By Alejandra Jaramillo, Jack Forrest and Kate Sullivan, CNN (CNN) — Chad Chronister, a Florida sheriff, has withdrawn from consideration as President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration, he announced Tuesday. “Over the past several days, as the gravity of this very important responsibility set in, I’ve concluded that I must respectfully
Continue ReadingBy Michelle Watson, CNN (CNN) — Harsh weather conditions have slowed the search for two American men and a Canadian climber who went missing after they attempted to summit New Zealand’s highest mountain, officials said. Kurt Blair, 56, Carlos Romero, 50, and the Canadian national were reported overdue from their planned ascent of Mount Cook
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is ramping up efforts to address a crisis of suicides and systemic failures in federal prisons and jails, announcing sweeping reforms aimed at overhauling how mental health care is provided behind bars. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco outlined the measures in a memo and report Tuesday, directing
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats reelected Chuck Schumer as party leader on Tuesday as the party moves into a deeply uncertain time, with no real consensus on a strategy as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office. Schumer faced no opposition in the party leadership elections, in which Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin was
Continue ReadingBy Lauren Fox and Danya Gainor, CNN (CNN) — Senate Democrats staged dramatic showdowns to protest nominations during President-elect Donald Trump’s first term in office. This time around, Democrats are shifting tactics, reluctant to pick endless battles with Trump Cabinet picks that are unlikely to succeed. It’s a careful tightrope for a party that is
Continue ReadingAssociated Press ATLANTA (AP) — A judge is weighing whether a Georgia state Senate committee has the right to subpoena testimony and documents from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis as it looks into whether she has engaged in misconduct during her prosecution of President-elect Donald Trump. The Republican-led committee was formed earlier this year
Continue ReadingAssociated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A very close election for a North Carolina Supreme Court seat heads next to a hand recount. That comes after a machine recount of well over 5 million ballots resulted in no margin change between the candidates. Democratic Associate Justice Allison Riggs has a 734-vote lead over Republican challenger
Continue ReadingTRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey interim Sen. George Helmy, a Democrat appointed when Bob Menendez resigned after a federal corruption conviction, is stepping down this weekend. The move will allow Sen.-elect Andy Kim to be sworn in early. The step confirms what Helmy and Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy announced during his appointment this summer
Continue ReadingAP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — When SmileDirectClub shut down a year ago, scores of existing customers of the teeth-straightening company were left in limbo. Now, tens of thousands are set to get some relief. New York Attorney General Letitia James has announced that her office recovered $4.8 million to distribute nationwide to more
Continue ReadingBy Paula Reid, CNN (CNN) — Defense lawyers for President-elect Donald Trump are using President Joe Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter to argue that Trump’s conviction in his Manhattan hush money case should be dismissed. “Yesterday in issuing a 10 year pardon to Hunter Biden that covers any and all crimes whether charged or
Continue ReadingBy Em Steck and Andrew Kaczynski, CNN (CNN) — As protests broke out across American cities in June 2020, Pete Hegseth, co-host of the weekend “Fox & Friends” show, joined an on-air panel to discuss the situation in Seattle, where protestors had created a self-declared autonomous zone around a few blocks near downtown. Hegseth, speaking
Continue ReadingBy Alejandra Jaramillo, Holmes Lybrand, Kaitlan Collins and Evan Perez, CNN (CNN) — Donald Trump’s transition team has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Justice Department, paving the way for the team to seek FBI background checks on the president-elect’s appointees. The agreement, announced by the Trump team on Tuesday, outlines the terms of
Continue ReadingAssociated Press TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey’s top law enforcement official says authorities took down two human trafficking rings, including one that was forcing children as young as 13 to have sex with adults for money. Attorney General Matt Platkin said Tuesday that seven people have been charged as a result of the operations.
Continue ReadingAssociated Press NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s lawyers formally asked a judge Monday to throw out his hush money criminal conviction, arguing that continuing the case would present unconstitutional “disruptions to the institution of the Presidency.“ In a filing made public Tuesday, Trump’s lawyers told Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan that anything short
Continue ReadingAP White House Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team has signed an agreement to allow the Justice Department to conduct background checks on his nominees and appointees after a weeks-long delay. The step lets Trump transition aides and future administration staffers obtain security clearances before Inauguration Day to access classified information about
Continue ReadingAssociated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Closing arguments in the high-profile murder trial of a tech consultant charged in the stabbing death of Cash App founder Bob Lee concluded Tuesday, with both sides urging jurors to use their common sense to deliver justice. The case is expected to go to the jury for deliberation Wednesday.
Continue ReadingAssociated Press TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Thousands of demonstrators in the Georgian capital have converged on parliament again in the capital of the South Caucasus nation. They are venting outrage against the governing party’s decision to suspend negotiations on joining the European Union. Riot police have deployed to push the protesters away from parliament. There
Continue ReadingBy Josh Campbell, CNN (CNN) — A California man confessed to helping the North Korean regime prepare for an attack in a “sophisticated scheme” to illegally obtain restricted weapons and military grade technology, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday. Shenghua Wen, a Chinese national residing unlawfully in Ontario, California, conspired with North Korean officials to obtain prohibited
Continue ReadingAP Baseball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Contracts for Blake Snell and Tommy Edman increased the Los Angeles Dodgers’ obligations for deferred payments to more than $1 billion owed to seven players from 2028-46. Snell’s $182 million contract, announced Saturday, includes $66 million in deferred money payable to the pitcher through July 1, 2046, according
Continue ReadingAP Health Writer Nearly three out of 10 U.S. drugstores that were open during the previous decade had closed by 2021, new research shows. Black and Latino neighborhoods were most vulnerable to the retail pharmacy closures, which can chip away at already-limited care options in those communities, researchers said in a study published Tuesday in
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