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Gov. JB Pritzker signs 'Karina's Bill,' aimed at getting guns away from alleged domestic abusers
Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a measure Monday aimed at shoring up protections for domestic violence victims by spelling out when law enforcement is required to take guns from alleged abusers with orders of protection against them.
What was popularly known as “Karina’s bill” was named after a woman who was shot and killed in Chicago’s ...Read more

Trump reverses Biden action to replace plastic straws with paper
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed an executive order reversing an effort by his predecessor, Joe Biden, to phase out the use of plastic straws within the federal government and replace them with paper products, targeting an environmental reform that has long drawn the Republican’s ire.
“I don’t think that plastic is going to ...Read more
Costs for many Minnesota factories just jumped as Trump places new tariffs on steel, aluminum
Hibbing Fabricators on the Iron Range has had a fantastic four years.
Sales grew 60% as orders from Cirrus and other aircraft makers jumped for the high-precision aluminum, steel and copper parts made by the company’s 37 workers.
Business has been so robust, co-owner Rally Hess just added five workers.
But Hess is worried. His company might...Read more

Trump says 'no' when asked if ready to name Vance as successor
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said “no” when asked if he viewed Vice President JD Vance as his successor, saying it was too early to make such a determination.
“No, but he’s very capable,” Trump told Fox News anchor Bret Baier in an interview taped last week, excerpts from which were released Monday.
“I think you have a lot...Read more

Trump fires top ethics official overseeing conflicts of interest
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has fired the head of the federal Office of Government Ethics, which oversees disclosure and potential conflicts of interest involving top government officials, according to a post on the agency’s blog.
David Huitema, an appointee of President Joe Biden, was confirmed as director of the agency by the U.S...Read more

Trump's Department of Justice order to dismiss federal corruption case against NYC Mayor Adams sparks outrage
NEW YORK — The Justice Department on Monday night told federal prosecutors in Mayor Eric Adams’ corruption case to drop the charges against him — an astonishing move that immediately sparked political backlash.
It comes after Adams has fostered a close working relationship with President Donald Trump in recent weeks, visiting him near Mar...Read more

Trial for alleged ringleader in $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud scheme begins
ST. PAUL, Minn. — As the trial for the alleged ringleader of a quarter billion dollar pandemic-era meal fraud scheme opened Monday, prosecutors told jurors the evidence would show how the founder “transformed a sleepy nonprofit into an engine for the largest COVID fraud in the country.”
Meanwhile, the defense cast Aimee Bock, the 44-year-...Read more

Trump Justice Department orders Manhattan US Attorney to dismiss corruption case against Mayor Adams
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice late Monday ordered the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office to drop federal corruption charges against Mayor Eric Adams, casting serious doubt over the future of the explosive case and the historic independence of the prosecutor’s office, the New York Daily News has confirmed.
The ...Read more

Fort Liberty will be Fort Bragg again. But there's a twist to the controversial name
Less than two years after Fort Bragg officially became Fort Liberty, the North Carolina Army base’s name is changing back to Fort Bragg.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered Army officials Monday to change the name. But it’s not the same soldier for whom the base was initially named.
Instead of renaming the base after Gen. Braxton ...Read more

Trump wants more military money as DOGE eyes big cuts elsewhere
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he wants to increase the amount of money for the U.S. military, a goal that runs counter to efforts from his top ally — Elon Musk — to slash trillions of dollars of federal spending.
“We want to raise defense spending. I think we have to have it,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News’ ...Read more

Madigan jurors end 9th day of deliberations with no verdict
CHICAGO — Jurors in the corruption trial of ex-House speaker Michael Madigan remained silent Monday, ending their ninth day of deliberations without asking any questions or reaching a verdict.
U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey, who is presiding over the Madigan case, is apparently preparing for the possibility that deliberations could ...Read more

Senate advances Tulsi Gabbard's nomination to become DNI
WASHINGTON — Tulsi Gabbard, the nominee to become director of national intelligence, is one step closer to confirmation after the Senate crossed a procedural hurdle Monday.
Senators voted 52-46 to approve a cloture motion on Gabbard’s nomination. The vote on confirmation could come as soon as late Tuesday unless members agree to shorten the...Read more

Republicans are confident in Trump's leadership -- but fewer like his ethics, poll finds
President Donald Trump nears the one-month mark of his second term with confidence from Republicans about his leadership skills and mental capacity to take on the highest office, a recent poll says.
While 76% of Republicans tout his leadership skills, the poll found a significant drop in his ability to act ethically.
The Pew Research Center ...Read more

After standoff, DeSantis reaches deal with GOP legislative leaders on immigration
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican legislative leaders reached a deal over illegal immigration Monday night that would require the governor to share enforcement powers with members of the Florida Cabinet.
In a compromise, GOP lawmakers are ending a two-week feud over a bill they passed last month that largely stripped ...Read more

Two planeloads of deported migrants from the US headed back to Venezuela
Two jetliners sent by Venezuela to the United States were headed back to the South American country Monday carrying the first group of deported migrants in accord with the recently reached agreement with the Donald Trump administration, the Caracas regime said.
U.S. officials notified their Venezuelans counterparts that some of the Venezuelans ...Read more

Trump says he spoke with Xi since inauguration, unclear when
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he has spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping since his Jan. 20 inauguration, amid a brewing trade war between the two nations.
“Yeah, I’ve talked to him, and I talked to his people, too,” Trump told Fox News’ Bret Baier in an interview taped last week that aired on Monday. “His people come...Read more

Washington drug addiction treatment centers face strain of overhead costs
SEATTLE — When Washingtonians addicted to drugs seek long-term care, they arrive at treatment facilities knowing that, on top of therapy and medication, they'll also get food, a bed to sleep in and a roof over their heads.
What they might not know: The meals, beds, chairs, shower facilities, pest control, building repairs and wages for cooks,...Read more

Tacoma-based group sues Trump administration for suspending refugee-resettlement program
A Tacoma-based nonprofit that provides resettlement services to refugees in the region sued the Trump administration Monday over the suspension of the U.S. refugee-resettlement program, court records show.
The lawsuit is challenging President Donald Trump’s executive order on Jan. 20 that suspended entry into the country by refugees under the...Read more
News briefs
Should athletes talk about religion and politics? What Americans said in new poll
Athletes have historically displayed their faith in different ways during competitions, and a majority of Americans who watch sports are supportive of it, a new poll found.
Fifty-six percent of sports fans in the U.S. said they are very or somewhat supportive of ...Read more

Coast Guard stops sailboat carrying over 130 Haitian migrants near the Florida Keys
MIAMI — The U.S. Coast Guard intercepted an overloaded migrant boat carrying more than 130 people from Haiti, including small children, near the Florida Keys last week.
The sailboat was traveling between Cuba and Cay Sal Bank in the Bahamas, about 50 miles southeast of the Middle Keys city of Marathon, when it was spotted Feb. 4 by a Coast ...Read more
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