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NY prosecutor ties Trump hush money payments to campaign as criminal trial kicks off?
WASHINGTON — Oral arguments in former President Donald Trump’s historic case in New York began Monday in a Manhattan courtroom where jurors will be tasked with deciding whether deceptive hush money payments to hide an affair amount to a criminal conviction. The first-ever criminal trial of an ex-U.S. president centers on Trump’s alleged falsified business […]
U.S. House tries anew to force sale or ban for TikTok, a ‘spy balloon in your phone’
WASHINGTON — U.S. House leadership has packaged more than a dozen bipartisan bills into a so-called “sidecar” agreement meant to attract isolationist lawmakers’ support for long-stalled foreign aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. The wide-ranging catchall, introduced as the 21st Century Peace through Strength Act, would force the split of the hugely popular app TikTok […]
National privacy standard eyed by Congress for data harvested by big tech companies
If you are having thoughts of suicide, contact 988. For resources regarding eating disorders, visit nationaleatingdisorders.org/get-help/. WASHINGTON — U.S. House members tasked with addressing what happens to loads of user data collected by big tech companies see a “long overdue” opportunity for a national privacy standard, particularly for children and teens. Lawmakers on a subpanel […]
Divided U.S. Supreme Court wrestles with case of Pennsylvania man who joined Jan. 6 mob
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in a Jan. 6, 2021, case that could potentially upend convictions for a mass of Capitol riot defendants and slash some election interference charges against former President Donald Trump. The case, Fischer v. United States, centers on whether former Pennsylvania police officer and Jan. 6 defendant […]
Small business owners ask U.S. House tax writers to extend Trump-era deductions
WASHINGTON — As Congress gears up for negotiations ahead of the 2017 tax law’s expiration, economists and small business owners urged U.S. lawmakers Thursday to extend or make permanent the Trump-era tax cuts. Business owners from West Virginia and Wisconsin testified at a hearing before members of the House Committee on Ways and Means, advocating […]
U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley proposes adding radiation exposure bill to stalled tax package
WASHINGTON — Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri thinks he’s found a path for stalled tax legislation that would temporarily expand the child tax credit and restore business tax breaks that are expired or have sunset under the 2017 tax law. Hawley’s idea is to attach the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to the tax bill […]
Republicans return to D.C. amid dwindling majority, suspense over House speaker post
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans are returning from a two-week recess Tuesday with an even slimmer majority and the potential looming chaos of a second speaker fight in less than a year. Hours before recess began on March 22, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia filed a motion to vacate the U.S. House speaker’s office, […]
The IRS is testing a free method to directly file taxes. But not everyone is thrilled.
WASHINGTON — Many U.S. taxpayers in a dozen states for the first time can electronically file their federal returns directly to the Internal Revenue Service for free — but critics insist the new federal benefit is not needed and will even harm both users and states. More than 50,000 taxpayers in Arizona, California, Florida, Massachusetts, […]
U.S. Senate GOP seeking to attach immigration measure to massive spending bill
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republicans want to tie an immigration bill named for a slain Georgia nursing student to a massive spending package lawmakers must pass by Friday night to avoid a partial shutdown. Senate Republicans, led by Ted Budd of North Carolina, told reporters Thursday they’re proposing to attach the House-passed Laken Riley Act […]
Massive $1.2 trillion spending package that would avert a shutdown released by Congress
WASHINGTON — Congress released the final six government funding bills early Thursday, starting off a sprint toward the Friday midnight deadline to wrap up work that was supposed to be finished nearly six months ago. The bipartisan agreement on the $1.2 trillion spending package, which emerged just before 3 a.m., came less than two […]
Trump, GOP-led states argue presidential immunity claim to Supreme Court
Former President Donald Trump renewed his call to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to dismiss charges against him, asserting that presidents enjoy near-total immunity from criminal prosecution. In addition, as a deadline loomed for briefs in the case, 18 Republican-led states filed an amicus brief Tuesday urging the Supreme Court to reverse the lower […]
Suit alleging suppression of free speech met with skepticism at U.S. Supreme Court
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court seemed skeptical Monday of a lawsuit alleging the federal government colluded with social media companies to suppress the freedom of speech, with a majority of justices across the ideological spectrum raising issues with the case and its potential consequences. The Biden administration argued to the court there is no […]