A defense appropriations bill that cleared a House-Senate conference this week will ban Pentagon military and civilian officials from using government credit cards to pay for nude entertainment at topless bars.
The personal stories about denied claims offered a few poignant moments amid hours of debate about the root causes of rising healthcare costs and the policies that can be used to lower them.
Most economists are expecting the Federal Reserve to hold key interest rates steady, according to a Wednesday survey. A Reuters poll found that 58 percent of surveyed economists predict no change this quarter, while a majority expect two cuts later this year. In a narrow vote last month, the Fed cut interest rates to a...
A New York judge ruled Wednesday that Rep. Nicole Malliotakis’s (R-N.Y.) congressional district was unconstitutionally configured and ordered the state’s Independent Redistricting Commission to create a new map ahead of the 2026 midterms. Acting New York state Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Pearlman, an appointee of Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), ordered the independent commission to redraw...
The House Foreign Affairs Committee advanced a bill Wednesday that would allow Congress to block advanced AI chip exports to U.S. foreign adversaries, after securing overwhelming bipartisan support. The panel voted 42-2-1 to advance the AI Overwatch Act, a measure that would require the administration to give lawmakers a chance to review chip exports to...
The leaders of some of America’s closest allies used the Davos summit this week to confront a new world order under President Trump in which the U.S. is an unreliable partner, at best, and increasingly viewed as an adversary. The leaders of Canada and France were among those speaking out during the World Economic Forum...
The New World screwworm is getting dangerously close to the U.S., public health officials warn. If left untreated, a screwworm case can be fatal in humans.
Lynne Walz, a distant relative of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), launched a campaign on Wednesday for governor of Nebraska. “After listening to folks across the state, I am officially running for Governor! Nebraska is built on grit and common sense, and I am ready to bring those values to Lincoln,” Lynne Walz said in...
The House voted to undo the Biden administration’s decision to block off mining in a wilderness area in Minnesota on Wednesday, using a limited legislative tool to go after the 2023 action. The 214-208 vote seeks to undo protections for an area around Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The vote came under the Congressional Review Act...
UnitedHealth Group (UHG), the largest national health care provider in the U.S., is planning to return profits it makes in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace to consumers in 2026. CEO and Chair Stephen Hemsley is expected to announce the idea when he appears before a House Committee on Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Thursday,...
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has taken his fight with President Trump from the United States and online to Davos, Switzerland, elevating it to a global stage. Newsom spent much of Wednesday at Davos needling the president, including by calling Trump’s address to Davos, in which he said for the first time that he would not...
A House committee found that CVS Health may have violated federal antitrust laws by threatening independent pharmacies to keep them from using money-saving services outside the company’s pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) network. The House Judiciary Committee, led by Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), opened an investigation into possible anti-competitive practices by the company’s PBM, CVS Caremark,...
One year into his second term, what we’ve actually experienced feels less like a golden age and more like a political stress test — full of speed, spectacle, and sharp division.
President Trump told reporters Wednesday that NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte is "more important" than Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen when asked about Danish officials' unwillingness to discuss the U.S. acquiring Greenland. “They didn’t tell me that, so when they tell me because I don’t like getting it second hand. And if he wants to...
President Trump on Wednesday sent a message to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, telling him that his country "lives because of the United States," days after the prime minister defended Greenland against Trump's effort to acquire the island territory. "We're building a Golden Dome that's going to, just by its very nature, going to be defending...
California Gov. Gavin Newsom can’t handle the truth — or at least isn’t able to articulate what it is. Here he was flubbing a very basic and fundamental question from Ben Shapiro about whether men can become women. He’s not the only one, of course. Most Democrats, including most of the potential 2028 contenders, do not want to answer even easy questions about transgender issues. Axios tried to...
