Author: Reporter

Like the other Founding Fathers, George Washington was uneasy about the idea of publicly celebrating his life. He was the first leader of a new republic, not a tyrant. And yet the nation will once again commemorate the first U.S. president on Monday, 292 years after he was born. The meaning of Presidents Day has changed dramatically, from being mostly unremarkable and filled with work for Washington in the 1700s to the consumerism bonanza it has become today. For some historians the holiday has lost all discernible meaning. Historian Alexis Coe, author of “You Never Forget Your First: A...

Lower-income families with school-age kids can get help from the federal government paying for groceries this summer, unless they live in one of the 14 states that have said no to joining the program this year. The reasons for the rejections, all from states with Republican governors, include philosophical objections to welfare programs, technical challenges due to aging computer systems and satisfaction with other summer nutrition programs reaching far fewer children. The impact falls on people like Otibehia Allen, a single mom of five in Clarksdale, Mississippi, who makes too much to qualify for some public assistance programs. She...

A New York judge on February 16 imposed a $364 million penalty on Donald Trump, his companies, and some executives, ruling that they engaged in a yearslong scheme to dupe banks and others with financial statements that inflated the former president’s wealth. Trump, who built his reputation as a real estate titan, also was barred from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation for three years. However, the judge backed away from an earlier ruling that would have dissolved the former president’s companies. Trump’s lawyers vowed to appeal. Judge Arthur Engoron issued his decision after...

Criminally indited ex-President Donald Trump has plans to radically reshape the Federal government if he returns to the White House, from promising to deport millions of immigrants in the U.S. illegally to abolishing government agencies and firing tens of thousands of workers and replacing them with loyalists. Liberal organizations in Washington are backing President Joe Biden and say they expect Trump to lose. But they’re quietly trying to install roadblocks just in case. A collection of activists, advocates, and legal experts is promoting new federal rules to limit presidential power while urging President Biden’s White House to do more...