Tag Archives: United States

Egg prices could jump another 41% this year, USDA says, as Trump’s bird flu plan unveiled

Egg prices could jump another 41% this year, USDA says, as Trump’s bird flu plan unveiled

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration believes a renewed emphasis on biosecurity can help in the battle against bird flu and ease egg prices, but the Agriculture Department predicts the current record prices are going to get much worse this year. It’s also not clear how much more farmers can do to keep the virus out. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins offered the first new details about her bird flu plan Wednesday. But USDA predicted this week that egg prices will soar more than 41 percent this year on top of the record average price of $4.95 per dozen.… Continue Reading

Judge rejects immediately restoring AP’s access to White House but urges government to reconsider

Judge rejects immediately restoring AP’s access to White House but urges government to reconsider

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has refused to immediately order the White House to restore The Associated Press’ access to presidential events, saying the news organization had not shown it had suffered irreparable harm in the matter. But he urged the government to reconsider its two-week-old ban. He said that case law “is uniformly unhelpful to the White House.” U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden told attorneys for the Trump administration and the AP that the issue required more exploration before ruling. The AP filed a lawsuit Friday saying that its First Amendment rights were being violated. President Donald Trump said it was punishment for the agency’s decision not to entirely follow his executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.”… Continue Reading

FDA moves to rehire medical device, food safety and other staffers fired days earlier

FDA moves to rehire medical device, food safety and other staffers fired days earlier

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration is reinstating some of the hundreds of staffers it fired last week. That’s according to agency employees who spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The FDA callbacks are the latest example of the chaotic fallout from President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s sweeping cost-cutting effort. Many of the staffers getting their jobs back are responsible for reviewing medical devices and food ingredients. After last week’s terminations, lobbyists for the device industry warned that the cuts would hurt companies and patients. The FDA’s device program is heavily funded by companies that pay the agency to quickly review their products.… Continue Reading

USDA scholarship for students at North Carolina A&T suspended

USDA scholarship for students at North Carolina A&T suspended

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal scholarship aimed at boosting students from underserved and rural areas attending historically Black colleges and universities has been put on hold. The U.S. Department of Agriculture suspended the 1890 Scholars Program, which provided recipients with full tuition and fees for students studying agriculture, food or natural resource sciences at one of 19 universities, known as the 1890 land grant institutions. It’s not clear exactly when the program was suspended, but some members of Congress first issued statements criticizing the suspension of the program on Thursday. A message seeking more detail was left Saturday with the Department of Agriculture.… Continue Reading

Trump loyalist Kash Patel is confirmed as FBI director by the Senate despite deep Democratic doubts

Trump loyalist Kash Patel is confirmed as FBI director by the Senate despite deep Democratic doubts

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has narrowly voted to confirm Kash Patel as as President Donald Trump’s FBI director. The vote Thursday puts the Trump loyalist atop the nation’s premier federal law enforcement agency despite Democrats’ doubts about his qualifications and concerns he’ll do Trump’s bidding and go after the Republican president’s adversaries. Patel has fiercely criticized an agency that’s now gripped by turmoil. Trump’s Justice Department has forced out a group of senior FBI officials and made a highly unusual demand for the names of thousands of agents who participated in investigations related to the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.… Continue Reading

Snowy roads lead to hundreds of Virginia and North Carolina crashes as Arctic air brings record cold

Snowy roads lead to hundreds of Virginia and North Carolina crashes as Arctic air brings record cold

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Snowy roads led to hundreds of crashes throughout Virginia and North Carolina, including a series of crashes on an interstate highway involving more than 50 vehicles. Officials continued to ask people to avoid travel on Thursday to allow crews to work on the roads. The North Carolina State Highway Patrol says it responded to nearly 1,200 collisions statewide on Wednesday. Virginia State Police reported early Thursday that there had been nearly 500 crashes statewide since the storm began, including at least 45 involving injuries. An Arctic air mass is bringing widespread, record-breaking cold to the central United States and forecasters expected some locations to experience their coldest temperatures on record this late in the season.… Continue Reading

Sen. Mitch McConnell won’t seek reelection in 2026, ending long tenure as Republican power broker

Sen. Mitch McConnell won’t seek reelection in 2026, ending long tenure as Republican power broker

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Mitch McConnell has announced he won’t seek reelection next year, ending a decadeslong tenure as a power broker who championed conservative causes but ultimately ceded ground to the fierce populism of President Donald Trump. The Kentucky Republican chose his 83rd birthday on Thursday to share his decision to retire when his current term ends in January 2027. McConnell is the longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history. McConnell helped forge a conservative Supreme Court and steered the Senate through tax cuts and presidential impeachment trials. McConnell informed The Associated Press of his decision before he addressed colleagues in a speech on the Senate floor.… Continue Reading

Senate confirms Kelly Loeffler, former Georgia senator, to lead Small Business Administration

Senate confirms Kelly Loeffler, former Georgia senator, to lead Small Business Administration

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Senate has confirmed Kelly Loeffler, a Georgia businesswoman and former senator, to lead the Small Business Administration. The Senate approved Loeffler on a 52-46 vote Wednesday. At SBA, Loeffler will oversee an entity responsible for helping businesses satisfy debts, payroll and other expenses during times of disaster. Loeffler co-chaired Trump’s second inaugural committee and served in the Senate during the last year of his first term. During her brief stint on Capitol Hill, the former WNBA owner and executive was the Senate’s wealthiest member. She is married to Jeffrey Sprecher, CEO of Intercontinental Exchange, the publicly traded firm that owns the New York Stock Exchange.… Continue Reading

DOGE notches courtroom wins as Elon Musk crusades to slash federal government

DOGE notches courtroom wins as Elon Musk crusades to slash federal government

WASHINGTON (AP) — Although some parts of President Donald Trump’s agenda are getting bogged down by litigation, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is having better luck in the courtroom. Labor unions, Democrats and federal employees have filed several lawsuits arguing that DOGE is running roughshod over privacy protections or usurping power from other branches of government. But judges appointed by Democratic and Republican presidents haven’t always gone along with those arguments, at least so far. Most notably, DOGE critics are failing to obtain temporary restraining orders that would prevent Musk’s team from accessing sensitive government databases.… Continue Reading

Mexico awaits new response from Google on dispute over Gulf of Mexico name before filing lawsuit

Mexico awaits new response from Google on dispute over Gulf of Mexico name before filing lawsuit

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico says it’s awaiting a new response from Google to its request that the tech company fully restore the name Gulf of Mexico to its Google Maps service before filing a lawsuit. President Claudia Sheinbaum shared a letter addressed to her government from Google’s vice president of government affairs and public policy. It says that Google will not change the policy it outlined after U.S. President Donald Trump declared the body of water the Gulf of America. Sheinbaum said Monday at a press briefing: “We will wait for Google’s response and if not, we will proceed to court.”… Continue Reading

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