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President Biden signed 50 bills into law on Christmas Eve, including one that formally makes the bald eagle the country's official bird. CBS News congressional correspondent Scott MacFarlane has more on those laws, the death sentences the president commuted and the ongoing questions about the sale of U.S. Steel.
By Nate Raymond and Dan Burns

Dec 23 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday vetoed, opens new tab legislation to add 66 new judges to understaffed federal courts nationally, a once widely bipartisan measure that would have been the first major expansion of the federal judiciary since 1990.

The JUDGES Act, initially supported by many members of both parties, would have increased the number of trial court judges in 25 federal district courts in 13 states including California, Florida and Texas, in six waves every two years through 2035.

Hundreds of judges appointed by presidents of both parties took the rare step of publicly advocating for the bill, saying federal caseloads have increased by more than 30% since Congress last passed legislation to comprehensively expand the judiciary.

But the outgoing Democratic president made good on a veto threat issued two days before the bill passed the Republican-led House of Representatives on Dec. 12 on a 236-173 vote.
By WILL WEISSERT and DARLENE SUPERVILLE

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Monday announced that he is commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row, converting their punishments to life imprisonment just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump, an outspoken proponent of expanding capital punishment, takes office.

The move spares the lives of people convicted in killings, including the slayings of police and military officers, people on federal land and those involved in deadly bank robberies or drug deals, as well as the killings of guards or prisoners in federal facilities.

It means just three federal inmates continue to face execution. They are Dylann Roof, who carried out the 2015 racist slayings of nine Black members of Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina; 2013 Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev; and Robert Bowers, who fatally shot 11 congregants at Pittsburgh’s Tree of life Synagogue in 2018, the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S history.

“I’ve dedicated my career to reducing violent crime and ensuring a fair and effective justice system,” Biden said in a statement. “Today, I am commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 individuals on federal death row to life sentences without the possibility of parole. These commutations are consistent with the moratorium my administration has imposed on federal executions, in cases other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder.”
Story by Josh Marcus

New York Governor Kathy Hochul is calling on Washington to do more about the mysterious drones spotted in recent weeks above the Northeast.

The governor said in a statement on Saturday on X that drone activity prompted officials to shut down Stewart Airfield in New Windsor for about an hour last night.

“This has gone too far,” Hochul said in the statement, calling on Congress to pass the Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act, a bill that would reform drone policy and hand more authority over to states.

“Until those powers are granted to state and local officials, the Biden Administration must step in by directing additional federal law enforcement to New York and the surrounding region to ensure the safety of our criitcal infrastructure and our people,” Hochul added.
By Marshall Cohen, CNN

Washington CNN — Victims of major public corruption cases in Pennsylvania and Illinois are angry that President Joe Biden granted clemency this week to two convicted officials.

The commutations were announced Thursday as part of a historic clemency package for 1,500 convicted criminals who, the White House said, “deserve a second chance.”

The two convicted officials whose cases sparked outrage – a crooked Pennsylvania judge and a notorious Illinois fraudster – both had already been released from prison early and put on house arrest during the Covid-19 pandemic. Biden’s actions now end that punishment.

The president has already faced bipartisan criticism over his highly controversial pardon of his son Hunter Biden, who was convicted earlier this year of 12 tax and gun crimes.

A Biden administration official told CNN the latest commutations were not individual decisions and instead it was a uniform decision granted to people who met certain criteria, like having a track record of good behavior while on house arrest.

‘Got it absolutely wrong’
Former Pennsylvania Judge Michael Conahan was convicted in 2011 in what was infamously called the “kids-for-cash” scandal, where he took kickbacks from for-profit detention centers in exchange for wrongly sending juveniles to their facilities. The case was widely considered to be one of the worst judicial scandals in Pennsylvania history.

Like all of the other nearly 1,500 people who got commutations from Biden this week, Conahan was freed from prison due to Covid. His house arrest was set to end in 2026.
Greg Iacurci

A Labor Department rule that shields retirement savers from getting harmful investment advice is at risk of being overturned during President-elect Donald Trump’s second term — an outcome that would have an element of déjà vu, said legal experts.

The Biden-era regulation, issued in April, aims to rein in conflicts of interest that may taint investment recommendations from unscrupulous advisors, brokers or insurance agents.

Officials worry such conflicts might lead an agent to profit at the consumer’s expense, such as when investors are advised to roll money from workplace retirement plans like a 401(k) to an individual retirement account.

The most immediate threat to President Joe Biden’s Retirement Security Rule is that the Trump administration declines to keep defending it in court, attorneys said.

The rule faces an uphill legal battle. Two Texas federal courts have already stalled its implementation and seem very likely to kill it, legal experts said.
Story by Mike Bedigan

Joe Biden has issued a pardon for his son Hunter following his conviction on federal gun charges, despite previously claiming he would not do so.

The president officially announced the decision on Sunday night, saying that his son had been “selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted” by the Justice Department. In a lengthy statement, he said he hoped the American people would understand his decision as a father.

The pardon comes less than two weeks ahead of Hunter’s sentencing on December 12 for his conviction on federal gun charges back in June.

He was also set to be sentenced in a separate criminal case on December 16, after pleading guilty in September to federal tax evasion charges.

“Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter,” Biden said. “From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted.

“Without aggravating factors like use in a crime, multiple purchases, or buying a weapon as a straw purchaser, people are almost never brought to trial on felony charges solely for how they filled out a gun form.

“Those who were late paying their taxes because of serious addictions, but paid them back subsequently with interest and penalties, are typically given non-criminal resolutions. It is clear that Hunter was treated differently.”
Joey Garrison, Savannah Kuchar | USA TODAY

WASHINGTON ― Five days before the election, former President Donald Trump and his campaign are trying to milk President Joe Biden's "garbage" remark for everything its worth − telling supporters it shows what Democrats really think about half the country.

Yet Trump, the Republican nominee, has a well-documented, long list of disparaging remarks himself, including using the word "garbage" to refer to his adversaries in September, just last week referring to the United States as the "garbage can for the world," calling his adversaries the "enemy within" and labeling political opponents "scum."

Trump pounced − and hasn't let up − after Biden appeared to call Trump supporters "garbage." During a Harris campaign Zoom call Tuesday night, Biden said, "The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters − his − his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it's un-American."
AP

NEW YORK (AP) — President Joe Biden slammed Elon Musk for hypocrisy on immigration after a published report that the Tesla CEO once worked illegally in the United States. The South Africa-born Musk denies the allegation.

“That wealthiest man in the world turned out to be an illegal worker here. No, I’m serious. He was supposed to be in school when he came on a student visa. He wasn’t in school. He was violating the law. And he’s talking about all these illegals coming our way?” Biden said while campaigning on Saturday in Pittsburgh at a union hall.

The Washington Post reported that Musk worked illegally in the country while on a student visa. The newspaper, citing company documents, former business associates and court documents, said Musk arrived in Palo Alto, California in 1995 for a graduate program at Stanford University “but never enrolled in courses, working instead on his startup. ”
Max Matza
BBC News

President Joe Biden is "deeply concerned" about a leak of classified documents that contain the US's assessment of Israeli plans to attack Iran, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.

Officials have not determined whether the documents were released due to a hack or a leak, Mr Kirby said.

House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson confirmed the publication of the documents over the weekend. They are said to contain the movements of Israeli military assets in preparation for a response to Iran's 1 October missile attack.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman said the country was prepared to counter any Israeli attack.

The documents, marked top secret, were shareable within the Five Eyes intelligence alliance of the US, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, CBS, the BBC's US partner, reported.

There is no "indication" that additional documents will "[find] their way into the public domain", Mr Kirby said Monday.

He added that President Biden "will be actively monitoring" the investigation to uncover how the documents were released, and he intends to hear measures that will be taken "to prevent it happening again".
From CNN's David Wright

The Biden-Harris campaign has formally amended filings with the Federal Election Commission to rename its principal committee, hours after President Joe Biden made his announcement that he would withdraw from the race.

On Sunday, the campaign committee filed paperwork with the FEC, which noted that the “committee name is different than previously reported,” re-designating the committee as “Harris for President.”

The committee also filed a letter with the commission stating: “Vice President Harris is now a candidate for United States President in the 2024 election and will henceforth be conducting campaign activities only in pursuit of that office.”

Remember: Control of the campaign war chest, however — totaling $95.9 million at the end of June — depends on whether Harris remains on the Democrats’ 2024 ticket.

According to a statement from the Campaign Legal Center, those funds would be directly available to the Democrats’ presidential ticket for use in the general election only if Harris is the party’s nominee or vice presidential nominee.
CBS News

President Biden targeted the expansive far-right policy agenda known as Project 2025 in a rousing campaign stop in Detroit on Friday night as he sought to quell calls that he withdraw from the presidential election.

The president lambasted the multi-pronged initiative that was crafted by conservative think tanks, claiming it is "run and paid by Trump people, his top policy people."

"You heard about it? It's a blueprint for a second Trump term that every American should read and understand," Mr. Biden told more than 2,000 people at Renaissance High School.

Former President Donald Trump, who is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, and his campaign have worked to distance themselves from Project 2025. Trump has gone as far as to call some of the proposals "abysmal."

"I know nothing about Project 2025. I have not seen it, have no idea who is in charge of it, and, unlike our very well received Republican Platform, had nothing to do with it," he wrote on social media on Thursday. "The Radical Left Democrats are having a field day, however, trying to hook me into whatever policies are stated or said."
First Thing: Biden to meet Democratic governors in bid to assuage fears
Up to 25 House representatives could call for president to step aside. Plus, US expels more than 100 Chinese migrants
Mattha Busby

Good morning.

Joe Biden is to meet with Democratic governors today in an attempt to stave off growing discontent over his candidacy, with a congressional Democrat calling for him to withdraw from the presidential race.

Officials said Biden would seek to reassure the governors, and Capitol Hill leaders, that he is competent following his disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump last week, amid concerns it has had a corrosive effect on his standing and is unlikely to turn around stagnant poll ratings in some battleground states.

Last night, the president provided a fresh justification for his weak performance at a Virginia campaign event. “I wasn’t very smart. I decided to travel around the world a couple times, going through around 100 time zones ... before ... the debate,” he said. “Didn’t listen to my staff and came back and nearly fell asleep on stage. That’s no excuse but it is an explanation.”
Annie Nova

The Biden administration on Wednesday announced that it would forgive more than $6.1 billion in student debt for 317,000 former students of The Art Institutes, the once giant chain of for-profit schools.

The relief will go to borrowers who enrolled at any of the dozens of Art Institute campuses across the country between Jan. 1, 2004 and Oct. 16, 2017.

The U.S. Department of Education, which reviewed evidence provided by the attorneys general of Iowa, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, concluded that the schools and its parent company, the Education Management Corporation, or EDMC, made “pervasive and substantial” misrepresentations to prospective students about post-graduation employment rates, salaries and career services.
Cannabis is currently classified along with drugs like heroin and LSD. The administration is expected to reschedule it in a category that includes steroids and Tylenol with codeine.
By Julie Tsirkin and Monica Alba

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration will take a historic step toward easing federal restrictions on cannabis, with plans to announce an interim rule soon reclassifying the drug for the first time since the Controlled Substances Act was enacted more than 50 years ago, four sources with knowledge of the decision said.

The Drug Enforcement Administration is expected to approve an opinion by the Department of Health and Human Services that marijuana should be reclassified from the strictest Schedule I to the less stringent Schedule III. It would be the first time that the U.S. government has acknowledged its potential medical benefits and begun studying them in earnest.

Attorney General Merrick Garland submitted the rescheduling proposal to the White House Office of Management and Budget on Tuesday afternoon, a source familiar with the situation confirmed.

Any reclassification is still months from going into effect. After the proposal is published in the Federal Register, there will be a 60-day public comment period. The proposal will then be reviewed by an administrative law judge, who could decide to hold a hearing before the rule is approved.
Barak Ravid

President Biden told Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a call on Saturday that the U.S. won't support any Israeli counterattack against Iran, a senior White House official told Axios.

Why it matters: Biden and his senior advisers are highly concerned an Israeli response to Iran's attack on Israel would lead to a regional war with catastrophic consequences, U.S. officials said.

Iran launched attack drones and missiles against Israel on Saturday night local time in retaliation for an airstrike in Syria that killed a top Iranian general.
"More than 200 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles were fired from Iran," IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said. Most of the threats were intercepted outside of Israeli airspace, he said.
A U.S. defense official earlier said U.S. forces in the region shot down Iranian-launched drones targeting Israel.

Behind the scenes: Biden told Netanyahu the joint defensive efforts by Israel, the U.S. and other countries in the region led to the failure of the Iranian attack, according to the White House official.

"You got a win. Take the win," Biden told Netanyahu, according to the official.
Story by Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA TODAY

The White House said on Thursday it may change its policy on Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza unless Israel can outline "concrete" steps to reduce harm to civilians and protect aid workers.

President Joe Biden spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, three days after Israel launched an attack in Gaza in which seven World Central Kitchen aid workers were killed, the White House said.

"President Biden emphasized that the strikes on humanitarian workers and the overall humanitarian situation are unacceptable," according to a statement from the White House. "He made clear the need for Israel to announce and implement a series of specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers."

Biden made clear that U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by U.S assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps, according to the statement released by the White House.
If Biden did what Trump did republicans would be calling for Biden’s arrest.

By Kate Sullivan and Shania Shelton, CNN

CNN — Former President Donald Trump on Friday posted a video that featured an image of President Joe Biden tied up in the back of a pickup truck.

Trump indicated that the post was filmed on Long Island on Thursday, when he was attending the wake of NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller, who was killed during a traffic stop this week. The video shows two trucks with flags and decals expressing support for Trump; the image of Biden was on the back of the second truck.

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement, “That picture was on the back of a pick up truck that was traveling down the highway. Democrats and crazed lunatics have not only called for despicable violence against President Trump and his family, they are actually weaponizing the justice system against him.”

Biden campaign spokesman Michael Tyler told CNN in a statement, “This image from Donald Trump is the type of crap you post when you’re calling for a ‘bloodbath’ or when you tell the proud boys to ‘stand back and stand by.’ Trump is regularly inciting political violence and it’s time people take him seriously — just ask the Capitol Police officers who were attacked protecting our democracy on January 6.”
Parnas also called out Trump allies in Congress such as former Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., and Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., for spreading misinformation about the Bidens.
By Sarah Fitzpatrick and Summer Concepcion

Ex-Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas slammed former President Donald Trump and his associates for pushing what he said were false allegations against the Biden family during the House Oversight Committee's hearing Wednesday in the GOP impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.

Parnas, a Ukrainian-American businessman who worked closely with former Trump attorney Giuliani in 2018 and 2019 to try to find damaging information on Joe Biden, appeared as a witness at the invitation of committee Democrats alongside Hunter Biden’s former business partners Tony Bobulinski and Jason Galanis.

“The American people have been lied to, by Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, and various cohorts of individuals in government and media positions,” Parnas said in his opening statement. “They created falsehoods to serve their own interests knowing it would undermine the strength of our nation."

Parnas called out Trump allies in Congress such as former Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., and Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., as well as some prominent right-wing media figures for spreading misinformation about the Bidens.

“Congressman Pete Sessions, then-Congressman Devin Nunes, Senator Ron Johnson and many others understood they were pushing a false narrative,” he said. “The same goes for John Solomon, Sean Hannity and media personnel, particularly with Fox News, who use this narrative to manipulate the public ahead of the 2020 elections. Sadly, they are still doing this today as we approach the 2024 elections.”
Story by Nick Mordowanec

AFlorida sheriff compared U.S.-Mexico border photos to tout efforts to protect the state from potential mass migration flows from Haiti and elsewhere.

Haiti, which is about 831 miles from Florida at its shortest distance, has drawn renewed attention from Florida officials after weeks of gang violence emanating from a massive jailbreak of more than 4,500 inmates. The gangs reportedly control about 80 percent of the capital city Port-au-Prince, essentially ousting the Caribbean nation's acting prime minister, Ariel Henry, in the near future, pending the creation of a transitional presidential council.

U.S. military officials, some of whom were requested by Florida Representative Matt Gaetz to prepare Navy vessels to deter Haitian ships in the Atlantic, said this week that they are anticipating any mass migration flows into the country. On Wednesday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis deployed more than 250 officers and soldiers from the Florida State Guard, Division of Emergency Management and law enforcement agencies to the state's southern coast.
Story by Charlie Nash

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) rolled his eyes and shook his head on Thursday after President Joe Biden attacked Republicans in the audience over the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot.

“We will not bow down! I will not bow down!” declared Biden during his State of the Union address. “In a literal sense, history is watching. History is watching. Just like history watched three years ago on January 6 when insurrectionists stormed this very Capitol and placed a dagger to the throat of American democracy.”

Johnson, who was sat prominently behind Biden, could be seen rolling his eyes and shaking his head.
Story by ELLIOT SPAGAT, Associated Press

SAN DIEGO (AP) — In his Super Tuesday victory speech, former President Donald Trump elevated false information that had gone viral on social media, claiming the Biden administration secretly flew hundreds of thousands of migrants into the United States.

Many posts sharing the claim referred to a report by the Center for Immigration Studies, a group that advocates for immigration restrictions. It said the administration refused to list individual airports where people arrived under a Biden “parole” program that allows Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans to stay in the U.S. for two years.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection each month publishes the number of migrants admitted under the program by nationality. This information is available on its website and in press releases. It does not list arriving airports.

Trump said during his speech, “Today it was announced that 325,000 people were flown in from parts unknown - migrants were flown in airplane, not going through borders ... It was unbelievable. I said that must be a mistake. They flew 325,000 migrants. Flew them in over the borders and into our country."

But migrants are not being flown into the U.S. randomly. Under a Biden policy in effect since January 2023, up to 30,000 people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela can enter the country monthly if they apply online with a financial sponsor and arrive at a specified airport, paying their own way. Biden exercised his “parole” authority, which, under a 1952 law, allows him to admit people “only on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.”
The president reiterated that the U.S. is trying to push for an immediate cease-fire between Hamas and Israel in order to allow more aid into Gaza.
By Rebecca Shabad

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced Friday that the U.S. will drop food aid into the Gaza Strip, noting that the humanitarian aid flowing into the region for Palestinians is insufficient.

“Aid flowing into Gaza is nowhere nearly enough… lives are on the line,” Biden said as he announced the decision about the airdrops during an Oval Office meeting he was holding with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

“We should be getting hundreds of trucks in, not just several,” he continued. “We’re going to pull out every stop we can.”

The president reiterated that the U.S. is trying to push for an immediate cease-fire between Hamas and Israel to allow more aid into Gaza, where he said “innocent people” have died.
By Kevin Liptak and Michael Williams, CNN

Washington CNN — President Joe Biden on Tuesday slammed Donald Trump after the former president said he would encourage Russia to invade countries that don’t meet their NATO obligations, saying such comments amount to bowing down to Vladimir Putin.

The remarks – Biden’s latest criticism of Trump from the White House – are some of his harshest criticism of his likely rival on foreign policy to date.

Speaking Saturday at a rally in South Carolina, Trump said he would encourage Russia to do “whatever the hell they want” to any NATO member country that doesn’t meet spending guidelines on defense. Biden said those comments sent a “dangerous and shocking” signal.

“Can you imagine a former president of the United States saying that?” Biden asked incredulously from the State Dining Room. “The whole world heard it. The worst thing is he means it.”

Biden began his speech by encouraging the House of Representatives to “immediately” hold a vote on the Senate-passed, $95 billion supplemental aid package that would provide assistance to Ukraine, Israel and US partners in the Indo-Pacific region, as well as humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
By Chris Lau, Nadeen Ebrahim and Andrew Raine, CNN

The US said it struck 85 targets linked to Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria on Friday in response to a drone strike in Jordan that killed three American soldiers. The aircraft used included long-range bombers flown from the United States, according to officials.

President Joe Biden said adversaries should heed US warnings, while his defense secretary vowed: "This is the start of our response." The US is seeking to deter further attacks on its troops while avoiding a full-scale conflict with Iran in a region already roiled by the Israel-Hamas war.

Syria has warned that the US strikes "fuel the conflict in the Middle East in a very dangerous way." Similarly, a spokesperson of Iraq's Armed Forces said "the outcomes will be dire for the security and stability in Iraq and the region."
By LOLITA C. BALDOR and TARA COPP

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has prostate cancer, and his recent secretive hospitalization was for surgery and later to treat a urinary tract infection related to that operation, his doctors said Tuesday.

The cancer revelation answers the main question about Austin’s hospitalization, which has now lasted eight days. But it may only add to questions of accountability, since President Joe Biden only learned about the cancer diagnosis on Tuesday, even though it was made about a month ago.

“Nobody at the White House knew that Secretary Austin had prostate cancer until this morning,” said John Kirby, the National Security Council spokesman. “And the president was informed immediately after.”
The defense chief is facing criticism for keeping his bosses in the dark.
By Alexander Ward, Lara Seligman and Jonathan Lemire

At a White House meeting last week, Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, noticed that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was absent. A top Pentagon official, Sasha Baker, was there in his place. There was nothing obviously unsettling about this. Austin was scheduled to work from home and lower-level aides often sit in for their boss. But what neither Sullivan nor Baker knew at that moment was that Austin was already hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, with complications from an undisclosed surgical procedure.

Days later, Austin’s secret hospitalization has spiraled into a drama engulfing the upper echelons of the Biden administration. Senior White House officials are struggling to answer questions about who knew what, and when, about the former general’s medical emergency. Criticism is pouring in from Congress and the media.
President Joe Biden has ordered retaliatory airstrikes against Iranian-backed militia groups after three U.S. servicemembers were injured in a drone attack in northern Iraq
By AAMER MADHANI Associated Press and ZEKE MILLER Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden ordered the U.S. military to carry out retaliatory airstrikes against Iranian-backed militia groups after three U.S. servicemembers were injured in a drone attack in northern Iraq.

National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said one of the U.S. troops suffered critical injuries in the attack that occurred earlier Monday. The Iranian-backed militia Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups, under an umbrella of Iranian-backed militants, claimed credit for the attack that utilized a one-way attack drone

Biden, who is spending Christmas at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, was alerted about the attack by White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan shortly after it occurred on Monday and ordered the Pentagon and his top national security aides to prepare response options to the attack on an air base used by American troops in Erbil.
ABC News

The resolution, approved 221-212 in a party-line vote, directs three House committees to continue their investigations, which have yet to yield any hard evidence to support Republicans' claims that Biden was directly involved and benefited from his son and brother's foreign business dealings.

Republicans have called Wednesday's vote -- which one Democrat skipped -- a necessary step to fortify the inquiry's legal standing and combat what they said was obstruction from the Biden administration.

The White House has challenged some congressional requests, in part asserting the "Constitution requires that the full House authorize an impeachment inquiry before a committee may utilize compulsory process pursuant to the impeachment power."
The president’s words exposed a widening rift between his administration and that of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as casualties rise in Gaza.
By Michael D. Shear Reporting from Washington

President Biden told Israel’s leaders on Tuesday that they were losing international support for their war in Gaza, exposing a widening rift with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who rejected out of hand the American vision for a postwar resolution to the conflict.

Mr. Biden delivered the blunt assessment of America’s closest ally in the Middle East during a fund-raiser in Washington, where he described Mr. Netanyahu as the leader of “the most conservative government in Israel’s history,” which doesn’t “want anything remotely approaching a two-state solution” to the country’s long-running dispute with Palestinians.

The president said that Israel had support from Europe and much of the world as well as the United States, but he added that “they’re starting to lose that support by the indiscriminate bombing that takes place.”
By Kevin Liptak and Jeremy Diamond, CNN

Washington CNN  — Rifts between the United States and Israel spilled into public view Tuesday as President Joe Biden warned that Israel was losing international support for its campaign against Hamas and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly rejected American plans for post-war Gaza.

The divides, which until now had mostly been contained behind the scenes, reflected growing differences between the two staunch allies as the civilian death toll in Gaza mounts. Speaking to Democratic donors in Washington, Biden voiced criticism of Israel’s hardline government and said Netanyahu needed to alter his approach.
U.S. Attorney David Weiss was appointed special counsel in the case last month.
By Lucien Bruggeman

President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden has been indicted by special counsel David Weiss on felony gun charges. The charges bring renewed legal pressure on the younger Biden after a plea agreement he struck with prosecutors imploded in recent months.

The younger Biden has been charged with two counts related to false statements in purchasing the firearm and a third count on illegally obtaining a firearm while addicted to drugs. The two counts of making false statements carry sentences of up to 10 years and five years, respectively, while the possession charge carries a sentence of up to 10 years.
ABC News

Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced Tuesday House Republicans will move ahead with an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. "Today, I am directing our House committee to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden," McCarthy said at the U.S. Capitol. "This logical next step will give our committees the full power to gather the full facts and answers for the American public," he added. "That's exactly what we want to know -- the answers. I believe the president would want to answer these questions and allegations as well."

McCarthy said House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer, House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan and House Ways and Means Committee chairman Jason Smith will lead the inquiry. "I do not make this decision lightly," the speaker said. "Regardless of your party, or who you voted for, these facts concern all Americans." McCarthy has made it clear there will be a vote for an impeachment inquiry, but as of now he doesn't appear to have the votes to open one.
Joey Garrison | USA TODAY

WASHINGTON − A former business partner of Hunter Biden told the House Oversight Committee this week that Joe Biden never talked business when his son put the then-vice president on the phone with Hunter and other associates, according to a transcript of the testimony released Thursday.

The testimony of Devon Archer, who worked with Hunter Biden at the Ukrainian energy firm Bursima, undercut the build-up from the committee's chairman, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., who said this week Archer's testimony made Republicans' bribery allegations against Joe Biden "more credible."

"I think you have to understand that there was no business conversation about a cap table or a fee or anything like that," Archer said to the committee. "It was, you know, just general niceties and, you know, conversation in general about the geography, about the weather, whatever it may be."
Story by David Badash, The New Civil Rights Movement

The White House is hitting back at U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) for placing a blockade on what President Joe Biden says are now more than 300 promotions and bonuses for members of America’s Armed Forces, which require Senate confirmation. “This you?” the Biden White House asked Senator Tuberville on Tuesday, posting headlines that directly refute the Alabama Republicans’ claim on Monday that “My holds are NOT affecting national security.”

Those headlines read: “Tuberville’s hold leaves Marines leaderless for first time in 164 years,” Army, Navy Will Be Latest Services Without Chiefs as Senator Maintains Block on Confirmations,” “Tuberville’s hold stalling more than 100 Air Force, Space Force promotions,” and “There Are Too Many Generals and Admirals, a Senator Stalling Military Promotions Argues.”

Many dispute Tuberville’s claim his holding up hundreds of promotions does not affect national security or military readiness. David Rothkopf, a well-known foreign policy, national security, and political affairs expert and author, on Tuesday also responded to Tuberville’s claim his blockade isn’t affecting national security.
Story by Gideon Rubin

A Washington Post columnist on Tuesday mocked House Republicans investigating Hunter Biden after what had been promoted as” bombshell” testimony apparently fizzled. Despite House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer’s (R-Ky.) claim that, “Every day this bribery scandal becomes more credible” during an appearance on Fox News on Monday, Philip Bump wrote for The Washington Post that he was wrong. “In fact, it is no more credible now than it was in early May, when Comer and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) first introduced it," he wrote.


"But (Fox's Sean) Hannity and Comer have a vested interest in presenting the allegation as credible and a vested interest in suggesting that closed-door testimony from one of Joe Biden’s son Hunter’s former business partners, Devon Archer, added to that credibility.” Bump contended that Archer’s testimony did nothing to back up allegations that Hunter Biden influenced Joe Biden while he served as vice president.
Headquarters will remain in Colorado rather than relocating to Alabama, as the Trump administration had planned
Associated Press

Joe Biden has decided to keep US space command headquarters in Colorado, overturning a last-ditch decision by the administration of his presidential predecessor Donald Trump to move it to Alabama while also ending months of politically fueled debate, according to senior federal officials.

The officials said Biden was convinced by the head of space command, Gen James Dickinson, who argued that moving his headquarters now would jeopardize military readiness. Dickinson’s view, however, was in contrast to air force leadership, who studied the issue at length and determined that relocating to Huntsville, Alabama, was the right move.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the decision ahead of the announcement. The president, they said, believes that keeping the command in Colorado Springs would avoid a disruption in readiness that the move would cause, particularly as the US races to compete with China in space. And they said Biden firmly believes that maintaining stability will help the military be better able to respond in space over the next decade. Those factors, they said, outweighed what the president believed would be any minor benefits of moving to Alabama.
By Jack Crowe

President Joe Biden’s son Hunter was charged Tuesday with illegally possessing a handgun and failing to pay his taxes on time in 2017 and 2018, according to a notice filed in U.S. District Court in Delaware. Hunter has agreed to plead guilty on the two tax misdemeanors and will enter a probation agreement that, if violated, would result in his being prosecuted for possessing a handgun while intoxicated in 2018, a felony charge. “The President and First Lady love their son and support him as he continues to rebuild his life,” the White House said in a statement. “We will have no further comment.”
Story by psquire@insider.com (Paul Squire)

Secret Service agents missed an intruder who got into a Biden official's home in April because they were distracted by their personal cellphones, CNN reported. In the April incident, an apparently intoxicated man made it inside national security adviser Jake Sullivan's home in the early morning hours.

Sullivan confronted the man inside his house and told him to leave, the Washington Post first reported. The Secret Service agents guarding Sullivan's house didn't even realize someone had gotten inside until Sullivan had the confused man leave and then went outside to tell the agents what happened, according to the Post.
Story by Stephanie Kaplan

President Joe Biden isn't having the best week! Hours after taking a tumble while onstage at the 2023 U.S. Air Force Academy graduation in Colorado, the Pennsylvania native had another incident while arriving back at the White House.

According to a report, on Thursday, June 1, the POTUS "bumped his head on the doorframe while exiting the helicopter but otherwise appeared spry." The head bump didn't seem to bother the 80-year-old, as when he walked across the lawn to return home, he poked fun at his accidents.
Story by Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing growing pressure to show progress in their investigations, House Republicans on Wednesday detailed what they say are concerning new findings about President Joe Biden’s family members and their finances. Meanwhile, though, in a new report Republicans conceded that no evidence has emerged that the president engaged in misconduct or illegal activity.

The smoking gun, according to the GOP, is recently obtained financial records connected to the president’s son Hunter Biden, brother James Biden and a growing number of associates who received millions of dollars in payments from foreign entities in China and Romania. They suggest, without evidence, that the payments were part of a wide-ranging scheme to enrich themselves off the family name.

To help them get here, Congressional Republicans relied on more than 150 suspicious-activity reports as a roadmap to follow what they call the Bidens’ complicated money trail.

‘Congressman Comer has a history of playing fast and loose with the facts and spreading baseless innuendo while refusing to conduct his so-called “investigations” with legitimacy.’ — Ian Sams, White House
Story by Gideon Rubin

House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) during a news conference Wednesday morning touted the findings of a congressional probe linking President Joe Biden to millions of dollars in payments from China and Romania to members of his family.

But despite his proclamations to the contrary, Comer didn’t produce any damaging evidence against the president, and he heard about it during an appearance on “Fox & Friends” Thursday.

“You don’t actually have any facts to that point,” host Steve Doocy told the far-right congressman.

“And the other thing is, of all those names, the one person who didn’t profit is — there’s no evidence that Joe Biden did anything illegally.”
Story by Mini Racker

Rep. James Comer, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, held a press conference on Wednesday to detail the latest updates in his investigation of Hunter Biden’s business dealings. The evidence so far does not directly implicate President Biden, but does suggest his son may have profited off of his famous name.

Records of Hunter Biden’s activities also echo the foreign business dealings of the family members of another President. While in office, former President Trump remained connected to the Trump Organization, even as he passed control of the company to his two sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump. Though Trump’s team said the business would not enter any new overseas deals during his term, his family members continued to engage in business abroad. Meanwhile, Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, and her husband, Jared Kushner, continued to pursue financial interests in foreign countries.
Story by Sarah K. Burris

Rep. James Comer (R-KY) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) spent an evening together at the Treasury Department, where they said they were allowed to view bank transactions that they say proves President Joe Biden's family was being given cash from foreign countries. The problem they've run into is in showing that evidence and proving it.

For years, Republicans have claimed that Biden was on the take from China because his son helped negotiate 20 percent of the sale of a mine to a Chinese company. Greene claimed she saw the Bidens had a "web" of LLCs that they were getting money through, including Burisma, which at no time was ever owned or run by any Biden family members. His son Hunter was merely on the board.

As the GOP has desperately tried to tie Biden to his version of Hillary Clinton's Benghazi hearings, it's proved unsuccessful. But worse, according to Washington Post columnist Philip Bump, it only highlights questions about Donald Trump's administration.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) admitted that there might not be a "there" there in the GOP's probe. Speaking to Fox Business on Wednesday, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) confessed there will never be any proof of their claims. "You're not gonna get necessarily hard proof," Johnson told Maria Bartiromo.
Story by By FARNOUSH AMIRI, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing growing pressure to show progress in their investigations, House Republicans on Wednesday detailed what they say are concerning new findings about President Joe Biden's family and their finances.

The smoking gun, according to the GOP, is recently obtained financial records connected to the president's son Hunter Biden, brother James Biden and a growing number of associates who received millions of dollars in payments from foreign entities in China and Romania. They suggest, without evidence, that the payments were part of a wide-ranging scheme to enrich themselves off the family name.
Annie Grayer Jeremy Herb Sara Murray
By Annie Grayer, Alayna Treene, Jeremy Herb and Sara Murray, CNN

Washington CNN — House Oversight Chairman James Comer laid out new details to support allegations that members of Joe Biden’s family including his son Hunter received millions of dollars in payments from foreign entities in China and Romania including when Biden was vice president, according to a memo obtained by CNN.

New bank records cited in the memo were obtained by the committee through a subpoena and include payments made to companies tied to Hunter Biden. Republicans also alleged that Hunter Biden used his familial connections to help facilitate a meeting in 2016 between a Serbian running for United Nations Secretary-General and then-national security adviser to the vice president Colin Kahl.

The foreign payments raise questions about Hunter Biden’s business activities while his father was vice president, but the committee does not suggest any illegality about the payments from foreign sources. The bank records by themselves also do not indicate the purpose of the payments that were made.
By SEUNG MIN KIM

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fresh off a White House meeting with no serious breakthrough on the debt limit standoff, President Joe Biden is launching a new phase of his pressure campaign against House Republicans as he makes his case that lawmakers should lift the nation’s borrowing authority without any strings attached.

Biden will travel to Valhalla, New York, on Wednesday to argue that a measure passed by House GOP lawmakers that would lift the debt limit for about a year while curbing some federal spending would impose cuts for veterans care, educators and other domestic priorities. The area is represented by first-term Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, whose district Biden won in 2020.

The White House will use the trip to trumpet what it says is economic progress under the Democratic president — pointing to the number of jobs created during his term and a fresh focus on domestic manufacturing — while warning that an unprecedented debt default would threaten millions of jobs and raise the prospect of a recession.
Story by asheffey@businessinsider.com (Ayelet Sheffey)

On Monday, the department announced that 615,000 borrowers in public service have received $42 billion in student-loan forgiveness since October 2021. That's a result of temporary reforms the department announced for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, which forgives student debt for government and nonprofit workers after ten years of qualifying payments.

As the department wrote in its press release, only about 7,000 borrowers had been approved for the program prior to its reforms. That's why it implemented a limited-time waiver that allowed past payments to count toward borrowers' forgiveness progress, including those that were previously deemed ineligible for relief. The waiver expired on October 31, 2022, and the department is continuing to process the forms that were submitted prior to that deadline.
Story by Gideon Rubin

Two days after hurling incendiary allegations at President Joe Biden, Sen. Chuck Grassley admitted his assertion may have been false.

The Iowa Republican on Wednesday issued a joint statement with Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) alleging Biden was involved in a “criminal scheme” when he served as vice president that involved a foreign national. The two Republican lawmakers called on the Justice Department to release a 2020 document them claim alleges Biden’s involvement in the scheme.

“We believe the FBI possesses an unclassified internal document that includes very serious and detailed allegations implicating the current President of the United States," Grassley said in a statement.

"The FBI’s recent history of botching politically charged investigations demands close congressional oversight.”

Dr. Walensky has saved lives with her steadfast and unwavering focus on the health of every American. As Director of the CDC, she led a complex organization on the frontlines of a once-in-a-generation pandemic with honesty and integrity. She marshalled our finest scientists and public health experts to turn the tide on the urgent crises we’ve faced. Dr. Walensky leaves CDC a stronger institution, better positioned to confront health threats and protect Americans. We have all benefited from her service and dedication to public health, and I wish her the best in her next chapter.
Story by Tommy Christopher

CNN anchor John King roasted a new “stunning” claim Republicans are making about President Joe Biden and a “bribery scheme” — saying it’s “more stunning the Republicans making this claim admit they have no evidence, just an unverified tip.”

At issue is a new demand by Republicans in Congress for an alleged FBI document involving President Biden and his family. In letters and press releases, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Rep. James Comer (R-KY) demanded a document they say they “believe the FBI possesses” in which an unidentified informant alleges to FBI agents that Biden “engaged in a bribery scheme with a foreign national.”

The subpoena, issued by Comer’s House Oversight Committee, demands all FBI interview documents containing the word “Biden” as well as “all accompanying attachments and documents.”

On Thursday afternoon’s edition of CNN’s Inside Politics, King teased a segment on the issue by saying “A stunning allegation: Joe Biden taking foreign money to shape U.S. policy. Also stunning, I would argue more stunning: The Republicans making this claim admit they have no evidence, just an unverified tip.”
Story by David Edwards

President Joe Biden trolled House Republicans on Tuesday after they passed a debt ceiling bill that could cut benefits for veterans.

Republicans have accused Democrats of "shamelessly lying" about cuts to veterans' benefits. But the bill "does not explicitly exempt the Department of Veterans Affairs from federal spending caps," according to The Huffington Post.
By Donald Judd, CNN

CNN — The United States Secret Service on Monday said it turned away the Muslim mayor of Prospect Park, New Jersey, ahead of the Eid reception at the White House. Mayor Mohamed T. Khairullah was not permitted to attend Monday’s Eid reception despite an invitation to the East Room ceremony after his clearance for entry was not approved by Secret Service, the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ New Jersey chapter told CNN in a statement.

“While we regret any inconvenience this may have caused, the mayor was not allowed to enter the White House complex this evening,” USSS chief of communications told reporters in a statement later Monday evening. “Unfortunately we are not able to comment further on the specific protective means and methods used to conduct our security operations at the White House.” The White House referred all questions on the incident to USSS.
Story by By David Lawder, Trevor Hunnicutt, Andrea Shalal and David Morgan
By David Lawder, Trevor Hunnicutt, Andrea Shalal and David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday summoned the four top congressional leaders to the White House next week after the Treasury warned the government could run short of cash to pay its bills by June. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a letter to Congress that the agency will be unlikely to meet all U.S. government payment obligations "potentially as early as June 1" without action by Congress.

The estimate raised the risk that the United States is headed for an unprecedented default that would shake the global economy, adding new urgency to political calculations in Washington, where Democrats and Republicans were girding for a months-long standoff.
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