EPA, other US agencies expand urban waters effort The Environmental Protection Agency, the White House and other federal departments announced Friday that they are expanding a program for restoring and improving urban waterways nationwide. More
White House backs off mandatory cybersecurity standards for companies The White House has backed away from its push for mandatory cybersecurity standards in favor of an approach that would combine voluntary measures with incentives for companies to comply with them. That approach reflects recognition of the political reality of a divided Congress that makes mandated standards difficult to push through, and a belief that an executive order President Obama signed in February could improve companies’ cybersecurity. More
Foreign governments lavish gifts on White House A bamboo bicycle valued at $1,060 from The Philippines ... a golf bag price priced at $7,750 from then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy ... a number of shirts, pens, sculptures and rugs. Foreign gifts to President Obama and his family totaled $243,970.96 in 2011, according to a Yahoo News analysis of a report from the State Department. More
White House warns GOP against filibuster on gun control bill White House press secretary Jay Carney on Tuesday criticized three Senate Republicans who have threatened to filibuster Senate gun control legislation. Carney said a filibuster would be “unfortunate” and would send the wrong message to the families of gun violence victims. More
Kristi Noem: Joe Biden's dog Commander 'should be put down', opponent who shot and killed her own dog suggests In her memoir, due to be published this week, the Republican reportedly defends killing her "extremely dangerous" puppy after the animal attacked and killed a neighbouring family's chickens. 05/5/2024 - 11:19 pm | View Link
Top House Intel Dem defends ‘very strong vetting process’ as Biden admin considers admitting Gazan refugees to US The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee ripped GOP uproar over reports of the Biden administration exploring the prospect of admitting Gazan refugees into the US. 05/5/2024 - 9:52 am | View Link
Kristi Noem defends apparent threat to kill Biden’s dog Commander: ‘Say hello to Cricket’ South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem stood by a passage in her upcoming book in which she chided that President Biden’s troubled dog Commander should “say hello to” Cricket, the ... 05/5/2024 - 5:42 am | View Link
White House Defends Biden's Statement Calling India, China, Russia & Japan 'Xenophobic' The United States is a country of immigrants, the White House has said, defending President Joe Biden's remarks calling two of his QUAD partners -- India and Japan -- as well as Russia and China ... 05/3/2024 - 12:27 am | View Link
'US’ ties with New Delhi strong’: White House defends Joe Biden’s statement calling India, China, Russia and Japan ‘xenophobic’ President was making a ‘broader point’, says White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. The United States is a country of immigrants, the White House ... 05/2/2024 - 10:57 pm | View Link
“The judge presiding over Donald Trump’s criminal case in Florida — on charges that he hoarded classified secrets at his Mar-a-Lago estate after his presidency — has indefinitely postponed the trial, once scheduled for May 20,” Politico reports.
“The date had been widely expected to move amid a tangle of pretrial conflicts between special counsel Jack Smith and Trump’s attorneys.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said she regrets making an offhand remark that suggested Black children in the Bronx do not know what the word “computer” means, the AP reports.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) was asked on Fox Business whether she talked to Donald Trump about killing her 14-month old puppy.
Said Noem: “This interview is ridiculous, which you are doing right now. So you need to stop! It is okay. It is. Let’s talk about some real topics that Americans care about.”
To which the Fox host replied: “I’m afraid we’re out of time.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) is softening her threat against Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La. A), saying she will give the Speaker more time to demonstrate his commitment to conservative priorities before forcing a vote on her resolution to boot him from power, The Hill reports.
“If he wins a second term in November, Donald Trump wants to covertly deploy American assassination squads into Mexico soon after he’s sworn into office again, according to three people who’ve discussed the matter with the former U. S. president,” Rolling Stone reports.
“Both during and after his presidency, the presumptive 2024 Republican nominee has floated different ideas for bombing or invading Mexico in response to the American fentanyl crisis and to ‘wage WAR’ on notorious drug cartels.
New York Times: “The judge has declined to declare a mistrial. While he acknowledged that some of the evidence that came in was more than he would have liked — ‘better left unsaid,’ is how he put it several times — he takes as much issue with the defense as with the prosecution.”
“This must come as a major relief for prosecutors.