Joe Biden

Dec. 30 (UPI) — A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration to reinstate temporary protected status against deportation for citizens of South Sudan.

U.S. District Court of Massachusetts Judge Angel Kelley, in a four-page ruling, ordered an administrative stay of the Trump administration’s decision to end TPS for those from South Sudan as of Jan. 6.

“Because of the serious consequences at stake, both for the plaintiffs and the defendants, the court finds an administrative stay appropriate as it would ‘minimize harm’ while allowing the assigned district court judge the time this case deserves,” Kelley said.

The stay does not represent the merits of the case and instead gives the court time to weigh arguments and evidence before rendering a decision.

Kelley, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden in 2021, gave plaintiffs through Jan. 9 to file their arguments and the Trump administration through Jan. 13.

She will rule on the matter after reviewing the respective arguments.

The federal lawsuit was filed on Dec. 22 by African Communities Together on behalf of four unnamed plaintiffs and all others similarly situated, which makes it a class action.

The defendants are the Department of Homeland Security, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the federal government.

African Communities Together says 232 South Sudanese nationals benefit from TPS, plus another 73 who have applied for TPS protection.

The Obama administration first provided TPS protection for those from South Sudan in 2011, and the status repeatedly was extended over the past 14 years.

South Sudan became an independent nation in 2011 in East Africa, but it has been subject to war and conflict since then.

Noem in November announced conditions in South Sudan have changed and no longer merit TPS status for its citizens in the United States.

TPS status enables recipients to stay in the United States and obtain work authorizations when their home countries are subject to armed conflict, environmental disasters and other “extraordinary conditions.”

While the plaintiffs oppose deportations of South Sudanese to their nation of citizenship, the Supreme Court recently approved the Trump administration’s deportation of eight others — seven of whom are citizens of other countries — to South Sudan.

Dec. 19 (UPI) — enRepublican U.S. House Rep. Elise Stefanik on Friday announced she was ending her run for New York governor after 1 1/2 months and won’t seek another term in Congress.

On Nov. 7, On Nov. 7, Stefanik launched a campaign bid in an effort to challenge Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul in November 2026.

“While spending precious time with my family this Christmas season, I have made the decision to suspend my campaign for Governor and will not seek re-election to Congress,” Stefanik, 41, wrote on X. “I did not come to this decision lightly for our family.

“I am truly humbled and grateful for the historic and overwhelming support from Republicans, Conservatives, Independents, and Democrats all across the state for our campaign to Save New York.”

Stefanik is married to Matthew Manda, who works in marketing and communication, and they have a 4-year-old son.

“And while many know me as Congresswoman, my most important title is Mom,” she wrote. “I believe that being a parent is life’s greatest gift and greatest responsibility. I have thought deeply about this and I know that as a mother, I will feel profound regret if I don’t further focus on my young son’s safety, growth, and happiness – particularly at his tender age.”

Her main primary opposition was Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who announced his run 10 days ago.

“However, as we have seen in past elections, while we would have overwhelmingly won this primary, it is not an effective use of our time or your generous resources to spend the first half of next year in an unnecessary and protracted Republican primary, especially in a challenging state like New York,” Stefanik wrote.

The last Republican governor in New York was George Pataki, who served three terms from 1995 to 2006.

The last time a Republican presidential candidate won New York was in 1984, when incumbent Ronald Reagan defeated Democrat Walter Mondale.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris won the state by 13 points, down from former President Joe Biden‘s 23-point victory in 2000.

“Elise Stefanik has finally acknowledged reality: If you run against Governor Kathy Hochul, you are going to lose,” Hochul spokesperson Ryan Radulovacki told Politico. “As Donald Trump raises costs on New Yorkers and targets this state relentlessly, Governor Hochul has cut middle-class taxes, put money back in New Yorkers’ pockets, and fought this administration and won when New York has come under attack.”

Stefanik has represented the rural conservative upstate New York district since 2014, becoming the youngest woman ever elected to Congress at that time.

The 21st Congressional District covers the northernmost part of the state, bordering Canada to the north and Vermont to the east. Major cities include Plattsburgh, Watertown, Glens Falls, Ogdensburg and Rome.

In November 2024, she was overwhelmingly re-elected by 24 percentage points as Trump carried the conservative region by more than 20 points.

When President Trump was elected president last November, he nominated her to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. But the nomination was pulled because of the narrow Republican edge in the House, with Trump saying it was “essential that we maintain EVERY Republican seat in Congress.”

Hochul would have called for a special election.

Republicans now have a 220-213 advantage with two vacancies in seats by Democrats who have died.

Stefanik rose in House leadership, serving as the fourth-ranking House Republican, a position she first attained in May 2021 by replacing Liz Cheney. She was succeeded in this specific role by Lisa McClain for the 119th Congress.

After her nomination was pulled, Speaker Mike Johnson named her chairwoman of House Republican Leadership.

She originally was a critic of Trump but became one of his most vocal allies.

Stefanik fell a little out of favor with the president after she called New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani a “jihadist.”

During a meeting with Mamdan in the White House, the president reduced to label the Democratic socialist that description. He is a Muslim and South Asian.

Trump hadn’t endorsed either candidate, including when Stefanik was in the White House’s Oval Office when he signed legislation awarding the 1980 U.S. Olympic ice hockey team the Congressional Gold Medal. The teams won the gold medal in Lake Place, which includes Stefdanik’s district.

Ed Cox, chairman of the New York Republican Party, endorsed Blackman after Stefanik’s decision. In a statement, he also said Stefanik would “remain a leader in our party and a powerful voice for our principles. We respect her decision and thank her for her efforts.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt served as Stefanik’s communications director from 2020-23.

“Elise Stefanik has been an incredible advocate for the people of her district in Upstate New York, and she will always be a true friend to President Trump,” she posted on X. “On a personal note, Elise is my former boss. She is a great leader, and an even better person. We love you, posted.

New plaques have been installed in US President Donald Trump’s ‘Presidential Walk of Fame’ at the White House that attack many of his predecessors and make questionable claims about his own achievements.

Dec. 17 (UPI) — In a relatively brief, campaign-style speech on Wednesday night, President Donald Trump touted what he described as successes achieved by his administration during his first year back in office, while bashing his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, and the Democrats.

Before Christmas trees and a Christmas laurel decorating the mantel of the Diplomatic Reception Room fireplace, the commander-in-chief said he has returned the United States from a place of destitution to a level of unparalleled success.

“Our country is back stronger than ever before. We’re poised for an economic boom the likes of which the world has never seen,” he said.

“We will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. There could be no more fitting tribute to this epic milestone than to complete the comeback of America that began just one year ago.”

The speech comes amid economic concerns and fears of war in the United States, though Trump only touched on the former during the address. A day earlier, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported unemployment had risen to its highest level since September 2021 during the pandemic. An ongoing U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean continues, and on Tuesday, Trump ordered a naval blockade of Venezuela oil tankers.

In the 18-minute speech, Trump described the country he inherited as a “mess” marked by inflation, high prices, rampant illegal immigration, unaffordability, transgender women playing women’s sports, “transgender for everybody,” censorship and crime.

“This is what the Biden administration allowed to happen to our country, and it can never be allowed to happen again,” he said.

“Our country was laughed at all over the world, but they are not laughing anymore.”

In the last 11 months, Trump said he has ushered more positive change into Washington “than any administration in American history.”

“There’s never been anything like it. And I think most would agree,” he said.

Trump also trumpeted his border policies, claiming they have resulted in “zero” undocumented migrants allowed to enter the United States. — an apparent reference to Customs and Border Protection data showing that, beginning in May, no migrants apprehended at the border were released into the U.S. interior.

“Do you remember when Joe Biden said he needed Congress to help with legislation to close the border?” he said. “As it turned out, we didn’t need legislation, we just needed a new president.”

This is a developing story.

Dec. 15 (UPI) — A judge in Connecticut on Monday ordered the disbarment of Hunter Biden after his convictions on federal gun and tax charges and then pardoned by his father, Joe Biden, as president.

In Waterbury, Judge Trial Referee Patrick Carroll III suspended him from practicing law in the state after finding he violated the rules of professional conduct for attorneys.

In April, Biden voluntarily surrendered his license to practice law in Washington, D.C.

The judge found he violated several ethical rules for lawyers, including engaging in conduct for “dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation. Carroll also cited the Washington disbarment in his decision.

During the virtual hearing, Biden, 55, didn’t contest the decision and didn’t speak. He appeared with his lawyer, Ross Garber.

Biden graduated from Yale Law School and passed the bar one year later in 1997. But Biden apparently hadn’t practiced law in recent years with no cases in state or civil court.

A reciprocal discipline was imposed in the District of Columbia, where Biden lives and consented to disbarment. There were two other grievances filed by private individuals after Biden’s federal convictions on tax and gun charges last year.

Paul Dorsey, a private attorney who filed a grievance, objected to the proposed resolution because Biden does not admit to the criminal acts.

“It was very frustrating, very odd, and frankly, I don’t think the court should accept the proposed disposition as it is written because it doesn’t comply with the Practice Book. He has to admit to it, and he’s not doing that,” Dorsey said.

The proposed disposition does not include the admission of a crime because of Biden’s pardon by his father on Dec. 1, Leanne M. Larson, first assistant chief disciplinary counsel, said.

In Delaware federal court, he was found guilty of purchasing a gun in 2018 while allegedly lying on a federal form about not illegally using or being addicted to drugs. He was scheduled to be sentenced before the pardon, facing up to 25 years in prison. As a first-time offender, he could have stayed out of prison.

Biden also faced charges in California for not paying at least $1.4 million in federal taxes. He agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor and felony charges hours before jury selection was scheduled to begin in September 2024.

After the pardon, U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika closed the gun case, though she didn’t toss out the conviction.

The federal pardon covered the gun and tax offenses and any “offenses against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014, through December 1, 2024.”

“Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter,” Biden said in a statement. “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.”

Biden said it was clear that his son was “treated differently” than other people who have faced similar circumstances, and that Hunter Biden was “singled out because he is my son.”

The younger Biden said in a statement that he has taken accountability and responsibility for his mistakes “during the darkest days of my addiction.”

“I will never take the clemency I have been given today for granted and will devote the life I have rebuilt to helping those who are still sick and suffering,” he said.