, and ongoing violation” of a law requiring the justice department (DoJ) to release the entirety of the so-called Epstein files, a lawsuit filed in Washington DC alleges.

Workers at the first Apple store to unionize in the US are pushing back against the company’s decision to shut down the store by June, alleging the company’s decision is rooted in “a cynical attempt to bust the union”.

President Donald Trump’s goons at the Federal Communications Commission will challenge Disney’s licenses for ABC stations in retaliation for a late-night Jimmy Kimmel monologue about the first lady, according to two reports.

In all, 55 incumbents have announced they will not run for re-election, the highest since 1992, when a record 65 members of both parties retired after it was revealed that many of them were intentionally overdrawing their House bank accounts by thousands of dollars without paying a penalty.

O’Donnell then asked the president about his reaction to Allen’s rationalization that he was “no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.”

In the chaotic minutes after news broke that a gunman had attempted to breach security at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, a familiar pattern unfolded on social media. A chorus of pro-Trump influencers and officials arrived at the same eerily specific and singular conclusion: The country needs Donald Trump’s ballroom.

The Supreme Court hears arguments Monday about a relatively new law enforcement technique that allows police to tap into giant tech-firm databases to find out who was near the scene of a crime and may have been involved. Essentially the question before the high court is whether that technique is ingenious, Orwellian, or both? And, ultimately, is it constitutional?

The US supreme court formally reinstated on Monday a redrawn Texas electoral map that was designed to add more Republicans to the US House of Representatives, as Donald Trump’s party seeks to keep control of Congress in the November congressional elections.

Millions more Americans might qualify for dual Canadian citizenship under a recent change to Canada’s requirements that has led to a surge in applications from its southern neighbor.

An appeals court on Friday blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order suspending asylum access, a key pillar of the Republican president’s plan to crack down on migration at the southern border of the U.S.

Dozens of protesters, including members of Congress, gathered along the National Mall on Thursday to protest an “intimate” dinner being held by Paramount Skydance’s chief executive, David Ellison, “in celebration of the first amendment” and “honoring the Trump White House and CBS White House correspondents”, and attended by Donald Trump.

The US justice department is dropping its investigation into the Federal Reserve chairman, Jerome Powell, over alleged building cost overruns.

Houston Police Department leaders late Thursday released an updated order to its officers on how to interact with federal immigration agents that largely returns HPD to the rules it operated under before Houston City Council spurred a fight over the issue this month – and which legal advocates say could expose the city to legal liability.

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from enforcing a series of permitting policies that wind and solar energy industry groups say have ⁠stymied the development of new energy generation projects.

The infamous Florida immigrant detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz” can remain open, an appeals court ruled Tuesday, overturning a lower judge’s decision to close the facility because it violated federal environmental laws.

Stagi, a retired hypnotherapist, said she touched the agent’s shoulder to get his attention and then he grabbed her by the hair, put her neck in the crook of his arm and carried her across the street by her head. She said he threw her down an embankment next to the street.

A judge in rural southern Virginia on Wednesday ordered that the results of Tuesday’s vote not be certified on several grounds, including that state lawmakers did not follow their own rules in passing the redistricting referendum. Tazewell County Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley also called the ballot language put to voters “flagrantly misleading.”

The Department of Justice’s internal watchdog said Thursday that it is reviewing the department’s compliance with the law mandating the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

The U.S. military on Thursday said it seized another tanker transporting oil from Iran in the Indian Ocean, a day after Iran took control of two commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

Ellison, chief executive and chairman of Paramount and a major Republican donor, is hosting a dinner with Trump on Thursday at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington DC.