Russian President Vladimir Putin says Ukraine has proposed a mutual halt to long-range strikes and a meeting with Kyiv’s leadership. But, though he says he is considering the proposal, he believes the deal would benefit Ukraine more than Russia.
Published On 29 Jun 202629 Jun 2026
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June 24 (UPI) — Senate lawmakers have approved a war powers resolution directing President Donald Trump to halt U.S. hostilities with Iran or seek congressional authorization.
The Senate voted 50-48 on Tuesday, with four Republicans — Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Rand Paul of Kentucky — joining their Democratic colleagues in passing H.Con.Res. 86. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., was the only Democrat to vote against the measure.
The measure’s legal force was disputed. Though concurrent resolutions are non-binding, Democrats argue H.Con.Res. 86 is binding because it was adopted under the War Powers Resolution.
Either way, the measure shows the deepening fissure in support among Trump’s Republican Party for the war his administration unilaterally launched in late February.
Democrats have been forcing repeated war powers resolution votes for months, most of which have been stonewalled by Republicans. But GOP support for the war has waned as it has dragged on, culminating Tuesday when the Senate approved the measure that the House narrowly passed 215-208 earlier this month.
“Both chambers have now made clear that the president cannot continue this war of choice and must cease all hostilities against Iran,” Rep. Gregory Meeks, the resolution’s sponsor and ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Tuesday after the vote.
“Regardless of what President Trump says, this measure is binding under the War Powers Resolution, and I will explore all legal avenues to ensure the Executive complies with the will of Congress.”
Democrats argue that the U.S. war with Iran — as well as other military actions taken by Trump, including attacks on suspected drug-trafficking boats in international waters — is illegal as Congress has not authorized war, a power the Constitution gives to Congress.
Trump has responded that he does not need authorization, and any war powers resolution is moot due to the fragile U.S.-Iran cease-fire that went into effect in early April.
Amid the cease-fire, Trump has been seeking an agreement to end the war, and his administration was actively negotiating terms with Iran when the vote was held Tuesday.
In a social media statement, Trump lambasted Congress over the vote, saying it was informing Iran that the United States does not support him while hee has “Iran on the ‘ropes,’ ready to go down for the fall.”
“Four Republican Losers voted with the Dumocrats,” he said, while calling the measure “poorly timed and meaningless.”
“These Senators have just made my job more difficult, but I will get it done, one way or the other, because I always get it done.”
June 17 (UPI) — Officials at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport announced Tuesday that the airport is scheduled to be closed for much of July 4 amid a predicted record-breaking week of travel for the holiday.
There are no scheduled flights to or from the airport after noon on July 4, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority announced in a release. The day before will also have no flights for several hours in the early afternoon.
The MWAA said the schedule disruption is to accommodate Independence Day celebrations coinciding with the country’s 250th birthday.
“Many events will include downtown flyovers or other aerial displays such as fireworks or parachute jumps, which will affect flights periodically at Reagan National,” the agency said.
Airport officials expected flight operations to return to normal July 5.
AAA projected Tuesday that a record-breaking 72.2 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles away from home to mark Independence Day between June 27 and July 5. That’s up from 71.8 million in 2025.
Stacey Barber, vice president of AAA Travel, said traveling for the July 4th holiday “is tradition.”
“The 9-day travel forecast includes travelers who are vacationing all week and people just getting away for the long holiday weekend,” Barber said. “While the overall number of Independence Day travelers appears to be plateauing, we’re still expecting record volumes this year.”
Among those traveling for the holiday, AAA projected the vast majority — 61.4 million — will do so by car, 5.85 million by air and 4.93 million by other modes of transportation such as bus, train or cruise.
The Top 10 domestic destinations for the holiday week are Seattle; Orlando, Fla.; Anchorage, Alaska; Miami; New York City; Chicago; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Fairbanks, Alaska; Denver; and Boston. The Top 10 international destinations are Vancouver, Canada; Rome; Dublin; Paris; London; Calgary, Canada; Reykjavik, Iceland; Amsterdam; Athens; and Barcelona, Spain.
US Department of Justice claims NAACP lawsuit threatens ‘national, economic, and energy security’.
The United States government has intervened on the side of Elon Musk’s xAI in a legal dispute over a $20bn data centre, claiming that efforts to block a related power project threaten national security.
In a court motion filed this week, the Department of Justice requested the dismissal of a lawsuit accusing xAI of illegally operating dozens of natural gas turbines erected to power the Colossus 2 data center in Memphis, Tennessee.
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The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the largest civil rights group for African Americans, filed the lawsuit in April under the 1963 Clean Air Act, which allows citizens to seek injunctions and civil penalties against alleged polluters.
The NAACP alleges that xAI built the turbines, located in nearby Southaven, Mississippi, without obtaining the necessary permits, exposing hundreds of thousands of residents to harmful pollutants linked to “increases in asthma, respiratory diseases, heart problems, and certain cancers”.
The lawsuit notes that a “much larger share” of residents are Black compared with the US general population.
In its motion, filed in a US District Court on Monday, the Justice Department accused the NAACP of threatening “national, economic, and energy security by seeking to shut off the power supply for artificial intelligence innovation that supports the Department of War’s military operations”.
The motion also claims that the US Constitution vests the power to seek civil penalties “conclusively and preclusively” in the executive branch, including the “discretion to decide when such an enforcement action is unwarranted or inconsistent with federal enforcement priorities”.
Adam Gustafson, the top prosecutor at the Justice Department’s environment and natural resources division, said in a statement that the government would “not sit idly by while private organisations use environmental laws to undermine our national security”.
xAI, which is a subsidiary of Musk’s SpaceX, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Earthjustice, an advocacy group representing the NAACP in the lawsuit, condemned the intervention as a “massive power grab” by President Donald Trump’s administration.
“Trump’s Justice Department wants to shield Elon Musk’s data center company, xAI, from being held accountable for its illegal pollution – and it’s attempting to grab power from impacted communities, the courts, and Congress to do so,” Laura Thoms, director of enforcement for Earthjustice, said in a statement.
“There is no moral or legal precedent for this.”
Ann Carlson, a professor of environmental law at UCLA School of Law, described the Trump administration’s argument as a “brazen attempt” to limit enforcement of the Clean Air Act.
“It’s based on a radical notion that the executive branch can dismiss lawsuits brought by citizen groups that Congress has authorised based on no rationale at all,” Carlson told Al Jazeera, adding that the Justice Department’s position would let “polluters off the hook even for blatant violations of the law.”
“This motion is also just one of many ways in which the administration is undermining efforts to protect air quality,” Carlson said.
The Trump administration has cultivated close ties with Musk, the world’s richest man, tapping the tech titan as a temporary cost-cutting tsar and using xAI’s flagship model Grok in the Pentagon’s drive to become an “AI-enabled fighting force”.
In testimony in support of Monday’s motion, Cameron Stanley, the Pentagon’s top official for AI, said that Grok had been used to launch more than 2,000 munitions at 2,000 targets within the first 96 hours of the US-Israel war on Iran.
If Grok cannot be deployed and upgraded due to “limitations in energy supply or limited reserve compute capability”, numerous tools used by the Pentagon would be “severely impacted”, Stanley said in a declaration made under oath.
WASHINGTON — The House approved a war powers resolution Wednesday that would halt the U.S. military action against Iran, defying President Trump as a handful of Republicans joined with Democrats to end the three-month-long war that has reordered politics at home and abroad.
House Speaker Mike Johnson had tried to prevent an outcome that would show the mounting opposition to the war, abruptly shutting down floor action two weeks ago when the war powers resolution was on the verge of approval. But displeasure has only grown as the conflict drags on and as Trump struggles to negotiate a quick resolution.
The roll call Wednesday was 215-208, and cheers erupted in the House chamber.
“This reckless and costly war of choice needs to end today,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said earlier in the week.
“All we need are a handful of Republicans to join us and we can end this reckless and costly war of choice — a war that has cost the American taxpayer over $100 billion — that’s extraordinary — and left our country in a weaker position relative to Iran.”
It’s the fourth time the House has tried to curb the U.S. war against Iran, and the first time the House was able to pass the measure. The Senate advanced its own war powers resolution last month when a handful of GOP senators broke ranks with the Republican president in a rare show of political pushback from his party.
Each time Democrats have pushed forward the war powers resolution, the vote tallies have inched higher as political unease with the U.S. war swells. Trump had campaigned for the White House on a promise to end U.S. entanglements abroad and focus more on domestic issues, but the war has shifted attention back to the Middle East.
Johnson insisted Trump is “laser focused” on the domestic front, particularly ahead of the midterm elections that will determine control of Congress.
The speaker said he spent three hours at the White House with the president this week as Trump is calling on allies to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz for commerce, especially the flow of oil.
Since the U.S. joined Israel in launching the Feb. 28 strikes on Iran, Americans have seen gas prices spike at the pumps, adding to inflationary pressure on consumer spending.
Iran has been able to interrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital channel for a large segment of the world’s oil, natural gas and related products such as fertilizer.
“We’re working on that final piece,” said Johnson, R-La. “The entire world has an interest in the Strait of Hormuz being reopen for commerce. That what he’s working on.”
While a ceasefire in the conflict was declared in April, it remains uneasy and uncertain. Talks for a more durable end to the fighting have dragged, increasingly complicated by Israel’s broadening war with Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. Meanwhile, military strikes between the U.S and Iran continue to flare.
The war powers resolution from the House would not immediately stop the war, but it would provide a symbolic if not legal step against further military action.
If approved, it would then go to the Senate, where four Republican senators last month joined Democrats in advancing a similar measure to curtail the U.S. campaign against Iran. The Senate has yet to take a final vote to approve or reject its own war powers resolution.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Wednesday testifying at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing that the Iranians would think that the administration’s “hands are going to be tied” if Congress approved a war powers resolution. He said they would think ”we won’t be able to do anything to them, so why make a deal?”
It’s not the only action Congress is taking in the national security arena as Democrats, in the minority, work to peel off Republican support for measures beyond the war against Iran.
The House is also voting Wednesday on another Democratic-led effort that would authorize U.S. support for Ukraine’s military operations as it battles Russia and to help reconstruct the war-torn country. The House this week is also expected to consider a war powers resolution to block U.S. action in Lebanon.
While Congress has the authority under the Constitution to declare war, the president also has power as the commander in chief to engage in military action, creating a legal dispute over which branch of government has ultimate say in matters of war and peace.
Under the war powers act, the White House has a 60-day window to seek approval from Congress for military action. The administration, however, has indicated that because a ceasefire has been declared in the current conflict in Iran, the hostilities have ceased.
Mascaro writes for the Associated Press.
BOSTON — A federal judge on Tuesday heard from voting rights groups and a coalition of two dozen states that want the courts to halt President Trump’s executive order seeking to create a federal voter list and limit who can receive a mail ballot.
The plaintiffs argued in two lawsuits that Trump’s order should be found unconstitutional because the states and Congress, not the president, have the power to set election rules. They also told the court that the move imposes a costly burden on state election officials to comply and would spread fear about the possibility of prosecution.
“This is going to be a sea change in the way that some states administer their ballots,” said Michael Cohen, who was part of a team representing California, adding that “it will be difficult to overstate the disruption that this will cause.”
Trump’s executive order, the second one aimed at elections during his second term, comes as he continues to raise the specter of widespread voting by noncitizens as a reason to change election rules. But states already have detailed processes aimed at keeping their voter rolls accurate, and voting by noncitizens has been shown to be rare. It also is a felony that can be punishable by deportation.
His latest order is being challenged through multiple lawsuits, including two filed in U.S. District Court in Boston.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which represented the League of Women Voters in one of the two Boston cases, has called the order “a dangerous attempt to disenfranchise eligible voters nationwide.” The group said the order transforms “the U.S. Postal Service from a neutral mail carrier to an arbiter of who may cast a ballot by mail.”
“This case challenges an extraordinary and abusive assertion of executive power over the administration of federal elections,” the organization said in its complaint.
The hearing comes less than a week after another judge declined to halt the order. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee in Washington, agreed with the Trump administration’s contention that it was too early to block the order because it has yet to be implemented.
The administration, in its motions to dismiss the lawsuits, argued that the plaintiffs lack standing to bring their claims. They also argued the motions are premature and that plaintiffs lack the legal basis to bring their Administrative Procedure Act claim, which governs how federal agencies develop and issue regulations.
Stephen Pezzi, a lawyer for the Trump administration, said the harms the plaintiffs referred to were subjective, since much can change with the voting list before it is finalized. He also said no one would be prosecuted for violating the executive order.
Missouri Solicitor Gen. Lou Capozzi, speaking for the states supporting the list, argued it was too early to say how his state might use the list, but that it was “unlikely” any voter would be removed this year from the voter rolls because of it.
“We are not exactly sure how we would use it,” Capozzi said, adding that “we don’t want this process to be strangled in the crib, so to speak.”
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani took the requests for motions to halt the order, along with motions to dismiss the cases under advisement.
During oral arguments, Talwani expressed concerns about whether the federal system envisioned under the executive order could be ready for the upcoming midterm elections and about the risks posed to election workers who rely on a state list that differs from the federal one. She also raised doubts about the reliability of a federal list — noting, for example, women who changed their names after getting married or someone who has moved from state to state might be missed.
“Isn’t there a reasonable fear and concern on behalf of voters that they will be precluded?” Talwani asked.
Trump issued the order in March after a bill he supported to overhaul voting stalled in Congress. The order would have had the federal government create a list of eligible voters and then directed the postal service to deliver mail ballots only to those on the list. Election officials argued that it was ripe for abuse and could cause chaos, and the postal union has objected to the idea of mail carriers policing ballots.
The postal service has published a proposed rule required by Trump’s executive order in the Federal Register. Among other things, the rule would not apply to primary elections or overseas ballots.
Since his 2020 presidential election loss to Democrat Joe Biden, Trump has groundlessly claimed mail voting is rife with fraud and has launched a federal investigation into that year’s vote, even though repeated audits and investigations, including ones run by Republicans, found it was free of widespread fraud. Trump also has said he wants to “take over” election administration in Democratic areas.
Casey writes for the Associated Press.
BRAD PITT and Channing Tatum have halted work on their new Isle Of Man motorbike film after a serious crash at the TT Races over the weekend.
The pair are working on a new movie about the annual gathering, which is regarded as one of the world’s most dangerous motorsport events.
Filming had started on the Amazon MGM Studio production over the weekend but was stopped on Sunday following an accident on the opening practice day.
My on-set source said: “Channing was filming on location when the crash happened with one of the professional motorbike riders.
“It ended up being very serious, with eight people taken to hospital after one of the riders crashed into spectators.
“They were taken to hospital for treatment immediately.
“The film is being made around the same areas so they have an authentic backdrop. As soon as the incident happened, filming was halted. Everyone on set was gravely worried about those involved in the incident.
“There is a reason the Isle of Man TT is known as the most dangerous motorbike race.
“The accident brought home to everyone the risks that are involved in this sport.”
Brad — who played racing driver Sonny Hayes in 2025 sports drama F1 — is a producer on the film, which is called Isle Of Man.
Channing has the starring role as one of the bikers.
Channing first started preparing for the film in 2023 when he was seen on the track meeting the riders and their teams.
A documentary series about the Isle of Man TT and called The Greatest Show on Earth, will be released in conjunction with the film.
Earlier this month, TT veteran John McGuinness said he had been helping Channing get ready for the role.
He said: “I speak to Channing a little bit and have a bit of a chat with him, and he just loves it — loves the bikes — I think it’s fantastic.
“It’s a big Hollywood thing. I know some of the guys who are involved in it and, you know, let’s hope it’s a success.”
SUKI WATERHOUSE looks stunning in a new fashion campaign for Miu Miu.
The model-turned-singer posed in co-ords for the brand’s Upcycled collection as she gears up to release her third studio album, Loveland.
Suki, who signed a deal with Island Records last summer, will drop the record on July 10.
And it will be her first since she and actor boyfriend Robert Pattinson became parents.
She said: “I finished my last record right as I had my daughter, and this one has been everything since then. The process has been somewhat different because, I think, at the beginning of writing it, I was quite fragile.”
BRITNEY SPEARS has called for an end to “embarrassing things” from her past being shown online – which doesn’t bode well for her big-budget biopic currently in the works.
The pop star made the plea to fans on Instagram weeks after being arrested for driving under the influence and subsequently checking herself into rehab.
In a post online, she wrote: “When you get that awkward, weird feeling you can start to feel that perhaps too much chatter is going on behind your back.
“It actually affects people. I still send them love but most importantly, I hope they feel my smile.
“The media has been a bit much in my opinion and I hope they can respect my unbelievable and miraculous spiritual journey.
“I’m so excited to embrace my journey and hope they stop showing embarrassing things from my past.”
Britney’s biopic was first announced in 2024, when Universal Pictures said it was working on an adaptation of her memoir, The Woman In Me, with Wicked filmmaker Jon M Chu as director.
I told last year how work on the much-publicised project was “not going at full speed” because of concerns that Britney was getting cold feet.
As it stands, the lead role has still not even been cast.
So perhaps Britney doesn’t need to worry about things being dredged up again quite yet.
I THINK Kylie Jenner might be Timothee Chalamet’s lucky charm when it comes to his basketball team, the New York Knicks.
The couple were seen going bananas courtside – with Kylie giving Timothee a big kiss – after the Nicks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers to reach the NBA finals over the weekend.
It was the first time they have got there in 27 years, having last made an appearance when Timothee was four.
The joy wasn’t shared by everyone though, as across the court Taylor Swift was seen trying to cheer up her Cavaliers fan fiancé Travis Kelce.
As a Spurs supporter who almost chewed off every fingernail over the weekend, I feel his anguish.
TAYLOR SWIFT was snubbed at the American Music Awards this week, but she’s not letting that stop her.
The chart-topper has already set her sights on September’s Emmys.
The Look What You Made Me Do singer has submitted her Eras Tour: The Final Show for Outstanding Variety Series and The End Of An Era show for Outstanding Docuseries.
Both were released on Disney+ last year and have become two of its most streamed shows.
Something tells me that Taylor could be getting at least one win in a few months’ time.
KYLIE MINOGUE has only just released her Netflix docuseries, but she is already giving fans more with Kylie: Tension Tour Live, out today on the streamer.
The behind-the-scenes look at her 2025 arena shows gives fans the chance to relive the concerts and her biggest tour in a decade.
PINKPANTHERESS has discovered that there really is such a thing as being too famous.
The Boy’s A Liar singer told fans during her Manchester show on Monday that she once tried to go on BBC quiz show Pointless, only to be rejected because producers thought viewers would recognise her.
She said with a laugh: “I applied for Pointless once and they said I was too famous.”
Given most contestants dream of being remembered for something on the show, that’s really quite a nice problem to have.
MAISIE PETERS is on course to score her second No1 with third album Florescence, two years after The Good Witch topped the charts.
She has competition though from Michael Jackson’s The Essential hits compilation, which is behind at No2 in the midweek figures from the Official Charts.
ARRDEE has opened up about his secret battles with alcohol and ketamine addiction, admitting he blew the entire £300,000 from his first record deal on booze and designer clothes.
The Brighton rapper revealed he landed the huge payday aged 18 after bluffing rival labels into a bidding war.
But instead of saving the cash, he confessed: “I p**sed it up the wall.
“I didn’t save a penny even for the tax man. I didn’t even know what tax was.”
ArrDee admitted splashing thousands at Selfridges on Stone Island jumpers and Ralph Lauren polos before spiralling into years of heavy drinking and drug use.
He said: “I was super-numb. We was rock-star living.”
The rapper revealed he would drink heavily while filming videos and eventually developed addictions to alcohol and ketamine.
Asked if he believed he was addicted, he replied: “100 per cent.”
But speaking to Paul C Brunson on his We Need To Talk podcast, he said his older brother suffered a drug-induced psychosis, which changed his outlook on life.
He added: “If I could turn back time and not have fame and music, but have my brother be how he was before, I would.”
The rapper has since settled down with his partner Ocean and they now have a child together, which helped him re-evaluate life.
And he admitted: “I always thought I’d be a bad dad because I didn’t know what a good one looked like.”
AJ TRACEY brought the heat to the Baller League final when he debuted his new track Quaresma live at London’s O2 Arena.
The song was inspired by Portuguese football great Ricardo Quaresma, and rapper AJ walked out with the man himself in front of a packed crowd
The football wasn’t bad either.
Prime FC, run by KSI, took the crown, beating YouTuber Niko Omilana’s NDL FC 5-2 in the final to become Baller League Season Three champions.
Prime FC knocked out Deportrio FC, managed by former Premier League stars Micah Richards and Daniel Sturridge, in a chaotic 5-3 semi-final.
Where else can you watch football legends, YouTubers and AJ Tracey all share the same pitch?
Only in the Baller League.
NEW Strictly Come Dancing host Josh Widdecombe was forced to halt work at his listed mansion after he began renovations without planning permission.
The comedian has already splashed some of his windfall on renovating his new family home in Devon.
Josh and his producer wife Rose Hanson wasted no time in beginning work on the listed property, only for planning documents to reveal they had failed to get permission.
In a retrospective application, his agent said it was “regrettable” but confirmed work was immediately “paused” upon realising.
On the application form, Rose confirmed work on the building had begun but had not been finished.
Permission was eventually granted this week by council planners under delegated powers after no objections were received.
The application was in Rose’s name, who previously said on social media she was the boss when it comes to renovations.
She wrote: “He’s good at writing jokes, I’m good with interiors – we stick to our lanes.”
The work includes a range of internal alterations including reopening a historic doorway, adjusting partitions and repositioning architraves.
A supporting statement on behalf of the couple said: “At ground floor level it is proposed to re-open an historic doorway that was blocked with 20th century studwork.”
It added that minor adjustments would be made to the back of the building to incorporate a new door from the garden.
It said: “The enclosed works have no impact on the setting of the building in any way, with the only external change proposed the inclusion of a new door to the garden store.”
They added that internally, none of the proposed works have an adverse impact on the character of the house.
In approving the application, a planning official described the impacts of the proposals as largely “positive” or “neutral”.
The couple moved to the home in Devon after selling their £2.3m London townhouse.
They said at the time they wanted to bring up their two children with more space and be closer to Josh’s childhood home.
Previous pictures of the listed property reveal five ensuite bedrooms and a separate one-bed coach house in the grounds, as well as a huge living room, large kitchen and dining room.
The posh home also comes with two offices, a gym and a wine cellar.
Speaking on the Parenting Hell podcast, Josh had told fellow comic Rob Beckett: “Just to be clear, it isn’t in Crinkley Bottom – it isn’t the house we used to see on Saturday nights on the TV.”
Josh and Rose also owns a £1M holiday home in Cornwall, that they restored and now rent out to holidaymakers.
The Justice Department on Wednesday filed a lawsuit seeking to nullify D.C. disbarment proceedings against Jeffrey Clark, seen here in October 2020 as acting assistant U.S. attorney general. File Photo by Yuri Gripas/EPA-EFE
May 13 (UPI) — The Justice Department filed a lawsuit Wednesday evening against D.C. disciplinary officials who recommended Jeffrey Clark be disbarred over his efforts to overturn 2020 election results, the latest move by the Trump administration to defend allies accused of helping President Donald Trump remain in power after that election loss.
The lawsuit in a federal court in D.C. alleges the disciplinary officials used their powers to punish lawyers over what federal prosecutors describe as “internal Executive Branch deliberations” in order to regulate federal government actions.
“Weaponizing state bar discipline against Executive Branch attorneys in this way chills them from giving candid legal advice to others in the Executive Branch, including the president and attorney general,” the lawsuit states.
“To permit these proceedings is to allow state bar authorities to control the Executive Branch. That is not the law.”
Clark was an assistant attorney general at the Justice Department following Trump’s 2020 election loss to Joe Biden, and urged Justice Department officials to issue a letter he wrote casting doubt on election results, according to congressional investigators and D.C. disciplinary officials.
The letter specifically targeted the results in Georgia, a swing state Trump lost to Biden by 11,779 votes, alleging a Justice Department investigation had uncovered election “irregularities” despite Attorney General William Barr having already announced there was no evidence of outcome-determinative fraud in the election prior to his resignation.
Clark had prepared the letter to be signed by Barr’s replacement, then-acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, and Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue, the second highest-ranking Justice Department lawyer, both of whom refused because they knew its contents were untrue.
Clark continued to push for the Justice Department to issue the letter, which he intended to be used as a template to be sent to other states. Amid the political turmoil, Trump considered appointing Clark as attorney general — a move Clark encouraged so he could launch nationwide investigations to uncover unfounded claims of election issues.
Trump abandoned the idea of appointing Clark only after being informed doing so would cause mass resignations among Justice Department leadership.
The D.C. Office of Disciplinary Counsel opened its investigation into Clark’s actions after Sen. Dick Durbin, as then-chairman of the committee, asked it to probe his “serious violations of professional conduct.”
The D.C. Court of Appeals Board on Professional Responsibility in July recommended that Clark be disbarred in D.C., stating that “when a lawyer attempts to make intentional false statements on an issue that the lawyer understands to be a ‘pressing matter of overriding national importance,’ or knowing that the false statement would have serious and far-ranging consequences, they deserve the ultimate sanction.”
A final judgment has not yet been issued in the case.
The Justice Department on Wednesday asked the court to quash the D.C. disciplinary proceedings against Clark, and alleged they violate the Supremacy Clause and Article II of the Constitution by arguing that Clark was acting as a federal government employee who cannot be punished for performing Executive Branch duties.
Federal prosecutors also frame the issue as involving internal discussions. They said Clark attempted to persuade his superiors to issue a draft letter “that he felt reflected the actual law and facts about the 2020 election.”
“D.C. disciplinary authorities may not punish a United States official for disagreeing with a superior or coworker or for sharing an opinion just because those disciplinary authorities disagree with it,” the filing states.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche also accused the D.C. Bar of being “a blatantly partisan arm of leftist causes,” accusing it of being weaponized.
“The D.C. Bar will no longer be permitted to probe sensitive Executive Branch deliberations and target Executive Branch officials with whom they happen to politically disagree, and federal attorneys will once again be free to share their candid legal advice with their bosses and colleagues,” he said in a statement.
Clark was never charged in federal court in connection with his role in the alleged scheme, but he, Trump and 17 others were indicted in Georgia on racketeering charges. The case was dismissed after the prosecutor appointed following Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ removal declined to pursue the charges.
Other Trump allies accused of aiding his efforts to overturn the 2020 election have also been sanctioned in D.C., including Rudy Giuliani, who was disbarred in D.C. and New York, and John Eastman, whose D.C. law license was suspended on an interim basis after he was disbarred in California.
Wednesday’s lawsuit is the latest action by the federal government aiding those who supported Trump’s false election claims.
On Trump’s first day in office, he issued clemency to the roughly 1,500 people charged or convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.
He also issued pardons to Giuliani, Eastman, Clark, Sidney Powell and many others accused of aiding his efforts.
WASHINGTON — Democrats on Monday filed an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to halt a Virginia ruling invalidating a ballot measure that would have given their party an additional four winnable U.S. House seats.
The move came after the Virginia Supreme Court on Friday struck down a constitutional amendment that voters narrowly passed just last month. The 4-3 state court decision found that the Democratic-controlled legislature improperly began the process of placing the amendment on the ballot after early voting had begun in Virginia’s general election last fall.
Democrats argued unsuccessfully that the U.S. Supreme Court has held that, even if early voting is underway, an election does not happen until election day itself.
The appeal is the latest twist in the nation’s mid-decade redistricting competition. It was kicked off last year by President Trump urging Republican-controlled states to redraw their lines and was supercharged by a recent Supreme Court ruling severely weakening the Voting Rights Act.
“The Court overrode the will of the people who ratified the amendment by ordering the Commonwealth to conduct its election with the congressional districts that the people rejected,” wrote lawyers for Virginia Democrats and Democratic state Atty. Gen. Jay Jones. “The irreparable harm resulting from the Supreme Court of Virginia’s decision is profound and immediate.”
The filing is a sign of Democratic desperation after the Virginia decision. Democrats are still favorites to recapture the U.S. House of Representatives, but their GOP rivals have claimed to have gained more than a dozen seats through redistricting. The voter-approved Virginia map would have partly offset that.
Democrats are taking a legal long shot in asking the justices to reverse the Virginia court’s ruling. The Supreme Court tries to avoid second-guessing state courts’ interpretations of their own constitutions. In 2023, it turned down a request by North Carolina Republicans to overrule a state Supreme Court decision that blocked the GOP’s congressional map.
Politically, the appeal could help a party struggling to compete with Republicans in the unusual mid-decade redrawing of congressional boundaries by providing fodder for election-year messaging about a partisan Supreme Court. The court recently allowed Louisiana Republicans to proceed with redistricting after the justices struck down a majority Black district as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.
Democrats have been set on their heels because, days after the Virginia ballot measure passed, the Supreme Court’s conservatives reversed decades of rulings and in effect neutered the Voting Rights Act, paving the way for Southern states to eliminate some majority Black districts and further pad Republican margins in Congress.
The Virginia amendment had been launched long before that ruling. It was intended as a response to Republican gains in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio, and to blunt a new map in Florida that just became law. Once the Virginia amendment passed, it briefly turned the nationwide redistricting scramble into a draw between the two parties.
That was unraveled by the Virginia Supreme Court’s decision. The justices are appointed by the legislature, which has flipped between the two parties in recent decades, and the body is generally not seen as having a clear ideological bent.
Whitehurst writes for the Associated Press.
LEWIS Capaldi was forced to halt one of his performances in the US, exclaiming he didn’t know “what the f*** just happened.”
The popular singer, 29, is currently on his Survive Tour after taking some time away from the spotlight to prioritise his mental and physical health.
But during his gig at Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre he encountered a major technical issue, leaving him unable to sing.
Lewis giggled next to the mic, sharing with the crowd: “Something has happened. Usually I’d be singing by now.
“Something technological has gone wrong. I’m not sure what the f***s happened.”
He then joked: “This feels like… erectile dysfunction in a way,” before checking in with his team to see if the error had been fixed.
After learning it hadn’t, Lewis continued to entertain the crowd, saying: “Right, we’re not back. Hi.”
Fans of the musician found the moment hilarious and loved the way he chose to handle it – both with humour and then by deciding to go ahead with an acoustic performance while the tech issue was fixed.
One user on Instagram said: “Who needs all the technology with a voice like that?!?”
A second shared: “It was a once in a lifetime experience and we were very excited to be part of the “technical issue”.
A third added: “Well no one can claim he can’t sing live.”
Lewis’ tour shares the same name as his latest EP release which came out last year.
The new music followed him taking a two-year hiatus from the industry, after his anxiety and Tourette’s syndrome symptoms increased.
After Lewis finishes up his shows in America, he’s due to perform in Vancouver before heading over to the UK.
His first UK tour date is on June 19, taking place at the Isle Of Wight Festival.
California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta has enlisted new allies in his legal battle to unravel Nexstar Media Group’s takeover of rival television station group Tegna Inc.
Late Thursday, Bonta announced that five additional states have joined his coalition that is suing to block the $6.2-billion merger. With the additional plaintiffs, the group of top state law enforcement officers has grown to 13 — and the campaign now is a bipartisan effort.
“Antitrust enforcement is not political — it’s about protecting working families and helping ensure the benefits of a vibrant economy are for everyone, not just well-connected corporations,” Bonta said in a statement. “We welcome our sister states into the fray and look forward to fighting alongside them.”
The new states are Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Vermont. They have joined existing the plaintiffs that represent the people of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Oregon and Virginia.
Nexstar owns KTLA-TV Channel 5 in Los Angeles.
U.S. District Judge Troy Nunley two weeks ago granted a request by the attorneys general to issue a preliminary injunction halting the merger as the legal case proceeds. The proposed merger — which Nexstar rushed to complete despite opposition from the states — would create the nation’s largest broadcast station group with 265 television stations, up from 164 that Nexstar currently controls.
In dozens of markets, including San Diego and Sacramento, Nexstar would own multiple major TV network affiliates. That duplication has raised concerns about staff consolidations and widespread newsroom layoffs.
“State attorneys general nationwide understand just how important robust antitrust enforcement is to American life — and what a rotten deal this is for consumers, for workers, for affordability, and for our local news,” Bonta said.
El Segundo-based DirecTV separately filed a lawsuit to block the deal, saying the Nexstar-Tegna consolidation would harm their business by forcing DirecTV to pay significantly higher fees for the rights to carry their stations as part of its programming lineup.
A Nexstar representative was not immediately available for comment.
Nexstar contends the deal would strengthen TV station economics, allowing stations to bolster their news gathering and expand the number of newscasts. But DirecTV countered that in markets where Nexstar owns two stations, it relies on just one newsroom to program both channels.
Nexstar’s proposed purchase of Tegna would give the Irving, Texas-based Nexstar stations in 44 states covering 80% of the U.S. population.
The federal judge ruled there was sufficient merit in the antitrust arguments brought by Bonta and the others to pause Nexstar’s takeover of Tegna until a trial can be held to decide whether the merger is illegal.
“Nexstar must permit Tegna to continue operating as a separate and distinct, independently managed business unit from Nexstar,” Nunley wrote in his 52-page order on April 17. “And Nexstar must put measures in place to maintain Tegna as an ongoing, economically viable, and active competitor.”
Eaton wildfire survivors’ anger about Southern California Edison’s burying of electric wires in Altadena boiled over Tuesday with residents calling on government officials to temporarily halt the work.
In a letter to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, more than 120 Altadena residents and the town’s council wrote that they had witnessed “manifest failures” by Edison in recent months as it has been tearing up streets and digging trenches to bury the wires.
The residents cited the unexpected financial cost of the work to homeowners and possible harm to the town’s remaining trees. They also pointed out how the work will leave telecommunication wires above ground on poles.
“The current lack of coordination is compounding the stress of a community still reeling from the Eaton Fire, and risks causing further irreparable harm,” the residents wrote.
The council voted unanimously Tuesday night to send the letter.
Scott Johnson, an Edison spokesman, said Wednesday that the company has been working to address the concerns, including by looking for other sources of funds to help pay for the homeowners’ costs.
“We recognize this community has already faced a number of challenges,” he said.
Johnson said the company will allow homeowners to keep existing overhead lines connecting their homes to the grid if they are worried about the cost.
Edison’s crews, Johnson said, have also been trained to use equipment that avoids roots and preserves the health of trees.
The utility has said that burying the wires as the town rebuilds thousands of homes destroyed in the fire will make the electrical grid safer and more reliable.
But anger has grown as work crews have shown up unexpectedly and residents learned they’re on the hook to pay tens of thousands of dollars to connect their homes to the buried lines.
Residents have also found the crews digging under the town’s oak and pine trees that survived last year’s fire. Arborists say the trenches could destroy the roots of some of the last remaining trees and kill them.
Amy Bodek, the county’s regional planning director, recently warned Edison that a government ordinance protects oak trees and that “utility trenching is not exempt from these requirements.”
Residents have also pointed out that in much of Altadena, the telecom companies, including Spectrum and AT&T, have not agreed to bury their wires in Edison’s trenches. That means the telecom wires will remain on poles above ground, which residents say is visually unappealing.
“While our community supports the long-term benefits of moving utilities underground, the current execution by SCE is placing undue financial and planning burdens on homeowners, causing irreparable harm to our heritage tree canopy, and proceeding without adequate local oversight,” the residents wrote.
They want the project halted until the problems are addressed.
Edison announced last year that it would spend as much as $925 million to underground and rebuild its grid in Altadena and Malibu, where the Palisades fire caused devastation.
The work — which costs an estimated $4 million per mile — will earn the utility millions of dollars in profits as its electric customers pay for it over the next decades.
Pedro Pizarro, chief executive of Edison International, told Gov. Gavin Newsom last year that state utility rules would require Altadena and Malibu homeowners to pay to underground the electric wire from their property line to the panel on their house. Pizarro estimated it would cost $8,000 to $10,000 for each home.
But some residents, who need to dig long trenches, say it will cost them much more.
“We are rebuilding and with the insurance shortfall, our finances are stretched already,” Marilyn Chong, an Altadena resident, wrote in a comment attached to the letter. “Incurring the additional burden of financing SCE’s infrastructure is not something we can or should have to do.”
Other fire survivors complained of Edison’s lack of planning and coordination with residents.
“I’ve started rebuilding, and apparently there won’t be underground power lines for me to connect with in time when my house will be done,” wrote Gail Murphy. “So apparently I’m supposed to be using a generator, and for how long!?”
Johnson said the company has set up a phone line for people with concerns or questions. That line — 1-800-250-7339 — is answered Monday through Saturday, he said.
Residents can also go to Edison’s office in Altadena at 2680 Fair Oaks Avenue. The office is open Monday to Friday from 8 to 4:30.
It’s unclear if the Eaton fire would have been less disastrous if Altadena’s neighborhood power lines had been buried.
The blaze ignited under Edison’s towering transmission lines that run through Eaton Canyon. Those lines carry bulk power through the company’s territory. In Altadena, Edison is burying the smaller distribution lines, which carry power to homes.
The government investigation into the cause of the fire has not yet been released. Pizarro has said that a leading theory is that a century-old transmission line, which had not carried power for 50 years, somehow re-energized to spark the blaze.
The fire killed at least 19 people and destroyed more than 9,400 homes and other structures.
