List of All Articles with Tag 'us politics'

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a provision of federal law that prohibits the encouragement of illegal immigration for financial gain, ruling against a man who ran an organization falsely claiming that noncitizens could obtain citizenship in the US through adult adoption.

The fallout from a global hacking incident tied to Russian cybercriminals widened on Thursday as US insurance provider Genworth Financial revealed that 2.5 million of its policyholders and customers had their data accessed in the hack, while California's public pension fund said 769,000 of its members were affected.

The Indiana chapter of extremist group Moms for Liberty has been forced to explain why the first page of its newsletter carries a quote from Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. “He alone who owns the youth, gains the future,” the quote reads on the front of its June issue. The quote was correctly attributed to Hitler, who was responsible for the murders of six million Jewish people and five million other victims including Romany people, gay people and Soviet prisoners of war. The group later took to its Facebook page to make some sort of an attempt to explain the shocking decision to reference to a murderous Nazi. “The quote from a horrific leader should put parents on alert,” it read. “If the government has control over our children today, they control our country’s future. We The People must be vigilant and protect children from an overreaching government.” The move to showcase a Hitler quote comes as the group secured Democratic presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as a speaker at its event, The Joyful Warriors National Summit, next week. Other speakers at the event include GOP candidates Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis. Moms for Liberty was recently classified as an “anti-government extremist” group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which found in a recent report that it was among a handful of groups pushing to undermine public education and restrict access to books, classroom materials and honest discussions of race, racism, LGBT+ people and gender and sexuality. “Hate and anti-government extremist groups are intent on staging public spectacles of hatred” to threaten LGBT+ people and other vulnerable communities and minority groups, said Susan Corke, director of the SPLC’s Intelligence Project. Moms for Liberty co-founders Tiffany Justice and Tina Descovich pushed back on the label in a statement shared with The Independent where they said the group is “devoted to empowering parents to be a part of their child’s public school education.” “Name-calling parents who want to be a part of their child’s education as ‘hate groups’ or ‘bigoted’ just further exposes what this battle is all about: Who fundamentally gets to decide what is taught to our kids in school – parents or government employees?” they added. “We believe that parental rights do not stop at the classroom door and no amount of hate from groups like this is going to stop that.” Read More Moms for Liberty rises as power player in GOP politics after attacking schools over gender, race Moms for Liberty named anti-government extremist group by civil rights watchdog Florida mom who tried to ban Amanda Gorman’s book has ties to far-right groups Gunman used social media attack to attack Jews before attack at Pittsburgh synagogue, jurors learn Modi and Biden pull up Pakistan as Indian prime minister concludes US visit Cambodian lawmakers approve changes to election law that disqualify candidates who don't vote

Pro-government Cambodian lawmakers unanimously approved changes to the country’s election law on Friday that will ban anyone who fails to vote from running as a candidate in future elections, a move critics say is aimed at crippling the opposition’s chances in the polls. The measure was approved with minimal debate by all 111 lawmakers present in the National Assembly. All members of the assembly belong to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party. Hun Sen, who has been in power for 38 years, declared last week that the law would be amended ahead of July’s general election to compel candidates for public office to prove their civic responsibility. The amended law will take effect after approval by the Senate, a formality. Hun Sen’s critics say the action as his latest tactic to marginalize his political opponents, some of whom are considering an election boycott. He announced the plan less than a month after the main opposition party was barred from participating in the polls because it could not provide all of the paperwork required for registering. The Candlelight Party said it was unable to provide one document to the National Election Committee because it had been seized in a police raid several years ago. Cambodia’s Constitutional Council refused to overturn the election committee’s decision not to register the party, drawing widespread criticism that the election would not be fair without its participation. The ruling drew international condemnation. The U.S. State Department said it was “deeply troubled” by the decision to bar the Candlelight Party and urged the government “to reverse course to ensure its citizens can participate in a fair, multiparty democracy.” That action against the Candlelight Party was similar to what happened ahead of the 2018 general election, when the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party posed a serious challenge to Hun Sen’s party. It was dissolved months ahead of the polls by a controversial court ruling that alleged it had plotted the illegal overthrow of the government. The party’s disbanding enabled Hun Sen’s party to win all the seats in the National Assembly. Under the amended election law, prospective candidates must have voted in at least two elections to qualify as a candidate in elections at the commune, district, municipality, provincial and national levels. Most prominent opposition figures are in self-imposed exile to avoid being jailed on various charges they say are trumped up and unfair, and the amendment would prevent them from running in future polls without any further action needed to bar them. Opposition figures still inside the country who fail to vote would face the same consequences. The amended law would also discourage an election boycott by placing opposition figures who wish to contest future polls in the awkward position of appearing to be hypocrites if they urge people not to vote while they themselves cast ballots. It will also discourage boycotts by allowing the election committee to impose a fine of 5 million-20 million riels ($1,200-$4,800) on anyone who encourages people not to register or vote. Anyone who incites people to use threats or violence against candidates or political party officials can also be fined and disqualified as candidates for five years. Political parties that fail to remove disqualified candidates can be fined 10 million-30 million riels ($2,420-$7,270). Hun Sen, 70, is an authoritarian ruler in a nominally democratic state. He and his party hold all the advantages of incumbency in the election in terms of political organizing, personnel, finances and media influence. About 9.7 million Cambodians are registered to vote for the 125-seat National Assembly. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Cambodian leader says people who don't vote will be barred from being candidates in future elections Trump legal team gave tapes to Jack Smith as MAGA loyalists turn on each other – live Infighting among Putin's lieutenants seems to reveal signs of 'deep dysfunction'

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has a blunt message for House GOP moderates: Impeach President Joe Biden or face a fierce backlash from voters next year.

Donald Trump’s legal team handed over tapes of the former president’s interviews to special counsel Jack Smith as part of the investigation into the classified documents he held onto after leaving office, it has emerged. In a court filing on Wednesday, federal prosecutors began turning over evidence to Mr Trump’s legal team as the case against him heads to trial. The filing reveals that investigators collected recordings of the former president giving multiple interviews. Sources told CNN those recordings were initially given to federal prosecutors by Mr Trump’s own team. The revelation comes as the former president urged Congress on Thursday to investigate the multiple investigations into him. “Congress will hopefully now look at the ever continuing Witch Hunts and ELECTION INTERFERENCE against me on perfectly legal Boxes,” he wrote on Truth Social after the House Judiciary Committee heard testimony from former special counsel John Durham, who investigated the FBI’s probe into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. Meanwhile, there appears to be trouble in MAGA-world as Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert traded blows on the House floor and former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis mocked Kari Lake for “couch-surfing” at Mar-a-Lago. Read More Trump drops below 50 per cent among GOP voters in new CNN poll following second indictment Fox News’s Bret Baier hits back at Trump conspiracy theorist after ex-president appears to incriminate himself in interview Attorneys spar in case of ex-Trump adviser who devised strategy to keep former president in power Trump claimed the Durham report would uncover the ‘crime of the century.’ Here’s what it really found

Sen. Ted Cruz dazzled the crowd, a surging Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker delivered the keynote and Donald Trump was not yet a candidate for president when the Faith and Freedom Coalition held its annual Road to Majority conference in 2015.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are set to join a trio of key reproductive rights activist groups to mark the one-year anniversary of the Dobbs Supreme Court decision Friday, highlighting what's expected to be a major Biden campaign plank for the 2024 presidential election.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi basked in the most lavish honors that the US can bestow on a visiting leader. But for much of his state visit, the specter of an uninvited guest hovered over Washington and the future of US-India relations.

Medication abortion will remain legal in Wyoming for now after a district judge on Thursday blocked the state's ban on abortion pills, according to the Casper Star-Tribune.

A Virginia Republican who describes herself as “Trump in heels” has lost her latest election bid in the state. Incumbent state Senator Amanda Chase was narrowly defeated by Glen Sturtevant in the GOP’s Virginia state Senate primary. The race was called earlier this week for Mr Sturtevant, who previously served in the Virginia Senate until 2020, by The Associated Press. The race was required after redistricting in the state. Ms Chase, who attended the January 6 rally for former president Donald Trump in Washington DC, was previously censured by the state Senate for a string of incendiary remarks and election denials. She says she did not take part in the violent riot that followed and that she was driving home when it took place. But Ms Chase later praised those who attacked the US Capitol and breached the building, insisting they were not “rioters and looters.” “These were patriots who loved their country and do not want to see our great republic turned into a socialist country,” she said. “I was there with the people. I know.” The Justice Department has said that it believes more than 2,000 people were involved in the riot, and more than 1,000 defendants from all 50 states have been charged in connection with it. She was defeated for the Republican nomination for Virginia governor in 2021 and called for Mr Trump to declare martial law to prevent Joe Biden from being sworn in as president. She has also drawn attention for openly carrying a firearm during senate sessions, and becoming embroiled in an altercation with a Virginia Capitol police officer over a parking spot. Following her latest defeat, Ms Chase appears to be following the Trump playbook of questioning the legality of her loss. She told WWBT on Thursday that her campaign should have been allowed in the room to watch the certification of machines ahead of early voting.“Right now, we’re in the process of raising money to hire a good attorney that can give us the legal counsel that we need,” Ms Chase told the station. “We know that the state law has been violated, clearly. So now we’re going to hold people accountable,” she said. Chesterfield Voter Registrar Missy Vera told the station that her office had complied with state law, which states that each political party may have one representative present during the machine certification process. Read More Trump news – live: Trump pleads for help from Congress as DoJ shares first classified documents evidence New ad mocks Trump’s excuse that he was too ‘busy’ to hand back boxes of secret government intel Fox guest says Trump’s special counsel looked as comfortable as ‘a monk in a strip club’ in front of committee Everything we know about Nancy Mace being tipped as Donald Trump’s new running mate New recordings of Trump revealed in classified papers investigation, documents show Writer's lawyers say Trump is wrong about $5 million sex abuse-defamation jury award

The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday against the Navajo Nation in a dispute concerning the tribe’s access to the drought-stricken Colorado River. Critics says the decision harms a community where an estimated one-third of tribal members lack running water and furthers the history of the US government breaking its promises to tribes. The case, Arizona v Navajo Nation, centres on the obligations of an 1868 treaty, which established the Navajo reservation as the tribe’s permanent home, following their forced removal from their ancestral lands by the United States military. The tribe argued that under the treaty, the US government has an obligation to evaluate the tribe’s need for water and factor that analysis into how it divides up water access to the Colorado River, which serves over 40 million people and passes through seven states. The US government, as well as the states of Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado, and various water districts in California, argued against the tribe in consolidated appeals. They claimed that the tribe’s interpretation of the treaty would undermine existing agreements on sharing the water from the Colorado and create and impose unsubstantiated obligations on the US government to develop water infrastructure for the tribe. In a 5-to-4 decision, all but one of the high court’s conservatives ruled against the tribe. “In light of the treaty’s text and history, we conclude that the treaty does not require the United States to take those affirmative steps,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in the majority opinion. “And it is not the Judiciary’s role to rewrite and update this 155-year-old treaty. Rather, Congress and the President may enact — and often have enacted — laws to assist the citizens of the western United States, including the Navajos, with their water needs.” The court’s three liberal justices, as well as the Trump-appointed Neil Gorsuch, an advocate for tribal rights, dissented. “The Navajo have waited patiently for someone, anyone, to help them, only to be told (repeatedly) that they have been standing in the wrong line and must try another,” he wrote in his dissenting opinion. He argued, alongside the tribe, that the Navajo weren’t forcing the US government to immediately start building water infrastructure or changing water claims on the river, but rather begin the process of fully accounting for what the nation needed. Navajo representatives criticised the ruling. "My job as the president of the Navajo Nation is to represent and protect the Navajo people, our land, and our future,” Navajo Nation president Buu Nygren said in a statement after the ruling. “The only way to do that is with secure, quantified water rights to the Lower Basin of the Colorado River.” With a population of about 175,000 and a land mass larger than West Virginia, the Navajo Nation is the largest US tribal reservation, and the Colorado River and its tributaries flow alongside and through the tribe’s territory. “The US government excluded Navajo tribal citizens from receiving a share of water when the original apportioning occurred and today’s Supreme Court decision for Arizona v. Navajo Nation condoned this lack of accountability,” John Echohawk, executive director of the Native American Rights Fund, one of the many Indigenous groups that filed briefs in support of the Navajo Nation, said in a statement. “Despite today’s ruling, Tribal Nations will continue to assert their water rights and NARF remains committed to that fight.” In 2003, the Navajos sued the federal government regarding access to the Colorado River, while the tribe has also fought for access to a tributary, the Little Colorado River, in state court. As The Independent has reported, many on the Navajo nation struggle for basic water access. “If you run out [of water] in the evening, you have to get up earlier the next day to make sure that there’s water for the kids to wash hands, brush their teeth, make breakfast,” Tina Becenti told The Independent. “It was time-consuming and took a lot of energy.” Tribes were cut out of initial deals made to allocate the water on the Colorado River, leaving many to rely on thousands of unregulated wells, springs, and livestock troughs that are spread across the reservation, which can pose a serious health risk. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, these sources may contain bacterial or fecal contaminants, along with unsafe levels of uranium and arsenic – a legacy of mining on Navajo land which began with the US military’s Manhattan Project for nuclear weapons in 1944 and continued until 2005. The fate of the Colorado River has become increasingly contentious, as the vital waterway dwindles under heavy demand and a changing climate. In May, following years of tense negotiations, Arizona, California, and Nevada agreed to cut their use of water from the Colorado in exchange for $1.2bn in federal funding, a last-minute compromise that staved off catastrophic impacts to agriculture, electricity generation, and water supplies to major cities like Phoenix and Los Angeles. The high court decision follows a ruling this month on another topic with a long and complicated history involving tribal groups: adoption. Last week, a 7-2 majority ruled to preserve the Indian Child Welfare Act, defending the law’s preference for the foster care and adoption of Native children by their relatives and Tribes, which was implemented following investigations that revealed more than one-third of Native children were being removed from their homes and placed with non-Native families and institutions, cutting off important family and cultural ties. Louise Boyle and Alex Woodward contributed reporting to this story. Read More Father of 13 dies in Colorado rafting accident after saving his children from danger Feds announce start of public process to reshape key rules on Colorado River water use by 2027 Nevada fight over leaky irrigation canal and groundwater more complicated than appears on surface Supreme Court rules against Navajo Nation in Colorado River water rights case Feds announce start of public process to reshape key rules on Colorado River water use by 2027 Vegas water agency empowered to limit home water flows in future