SmartNews

Federal agents lied to school staffers at two Los Angeles elementary schools about having permission from students' families to speak with them, according to a pair of Democratic lawmakers.

Two U.S. senators said officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement told them that agents had misled school staffers as they attempted what they described as "welfare checks" on students in grades one through six at Russell Elementary School and Lillian Street Elementary School.

Right-wing influencer Tim Pool asked White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt to criticize the media over the mistaken deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, which he called "the Maryland Man hoax."

During Tuesday's White House press briefing, Leavitt revealed she had invited Pool to sit in as a member of "new media." The right-wing influencer was allowed to ask the first question of the briefing.

MAGA influencers are pushing an app that allows people to take photos of allegedly undocumented immigrants and send information to law enforcement, according to an MSNBC column.

The outlet’s Christopher Mathias noted multiple people in the MAGA-sphere are talking about the app, including self-proclaimed “pro-white nationalist” Laura Loomer and Proud Boys associate Jacob Engels.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) pleaded with President Donald Trump to "reconsider" his denial of disaster relief after tornadoes hit Arkansas.

Cotton, who has opposed similar aid for blue states, joined the Arkansas delegation in writing a letter directly to Trump to support Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders' request for funds.

A newly revealed document shows Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration diverted $10 million in Medicaid dollars to a charity controlled by his wife.

Lawyers working with the state drafted a settlement agreement that said Florida’s largest Medicaid contractor, Centene, had overbilled taxpayers more than $67 million for medications, according to a copy of that document obtained by the Miami Herald/Times. But instead of returning all of that to state and federal taxpayers, the administration sent $10 million to the Hope Florida Foundation.

The Environmental Protection Agency let hundreds of staffers go on Monday, according to an NBC report.

The staffing cuts came just one day before Earth Day, through a "reduction in force" process.

The co-hosts of "The View" bashed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Tuesday after another Signal scandal.

It was discovered Hegseth shared sensitive military information with his wife and brother on the app Signal. The news comes a month after Hegseth and other top administration officials were part of a Signal chat discussing military strikes on the Houthis in Yemen.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) clashed with a constituent this week after she refused to hold a moment of silence for the late Pope Francis.

On Tuesday, Mace shared a video from Monday night's town hall event in her district, where a constituent stood up to complain that the lawmaker had not observed the pontiff's death.

President Donald Trump granted Apple and many other tech businesses an exemption from his "Liberation Day" tariff regime so their supply chains in China would not be disrupted — and now a bunch more companies are coming to beg for similar arrangements, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.

"Almost immediately, top aides to Mr. Trump insisted they had not strayed from their promise to apply import taxes across the economy with minimal, if any, exceptions," reported Tony Romm. Nevertheless, Trump's policy "still caught the attention of many businesses nationwide, igniting a fresh scramble for similar help in the throes of a global trade war."

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is embroiled in another Signal scandal after it was discovered he shared sensitive military information to his wife and brother. Retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling said that this will likely give the nation's top commanders pause in the future when talking to Hegseth.

Speaking to MSNBC on Tuesday, Hertling, an Army veteran, said that he hasn't seen much from the National Security Council or the National Security Advisor regarding an investigation. He noted that in a regular administration, there would be a swift probe after such revelations.

An 84-year-old man was critically injured in West Virginia after he fell from a cross during a crucifixion reenactment on Good Friday.

According to local reports, the accident happened around 12:30pm at the Masonic Cemetery in Weston.

A historically Jewish newspaper compared President Donald Trump's tactics to a scheme used by Germany's Adolf Hitler before World War II.

In an op-ed for Forward this week, author Terrence Petty likened Trump's demonization of his self-declared enemies to Hitler's attempt to blame Jewish people for Germany's loss in World War I. The tactic was known as the Dolchstosslegende, or stabbed-in-the-back legend.