Author: rpnadmin

Small businesses are begging for relief from steep new U.S. tariffs on foreign goods, saying the higher import taxes imposed on dozens of key trading partners Senator Ed Markey, ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, said in a letter to the Small Business Administration (SBA) on Friday that smaller enterprises deserve exemptions from the Trump administration’s tariffs, which the Massachusetts Democrat criticized as “recklessly imposed.”Markey also noted that the Trump administration has moved to shield corporate giants such as Apple and Google from the impact of some its trade policies, and he pressed the White…

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth attends an Oval Office meeting with President Trump and Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store at the Oval Office on April 24. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Normally the names of senior staff at the Pentagon don’t make the news, but the precarious position of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth means that every move is drawing scrutiny. NPR reported this week that the White House is looking for possible replacements with Hegseth under fire for putting sensitive military attack plans into at least two insecure group chats. In-fighting over alleged leaks…

The Wisconsin judge who was arrested on Friday morning on charges of obstructing immigration enforcement spent most of her legal career working on behalf of low-income people and marginalized groups.Federal authorities arrested the judge, Hannah C. Dugan of the Milwaukee County Circuit Court, on suspicion that she “intentionally misdirected federal agents away from” an immigrant being pursued by federal authorities, Kash Patel, the F.B.I. director, wrote on social media. The authorities said that earlier this month, Judge Dugan directed an undocumented immigrant through a side door in her courtroom while the agents waited in a public hallway to apprehend him.Judge…

Learning Resources CEO Rick Woldenberg thinks the Trump administration’s sweeping tariffs will be catastrophic for both his family-owned toy business and for the broader U.S. economy. That’s why he’s suing President Trump.Woldenberg’s business has 500 employees and sells thousands of learning-based toys like Spike the Fine Motor Hedgehog and the Pretend & Play Calculator Cash Register. Its lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., accuses Mr. Trump and other members of his administration of overreaching the president’s authority in imposing the broad-based import duties. Congress has historically held the power to authorize new tariffs or make…

Ad Policy Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez speaks during a town hall event at Centralia College, on April 22, 2025, in Centralia, Washington. (Lindsey Wasson / AP Photos) It is no secret that Democrats face a growing threat: a Republican Party competing for the votes of working-class Americans not just on the issues of crime, immigration, and race, but also on economic issues that once reliably belonged to Democrats. This shift was clear in the 2024 election results and key new Republican policy initiatives. The problem is not the Republican competition, but more significantly… we do not know that Democrats are…

It is the mystery that has gripped Washington.On Sunday night, Kristi Noem, the head of the Department of Homeland Security, was dining downtown at Capital Burger with her family when a thief snatched her purse out from under her chair.The culprit scored, big time: The bag contained Ms. Noem’s driver’s license, medication, apartment keys, blank checks, department badge, passport and $3,000 in cash.The Capital Burger caper made for capital farce — the top official charged with patrolling the nation’s borders and protecting it from terrorist threats, burgled in plain view of her security detail. That it happened to Ms. Noem,…

Washington — Sen. Dick Durbin announced Wednesday he won’t seek reelection in 2026, kickstarting a race for his long-held seat representing Illinois — and a broader shakeup of Democratic leadership in the Senate.Durbin, 80, has served since 2005 as the Democratic whip, the second-ranking position in Democratic leadership. First under former Democratic leader Harry Reid and now under Chuck Schumer, the Illinois Democrat has shepherded the caucus through votes, while being a prominent voice on the leadership team for two decades. After the 2026 elections, the whip position will be up for grabs. And the announcement has spurred whispers about…

President Trump is approaching the 100-day mark of his second term with historically low levels of support and growing questions from voters about his use of power to advance his agenda, according to the latest poll from The New York Times and Siena College.His approval rating is 42 percent, low for a president who just took office, and he shows early signs of erosion on a signature strength: the economy.Mr. Trump’s base of Republican support remains resilient and solidly behind him. But he faces united opposition from Democratic voters and skepticism from independent ones.Here are five takeaways:Voters think Trump has…

Voters believe President Trump is overreaching with his aggressive efforts to expand executive power, and they have deep doubts about some of the signature pieces of his agenda, a New York Times/Siena College poll found.The turbulent early months of Mr. Trump’s administration are seen as “chaotic” and “scary” by majorities of voters — even many who approve of the job he is doing. Voters do not view him as understanding the problems in their daily lives and have soured on his leadership as he approaches his 100th day in office.Mr. Trump’s approval rating sits at 42 percent. His standing is…

American consumers are starting to feel the impact of President Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports, especially online.Since the second week in April, sellers on Amazon have raised their prices on nearly 1,000 products, according to data from SmartScout, a price analysis software tool. The average price hike — nearly 30%. Costs rose on a wide range of items, from tech accessories such as phone charges to women’s clothing, SmartScout founder and CEO Scott Needham told CBS MoneyWatch. Anker, a top-selling brand on Amazon that sells mobile charging devices, has increased prices on roughly 25% of its products on the site, for…