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Former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama publicly condemned the Trump administration's dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), joining legendary singer Bono in an emotional farewell via videoconference to the shuttered aid service. Obama, a Democrat, called the decision "a colossal mistake," while the Republican Bush denounced the cuts to his signature HIV/AIDS relief program, asking, "Is it in our national interests that 25 million people who would have died now live? I think it is, and so do you." Bono, appearing as a surprise guest, fought back tears as he honored the agency's workers, calling...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush delivered rare open criticism of the Trump administration — and singer Bono held back tears as he recited a poem — in an emotional video farewell on Monday with staffers of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Obama called the Trump administration’s dismantling of USAID “a colossal mistake.” Monday was the last day as an independent agency for the six-decade-old humanitarian and development organization, created by President John F. Kennedy as a peaceful way of promoting U.S. national security by boosting goodwill and prosperity abroad. Secretary of State Marco...

LEESBURG, Va. (AP) — At an impromptu party in the office to celebrate his 50th birthday, a veteran CIA officer got drunk, reached up a colleague’s skirt and forcibly kissed her... An Associated Press investigation found Donald Asquith’s alleged assault last year happened just days after the CIA promised to crack down on sexual misconduct in its ranks.... A recent 648-page internal watchdog report that found systemic shortcomings in the CIA’s handling of such complaints was classified as “secret,” shielded as a potential threat to national security.... When asked why the watchdog report was classified, keeping secret an accounting of...

Donald Trump vowed to release the remaining files on the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy if he is elected president for a second term. The ex-president previously said he would declassify the documents, but was urged not to by one of his senior cabinet members, according to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. It now seems that Trump had a change of heart after an assassin made a failed attempt on his life at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13. Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, shot Trump's right ear. He was taken out by the Secret Service, but not before he...

Japan's biggest steelmaker, Nippon Steel Corp... has hired former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to help with its effort to acquire U.S. Steel ... "We look forward to working alongside him to further emphasize the ways in which Nippon Steel's acquisition of U.S. Steel bolsters the country's economic and national security," Nippon Steel said ... Pompeo had not been given a specific job title within the company. ... Although both steelmakers have received all regulatory approvals outside of the United States for their proposed $14.9 billion merger, they face political opposition and regulatory scrutiny from within the United States....

New FBI data confirms previous indications that crime in the U.S. declined significantly in 2023, continuing a post-pandemic trend and belying widespread perceptions that crime is rising. The new fourth-quarter numbers showed a 13% decline in murder in 2023 from 2022, a 6% decline in reported violent crime and a 4% decline in reported property crime. That’s based on data from around 13,000 law enforcement agencies, policing about 82% of the U.S. population, that provided the FBI with quarterly data through December. “It suggests that when we get the final data in October, we will have seen likely the largest...

Jenna Bush Hager is remembering an unexpected family vacation she took after her grandfather George H.W. Bush lost the 1992 presidential election. On Tuesday’s episode of Today with Hoda & Jenna, the hosts were joined by actor Joel McHale to play a game called “Hot Takes.” One topic, cruises, brought up some old memories for Bush Hager, 42. After McHale, 52, admitted to going on a themed cruise as a child, Bush Hager chimed in to share her own experience, saying, “I actually did go on the Disney Cruise with my grandparents" — although she added that they didn't realize...

WASHINGTON, July 21 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday said he had asked CIA Director William Burns to become a member of his cabinet, elevating one of his closest advisers on national security and foreign policy. . .... He "has made a significant contribution to national security decision-making, especially with regard to Russia and China" Glaser said.

The larger story behind this recent Intercept Article is the headline you just read. Let’s talk….The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is a representative organization in the United States that lobbies Congress.The CoC represent the interests of the multinational corporations who use K-Street and J-Street in DC to write rules, regulations, policies and laws as part of their corporate control over U.S. wealth. That’s what the CoC does. That’s the entire purpose of the Chamber of Commerce.For a long time, the CoC has been in the background of multiple political discussions.During the Obama administration, the federal Dept of Commerce permitted the...