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I was going to suggest that the most snuggly, feel-good story of recent days was the latest ratings for CNN, which have fallen more than 20 percent over the last year and continued to fall over the summer, such that it now ranks behind the Discovery Channel and HGTV. Makes sense: why tune in to CNN for manure if you can get better manure for your private garden from HGTV? But this story is much more snuggly feel-good inducing: EPA lost more than 1,500 workers in first 18 months of Trump administration: report The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reportedly lost...

Donald F. McGahn, the White House counsel, stood in the gilded ballroom of Washington’s Mayflower Hotel last November to address the annual meeting of the Federalist Society. He seemed humbled, even a bit awed to be delivering the Barbara K. Olson Memorial lecture, named after the conservative lawyer who died in the Sept. 11 attacks. Noting some of the legal giants who gave the Olson lecture in years past, McGahn reflected, “You hear names like Scalia, Roberts and Gorsuch and then me; one of those names really is different than the rest.” Unlike previous speakers — to say nothing of...

Experts are now forecasting a "below-average" Atlantic hurricane season based on unusually cold temperatures in portions of the Atlantic Ocean, according to updated projections released Monday (June 2) by Colorado State University. The new predictions call for a total of 11 named storms to develop this season, a drop from the original prediction of 14. The 11 storms include Subtropical Storm Alberto, the one named storm that has already occurred this season. Of those 11 storms, four are expected to become hurricanes, including one major hurricane. The original forecast, released in April, included seven hurricanes, three of them major hurricanes....

According to the source, Sheriff Israel is being removed from office for criminal issues, not malfeasance, following an investigation conducted by the office of Florida Governor Rick Scott.

ABC News’ Brian Ross — who was suspended last year as chief investigative correspondent for a faulty report on Michael Flynn — is leaving the network, Page Six has exclusively learned. ABC suspended Ross last December for a month without pay for a botched report on ousted White House national security adviser Flynn that reported President Trump directed Flynn to make contact with Russian officials. The mistake even sent stocks tumbling, and ABC issued an apology saying: “We deeply regret and apologize for the serious error.”

Despite President Trump's tit-for-tat trade barbs, America’s CEOs are not wasting anytime in taking advantage of his tax reform plan. Over $300 billion was repatriated to the U.S. in the first quarter, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) -- the most on record. “U.S. firms that used to build their factories overseas in order to avoid U.S. taxes, they stopped in their tracks because of the tax bill, they are bringing all the money home,” said Kevin Hassett, chair of the president's Council of Economic Advisers, during an interview on FOX Business’ Varney & Co. in June.

SAN FRANCISCO — Apple’s chief executive, Timothy D. Cook, may be the leader of the world’s most valuable public company, but lately he has had to act a lot like the tech industry’s top diplomat. Last month he visited the Oval Office to warn President Trump that tough talk on China could threaten Apple’s position in the country. In March, at a major summit meeting in Beijing, he called for “calmer heads” to prevail between the world’s two most powerful countries. (please see link, for full article)

President Trump rebuked Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday, saying that the U.S. will not endorse a joint communique signed with the other Group of Seven (G-7) members at this weekend's summit and seemingly threatening to impose further tariffs on the country. “Based on Justin’s false statements at his news conference, and the fact that Canada is charging massive Tariffs to our U.S. farmers, workers and companies, I have instructed our U.S. Reps not to endorse the Communique as we look at Tariffs on automobiles flooding the U.S. Market!” Trump tweeted. Based on Justin’s false statements at his news...

WASHINGTON — Firearm bump stocks would have to be surrendered, destroyed or made inoperable under a ban proposed Friday by the Justice Department. The devices, which allow semi-automatic weapons to fire as fast as a machine gun, became the focus of concern following the discovery that Stephen Paddock attached them to 14 of the 22 rifles he used in the October 2017 shooting rampage in Las Vegas, killing 58 people and injuring more than 700. "After the senseless shooting in Las Vegas, this proposed rule is a critical step in our effort to reduce the threat of gun violence that...

Matt Damon is moving his family to Australia — in part because the liberal star’s fed up with President Trump.

New applications for unemployment benefits dropped 7,000 to 222,000 in the second full week of February, the Department of Labor reported Thursday, the second-lowest mark of the recovery and a good sign for the economy. Forecasters had expected new jobless claims to remain steady at an ultra-low 230,000. Lower claims are good news because they mean fewer people are getting laid off. Thursday's mark is the lowest since the early 1970s, setting aside the week of January 13, when claims touched as low as 216,000. The report should raise expectations for a very strong jobs report for the month of...

Refugee resettlement agencies are preparing to shutter more than 20 offices across the United States and cut back operations in more than 40 others after the State Department told them to pare their operations, according to plans seen by Reuters. ... The vetting measures are likely to significantly slow down the pace of arrivals, refugee organizations have said, and in the end the United States may not reach its cap for the year of 45,000 refugees.

The numbers: Initial U.S. jobless claims fell by 9,000 to 221,000 in the seven days ended Feb 3. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch forecast a 235,000 reading.The more stable monthly average of claims declined by 10,000 to 224,500, the government said Thursday. That’s the lowest level since March 1973.The number of people already collecting unemployment benefits, known as continuing claims, dropped by 33,000 to 1.92 million.What happened: Missouri, California and New York saw big declines in unadjusted jobless claims, but in most states there was little change.

According to two former Administrators, current federal Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt has set the agency back by anything from several years to as much as three decades due to “regulatory rollbacks, mass attrition and budget cuts.” That sounds ominous. It isn’t. At present EPA is operating under FY2017 funding levels. While projected FY2018 funding cuts will be substantial, they have not yet taken place. The FY2018 budget’s 28% reduction for the Superfund program and $427 million cut to geographic programs such as the Great Lakes, Puget Sound, and Chesapeake Bay are reasons for concern. But EPA is known...

Our strong economy continues to grow, as 200,000 new jobs were added in January 2018. Since Election Day 2016, American job creators have added 2,553,000 new jobs. The unemployment rate remains at a 17-year low of 4.1%. Job growth in construction was strong in January, with 36,000 new jobs created. January saw the third consecutive monthly rise in the wage growth rate, with a 2.9% 12-month increase in average hourly earnings. December 2017 wage growth rate was revised up to 2.7%; November 2017 was 2.5%. This may be the start of a welcome trend in wage gains, and marks the...

Michelle Obama has a message for Americans who are frightened by the current political climate: remain hopeful. "All we have is hope," the former first lady says in a preview clip from Thursday's "Ellen" show. Obama's sit-down with host Ellen DeGeneres marks her first TV interview since leaving the White House last year. "People are afraid, but then there are people who feel good about the direction of the country, so I mean, that’s what makes this country complicated because it’s made up of so many different people from different backgrounds," Obama tells DeGeneres, when asked what advice she'd give...

After decades helping refugee families become Americans, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Dubuque announced on Dec. 18 that it was getting out of the business. Its 77-year-old refugee resettlement ministry was being shut down. (snip)“We have received some indication that those agencies that are serving under 100 resettlement clients a year are at risk for being discontinued, of losing their federal contracts,” she said on Jan. 9. “So some of the agencies that are very small are threatened.”(snip) Sister Markham emphasized that the closing of the refugee programs “is not a decision that Catholic Charities is making…this is being...

President Trump will be attending the World Economic Forum in Davos this week. Inevitably, attention will focus on whether the president projects a commitment to internationalist values or reiterates his truculent nationalism in the name of making America “great again.” Attention will also focus on the durability of the current economic and market upswing that has buoyed the spirits of businesses and investors around the world. While Trump will probably try to take credit for all the economic good news, it is unlikely that he deserves it. He is president of the United States, not the world. And the economic...

The United States is projected to grow 2.7 percent in 2018 as President Trump’s tax cuts boost growth, the International Monetary Fund said in a new report Monday, delivering more positive economic news as the president passes his one-year mark in the White House. But deep inequality remains in the country and the IMF does not expect the growth to last long. “We certainly should feel encouraged by the strengthened growth, but we should not feel satisfied. There are still too many people who are left out of that recovery and acceleration," said Christine Lagarde, head of the IMF on...

If you want a sign of a growing economy, look at the disability rolls. They've been shrinking rapidly of late, as fewer apply for benefits and more disabled return to work. This is very good news. In the aftermath of the last recession, the number of workers who went on the Social Security Disability Insurance program skyrocketed by more than 1 million. It's clear from the data that this was being driven largely by the lack of good job prospects. Monthly applications for SSDI leapt from an average 182,000 a month in 2007 to 245,000 a month in 2010. Even...