I confess, I like earmarks
CNN
Former Rep. Charlie Dent writes that Congress should bring back earmarks because they increase the likelihood of bipartisan efforts on future pieces of legislation. When members can negotiate for district or state-specific assistance to be written into a major bill, they are predisposed to vote for the bill.
The practice ended in 2011 after the Tea Party won a number of seats in Congress and reports surfaced of congressmen abusing the earmark system. Members lobbying for wasteful projects like Alaska's "bridge to nowhere" -- a $223 million earmark buried inside a federal transportation bill in 2005 -- certainly didn't help matters.
Colorado prosecutors on Friday argued additional charges against James Craig, a dentist accused of fatally poisoning his wife, as new details were revealed in court about how he allegedly tried to get a fellow inmate to kill a detective on the case.
One week into the Trump administration, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem issued a directive that the Federal Emergency Management Agency should stop sending money to non-governmental organizations that she characterized as helping “illegal aliens.”
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Seventh prosecutor in Eric Adams case resigns and calls out Trump’s former lawyer in scathing letter
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Vice President JD Vance warned on Thursday that the United States could send troops to Ukraine and hit Russia with further sanctions if Vladimir Putin doesn’t negotiate a peace deal in good faith.
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The National Park Service has removed references to transgender and queer people on its web page for the Stonewall National Monument, which marks the site of the New York City inn where LGBTQ rioters – including now-legendary transgender activists – galvanized a movement for LGBTQ rights.
The Trump administration broadened its effort to terminate thousands of probationary workers on Thursday, instructing agencies on a call to move forward with the layoffs.