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The National Weather Service’s reduction in weather balloon launches left forecasters on shaky ground last week as the central U.S. got hammered with hail and tornadoes, outside meteorologists told NBC News. The storms were one of the first tests of weather forecasts during severe weather since balloon releases were cut back in places like Grand Junction, Colorado; Omaha, Nebraska; and Green Bay, Wisconsin, among other sites. Balloon launches are time-intensive tasks, and many local offices were forced to cut back after the Trump administration trimmed the size of NWS by offering early retirements and laying off some probationary workers.

Harvard Law professor emeritus Laurence Tribe claimed Tuesday on CNN’s “The Situation Room” that President Donald Trump’s actions against Harvard University are out of the “dictator’s handbook,” liking them to Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. Host Wolf Blitzer said, “Harvard University is filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration, accusing the White House of violating the First Amendment and freezing federal funding to the school.” He asked, “Help us better understand the claim that Harvard is making.” Tribe said, “Well, the basic claim is one that really connects what’s going on here to what’s gone on throughout history when autocrats and...

Sen. Ron Johnson is actively investigating 9/11. A day after the Wisconsin Republican went on a far-right podcast promoting conspiracy theories about the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, a spokesperson for Johnson said the lawmaker is currently seeking information and documentation in order to hold hearings on the event nearly 25 years later. He would do so in his capacity as chair of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, one of Congress’s most storied and powerful panels with far-reaching jurisdiction that gives its chair wide latitude to probe a diverse array of matters. It has...

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Representative Robert Garcia (D-CA) said Tuesday on CNN’s “The Situation Room” that the Trump administration’s refusal to bring Kilmar Abrego Garcia back to the United States represented the president stepping over a red line. Garcia said, “I think what’s really, really, really clear to us is that this is more than just about immigration or deportations, this is about a red line in the sand that Donald Trump is now stepping over. the fact that he’s unwilling or unwilling to listen to the supreme court, of which he appointed conservative judges, justices to, is a fire alarm moment in this...

The Iowa House passed legislation Monday to legalize the use of psilocybin, the psychoactive compound found in “magic mushrooms,” for psychiatric treatment through a state program. House File 978, passed 84-6, would establish a Psilocybin Production Establishment Licensing Board within the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, operating in a similar fashion to the existing Medical Cannabidiol Advisory Board that oversees Iowa’s medical cannabis program. The board would grant licenses for the production and administration of products with psilocybin to people with certain mental health needs in the state. The bill also sets new requirements for who can access...

Another day, another leak. More information on the second Hegseth Signal chat group was leaked to NBC News. As previously reported, three Hegseth aides placed on leave amid a probe into leaks were officially fired last Friday. Following the terminations, contents of another Signal group chat with Pete Hegseth were leaked to The Wall Street Journal. “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth created a Signal chat with his wife, his personal lawyer and others, and posted sensitive military information into it, people familiar with the matter said Sunday, a revelation that has added to the increasing scrutiny of the novice leader,” The...

More than 3,500 staffers are preparing to leave the Energy Department in coming days, gutting offices tasked with doling out billions of dollars... Roughly 77 percent of workers at the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, or OCED, took an offer to leave voluntarily... deeper cuts are likely on the horizon as DOE complies with the administration's push to shrink the federal footprint... OCED, for example, was allocated more than $25 billion under those laws, including for hydrogen hubs, carbon capture and battery projects.

MOSCOW, April 22 (Reuters) - A powerful blast ripped through a Russian town east of Moscow on Tuesday where a weapons arsenal is located, local media and Telegram channels close to Russia's security services said, prompting the evacuation of several villages. Local authorities declared a state of emergency in the Vladimir region, where unverified video published on Telegram showed a huge fire ball and clouds of thick smoke rising into the sky.

The 20-year-old who allegedly opened fire on the Florida State University (FSU) campus had been prescribed medication for “emotional dysregulation”; it is unclear whether he had stopped taking medication at the time of the shooting. CNN reported that he “suffered from emotional dysregulation,” but noted that family members indicated “he had stopped taking some of the prescribed medication.” The Cleveland Clinic says: Emotional dysregulation isa brain-related symptom that means you have trouble managing your feelings and emotions. It’s often a sign of conditions that affect your brain or differences in how your brain developed or works today. It’s usually not...

Democrats are trying to prevent immigration enforcement via “an extraordinary amount of individualized adjudication” at a level that “no American citizen” receives, President Donald Trump’s top aide Stephen Miller said.“This isn’t due process — this is called ‘infinity process’ to keep you here forever!” Miller told Newsmax on April 21.Miller’s “Infinity Process” comments echoed President Trump’s message:How can Biden let Millions of Criminals into our Country, totally unchecked and unvetted, with no Legal authority to do so, yet I, in order to make up for this assault to our Nation, am expected to go through a lengthy Legal process, separately,...

House Democrats who traveled to El Salvador to seek the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia have written to Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanding "daily proof of life" after being denied a meeting with the Salvadoran national who was deported from Maryland. Reps. Robert Garcia of California, Maxwell Frost of Florida, Yassamin Ansari of Arizona and Maxine Dexter of Oregon flew to El Salvador Monday following a visit to the country by Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., last week. "We had a meeting this morning with the embassy here in El Salvador and from what we have heard there is...

Walgreens has agreed to pay up to $350 million in a settlement with the DOJ, which accused the pharmacy giant of knowingly filling millions of invalid prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances, and submitting false claims to the federal government.

The Finance Ministry of India announced on Monday that it would be imposing a 12 percent tariff on some steel products — a move apparently intended to prevent China from “dumping” large amounts of steel into the Indian market and elbowing domestic companies out of business.Indian officials had floated the potential of a 12 percent “safeguard duty” in late March in anticipation of news that the United States could impose tariffs that would lead China to see alternative markets to America for products that Americans would no longer want to buy at higher prices. President Donald Trump announced a wave...

Another week of successes for the American people is in the books as President Donald J. Trump continues to deliver on his promises.Here is a non-comprehensive list of wins in week 13:Americans continued to see early results of President Trump’s commitment to American manufacturing and job growth.Abbott Laboratories announced it will spend $500 million on its Illinois and Texas facilities.NVIDIA announced it will manufacture its AI supercomputers entirely in the U.S. as part of its pledge to produce $500 billion of AI infrastructure in the U.S. over the next four years.Honda Motor Co. announced plans to shift production of the...

This could really take a bite out of the Big Apple. The secondhand apparel industry may be dodging duties on imported goods – but the impact of President Trump’s tariffs on thrift shops may still bring a wrecking ball to businesses across the city, resellers told The Post. “There’s a lot of rhetoric that everybody’s going to turn to second-hand [clothing] when wallets tighten,” said Alexis Krase, owner of plus-size secondhand store Plus BKLYN in Greenpoint. “But overall, I think that ultimately means people are also being more critical of spending dollars in general: Overall sales will be down.” Krase,...

Hours after swearing an oath to defend the U.S. Constitution on Jan. 20, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing his attorney general to scour the Justice Department and other agencies for evidence of political "weaponization." The same day, Pentagon staff took down a portrait of Mark Milley, a Trump critic who as chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff had been the highest-ranking military officer during Trump's first term. That evening, Trump stripped his former national security adviser John Bolton – who wrote a memoir critical of Trump – of the protective Secret Service detail he had been...

Trump administration Vice President J.D. Vance announced on Tuesday that the United States and India have come to an agreement on the terms of reference for a new trade deal after the VP visited with the nation’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Both Modi and Vance declared “significant” progress in the trade negotiations and mentioned working together on energy, defense and strategic technologies. Vance said the agreement is “built on shared priorities” such as “creating new jobs, building durable supply chains and achieving prosperity for workers.” The move signals a crucial step towards “realizing President Trump’s and Prime Minister Modi’s vision”...

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on April 21 announced that 27 alleged members or affiliates of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) had been charged under legislation designed to bring down criminal enterprises. [RICO]

--SNIP-- Mrs Badenoch said: “The British public want police on the streets – fighting crime and protecting families – not trawling social media for things someone might find offensive. “Recording so-called non-crime hate incidents hasn’t cut crime. It’s wasted police time chasing ideology and grievance instead of justice. No wonder public trust in the police is falling. People see officers distracted from real threats and politicians too scared to act. “Keir Starmer needs to stop hiding behind weasel words. Stand up, show some courage, and back real policing over political correctness. If Labour were serious about the violence in our...