Breaking
Wealth World News
Archive

2025

Browsing
Politics

US sanctions Palestinian Authority officials after rejecting global push to give it control of Gaza

The U.S. announced it would impose sanctions on Palestinian Authority (PA) officials just days after it disavowed a United Nations conference in which multiple countries agreed the PA should take over Gaza. Additionally, the U.S. sanctioned members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

The State Department told Congress that neither the PA nor the PLO are acting in compliance with the PLO Commitments Compliance Act of 1989 (PLOCCA) and the Middle East Peace Commitments Act of 2002 (MEPCA). As a result of the sanctions, PLO members and PA officials will be denied U.S. visas.

‘It is in our national security interests to impose consequences and hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments and undermining the prospects for peace,’ a State Department statement read.

The PLOCCA states any dialogue between the U.S. and the PLO is ‘contingent upon the PLO’s recognition of Israel’s right to exist, its acceptance of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, and its abstention from and renunciation of all acts of terrorism.’

The MEPCA builds on the PLOCCA by requiring the imposition of sanctions if the president ‘determines that these entities have not complied with certain commitments made by the entities, and for other purposes.’

The State Department said that both the PA and the PLO violated the PLOCCA and MEPCA by ‘initiating and supporting actions at international organizations that undermine and contradict prior commitments’ and ‘taking actions to internationalize its conflict with Israel.’

It also condemned the PA and PLO for supporting terrorism, inciting and glorifying violence, and providing payments and benefits to families of Palestinian terrorists. Israel often refers to the policy of paying terrorists’ families as ‘pay-for-slay.’

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar praised the U.S. for issuing the sanctions and thanked Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the State Department for their ‘moral clarity.’

‘The PA must be held accountable for its ongoing policy of ‘Pay-for-Slay’ for terrorists and their families and incitement against Israel in its schools, textbooks, mosques and media,’ Sa’ar wrote on X. ‘This important action by [President Donald Trump] and his administration also exposes the moral distortion of certain countries that ran to recognize a virtual Palestinian state while turning a blind eye to its support for terror and incitement.’

The announcement of sanctions comes just days after several countries signed onto an agreement at a conference co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia. The ‘New York Declaration’ calls on Hamas to disarm and surrender control of the Gaza Strip to the PA, something both Israel and the U.S. rejected.

Additionally, earlier this month, the U.S. announced sanctions against U.N. Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese over her ‘biased and malicious activities.’

‘Albanese has spewed unabashed antisemitism, expressed support for terrorism, and open contempt for the United States, Israel, and the West. That bias has been apparent across the span of her career, including recommending that the ICC, without a legitimate basis, issue arrest warrants targeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant,’ Rubio said in a statement.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
Keep Reading
By
Politics

US, UK and a dozen other nations call out Iran attempts to ‘kill, kidnap, harass’ citizens

A joint statement issued by the U.S., U.K. and a dozen other Western nations on Thursday called out Iran’s attempts to ‘kill, kidnap and harass’ foreign citizens by working with criminal networks abroad. 

The Western nations highlighted that dissidents, Jewish citizens and journalists, as well as current and former government officials, were being targeted by Iranian intelligence agents in countries across Europe and North America in a direct violation of national sovereignty.

‘We are united in our opposition to the attempts of Iranian intelligence services to kill, kidnap, and harass people in Europe and North America in clear violation of our sovereignty,’ the statement, also backed by Canada, Germany and France, said. 

‘We consider these types of attacks, regardless of the target, as violations of our sovereignty,’ the statement, posted by the U.S. Virtual Embassy of Iran, added. ‘We are committed to working together to prevent these actions from happening and we call on the Iranian authorities to immediately put an end to such illegal activities in our respective territories.’

More than a dozen nations condemned Iran’s actions as ‘unacceptable,’ including Albania, Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden.

The statement, which served not only as an international rebuke, was also an alert to citizens across the European and North American continents of the hostile activities Tehran is pursuing. The warning comes as geopolitical tensions remain high following the Israeli-U.S. strikes on Iran last month.

Reports have long suggested that Iran has increasingly engaged in covert malign behavior to target foreign citizens.

Not only was Iran found to be behind an attempted assassination of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump ahead of the 2024 election, but it was also found to be behind a slew of Europe and US-based attacks last fall, reported Reuters. 

The U.K. has also reported more than 20 incidents since 2022 of Iran-linked plots to kill or kidnap British nationals or individuals on British soil – the majority of whom were Iranian dissidents.

Journalists and activists have been targeted in the U.S. by Iranian murder-for-hire schemes and kidnapping plots for years, particularly in the wake of the 2022 mass protests that broke out following the death of Mahsa Amini, who was killed following her arrest in Iran for allegedly improperly wearing her hijab. 

Tehran has repeatedly denied its involvement in the murder-for-hire and abduction plots. 

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
Keep Reading
By
Business

Ontario cancels internet deal with Musk’s Starlink as part of U.S. tariff fight

The Canadian province of Ontario has canceled a C$100 million ($68.12 million) satellite high-speed internet contract with Elon Musk’s company Starlink, following through with a vow by the province’s premier to cut ties in retaliation for U.S. tariffs imposed on Canada.

Stephen Lecce, Ontario’s minister of energy and mines, confirmed the cancellation of the contract for internet services at an unrelated news conference in Toronto on Wednesday. Lecce, who oversees broadband connectivity in Canada’s most populous province, didn’t say how much the termination would cost.

“I can confirm that the premier has fulfilled his word, which is to cancel that contract because of the very reasons he cited in the past,” Lecce said. “We are standing up for Canada.”

Under the terms of the deal, which Ontario signed last November, Starlink was to provide high-speed internet access to 15,000 eligible homes and businesses in more remote communities.

In February, Ontario Premier Doug Ford threatened to end the agreement with Starlink in response to U.S. President Donald Trump imposing tariffs on Canadian goods. He later postponed the cancellation after Trump agreed to a 30-day pause on tariffs.

SpaceX, Starlink’s parent, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Musk headed Trump’s drive to shrink the federal government and was a close ally before falling out with the president.

Canada and the U.S. are working on negotiating a trade deal by August 1, the date Trump is threatening to impose a 35% tariff on all Canadian goods not covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.

Earlier this week, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said talks were at an intense phase while reiterating that a deal that would remove all U.S. tariffs was unlikely.

Lecce said Ontario has taken other measures against the U.S., including restricting the ability of U.S. companies to bid on provincial government contracts, removing U.S.-made alcoholic beverages from store shelves and working to decouple the province’s energy sector from the U.S.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS
Keep Reading
By
Sports

Mason Miller trade grades: Who won huge Padres-Athletics deal?

If it’s true that you can’t predict baseball, there’s probably a greater maxim contained within that: You can’t predict what course the San Diego Padres will take at the trade deadline.

The Padres provided a bolt from the blue of what was a largely rote trade deadline by acquiring dominant closer Mason Miller and back-end starter J.P. Sears from the Athletics, with a four-player package headed by elite prospect Leo De Vries off to Sacramento.

The deal can’t be fully assessed until the clock strikes 6 ET on July 31, since the Padres positioned themselves to both buy and sell – perhaps trading incumbent closer Robert Suarez – at a deadline in which they hold the No. 3 NL wild card spot but are also just three games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the West.

Still, we’ll attempt to assess this trade in a vacuum, even if the following grades are just a little bit incomplete:

Mason Miller trade grades

Padres grade: B

It’s quite a coup getting both the game’s most dominant closer and a guy with four years of club control remaining after this season. Miller, 26, is generally untouchable in the ninth inning and in two seasons as A’s closer has nailed down 48 of 54 save opportunities, an 89% conversion rate on par with Hall of Famers Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera. 

Miller has struck out 40% of batters in that span, and opposing batters are hitting .161 against him. That’s merely lifting the lid on his overall dominance.

In Sears, the Padres get a former Yankees prospect who’s had to pitch toward the front of the A’s rotation even as his stuff indicates he should be further down the pecking order. The expectations and the pitching conditions will be friendlier in San Diego, though the lefty with the 4.95 ERA this year (4.48 career) might see those expectations rise if the Padres turn and deal erstwhile ace Dylan Cease.

The cost? It’s huge. De Vries is the most significant international signing the Padres have had this decade, no small honor, and he’s consistently been challenged – and succeeded – at levels where the average player is four to five years older than him. Put simply: Not many 17-year-olds flash power and speed in stateside A ball and go on to the Arizona Fall League, as De Vries did in 2024.

While Miller’s controllable years mean the Padres can flip him in future seasons for either immediate help or to galvanize their system, it still stings to trade a potential (likely?) franchise player for a reliever.

Athletics grade: A

The deal begs one dark question: Will any of their young stars make it to Las Vegas, should they ever complete their ballpark there?

It’s yet another step back at the big league level for the A’s in a five-year cycle of utter desiccation that hastened their move from Oakland. And it’s perhaps not a coincidence that Miller was dealt months before he entered the first of four years of salary arbitration.

But man, what a return. Given De Vries’ speed on the uptake wherever the Padres put him – he’s got eight homers, eight steals and a .357 OBP at high A Fort Wayne this year – he has a shot to debut in the big leagues while still a teenager.

And since it’s the A’s, he also has a shot to reach Sacramento/Las Vegas/Winnemucca by the time star rookies Jacob Wilson and Nick Kurtz haven’t gotten too expensive for owner John Fisher’s taste.

As a cherry on top, the A’s received right-handed pitchers Braden Nett, Eduarniel Nuñez and Henry Báez, ranked seventh, 14th and 16th by Baseball America in the Padres’ system. Nuñez, 26, has already made his major league debut, making four relief appearances for San Diego, while Nett (23, 3.39 ERA in 17 starts) and Báez (22, 1.96 ERA in 20 starts) are with Class AA San Antonio. 

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
Keep Reading
By
Sports

Arch Manning doesn’t want hype or NFL rumors, but has to deal with it

We’ve now reached peak stupidity, which in this day and age, is a true rarity.

Let’s connect the dots of the nonsensical Arch madness that has officially taken over this college football offseason.

Texas quarterback Arch Manning plays well enough in his first season as starter to become the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. 

Arch is the nephew of NFL Hall of Famer Peyton Manning, who is close friends with Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam.  

The Browns have two picks in the first round of the draft, and will trade up (if needed) to select Arch Manning, who has all of 95 career pass attempts.

After all that, more dumb enters the speculation: Nick Saban will ignore the love of his life, he beloved bride Ms. Terry, and come out of retirement to coach the Browns and Arch.

Now, the kicker: Haslam didn’t exactly throw water on the inane thought process, telling media during Browns training camp, “I think if you know the Manning family, I would bet that – and I don’t know Arch at all – I would bet he stays in college two years.”

Meanwhile, the unwitting central figure of this bowl of crazy was sitting on the dais earlier this month at SEC Media Days, clearly overwhelmed by an offseason of ridiculous Heisman Trophy hype.

“I didn’t ask for any of this,” Manning said, while media crammed eight rows deep around him.

I don’t want to be the guy to say this, but someone must. All of these dorks pushing Manning narratives will be the same people burying him if he throws a couple of picks in a season-opening loss at Ohio State.

This is the lunacy Manning tried to avoid when he left high school as the No.1 overall recruit, a quarterback who just happened to have the football royalty DNA of a grandfather (Archie Manning) and two uncles (Peyton and Eli Manning). 

He didn’t want to play at Georgia or Alabama because he didn’t want to be big fish, little pond. He wanted to blend. 

So he chose Texas and its massive urban campus because it gave him the best opportunity to have a typical college life, to fit in and not stick out. He didn’t start for two seasons, played well as a backup starter in a couple of meaningless games, and the next thing you know, the sharps in Vegas make him the favorite to win the 2025 Heisman.

Not long after that, he’s catching not so subtle strays from Steve Spurrier, who knows a thing or two about playing and coaching the position — and mind games with guys named Manning.

Then an enterprising soul at an NFL training camp asked Haslam a ridiculous question to get a 10-second soundbite – because that’s where we are now, people – and Haslam throws kerosene on a grease fire. 

He thinks Manning will play two more seasons of college football, which means Manning wouldn’t be available for the Browns to select in the draft. This brilliant deduction from an owner who paid DeShaun Watson $230 million guaranteed — after disturbing off-field problems. 

More than that, Haslam’s refusal to swat the stupidity completely undercut his current team and coach, and a quarterback room that includes Watson, a former bust first round pick acquired in trade (Kenny Pickett), two selections from the 2025 draft (Dillon Gabriel, Shedeur Sanders) and a 40-something lifer (Joe Flacco).

Haslam essentially said we may suck bad enough to earn that No.1 pick, but I don’t expect Arch to be around when we’re on the clock. 

The Browns locker room must have loved that.

Meanwhile, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian is doing his best to shield Manning from the nonsense, and Manning is doing his best to just be one of the guys. 

For a program that has one national title in the last 55 years. 

For a team that was gifted a manageable schedule in its first season in the SEC, a schedule that suddenly looks difficult in Year 2.

Manning has thrown 95 passes, everyone. Ninety-five. 

He has yet to play in a major non-conference game or an SEC road game, or a bitter rivalry game. Yet to stand in the middle of a raucous road environment, be it Ohio Stadium or The Swamp or Sanford Stadium, where he needs a big throw on third and nine.

“Talk is cheap,” Manning said. “I have to go prove it.”

At least someone in this theater of stupidity has his head straight. 

Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
Keep Reading
By
Sports

Quarterback Joe Burrow is dominating at Bengals training camp

CINCINNATI – Joe Burrow didn’t become “Joe Brr” by not knowing how to keep it a buck. Certainly short of soul-bearing, Burrow at least offers a glimpse into his actual self – while maintaining some level of coyness – and that’s not always the case with franchise quarterbacks in 2025. 

So when he appears genuinely optimistic about the Cincinnati Bengals’ upcoming season it’s hard not to drink the Kool-Aid that flows along the banks of the Ohio River. 

QB Joe Burrow: this group of Bengals wide receivers is deepest of my career

For starters, Burrow declared Wednesday after practice he feels the best he has while throwing the football in some time. If the eye test is worth anything, Wednesday’s practice backed up that claim. The man passed for 4,913 yards and 43 touchdowns and feels better. 

Maybe it was because edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, coming off an All-Pro year, reported to camp Wednesday amid tense contract negotiations, thus ending his holdout. He didn’t practice, making it a “hold-in,” but the vibes were better in the building as a result, Burrow said.

Back in the fold already are Burrow’s top two targets, receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, both of whom received lucrative extensions this offseason. The bad news for Burrow and the Bengals’ offense is that the offensive line still has question marks. 

A significant percentage of the team’s success, however, hinges on the defense. The unit was among the league’s worst in 2024 and received much of the blame for the team’s 9-8 record and failure to make the playoffs. 

Al Golden replaces Lou Anarumo (now with the Indianapolis Colts) as defensive coordinator. Burrow has been a fan of what he’s seen from the opposite side of the ball through the first week of camp, despite the installation of a new defense. The defensive backs are understanding where their help is, an example of grasping nuances within coverage schemes, Burrow said. The absence of mental errors is encouraging, he added. 

Burrow, by name, called out defensive tackle T.J. Slayton as somebody who “is going to be a great player for us, the energy he brings, the physicality he brings. I’m really excited to watch that on Sundays.” 

The games and stunts to create pressures by the defensive line is something Burrow said he has gone against – and knows from experience is difficult to deal with. 

“And they’re doing it at a high level,” Burrow said.

With Hendrickson back in the fold – it appears – Burrow wasn’t afraid to reveal his aspirations. 

“I think it’s got a chance to be a special year,” he said.  

After cornerback Josh Newton picked Burrow off during 7-on-7 drills in the end zone, the defense as a unit started jawing. The smack talk from the secondary lasted all practice. 

“Need that energy from them,” Burrow said. “Defense is built off that energy. Great defense is not always necessarily played with the mind. A lot of times it’s energy, emotion, physicality.” 

Trey Hendrickson’s holdout becomes hold-in at Bengals training camp

Unlike last season, Burrow wants to play in the preseason to get used to hits and speed at which the pocket disintegrates. No decisions have been made regarding his participation on Aug. 7 against the Philadelphia Eagles. 

The Bengals started 1-4 last season and never recovered, even with five straight wins to close out the year. Burrow has been intentional in his public statements about the need for a better start in 2025. That’s another reason why Burrow has placed more value on the preseason. 

“We’ll find out,” Burrow said of the team’s goal to start fast, “…I’m very positive about the energy, the morale that we have in the locker room right now.” 

And given all that’s been said about the Bengals for the past several months, maybe it’s been cool – “Joe Brr” cool – all along. 

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
Keep Reading
By
Sports

Trinity Rodman’s health one storyline to watch as NWSL returns

The National Women’s Soccer League is back.

The second half of the 2025 NWSL season kicks off Friday with three matchups — Chicago Stars FC vs. Gotham FC (8 p.m. ET, Prime Video), Racing Louisville FC vs. Kansas City Current (8 p.m. ET, NWSL+) and Seattle Reign FC vs. Angel City FC (10:30 p.m. ET, NWSL+) — following a five-week summer break.

The NWSL may have been paused from June 23 to July 31, but it was far from a vacation for dozens of players that represented their native countries on the international stage in the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 tournament in Switzerland, the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco and the 2025 Copa América Femenina in Ecuador.

Gotham FC teammates Esther González and Jess Carter, for example, represented Spain and England, respectively, in the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 final. England ultimately won back-to-back titles after defeating Spain via a penalty shootout, but Carter’s celebration was cut short. She opted to skip England’s parade in London to return to the states ahead of Gotham’s match Friday.

‘I couldn’t be prouder to have been part of this England team,’ Carter wrote on Instagram after their Euro 2025 victory. ‘Gotham has quickly become a family and a team to me that I truly enjoy being part of so coming back to them straight away to prep for our upcoming game was a decision I made myself.’

As action is set to get underway in the NWSL, here are four burning questions going into the second half of the season:

Who leads MVP race, will it overlap with the Golden Boot?

Esther González is leading the 2025 Golden Boot Race and shows no signs of slowing down. González has a league-leading 10 goals in 13 games, becoming the fastest player in Gotham history to reach double-digit goals in a season. She was named the player of the month twice this season and has been pivotal to her team’s success. Gotham is fighting to stay in playoff contention and is 5-1-0 this season when González scores.

The Golden Boot winner has won the NWSL MVP award in every season but one since the league began play in 2013. (Lindsey Horan was named the 2018 MVP, while Sam Kerr won the 2018 Golden Boot.) So it’s safe to say González leads the MVP race as well, but she will face stiff competition down the stretch.

Kansas City Current forward Temwa Chawinga and Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda are right behind González with eight goals each. Chawinga won the 2024 NWSL Golden Boot and MVP after becoming the first player in league history to score 20 goals in a season. If Chawinga repeats, she’ll be the first player to win multiple Golden Boots since Sam Kerr won three consecutive (2017-2019).

NWSL stars shine on international stage: Who competed?

The NWSL not only features the best players in the country, but the best players in the world as evidenced by international competitions held this summer, including the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025, the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and the 2025 Copa América Femenina.

Esther González was the top scorer of the UEFA Women’s Euro in Switzerland, scoring four goals for Spain across six matches. Despite Spain leading the tournament in goals (18), possession (65.8%), passing accuracy (88.5%) and attempts (147), the Spaniards lost to England, which featured Gotham defender Jess Carter, Orlando Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse and Washington Spirit defender Esme Morgan.

In addition to González, five other NWSL stars found net during the Women’s Euro 2025: San Diego Wave forward Delphine Cascarino scored two goals for France, Utah Royals midfielder Janni Thomsen scored for Denmark, Seattle Reign midfielder Jess Fishlock for Wales, Angel City FC forward Sveindís Jónsdóttir for Iceland and Chicago Stars defender Natalia Kuikka for Finland.

That same weekend, Nigeria won its record 10th WAFCON title in a comeback 3-2 victory over host Morocco. Bay FC forward Asisat Oshoala and Houston Dash forward Michelle Alozie were part of Nigeria’s championship team.

‘I love seeing fellow NWSL athletes here represented in WAFCON,’ Alozie told ESPN on July 24. ‘It is so important to see that African players are excelling in the NWSL, and then coming and excelling at WAFCON, just like Banda and Racheal Kundananji have shown.’

Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda and Bay FC forward Racheal Kundananji each scored three goals for Zambia in the tournament.

The 2025 Copa América Femenina champion will be crowned on Saturday when Brazil faces Colombia in the final. Brazil’s national team includes Pride forward Marta (one goal) and midfielder Angelina, Gotham FC forward Gabi Portilho, Current goalkeeper Lorena and Racing Louisville FC forward Ary Borges. Colombia’s national team includes Racing Louisville FC centre-back Ángela Barón, Washington Spirit midfielder Leicy Santos (one goal) and San Diego Wave FC centre-back Daniela Arias.

Can anyone catch the Kansas City Current?

The Kansas City Current sits atop the standings and are clear favorites to win the NWSL Shield, which is awarded to the team with the best regular season record. Kansas City is eight points ahead in the standings and has the highest goal differential (19), in addition to a perfect 6-0 record at home.

The defending champion Orlando Pride (25 points) are in second place, followed by San Diego Wave (24 points) and Washington Spirit (23 points).

A NWSL Shield doesn’t equate to a NWSL Championship by any means. Since the league began play in 2013, only three teams have won the shield and championship in the same season, most recently the Pride in 2024.

Will Trinity Rodman return to the Spirit?

The Spirit are likely to have a boost in the second half of the season as forward Trinity Rodman nears a return. Rodman has been limited to four matches (one start) this season due to a chronic back injury that left her ‘in pain all the time,’ but the Olympic gold medalist is training with her team again.

‘I’m just happy to be back and actually in team trainings and not coming back on the side from step one,’ Rodman told reporters on Tuesday. ‘I’m still gonna be Trin. But, I think the way that I would throw my body around [before], maybe not. Maybe just being smarter about certain tackles, certain runs, certain 50-50s.’

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
Keep Reading
By
Politics

Who is Mike Donilon, the longtime Biden aide appearing in Comer’s cover-up probe?

Michael Donilon, a longtime aide to former President Joe Biden, is sitting down with House investigators in Oversight Committee Chair James Comer’s autopen probe on Wednesday.

Donilon is one of Biden’s most enduring confidantes, with a working relationship that began in 1981 when the former president was a U.S. senator from Delaware.

He’s also no stranger to Washington, D.C., having earned both his Bachelor’s Degree and Juris Doctor from Georgetown University.

Donilon later worked on both Biden’s 2020 and 2024 campaigns as a chief strategist and is one of the key people to have gone on the offensive against his fellow Democrats after they cast Biden out following his disastrous June 2024 debate against now-President Donald Trump.

‘Now, lots of people have terrible debates,’ Donilon said during a Harvard University event. ‘Lots of people have terrible debates. Usually the party doesn’t lose its mind, but that’s what happened here. It melted down.’

It earned him rebukes from fellow left-wingers, including ex-Obama advisor and CNN political commentator David Axelrod, who called Donilon’s comments ‘delusional’ on X.

And while his work for Biden made him a national-level figure, Donilon spent years working on other notable Democratic campaigns. 

He played a role in the electoral successes of both former President Bill Clinton in 1992 and ex-Virginia Gov. Douglas Wilder in 1989, among others.

But it’s the four-year period during which Donilon served as senior advisor to the Biden White House, and then his stint on Biden’s short-lived 2024 campaign, that’s captured the attention of the House Oversight Committee.

He was dubbed a member of Biden’s ‘Politburo’ by Axios reporter Alex Thompson and CNN host Jake Tapper in their book ‘Original Sin’ – described as a small group of insiders who reportedly helped run the White House while covering signs of Biden’s decline from others.

‘The president valued Mike Donilon’s advice so much that aides would later joke that if he wanted, he could get Biden to start a war,’ the authors wrote.

Donilon was also paid $4 million to work on Biden’s re-election bid, according to the book.

The Wall Street Journal reported in Dec. 2024 that Donilon was also a key intermediary between Biden and his pollsters during that short-lived campaign.

And he was with Biden until the very end of his administration, reportedly as one of the aides in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, joining the then-president when he drafted the explosive letter that ended his campaign.

Since that ended, Donilon took up a role as a Spring 2025 Resident Fellow at Harvard University’s Institute of Politics.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
Keep Reading
By
Politics

Schiff decries Bove’s confirmation as ‘corruption’ despite DOJ referral into his own mortgage dealings

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., blasted Republicans for confirming President Donald Trump’s former defense attorney Emil Bove as a federal judge Tuesday after the senator himself was referred to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution amid allegations of mortgage fraud. 

The Senate voted to confirm Bove to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit in a 50–49 vote Tuesday, amid a challenging confirmation process involving allegations from three whistleblowers who alleged Bove disregarded court orders surrounding Trump’s mass deportation agenda and misled lawmakers during his confirmation hearing. 

‘Republicans just voted to confirm Emil Bove. Despite whistleblowers confirming he urged them to ignore court orders,’ Schiff said in a Tuesday X post. ‘Despite it being clear he lied to the Judiciary Committee. And despite the danger he poses to the rule of law. The corruption of the bench continues.’

No Democrats voted to back Bove. They were joined by Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine.

Meanwhile, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Tuesday on the Senate floor he backed Bove and said that Bove had faced ‘unfair accusations and abuse.’

After representing Trump in his criminal prosecutions, Bove joined Trump’s Justice Department to serve as the principal associate deputy attorney general.

Meanwhile, Schiff has come under scrutiny for his own alleged misconduct and was referred to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution stemming from a mortgage document controversy. 

The director of the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) wrote a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in May, outlining Schiff’s alleged misconduct over his homes in both Maryland and California. 

FHFA Director William Pulte wrote in the letter, obtained by Fox News Digital Monday, that Schiff ‘falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, impacting payments from 2003–2019 for a Potomac, Maryland-based property.’ 

It’s unclear whether the Justice Department has launched any actions against Schiff yet, and the Justice Department declined to provide comment to Fox News Digital. 

Schiff’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

Meanwhile, Trump has railed against Schiff for years — and did so again in July, claiming he would love to see Schiff ‘brought to justice.’ 

‘I have always suspected Shifty Adam Schiff was a scam artist,’ Trump posted to Truth Social on July 15. ‘And now I learn that Fannie Mae’s Financial Crimes Division have concluded that Adam Schiff has engaged in a sustained pattern of possible Mortgage Fraud.’

In response, Schiff said that Trump’s claims amounted to a ‘baseless attempt at political retribution.’ 

‘Since I led his first impeachment, Trump has repeatedly called for me to be arrested for treason,’ Schiff said in a July 15 X post. ‘So in a way, I guess this is a bit of a letdown. And this baseless attempt at political retribution won’t stop me from holding him accountable. Not by a long shot.’ 

Fox News’ Ashley Oliver, Danielle Wallace and Peter Doocey contributed to this report. 

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
Keep Reading
By
Politics

Senate GOP eyes rules revolt as Dems stonewall Trump nominees

Changes to the confirmation process are on the table as frustrations among Senate Republicans continue to fester while Senate Democrats continue their blockade of President Donald Trump’s nominees.

Republicans have spent much of the week working deep into the night to confirm nomination after nomination, but Democrats have yet to relent and allow for any speeding up of the process.

That reality, and a request from Trump to consider canceling the fast-approaching August recess to ram through more of his nominees, has the Senate GOP mulling changes to the rules, like shortening the debate time on nominees or bundling together some picks.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., charged that Democrats’ blockade of Trump’s nominations was ‘Trump derangement syndrome on steroids.’

‘If we’re going to do something, we’re going to look at how we would make a modification to our rules to ensure that we can’t have the kind of delay and obstruction and blocking that the Democrats are currently using,’ Thune said.

Changing the rules, however, could open the door for Democrats to take advantage of the modifications and set a new precedent for the confirmation process.

Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told Fox News Digital that Senate Democrats were just playing by the same rules that Republicans operated under when they had the majority.

‘I think that’s the only way to — a do unto others situation,’ he said. ‘And I warn them: things that sound so appealing now to make a quick change in the rules, they may soon have to live with.’

However, Senate Republicans did play ball, for the most part, with their counterparts when former President Joe Biden was in the White House. This time four years ago, Biden had 49 civilian nominees confirmed by a voice vote, a much faster and simpler process that didn’t require a full vote on the Senate floor.

And during Trump’s first term, he had five civilian nominees confirmed by voice vote. While the Senate has now confirmed over 100 of the president’s nominees, more and more of his picks — over 160 and counting — are being added to the Senate’s calendar, and Republicans are hoping that Democrats agree to a deal to move a package of nominees through the Senate.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., believed his colleagues were inclined to make changes to the rules in the face of continued Democratic resistance.

‘I think it is a big mistake where we are now,’ he said. ‘Push is going to come to shove. If there is no negotiation and no settlement before that, I believe that the rules will change.’

Some Republicans, like Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., are not too concerned about changing the precedent in the Senate, given that over the last several years the nomination process has deteriorated into a partisan stand-off.

‘I’m happy to change the precedent to allow any president, Republican or Democrat, to be able to staff his administration,’ Johnson told Fox News Digital. ‘I think the confirmation system is completely out of control. I can’t imagine our Founding Fathers really thought the Senate ought to be able to advise consent on hundreds and hundreds of positions. It’s ridiculous.’

Meanwhile, Trump targeted Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, for not doing away with ‘blue slips,’ a longtime Senate practice that effectively gives senators the ability to veto district court and U.S. attorney nominees in their home states.

Grassley said that he was ‘offended’ by Trump’s attack, but didn’t appear to budge on the blue slip issue. However, Grassley did ignore blue slips in 2017 to hold hearings for a pair of the president’s judicial nominees during his first term.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told Fox News Digital that he didn’t know why Republicans wouldn’t want to have normal scrutiny and debate over their nominees.

‘Trump says jump and Senate Republicans ask how high, which is really sad for an institution with such a great sense of tradition and self-respect,’ he said.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
Keep Reading
By