Political Headlines
How the Trump hush money case compares to the John Edwards indictment
Sara D. Davis/Getty Images, FILE(WASHINGTON) -- With a grand jury weighing possible charges against former President Donald Trump, the case is drawing comparisons to the indictment of a rising Democratic star over a decade ago that also involved hush money accusations. In 2011, John Edwards, a former senator from North Carolina and two-time presidential candidate, was charged in an alleged plot to violate campaign finance laws during his 2008 bid for the White House. Federal prosecutors accused Edwards of soliciting nearly $1 million from wealthy donors to hide his affair with videographer Rielle Hunter -- and that he was the father of their baby -- to prevent damage to his reputation as a family man during the campaign. Edwards' defense ... Read More
Biden meets with Trudeau as US, Canada announce immigration agreement
MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- President Joe Biden and Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday announced a new migration deal as part of Biden's first visit to America's northern neighbor. The new agreement will allow Canada to send migrants who cross at unofficial ports of entry at America's northern border back to the U.S., a change to the Safe Third Country Agreement long-sought by Canada. The U.S. will also be able to turn back asylum seekers who travel across the border from Canada. In return, Canada has agreed to allow 15,000 more people from the Western Hemisphere to migrate to Canada legally. Biden officially announced the new policy agreement as he delivered remarks to the Canadian Parliament, saying he ... Read More
Meadows, other top Trump aides ordered to testify in Jan. 6 probe as judge rejects claims of executive privilege
Creativeye99/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- A federal judge has rejected former President Donald Trump's claims of executive privilege and has ordered Mark Meadows and other former top aides to testify before a federal grand jury investigating Trump's efforts to overturn the election leading up to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, multiple sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News. Meadows, Trump's former chief of staff, was subpoenaed along with the other former aides by Special counsel Jack Smith for testimony and documents related to the probe. Trump's legal team had challenged the subpoenas by asserting executive privilege, which is the right of a president to keep confidential the communications he has with advisers. In a sealed order last week, ... Read More
House GOP passes Parents Bill of Rights Act
Tetra Images - Henryk Sadura/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- House Republicans narrowly passed H.R. 5, the Parents Bill of Rights Act on Friday, sending the proposal along to the Senate, where it is likely to fail. The House bill, which has few champions among Democrats and advocacy groups, passed in a 213-208 vote Friday morning. Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La., the bill's sponsor, shook hands and fist bumped rejoicing members upon the bill's passage. "Today was a win for every mother or father, but most importantly for every student in America," Speaker Kevin McCarthy said at a press conference following the vote, noting thousands of parents signed on to the bill. Backers of the bill say H.R. 5 has five core principles: Parents ... Read More
House Republicans plan to tour DC jail where Jan. 6 defendants are held
WIN-Initiative/Neleman/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Republican members of the House Oversight Committee, including chairman James Comer, say they plan to tour a Washington, D.C., jail on Friday where some Jan. 6 defendants are being held. The congressional delegation is being led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., one of the most vocal critics of the detainment of individuals charged in connection with the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Speaking with ABC News earlier this week, Greene said the visit would focus on the conditions of those being jailed, including what Greene claimed to be "reports of abuse." Greene claimed those being held pretrial are "not allowed to see their families, many times are not allowed to see their attorneys" and that "the ... Read More
Trump campaign insists he won’t be deterred by possible indictment
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images, FILE(NEW YORK) -- Former President Donald Trump's election team is downplaying the impact of a possible indictment on his campaign, insisting it will not force him cut back, including on his travel. At the same time, associates boast they're ready to launch a full-throated response to what they cast as a partisan fishing expedition by a Democratic prosecutor. "This is the new normal, the president has been battle-tested. This operation has been fine-tuned since 2016. Dealing with these types of news cycles, you learn to get good at it. We have a full-spectrum response operation on the campaign that can deal with anything that comes our way," Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung told ... Read More
House Republicans fail to override Biden’s 1st presidential veto
Drew Angerer/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- The Republican-led House failed on Thursday to override President Joe Biden's veto of a resolution that would have prevented retirement fund managers from accounting for certain social factors when making investment decisions. The vote was 219-200 in favor of overcoming the veto, but a two-thirds majority vote is needed. The House initially passed H.J. Res. 30 on Feb. 28 with the support of all Republicans and one Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden of Maine. It took on the issue of environmental, social and governance (ESG), specifically whether retirement fund managers covered under federal law may include that strategy in their calculus. ESG -- labeled by critics as "woke capitalism" -- has become a major target by conservatives ... Read More
Biden uses 13th anniversary of Affordable Care Act passage to hammer Republicans on health care
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- President Joe Biden marked the 13th anniversary of the passage of the Affordable Care Act in the same room where he once whispered in President Obama's ear that enacting the legislation was a "big f------ deal." Biden cheekily recalled the hot-mic moment on Thursday, saying he stands by the terminology he used years ago in describing the sweeping health care reform. "Many of you joined us that day after fighting for decades to make it happen, and I remember three words I used at the time, I thought it was --" Biden said, smiling to invited guests in the White House East Room. "I thought it was a big deal. And I stand by the fact, ... Read More
Parkland victim’s dad seen pinned by Capitol Police, arrested after interrupting House hearing
Mint Images/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- The father of a student killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting was pinned to the ground and briefly arrested at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday afternoon after he loudly protested during a House hearing on what Republicans called federal government "overreach" regarding gun ownership. Manuel Oliver and his wife, Patricia Oliver, were removed from the House oversight subcommittee hearing by Capitol Police officers at the direction of Chairman Pat Fallon. The Olivers' 17-year-old son, Joaquin, was murdered along with 16 other students, faculty and staff in Parkland, Florida, in 2018. The Olivers have become advocates against gun violence in the years since. Manuel Oliver was previously removed from the White House last ... Read More
Judge temporarily blocks Wyoming abortion ban, allowing abortions to resume
Jason Marz/Getty Images(CHEYENNE, Wyo.) -- A Wyoming judge temporarily blocked a state abortion ban, prohibiting the state and its employees from enforcing the ban. The temporary restraining order will remain in effect unless it is dissolved or modified by a court order, according to court documents. The ban prohibits nearly all abortions, with exceptions for rape, incest and to save a woman's life or prevent irreversible bodily harm, according to the law. The law makes violating the ban a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $20,000. Under the ban, abortions would be permitted for ectopic pregnancies, fetuses with fatal anomalies and women who need cancer treatment, among other exceptions. Wyoming also ... Read More
House panel to focus not on Mexico border — but rising immigration at sea
Tetra Images - Henryk Sadura/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- The fraught politics of immigration have largely focused on the land border between the U.S. and Mexico, but on Thursday afternoon a panel of lawmakers will turn to Florida's maritime border and what government data shows is a sharply rising wave of migration from the Caribbean. The House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security is hearing from U.S. Customs and Border Protection as well as U.S. Coast Guard officials to learn about resource and policy needs to better secure the Florida coast. Republican lawmakers are expected to press the officials on ways the Biden administration could strengthen policy and deter migrants. Democrats are likely to point to recent declines in migrants ... Read More
White House COVID team to wind down as public health emergency expires in May: Officials
Jackyenjoyphotography/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- The White House COVID-19 team will wind down as the country moves out of the emergency phase of the pandemic, multiple administration officials confirmed to ABC News. The public health emergency is set to expire on May 11 after being in place since early 2020. The end will impact public health measures afforded by the pandemic, like expanded Medicaid enrollment, subsidized costs of COVID tests, and data gathering on cases and deaths across the country. It will also mark a "new phase" of COVID response, an administration official said, which will be mirrored by a restructuring within the White House. "The COVID team size will reflect the new phase that we're in as the public health emergency ... Read More
Supreme Court hears arguments on whiskey bottles, dog toys, pornography and poop
U.S. Supreme Court(WASHINGTON) -- A Supreme Court debate Wednesday over parody and popular commercial brands was dominated by talk of whiskey bottles, dog toys, pornography and poop. For nearly two hours, in an argument punctuated by laughter, the justices wrestled with the intersection of freedom of speech and protection for trademarks in a case pitting a humorous dog toy maker against American whiskey producer Jack Daniel's. The case, Jack Daniel's Properties Inc., v. VIP Products, centers on a chew toy that resembles a bottle of Jack Daniel's whiskey but is spoofed as "Bad Spaniels" with the suggestion that its contents are pet waste. "This case involves a dog toy that copies Jack Daniel's trademark and trade dress and associates its whiskey ... Read More
DeSantis downplays Trump’s nickname, ‘just as long as you also call me a winner’
Scott Olson/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis likened former President Donald Trump's jabs against him to so much "background noise," according to excerpts from an upcoming interview with Piers Morgan. "To me, it's just background noise," DeSantis is quoted saying in an account of the sit-down Morgan wrote for The New York Post. "It's not important for me to be fighting with people on social media." DeSantis, a hugely popular and controversial GOP governor considered to be Trump's closest competitor if he enters the race for president, also took an apparent swipe at Trump's character. Speaking with Morgan, DeSantis said politicians should aspire to fewer moral failings. "You really want to look to people like our Founding Fathers, like ... Read More
Florida’s so-called ‘Don’t Say Gay’ policy could be expanded into high school
Scott Olson/Getty Images(TALLAHASSEE, Fla.) -- A proposed Florida Board of Education rule could expand restrictions on classroom instruction related to sexual orientation and gender identity. "For grades 4 through 12, instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity is prohibited unless such instruction is either expressly required by state academic standards … or is part of a reproductive health course or health lesson for which a student's parent has the option to have his or her student not attend," according to the proposed rule. This rule would build up on the Parental Rights in Education law Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed in March 2022. The law bans classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. It ... Read More
Biden nominates 3 for Fed board, including first Black woman
By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden on Friday announced the nominations of three people for the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors, including Sarah Bloom Raskin, a former Fed and Treasury official, for the top regulatory slot and Lisa Cook, who would be the first Black woman to serve on the Fed's board. Biden also nominated Phillip Jefferson, an economist, dean of faculty at Davidson College in North Carolina and a former Fed researcher. The three nominees, who will have to be confirmed by the Senate, would fill out the Fed's seven-member board. They would join the Fed at a particularly challenging time in which the central bank will undertake the delicate task of raising its ... Read More
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