Washington News

NEW YORK (AP) — New York prosecutors on Thursday urged a judge to start Donald Trump’s hush money criminal trial on April 15, saying the defense’s calls for further delays or dismissal of the former president’s case because of a last-minute evidence dump were a “red herring.” The vast majority of records that Trump’s lawyers received in recent weeks — …

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is going all-in on calling out “shrinkflation.” The term applies to a seemingly covert way for companies to raise prices by ever so slightly reducing the size of their products. There’s suddenly fewer pretzels in the bag, less toothpaste in the tube and shorter candy bars. “It’s called shrinkflation,” Biden said in his State …

An Indiana man pleaded guilty on Thursday to charges that he used a metal baton, a lamp and other makeshift weapons to assault police officers who were protecting the U.S. Capitol from a mob of Donald Trump supporters. Curtis Logan Tate, 32, struck at least two officers with the baton that he brought to the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, …

WASHINGTON (AP) — Citing potential national security risks, the Biden administration says it will investigate Chinese-made “smart cars” that can gather sensitive information about Americans driving them. The probe could lead to new regulations aimed at preventing China from using sophisticated technology in electric vehicles and other so-called connected vehicles to track drivers and their personal information. Officials are concerned …

WASHINGTON (AP) — The IRS plans to go after 125,000 high-income earners who did not file tax returns going back to 2017 — and the agency says hundreds of millions of dollars of unpaid taxes are involved in these cases. Beginning this week, the IRS will start sending out noncompliance letters to more than 25,000 people who earn more than …

WASHINGTON (AP) — What would it mean if Russia used nuclear warheads to destroy U.S. satellites? Your home’s electrical and water systems could fail. Aviation, rail and car traffic could come to a halt. Your cellphone could stop working. These are among the reasons why there was alarm this week over reports that Russia may be pursuing nuclear weapons in …

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday surveyed the federal cleanup in East Palestine, Ohio, more than a year after an explosive fire from a derailed train carrying hazardous chemicals, and saw up close the lingering hostility from victims still angry that he waited so long to visit. The White House has said Biden was waiting for …

WASHINGTON (AP) — An FBI informant has been charged with fabricating a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden, his son Hunter and a Ukrainian energy company, a claim that is central to the Republican impeachment inquiry in Congress. Alexander Smirnov falsely reported to the FBI in June 2020 that executives associated with the Ukrainian energy company Burisma paid Hunter …

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was released from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Tuesday, ending his second stay since surgery to treat prostate cancer, and he has resumed his full duties, the Pentagon said. Austin, 70, has had ongoing health issues since undergoing surgery in December. He was taken back to Walter Reed on Sunday for …

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Senate is plodding past far-right Republican opposition to helping Ukraine fight Russia, working through the weekend on a $95.3 billion military aid package for Kyiv, Israel and other allies that could be President Joe Biden’s last chance for now to deliver substantial American support. Senators conducted a late-night vote Friday, advancing to next steps as …