Category: US politics

The Trump administration has halted all decisions regarding migrants seeking asylum in the wake of the shooting of two National Guard members. The suspected shooter, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, is an Afghan national who was granted asylum earlier this year.
Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph B. Edlow wrote on X Friday evening, “USCIS has halted all asylum decisions until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible. The safety of the American people always comes first.”
A notice sent to asylum officers explicitly tells them not to enter “any decision information for affirmative cases.”
Applications in “defensive” cases are filed by immigrants facing deportation and are decided by immigration judges under the direction of the Department of Justice.
The man suspected of shooting two West Virginia National Guard members —one fatally — near the White House Wednesday, likely underwent extensive vetting as a CIA asset and again as he sought..

American Airlines is expecting delays over the holidays as a major software issue grounds hundreds of planes.
The carrier said Friday that a software change on a significant number of Airbus A320 jets is expected to impact about 340 planes.
American Airlines said in a statement shared by multiple outlets that the vast majority of affected planes should have their software updated by “today or tomorrow.”
The software issue comes at a chaotic time for airlines as 6 million U.S. travelers fly domestically over the Thanksgiving holiday, according to estimates from the American Automobile Association.
open image in galleryAmerican Airlines is expecting delays over the holidays after a major software issue grounds hundreds of planes (Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images)It’s currently unclear when the issue will be fully resolved, but American Airlines said it is “intently focused on limiting flight cancellations – especially with customers returning home from holiday travel.”
“Still, our over..

CloseNational Guard shooter 'drove across the country to ambush troops in DC'National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom sustained a “mortal wound” when she was shot in what authorities are calling a targeted attack in D.C., her father told the New York Times Thursday.
Beckstrom’s father, Gary Beckstrom, told NYT over the phone, “[Sarah] has a mortal wound. It’s not going to be a recovery.”
Beckstrom, 20, was shot alongside National Guard member Andrew Wolfe, 24, Wednesday afternoon. Both had come out of surgery by Thursday morning but were in “critical condition.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Justice Department was looking at pursuing the harshest charges against the suspected shooter, which could include the death penalty if one of the Guard members dies.
The suspected shooter was identified as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who entered the country in September 2021. He was living in Bellingham, Washington with his wife and five children, according t..

Donald Trump has hit out at the suspect arrested after two National Guard soldiers were shot in Washington, D.C., in what the president described as a “monstrous, ambush-style attack.”
The guardsmen from West Virginia were shot by a lone gunman just north of the White House shortly after 2 p.m. Wednesday.
But the motive of the suspect, identified in reports as 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, remains unclear. More than 2,000 National Guard troops have been deployed to D.C. in Trump’s crackdown on crime in the nation’s capital.
Trump, who has been in Florida for the Thanksgiving holiday, said in an address Wednesday night: “I am determined to ensure that the animal who perpetrated this atrocity pays the steepest possible price.”
open image in galleryA member of the U.S. Secret Service stands guard in a cordoned-off area after two National Guard members were shot near the White House (Reuters)Here is everything we know about the shooting so far:
Who is the suspected sh..

A man is in custody after two members of the West Virginia National Guard were shot and critically wounded in Washington, D.C., near the White House on Wednesday afternoon.
There were initially reports that the two had died, though it was later confirmed that they were wounded and are being treated in local hospitals.
The shooting occurred near 17th and I Street Northwest. Police described the individual as a “lone gunman” who rounded a corner and opened fire on the Guardsmen.
Nearby members of the Guard heard gunshots and were able to “subdue the individual” after a “back and forth” in which the suspect was also shot, Executive Assistant Washington Police Chief Jeff Carroll said during a press conference on Wednesday.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser described the attack as a “targeted shooting.”
open image in galleryTwo National Guard members were shot Wednesday near the White House, prompting a mass law enforcement response including Secret Service agents and National Guard troops (..

Hundreds of teenagers showed up at an Arizona school board member’s house party after his address was leaked on social media.
“There were girls twerking and not a lot of clothes on. We saw cans, beer cans on the road, police cars,” one neighbor said of the scene to AZFamily.
Dr. Matthew Pittinsky of the Scottsdale Unified School District Governing Board was hosting a small gathering for his son’s birthday a couple of weeks ago when things got out of hand.
Authorities responded to Pittinsky’s Paradise Valley home at around 9 p.m. local time that night following reports of underage drinking and a large gathering.
About 500 teens were found on Pittinsky’s property, one of whom was sent to the hospital for suspected alcohol poisoning, according to police documents obtained by AZFamily.
Hundreds of teenagers showed up at Arizona school board member Dr. Matthew Pittinsky’s house party after his address was leaked on social media (Scottsdale Unified School District)When the teens were questi..

A multi-agency team of about 50 people surveying storm-damaged Chicago was reportedly told to stand down earlier this month over concerns their operations would overlap with an unexpected contingent of ICE agents conducting patrols in the area.
On November 6, about ten groups of disaster workers, including those from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, were told to stand down for the day, as FEMA agents worried the presence of ICE agents and vehicles in the area could spark chaos or conflict that would put citizens and government employees at risk, The Washington Post reported.
The overlap came despite an alleged warning in October that a FEMA regional administrator gave to the Department of Homeland Security about the planned surveying operations. Disaster personnel were in the area because state officials requested assistance mapping damage after the Trump administration denied an initial appeal for a disaster declaration to respond to the summer flooding.
The alleged decisio..

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene will sit out of the race to find her replacement, refusing to endorse any candidate ahead of Georgia’s special election.
Greene announced last Friday that she will resign from Congress early next year following her public feud with President Donald Trump.
The congresswoman was once a fervent supporter of Trump until recent weeks, when she broke away from him on issues including foreign policy and affordability. Greene was also one of the few House Republicans who initially pushed to release government files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein before Trump gave his party his blessing to support the effort.
“I have too much self respect and dignity, love my family way too much, and do not want my sweet district to have to endure a hurtful and hateful primary against me by the President we all fought for, only to fight and win my election while Republicans will likely lose the midterms,” she wrote in a statement. “I refuse to..

Just minutes before President Donald Trump was set to unveil a plan to avert a massive hike for Obamacare health plans on Monday afternoon the event was suddenly pulled – reportedly because of widespread Republican unease on the Hill.
On CNN, anchor Jessica Dean was forced to interrupt herself as she asked a question of a health expert to announce some breaking news as it came into her ear – that the event had been abruptly postponed.
Federal subsidies passed under the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act are set to expire at the end of the calendar year, and many Americans are already receiving notice that the monthly cost of their health care plans could jump by hundreds or even thousands of dollars for larger plans.
Democrats initially tried to avert those premium hikes by tying their extension to the party’s support for a continuing resolution to avert, and later end, a government shutdown. But despite that shutdown dragging out into the longest in U.S. history, Republicans refused to..

CloseJames Comey reacts to dismissal of Trump admin's case against himDonald Trump’s administration has vowed to fight back after a federal judge threw out criminal cases that the president demanded against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie ruled Monday that the interim U.S. Attorney who signed off on the cases, Lindsey Halligan, was unlawfully appointed to her position – making the indictments themselves invalid.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News that Halligan was “legally appointed” and said, “I know the Department of Justice will be appealing this in very short order.”
Comey and James are among several Trump enemies being targeted by investigations.
Also on Monday, the Department of Defense announced it would investigate “serious allegations of misconduct against” Senator Mark Kelly, a former naval officer, after he participated in a video, encouraging active milita..