Daily news coverage of politics, policy, and issues shaping the nation.
Investigators have evidence that the shooter in Dayton, Ohio, explored “violent ideologies” prior to his attack that left nine dead early Sunday, an FBI official said, but there was no indication the shooting was racially motivated. “We have uncovered evidence throughout the course of our investigation that the shooter was exploring violent ideologies,” Todd Wickerham,…
The shooter who killed three and injured 13 in Gilroy, California, was exploring “violent ideologies” and had a “target list,” the FBI says. The list included “religious institutions, federal buildings, courthouses, political organizations from both major political parties, and the Gilroy Garlic Festival,” FBI Agent John Bennett said during the press conference. Bennett added: “Even…
SYDNEY—The U.S.-Australia alliance is “more vital than ever,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, calling on greater cooperation between the two countries to deal with a new era of security challenges as China seeks to extend its influence in the Indo-Pacific region. Speaking Sunday in Sydney, Pompeo condemned China’s territorial claims in the South China…
Rep. Ted Budd, R-N.C., has introduced a bill that would allow victims of crimes perpetrated by illegal immigrants to sue sanctuary cities if that is where the crimes occurred. The legislation, called the Justice for Victims of Sanctuary Cities Act, would allow victims of crimes as long as 10 years ago to file a lawsuit…
American taxpayers have paid for nearly $2 billion in federal aid to fund 30,000 public employees in Baltimore at local and federal levels, an audit shows. Baltimore reportedly has 13,522 employees with a combined payroll that exceeds $821 million annually. The mayor’s office paid $7 million in 2018 for the salaries of 111 employees and $1 million…
Monthly apprehensions of migrants in Mexico have begun to slow down, indicating that its government’s recent border crackdown is yielding results. Authorities in Mexico apprehended 18,758 migrants in July, according to preliminary data from Mexico’s immigration agency, reported by The Wall Street Journal. While this number is more than double the amount detained in the same month…
A gun rights group has warned President Donald Trump not to underestimate the volatile effect proposing gun control legislation could have on his base. Gun Owners of America, a gun rights organization with more than 2 million members, called on Trump and other lawmakers Monday to reject calls for gun control in the wake of the El Paso,…
A judge sentenced mail bomber Cesar Sayoc to 20 years in prison Monday after he pleaded guilty to sending pipe bombs last year to multiple high-profile Democrats and critics of President Donald Trump. “Now that I am a sober man, I know that I a very sick man,” Sayoc said, according to CNBC. “I wish more…
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell fell Sunday outside his home in Louisville, Kentucky, fracturing his shoulder. “This morning, Leader McConnell tripped at home on his outside patio and suffered a fractured shoulder. He has been treated, released, and is working from home in Louisville,” McConnell spokesman David Popp said in a statement, according to The Washington…
The chief of staff to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has departed from her Washington office to work with an outside group focused on pushing the Green New Deal, her office announced. Besides chief of staff Saikat Chakrabarti, also departing from Ocasio-Cortez’s D.C. office is her communications director, Corbin Trent, who will take a similar role…
Federal immigration officials have released more than 218,000 migrant family members from custody since December, reflecting the huge backlog of U.S. immigration courts. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, tasked with carrying out removal orders for illegal aliens living in the U.S., has been forced to let go a total of 108,400 migrants over the past…
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said Monday that he had to get a part of his lung removed over the weekend after it was damaged when a neighbor attacked him on his front lawn in 2017. “Unfortunately, I will have to limit my August activities. Part of my lung damaged by the 2017 assault had to…
The shooter identified in the deadly attack early Sunday in Dayton, Ohio, appears to have had a Twitter account filled with far-left rhetoric and comments about guns. Police said Connor Betts, 24, opened fire in downtown Dayton, killing nine, including his sister, and wounding or injuring 27 others. The attack came 14 hours after police said Patrick…
In testimony before a congressionally created panel that oversees U.S.-China economic and security issues, four specialists outlined negative implications of China’s expanding role in the global health care market. Award-winning investigative journalist Ben Westhoff, addressing the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, spoke on the dangers of China’s lucrative production of the drug fentanyl. Westhoff is the…
When the state of Maryland found out that Bethel Christian Academy affirms the biblical view of marriage in its student handbook, officials last fall cut the Baltimore-area school from a state-sponsored school voucher program, arguing it practiced sexual discrimination. Now the principal says at least six students no longer can afford to attend Bethel, a…
In the wake of two weekend shootings that left 31 dead in Texas and Ohio, President Donald Trump called Monday for bipartisan action that includes increased background checks to catch “red flags” of potential shooters. Trump also denounced hatred and white supremacy. “Open wounds cannot heal if we are divided. We must seek real bipartisan…
Members of Congress took to social media to denounce the shootings over the weekend in El Paso, Texas, which left 21 dead and 26 wounded or injured, and in Dayton, Ohio, which left nine dead and 27 wounded or injured. The El Paso shooting suspect, 21, was charged Sunday with capital murder and is being…
Federal prosecutors are treating the shooting in El Paso, Texas, which left 20 dead Saturday, as an act of domestic terrorism and possible hate crime that could carry the death penalty. “We’re also treating it as a domestic terrorism case, and we’re going to do what we do to terrorists in this country, which is…
The man who police say committed the deadly shooting spree in El Paso, Texas, is believed to have published an anti-immigrant manifesto minutes before the attack. Law enforcement officials said they were confident that an anti-immigrant screed posted online belongs to Patrick Wood Crusius, 21, who they said is responsible for Saturday’s mass shooting at a Walmart in…
Beginning Monday, pro-life activists are renewing efforts to convince members of Congress, home for the August recess, to support a vote on legislation that would protect babies who survive abortions. In the House, Democrats in the majority have blocked Republicans 80 times from setting up a vote on the “born alive” bill that would protect…