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Johnson Grasps For A Plan With Shutdown Approaching

WASHINGTON (AP) — With just a week left to avert a government shutdown, new House Speaker Mike Johnson is facing his first big test as he tries to win House Republican support for a short-term funding plan — a task that looks increasingly difficult amid stubborn divisions in the party over federal spending. Federal agencies are making plans for a shutdown that would shutter government services and halt paychecks for millions of federal workers and military troops. It’s a disruption that Johnson — just two weeks into his job running the House — has said he wants to avoid. ...

Judge Declines For Now To Push Back Trump’s Classified Documents Trial

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge in Florida on Friday declined to delay Donald Trump’s classified documents trial, calling a request by the former president’s defense lawyers to postpone the date “premature.” But she pushed back other deadlines in the case and signaled that she would revisit the trial date later. The ruling from U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon means that the trial, for now at least, remains scheduled to begin on May 20, 2024 despite efforts by the Trump team to postpone it until after next November’s presidential election. Trump’s lawyers had argued ...

Mitch McConnell, Standing Apart In A Changing GOP, Digs In On His Push Against Russia

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mitch McConnell often tells the story of a letter that his father, a foot soldier in World War II, wrote to his mother while he was stationed in Eastern Europe in 1945, as the United States was liberating the region from Nazi rule. “I think the Russians are going to be a big problem,” A.M. McConnell wrote, foreshadowing the communist takeover to come. Almost 80 years later, his son is still warning of Russia. From his perch as the long-time Republican leader in the U.S. Senate, McConnell has emerged as perhaps the strongest advocate in Congress for sending ...

Jury Awards $1.2M To Robert De Niro’s Former Assistant

NEW YORK (AP) — A jury said Robert De Niro’s company should pay more than $1.2 million to his former personal assistant after finding his production company engaged in gender discrimination and retaliation. While the jury found De Niro was not personally liable for the abuse, they said his production company, Canal Productions, should make two payments of $632,142 to his longtime personal assistant, Graham Chase Robinson. De Niro, who spent three days at the two week-trial, including two on the witness stand, has been ensnared in dueling lawsuits with Robinson since she quit in ...

Manchin Won’t Seek Another Term In Senate

By STEVEN ALLEN ADAMS For The Intelligencer CHARLESTON — U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin announced Thursday that he would not seek re-election in 2024. Manchin, D-W.Va., made his announcement about his political future Thursday afternoon in a press release and video statement. Instead of seeking re-election, Manchin will focus on traveling the country to promote moderate political solutions. “After months of deliberation and long conversations with my family, I believe in my heart of hearts that I have accomplished what I set out to do for West Virginia,” Manchin said. “I have ...

Heart Check

Almost every time we visit the doctor, our heart is checked. If our heart is malfunctioning, it will affect the health of our entire body, and can lead to serious medical complications, even death. In the least, we will not be able to function up to the best of our abilities. In the spiritual realm, out heart is also vital to good health - that is the heart which resides deep within the soul. It is most telling that God Himself checks our hearts. Jeremiah (17:9-10) writes that “The heart is more deceitful than all else, and is desperately sick.” This would be a heart left to ...