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Happy with your freedom in the US? Poll finds satisfaction at near-record low

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The U.S. is often described as “the land of the free,” but a large number of Americans — and women in particular — aren’t happy with the freedom they have, according to new polling.

In the latest Gallup survey, 72% of respondents said they were satisfied “with their freedom to choose what they do with their lives.” This is just 1 ...Read more

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Trump's speedy appeals put Supreme Court on tricky path

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WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court’s special sitting for oral arguments Thursday exemplifies a balancing act the justices face in the second Trump administration, as the president and his allies in Congress criticize the courts that have stood in the way of his push to reshape the government.

Since the start of his second term, the federal ...Read more

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RFK Jr. admits 'mistake' in slashing 9/11 health program

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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. admitted making a “mistake” in slashing the health program that serves Sept. 11 first responders, but dodged questions about whether he would return it to full staffing.

RFK Jr. told Sen. Andy Kim, D-NJ, that firing many staffers at the World Trade Center Health Program was an error ...Read more

Nancy Lane/Boston Herald/TNS

Massachusetts US Attorney: Anyone who attempts to interfere with ICE will be investigated

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BOSTON — Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Leah Foley has warned that her office will investigate anyone who tries to interfere with ICE operations across the Bay State, and that includes elected officials.

The notice comes a week after a chaotic altercation in Worcester that featured activists, including a city councilor, attempting to block ...Read more

Michael Brochstein/ZUMA Press Wire/TNS

Kennedy defends budget request but is silent on big HHS changes

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WASHINGTON — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., testifying on Capitol Hill for the first time since he was confirmed as Health and Human Services secretary in February, on Wednesday shot down attempts by lawmakers to probe a wholesale reorganization and slashing of staff at the department, citing a court’s gag order issued just the day before.

Kennedy ...Read more

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Abortion will go back on Missouri ballot in Republican effort to reinstate ban

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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri voters will decide whether to reimpose an abortion ban next year, after a landmark statewide vote last year that enshrined the right to the procedure in the state constitution and overturned a previous ban.

The Republican-controlled Senate on Wednesday approved a proposed constitutional amendment that, if ...Read more

Tracy Glantz/The Island Packet/TNS

waiting for photo // South Carolina Supreme Court rules on when fetal heartbeat abortion restrictions begin

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COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina’s abortion restrictions apply when electrical impulses are first detected by diagnostic medical equipment — generally around six weeks, the state Supreme Court ruled, handing a loss for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic.

Planned Parenthood sued saying the state’s 2023 law that bans abortions after a fetal...Read more

Win McNamee/Getty Images North America/TNS

US-Syria relations take new turn as Trump, Syrian president meet

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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — President Trump met Wednesday with Syria’s new leader, praising him as a “young, attractive guy” and urging him to rid his country of “Palestinian terrorists.”

Trump also urged Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa to sign onto the historic Abraham Accords brokered during Trump’s first term.

The meeting...Read more

Luis Santana/Tampa Bay Times/TNS

Scientology wants more land in Clearwater, Florida. Some residents have another idea

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TAMPA, Fla. — A grassroots campaign to memorialize African American history in Clearwater — and thwart the Church of Scientology from purchasing another piece of downtown land — has picked up backers and detractors ahead of a key vote.

Dubbed #SaveTheGarden, local residents organized in recent weeks to create an alternative to the ...Read more

Joshua Boucher/The State/TNS

Lawyers for Alex Murdaugh react to charges filed against Becky Hill

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COLUMBIA, S.C. — Following years of controversy surrounding Becky Hill ⏤ the former Colleton County Clerk of Court who oversaw Alex Murdaugh’s double homicide trial ⏤ Murdaugh’s lawyers reacted to the clerk’s arrest on Wednesday, May 14.

Hill was charged Wednesday by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division with two counts of ...Read more

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'It's time': Jeffries urges placement of Jan. 6 plaque during police week

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WASHINGTON — During a week honoring police nationwide, House Democrats called on Republicans to install a memorial closer to home — a long-delayed plaque for officers who defended the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The plaque was authorized as part of the fiscal 2022 omnibus spending law and was supposed to be placed on the West Front of the...Read more

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Mich. Rep. Thanedar backs down on Trump impeachment push after backlash from Democratic colleagues

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WASHINGTON — House Democratic leaders told rank-and-file members privately Wednesday that they will vote to table U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar's resolution aiming to impeach President Donald Trump ― an announcement that was met by applause by other members of the Democratic caucus, according to a lawmaker in the room.

A vote to table the measure...Read more

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Prostitutes, opioids and guns: Cops called to Diddy's Miami Beach mansions over 30 times

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MIAMI — Police were called to Diddy’s Star Island mansions more than 30 times — with callers complaining about prostitution, drugs and illicit weapons inside the sprawling homes since 2021, according to police reports obtained by the Miami Herald.

The revelation came almost a year after Diddy’s enclaves in Miami Beach and Las Angeles ...Read more

Nancy Lane/Boston Herald/TNS

Massachusetts Gov. Healey plans to freeze state hiring in response to 'widespread economic uncertainty'

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BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey said she plans to freeze hiring across executive branch agencies and departments later this month in response to “widespread economic uncertainty” at the national level and a “tightening budget outlook” for the next fiscal year.

Healey’s decision to restrict most state hiring starting May 27 came as she ...Read more

Katy Kildee, The Detroit News/The Detroit News/TNS

How Michigan Democrats are breaking with Gov. Whitmer on tax, school policy in new state budget

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LANSING, Mich. — The Democratic-controlled Michigan Senate approved Wednesday a $84.6-billion budget plan that was marked by higher spending on public schools and economic relief than what Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer proposed in February.

The Senate's budget axed Whitmer's ideas to impose new accountability measures for schools, to ...Read more

Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Newsom seeks to short-cut process to build $20 billion Delta water tunnel

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing to accelerate his administration’s plan to build a $20 billion water tunnel beneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta by short-cutting permitting for the project and limiting avenues for legal challenges.

Newsom urged the Legislature on Wednesday to adopt his plan to “fast-track” the tunnel, ...Read more

Todd McInturf/The Detroit News/TNS

Feds say they thwarted Islamic State terror attack at Michigan military base

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DETROIT — A former member of the Michigan Army National Guard was charged Wednesday after prosecutors say he tried to attack a military base in Warren on behalf of the Islamic State.

Federal prosecutors described how investigators thwarted an alleged attack by Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said, 19, of Melvindale in the latest terrorism case ...Read more

E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune/TNS

IRS criminal investigators in Chicago being 'deputized' as immigration enforcers under Trump administration plan

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CHICAGO — The Trump administration’s refocusing of federal resources on immigration has landed at the Chicago office of the IRS’s criminal investigation bureau, where agents accustomed to working complex financial cases are now being prepared for unprecedented special assignments to help track down undocumented immigrants, a memo obtained ...Read more

Dylan Townsend/Tampa Bay Times/TNS

Casey DeSantis calls criticism of Hope Florida charity 'slanderous' and 'false'

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis and the first lady lashed out at critics of their Hope Florida program on Wednesday and defended the state’s decision to steer money from a Medicaid settlement to a related charity.

During a roundtable in Brandon, Casey DeSantis vowed to continue Hope Florida despite intense scrutiny from news outlets ...Read more

Hector Amezcua/The Sacramento Bee/TNS

California faces $12 billion budget deficit. What Gavin Newsom wants to cut

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday morning that California is facing a shortfall of $12 billion for the upcoming budget year.

Newsom’s office blamed the deficit on economic uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump’s policies and likely cuts to Medicaid. The overall budget, if passed by the Legislature by June 15, ...Read more