US News

GOP Senator vows deeper Medicaid cuts in 'second bite at the apple'

GOP Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) told Politico on Tuesday that he's received assurances that Republicans will get another chance to cut Medicaid after voting to support President Donald Trump's mega budget bill.

Trump's budget slashed more than $700 billion from Medicaid and imposed work requirements for Medicaid members to receive their benefits starting after the 2026 midterms. Now, Republicans like Johnson are seeking to further slash the Medicaid expansion from when the Democrats expanded under the Affordable Care Act.

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'Astonishing': NYT's Haberman warns more to come after explosive Ukraine report

President Donald Trump's abrupt about-face this week to support sending more weapons to Ukraine after months of trying to coax Russia's Vladimir Putin into a "deal" to end the war, left New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, who has covered the president for years, taken aback in a Tuesday evening interview on CNN.

"Do you think the president has changed his tune on Vladimir Putin?" asked Anderson Cooper. "Is this just the latest chapter in this relationship?"

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Laura Loomer’s Trump fixation means 'stay thin' and new outfit for every meeting

Far-right activist and conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer buys a new outfit every time she meets President Donald Trump, "hyper conscious" of the value he places on physical appearance, according to a lengthy New York Times report, which detailed her obsession with the president.

The Tucson, Arizona, native gained national notoriety for her wild and often racist conspiracy theories over 9/11 and the 2020 election. But the Times report shed new light on the MAGA influencer, including her troubled upbringing, struggle with binge eating and battle with severe anxiety and depression as a child.

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Jim Acosta torches Trump after Epstein retreat: ‘You made the bed, you lie in'

Former CNN anchor Jim Acosta slammed President Donald Trump on Tuesday for attempting to retreat from the Jeffrey Epstein files story that caused fury within the MAGA world.

On Monday, Attorney General Pam Bondi said the administration would not release new information about the Epstein case after promising for months to do just that. This happened after the White House held a MAGA influencer event in February where it distributed binders of documents allegedly related to the Epstein case.

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'Alligator Alcatraz' inmates swarmed by bugs 'the size of hands'

The makeshift Florida Everglades migrant detention facility known as "Alligator Alcatraz" is already facing horrific problems, reported the Miami Herald on Tuesday — with the detainees bearing the brunt of most of it.

"While the state says the stories detainees are sharing with the Herald are false, various scenarios described by three women in separate interviews are matching up," said the report. "The women told the Herald that their husbands were unable to shower for several days after arriving. On Sunday, two women said their husbands complained that initially there was no water to flush toilets. All three detainees told their wives that the bugs were getting inside, one of them saying that grasshoppers the size of his hand were springing into the tent and that the biggest mosquitoes he had ever seen were flying over them in their cells."

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CNN insider ‘astonished’ at how White House learned of Ukraine aid freeze

A CNN reporter's eye-popping new revelations about the Trump administration's decision to freeze — and later unfreeze — military aid to Ukraine baffled panelists Tuesday evening.

Reporter Natasha Bertrand shared what anchor Erin Burnett called "real breaking news" on what went on behind the scenes with the United States' sudden decision last week to pause weapon shipments to Ukraine.

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‘Our sons are not bargaining chips!’ Parents outraged at Trump deportation deal

Parents of Venezuelan immigrants deported from the United States to El Salvador's infamous CECOT prison are saying that President Donald Trump is using their children as "bargaining chips," according to a new report from The New York Times.

The backlash comes at a time when U.S. and Salvadoran officials work to negotiate a prisoner swap involving "several Americans and dozens of political prisoners held in Venezuela in exchange for sending home about 250 Venezuelan migrants the United States had deported to El Salvador," the Times reported.

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Musk's AI chatbot proclaims itself 'MechaHitler' and spews antisemitic rants

Users on tech billionaire Elon Musk's X platform were stunned Tuesday as the inbuilt AI chatbot known as Grok began to praise Adolf Hitler and push antisemitic, white nationalist memes.

This comes just a couple of days after Musk proclaimed that Grok, which was a constant source of frustration as it undercut many of the factually incorrect things Republicans say, had been "improved" to give answers more in line with his agenda.

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'Came as a shock': Flood rescuers blindsided as Texas gov reveals new toll

CNN reporter Isabel Rosales broke some important news on Tuesday to rescue crews working to find survivors of the deadly flood in central Texas.

Rosales was on the ground reporting on rescue efforts when she told crews that the number of missing people had increased to more than 170. That figure was news to the crew members, Rosales said, who were putting in long hours to find missing survivors.

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‘Horrifying’: CNN host stunned by claim Texas flood toll far worse than reported

A CNN anchor expressed astonishment Tuesday evening as a volunteer search and rescuer said he believes Texas officials are undercounting the number of flood victims by hundreds.

Ryan Logue, deputy incident commander for the United Cajun Navy, told Erin Burnett on her show "OutFront" that Gov. Greg Abbott (R) was likely way off when he said 170 people were missing, 161 in Kerr County alone. That number skyrocketed from an earlier estimate of just 18.

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GOP budget chair vows to 'make another run' at Trump policies cut from budget

Several provisions of President Donald Trump's mega-budget bill that were cut for parliamentary reasons could resurface in future legislation, Politico reported Tuesday.

House Budget Chair Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX) told the outlet during a news conference that Republican lawmakers are formulating a plan to include parts of the bill that violated the Byrd Rule in future legislation. The Byrd Rule requires that all aspects of a budget bill must have direct impacts on spending or revenue, and cannot include extraneous matters like domestic or foreign policy.

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'Shocking news': CNN's Jake Tapper stunned as number of missing in Texas soars

CNN's Jake Tapper was taken aback as he reported on the rapidly growing toll from the flash floods in central Texas on Tuesday afternoon.

"Republican Greg Abbott said there are at least 161 people known to be missing in Kerr County alone," said Tapper. "We previously had been told that the number was closer to 20 for Texas as a whole, but now we're being told 161 missing. The governor vowed that each person missing will be found."

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Trump's 'Golden Dome' poised to become 'massively corrupt' boondoggle: Lawmakers

A quartet of Democratic lawmakers are warning that U.S. President Donald Trump's plans to build a "Golden Dome" missile defense system could open the door to a corrupt boondoggle.

In a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Reps. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) and Don Beyer (D-Va.) made the case that the proposed missile defense system goes well beyond what is actually needed to defend the nation against foreign missile attacks.

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