Trump brings chaos back to Washington by attempting to kill bipartisan budget deal with Musk's help
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump delivered a likely death blow to bipartisan congressional budget negotiations on Wednesday, rejecting the measure as full of giveaways to Democrats after billionaire ally Elon Musk whipped up outrage toward the bill and cheered on Republican lawmakers who announced their opposition.
Trump's joint statement with Vice President-elect JD Vance, which stopped the bill in its tracks, punctuated a daylong torrent of social media posts by Musk attacking the legislation for what he described as excessive spending.
“Stop the steal of your tax dollars!” Musk wrote on his social media platform X as he dangled primary challenges against anyone who voted for the budget deal, a threat Trump later echoed in a post of his own.
The episode showcased the growing political influence of Musk, whom Trump has selected alongside entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to spearhead the Department of Government Efficiency, a nongovernmental task force formed to find ways to fire federal workers, cut programs and reduce regulations.
Rep. Andy Barr, a Republican from Kentucky, said his office was flooded with calls from constituents on Wednesday.
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How New York prosecutors used a terrorism law in the charges against Luigi Mangione
NEW YORK (AP) — New York prosecutors are using a 9/11-era anti-terrorism law in their case against the man charged with gunning down UnitedHealthcare's CEO outside a midtown Manhattan hotel.
Luigi Mangione was indicted on charges of murder as an act of terrorism, under a state law that allows for stiffer sentences when a killing is aimed at terrifying civilians or influencing government.
If it sounds like an unusual application of a terrorism law, it’s not the first time the statute has been applied to a case that wasn't about cross-border extremism or a plot to kill masses of people.
Mangione is jailed on other charges in Pennsylvania, where he is scheduled to appear at an extradition hearing Thursday that could clear the way for him to be brought to New York.
Here are some things to know about the anti-terrorism law and the case surrounding the death of Brian Thompson.
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Wisconsin school shooter had 2 handguns, used only 1 in attack that killed student, teacher
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The shooter at a religious school in Wisconsin had two handguns with her but used only one in the attack that killed a teacher and a student and wounded six others, the city's police chief said in an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Police were still investigating why the 15-year-old student at Abundant Life Christian Christian School in Madison shot and killed a fellow student and teacher on Monday, before shooting herself, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said. Two other students who were shot remained in critical condition on Wednesday.
“We may never know what she was thinking that day, but we’ll do our best to try to add or give as much information to our public as possible," Barnes said.
The student who was killed was identified in an obituary released Wednesday as Rubi Patricia Vergara, 14, of Madison. She was a freshman at the school and “an avid reader, loved art, singing and playing keyboard in the family worship band,” according to the obituary. The Associated Press' attempts to reach the girl's family by phone and email on Wednesday evening were unsuccessful.
The Dane County medical examiner Wednesday evening identified the teacher who was killed as 42-year-old Erin Michelle West, after initially identifying her as Michelle E. West.
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US stocks fall sharply and Dow tumbles 1,100 points after the Fed hints at just 2 rate cuts for 2025
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks tumbled to one of their worst days of the year after the Federal Reserve hinted Wednesday it may deliver fewer shots of adrenaline for the U.S. economy in 2025 than earlier thought.
The S&P 500 fell 2.9%, just shy of its biggest loss for the year, to pull further from its all-time high set a couple weeks ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1,123 points, or 2.6%, and the Nasdaq composite dropped 3.6%.
The Fed said Wednesday it’s cutting its main interest rate for a third time this year, continuing the sharp turnaround begun in September when it started lowering rates from a two-decade high to support the job market. Wall Street loves easier interest rates, but that cut was already widely expected.
The bigger question centers on how much more the Fed will cut next year. A lot is riding on it, particularly after expectations for a series of cuts in 2025 helped the U.S. stock market set an all-time high 57 times so far in 2024.
Fed officials released projections on Wednesday showing the median expectation among them is for two more cuts to the federal funds rate in 2025, or half a percentage point’s worth. That’s down from the four cuts expected just three months ago.
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Federal Reserve cuts its key rate by a quarter-point but envisions fewer reductions next year
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday by a quarter-point — its third cut this year — but also signaled that it expects to reduce rates more slowly next year than it previously envisioned, mostly because of still-elevated inflation.
The Fed’s 19 policymakers projected that they will cut their benchmark rate by a quarter-point just twice in 2025, down from their estimate in September of four rate cuts. Their new projections suggest that consumers may not enjoy much lower rates next year for mortgages, auto loans, credit cards and other forms of borrowing.
The central bank's expectation of just two rate cuts in 2025 rattled Wall Street, sending stock prices plummeting in the worst day for the market in four months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down more than 1,100 points, roughly 2.5%. The Nasdaq composite was hit worse: It sank about 3.5% Wednesday. Higher interest rates can slow business expansion.
Speaking at a news conference, Chair Jerome Powell underscored that policymakers are slowing their rate reductions as their benchmark rate nears a level that policymakers refer to as “neutral” — the level that is thought to neither spur nor hinder the economy.
Wednesday's projections suggest that the policymakers think they may be close to that level. Their benchmark rate stands at 4.3% after the latest rate cut, which followed a steep half-point reduction in September and a quarter-point cut last month.
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House Ethics Committee secretly voted to release Matt Gaetz ethics report, source says
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Ethics Committee voted in secret to release the long-awaited ethics report into ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz, raising the possibility that the allegations against the Florida Republican who was President-elect Donald Trump's first choice for attorney general could be made public in the coming days.
The decision by the bipartisan committee was made earlier this month, according to a person familiar with the vote who was not authorized to publicly discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity Wednesday. CNN first reported the vote.
It's a stunning turnaround for the often secretive panel of five Republicans and five Democrats. Just last month, members voted along party lines to not release the findings of their nearly four-year investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct with minors and use of illicit drugs while Gaetz was in office.
Democrats had pressed to make the report public even though Gaetz was no longer in Congress and had withdrawn as Trump's pick to lead the Justice Department. A vote on the House floor this month to force the report's release failed; all but one Republican voted against it.
Gaetz lashed out Wedneday on social media against the latest development, again denying any wrongdoing. He criticized the committee for its move after he had left Congress, saying he would have “no opportunity to debate or rebut as a former member of the body.”
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US retreats from massive air bag recall and says industry comments show need for more investigation
DETROIT (AP) — U.S. auto safety regulators have backed away from seeking a giant recall of nearly 50 million air bag inflators and will investigate further after the auto industry raised questions about whether all of the inflators are defective.
The move Wednesday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is vastly different from a decision reiterated by the agency in July that the inflators made by ARC Automotive Inc. of Tennessee are defective, dangerous and should be recalled.
The agency has said inflators in about 49 million vehicles from 13 manufacturers are at risk of exploding and hurling shrapnel into drivers and passengers. They're responsible for at least seven injuries and two deaths in the U.S. and Canada since 2009, and recalling all of them would have cost millions of dollars.
But in a document posted Wednesday in the Federal Register and dated Dec. 13, the agency said it considered comments on a decision from July seeking the recall. The auto industry pointed to technical and engineering differences between ARC inflators in vehicles made by different manufacturers. The comments also raised manufacturing-process variations at different plants that made the ARC inflators.
“Given the potential relevance of these issues to the agency's decision making, including the appropriate scope of any recall, further investigation is warranted,” the agency said in the document.
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Judge: Pardoning Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes for Capitol riot plot would be 'frightening'
WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal judge who presided over the seditious conspiracy case against Oath Keepers members said Wednesday that it would be "frightening" if the anti-government group's founder, Stewart Rhodes, is pardoned for orchestrating a violent plot to keep Donald Trump in the White House after he lost the 2020 presidential election.
President-elect Donald Trump repeatedly has vowed to pardon rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol nearly four years ago. Rhodes is serving an 18-year prison sentence after a jury convicted him and other Oath Keepers members of seditious conspiracy, the most serious charge stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack by a mob of Trump supporters.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta alluded to the prospect of Rhodes receiving a presidential pardon as he sentenced William Todd Wilson, a former Oath Keepers member from North Carolina who pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy.
“The notion that Stewart Rhodes could be absolved of his actions is frightening and ought to be frightening to anyone who cares about democracy in this country,” Mehta said.
Mehta isn't the first judge at the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C., to criticize the possibility that Trump could pardon hundreds of Capitol rioters when he returns to the White House next month. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump nominee, said during a hearing last month that it would be “ beyond frustrating and disappointing ” if the Republican president-elect issues blanket pardons to Capitol rioters.
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Survivors recount 'very apocalyptic' cyclone that ripped through French territory of Mayotte
MAMOUDZOU, Mayotte (AP) — They clustered around water taps, rare sources of electricity and each other. Four days after the strongest cyclone in nearly a century ripped through the French island territory of Mayotte off the coast of Africa, survivors recalled the horror of the storm that caught many by surprise.
Associated Press journalists reached the humid capital before dusk, as French military personnel and others rushed to clear fallen palm trees from roads ahead of French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit Thursday.
Streets were lined with the rubble of informal settlements whose migrant populations complicated the efforts to count the dead.
“We lived something very apocalyptic,” said Samuel Anli, 28, who rode out Saturday's storm in a windowless office for hours as shrieking wind gusts exceeding 220 kph (136 mph) tore away doors and walls.
He and others held the door to their small office shut, fearing for their lives. “We thought if it lasted one or two hours more we’d all be dead,” he said. His home was partly destroyed and three of his relatives were injured by flying metal.
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Global warming can't be ignored, Montana's top court says, upholding landmark climate case
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana’s Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a landmark climate ruling that said the state was violating residents’ constitutional right to a clean environment by permitting oil, gas and coal projects without regard for global warming.
The justices, in a 6-1 ruling, rejected the state’s argument that greenhouse gases released from Montana fossil fuel projects are minuscule on a global scale and reducing them would have no effect on climate change, likening it to asking: “If everyone else jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?”
The plaintiffs can enforce their environmental rights "without requiring everyone else to stop jumping off bridges or adding fuel to the fire,” Chief Justice Mike McGrath wrote for the majority. “Otherwise the right to a clean and healthful environment is meaningless.”
Only a few other states, including Hawaii, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and New York, have similar environmental protections enshrined in their constitutions.
The lawsuit filed in 2020 by 16 Montanans —who are now ages 7 to 23 — was considered a breakthrough in attempts by young environmentalists and their attorneys to use the courts to leverage action on climate change.
The Associated Press
