Latest Headlines

While welcoming reporting that the Trump administration will release more than $5 billion in federal funding for schools that it has been withholding for nearly a month, U.S. educators and others said Friday that the funds should never have been held up in the first place and warned that the attempt to do so was just one part of an ongoing campaign to undermine public education.

The Trump administration placed nearly $7 billion in federal education funding for K-12 public schools under review last month, then released $1.3 billion of it last week amid legal action and widespread backlash. An administration official speaking on condition of anonymity told The Washington Post that all reviews of remaining funding are now over.

One former high-ranking Texas Republican state legislator is now coming out forcefully against President Donald Trump's latest push to drastically redraw congressional districts in the Lone Star State.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott initially convened a special session of the legislature in order to address the deadly flooding in Kerr County, Texas. However, after Trump suggested that Texas Republicans use the special session as a means to conduct a mid-decade redistricting process in order to make the state's congressional map even more favorable to the GOP, Abbott assented.

Podcaster Joe Rogan is fed up with President Donald Trump's administration, bashing them over their handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

Rogan, who officially endorsed Trump in the 2024 election after an interview with Elon Musk, slammed the president Friday on his show "The Joe Rogan Experience," noting it's been "madness" and "chaos."

The Justice Department gave convicted Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell limited immunity during questioning this week, according to recent reports.

But not before Rep. James Comer (R-KY) went on record saying the Trump administration shouldn't do that.

President Donald Trump complained about the press's interest in the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case controversy as he took questions in Scotland on Friday.

"I'm not focused on conspiracy theories that you are. I mean, I watch you people," Trump said. "It's, it's so sad. You ought to talk about the success of our country instead of this nonsense that you talk about over and over again."

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was scorched on social media Friday night amid revelations he plans to purge an entire panel of experts tasked with deciding which cancer screenings and other preventive services insurance plans are required to cover.

Kennedy plans to dismiss all 16 members of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force for being too “woke,” people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal on Friday night. The independent panel of national experts is tasked with making recommendations about clinical preventive services, such as screening tests, counseling services, and preventive medications.

The Trump administration is targeting the expert panel that decides which cancer screenings and other preventive services insurance plans are required to cover, according to a new report.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to dismiss all 16 members of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, disparaging them as too “woke,” people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal on Friday night. The independent panel of national experts is tasked with making recommendations about clinical preventive services, such as screening tests, counseling services, and preventive medications.

Prosecutors in New York are investigating an alleged case of election fraud that took place in a Republican city council primary in New York City.

According to The New York Times, "After a second day of hand recounting on Friday, George Sarantopoulos, a businessman, led Richie Barsamian, chairman of the Republican Party in Brooklyn, by a mere 16 votes in the GOP primary in District 47." This follows "the late discovery of 22 paper ballots that officials said were not scanned by the voting machines on election night," at least 21 of which had been cast for Barsamian.

After a second whistleblower came forward claiming that Emil Bove III instructed attorneys at the U.S. Department of Justice to ignore federal court orders, his critics on Friday renewed calls for the Senate to reject the DOJ official's appointment as an appellate judge.

"Evidence is growing that Emil Bove urged Department of Justice lawyers to ignore federal court orders. That alone should disqualify him from a lifetime appointment to one of the most powerful courts in our country," said Sean Eldridge, president and founder of the progressive advocacy group Stand Up America, in a statement.

President Donald Trump denied considering a pardon for convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, telling reporters he "hasn't thought about it" while acknowledging he has the power to do so. But CNN anchor Erin Burnett fired back Friday evening on her show, highlighting a montage of Trump’s past comments echoing similar pardon sentiments — for people whom he later granted clemency.

Trump told reporters earlier in the day he hadn't considered pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell, who's serving a 20-year sentence in connection with Jeffrey Epstein's sex crimes.

Conservative attorney George Conway joined CNN on Friday afternoon to express astonishment at the latest "lie" from President Donald Trump.

Conway, a frequent critic of Trump, joined "The Lead" with CNN anchor Jake Tapper to discuss Trump's press conference in which the president insisted the Justice Department never briefed him that his name was included multiple times in its sealed Jeffrey Epstein files.

A legal expert told CNN viewers on Friday afternoon there are "definitely some worrisome similarities" between the cases of Bill Cosby and Ghislaine Maxwell.

Elie Honig joined "The Lead" with anchor Jake Tapper to discuss the latest in the Jeffrey Epstein controversy that has embroiled President Donald Trump. Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking. She just completed a rare series of interviews with U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, in which she answered questions, including inquiries about roughly 100 people.

A novel Trump administration lawsuit against the state of Illinois, the city of Chicago, and Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker has been thrown out by a federal judge in Illinois.

Trump was seeking to void these jurisdictions' "sanctuary laws," a term for a broad group of policies that generally prohibit state and local law enforcement from assisting with federal immigration investigations without being compelled by a warrant. A number of states and cities around the country have similar laws and policies in place.