News

Roll Call reports: The Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide a major privacy rights case about whether police must get a warrant to obtain historical cellphone records to track someone’s location and movements. The case centers on the increasingly detailed information that companies keep on texts and calls to and from a cellphone, as well as the relatively precise location …

USA Today reports: As President Trump and aides brace for congressional testimony this week from ex-FBI Director James Comey, the White House on Monday began a week-long promotion of various infrastructure proposals, starting with a long-shot plan to privatize the nation’s air traffic control system. Hailing “a great new era in American aviation,” Trump said his plan would reduce the …

The BBC reports: A number of Arab countries including Saudi Arabia and Egypt have cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of destabilising the region. They say Qatar backs militant groups including so-called Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda, which Qatar denies. The Saudi state news agency SPA said Riyadh had closed its borders, severing land, sea and air contact with …

Politico reports: On Monday, the 50th anniversary of the start of the 1967 war, the Nuclear Proliferation International History Project (NPIHP) at the Woodrow Wilson Center’s History and Public Policy Program is releasing historical testimonies and documents—some never before published—that highlight the nuclear dimension of the crisis, and reveal of the existence of a crash effort to assemble Israel’s first …

LGBT citizens are not protected under Pennsylvania’s Human Rights Act, but if this nutjob gets his way, gun owners will be. They’ll be able to bring guns to work and employers won’t be able to do a thing about it. The Pennsylvania Record reports: Pennsylvania is considering making gun owners a protected class of citizens with proposed changes to the …

In a live-streamed press conference held this afternoon, Kathy Griffin again apologized for her Trump photo stunt and declared that she feels like her career is over. Reuters reports: Griffin has lost sponsorships and jobs, including her role as co-host of CNN’s New Year’s Eve coverage with journalist Anderson Cooper, since a photograph and video from the shoot appeared on …

CNBC reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday angrily denied allegations that Moscow meddled in the 2016 U.S. election, even comparing rhetoric about Russia to “anti-Semitism.” It’s like anti-Semitism,” he said, comparing Russia’s critics to people who would say things like “the Jews are to blame.” Through a live translation in the televised interview with NBC News’ Megyn Kelly, Putin …

The New York Times reports: The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court late Thursday to revive its revised ban that limits travelers visiting the United States from six mostly Muslim countries. The move sets the stage for a constitutional showdown over the president’s authority to make national security judgments in the name of protecting Americans from terrorism. Last week, a …

Politico reports: Two influential Senate Democrats disclosed Thursday that they had privately asked former FBI Director James Comey to investigate all contacts and communications that Attorney General Jeff Sessions or his aides may have had with officials from the Russian government — and raised the issue of whether Sessions had committed perjury in his Senate testimony. The revelation by Sens. …

Rolling Stone reports: When it comes to talking about President Donald Trump, there is no shortage of nicknames to use. If you hear someone mention “Agent Orange,” “Cheeto-in-Chief,” “Mango Mussolini,” or “Putin’s Puppet,” you know they mean Trump. But it seems “Trump” has an alternative meaning of its own. Some people also use the name of the 45th president when …

The New York Times reports: Shifting from his previous blanket denials, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said on Thursday that “patriotically minded” private Russian hackers could have been involved in cyberattacks last year to help the presidential campaign of Donald J. Trump. While Mr. Putin continued to deny any state role, his comments to reporters in St. Petersburg were …

The Hill reports: President Trump will headline his first reelection event later this month, more than three years before voters again head to the polls. Trump will speak at a ritzy Trump Victory event in Washington, D.C. on June 28. Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel and the RNC’s finance chairman, Steve Wynn, will also be attending the …

The New York Daily News reports: Millionaire brothers’ bad blood is spilling over onto their new White House connections. Charles Kushner, the father of President Trump adviser Jared, has sent a cease-and-desist letter to his brother and real estate rival Murray for mentioning his well-connected son in an investment pitch, according to a report. The brothers have a long-standing feud …

CNN reports: Hillary Clinton came prepared with more than one zinger about the mystery word of the day: Covfefe. At an interview hosted by Recode on Wednesday, one of the moderators brought up covfefe — a word that took on a life of its own after Trump tweeted a few minutes after midnight: “Despite the constant negative press covfefe.” (The …

The Associated Press reports: Kathy Griffin has lost her job co-hosting New Year’s Eve on CNN after she posted online a bloody image that resembled President Donald Trump. The network tweeted Wednesday afternoon that it has terminated its agreement with the comedian. CNN, whose New Year’s Eve coverage Griffin has co-hosted for a decade, called the images “disgusting and offensive” …

Via press release from Melania Trump: “As a mother, a wife, and a human being, that photo is very disturbing. When you consider some of the atrocities happening in the world today, a photo opportunity like this is simply wrong and makes you wonder about the mental health of the person who did it.”

Entertainment Weekly reports: CNN has expressed disapproval of comedian Kathy Griffin’s gruesome photo depicting her clutching President Trump’s severed head and said it is “evaluating” whether she will continue to participate in the network’s annual New Year’s Eve coverage. “We found what she did disgusting and offensive,” a CNN spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday evening. “We are pleased to …

Reuters reports: U.S. President Donald Trump has decided to withdraw from the Paris climate accord, Axios news outlet reported on Wednesday, citing two unidentified sources with direct knowledge of the decision. Trump who has previously called global warming a hoax, refused to endorse the landmark climate change accord at a summit of the G7 group of wealthy nations on Saturday, …

After earning blistering rebukes from the left and the right, including from Chelsea Clinton, who called the stunt “vile,” tonight Kathy Griffin posted a Twitter video in which she apologizes profusely for today’s Trump beheading photo. Griffin: “I’m a comic. I crossed the line. I moved the line, then I crossed it. I went too far. The image was too …

The International Business Times reports: Three men investigating a factory which produces shoes for the Ivanka Trump brand, along with several other retailers, have either gone missing or been arrested, it has been reported. Hua Haifeng, Li Zhao and Su Heng had been probing a factory in Jiangxi province run by Ganzhou Huajian International Shoe City Co. where investigators had …