The national debt topped $40 trillion, according to Treasury Department data released on Wednesday, representing a fiscal milestone that underscores the federal government’s mounting borrowing and interest costs. The Treasury Department’s daily financial report shows that the nation’s debt reached $40.05 trillion on August 18, more than double its level in 2017. The federal debt has…
U.S. border agents found a collection of endangered reptiles when they noticed a pillowcase moving in a woman’s car after she was stopped at the border with Mexico due to an outstanding arrest warrant. Georgina Bribiesca Chavez, 66, of Tijuana, Mexico, was arrested earlier this month on wildlife trafficking charges after allegedly participating in a…
Harvard University has agreed to pay a $53 million settlement after its former morgue manager stole and sold body parts donated for scientific research, with a court reportedly approving the plan on Tuesday. Cedric Lodge, who managed the morgue at the prestigious Harvard Medical School before being fired in 2023, was sentenced to eight years…
Ryan Elijah defeated Trump-backed Rep. Cory Mills in the GOP primary in Florida’s 7th Congressional District on Tuesday as the congressman faces numerous scandals, The Associated Press projects. The embattled two-term congressman, who faced three primary opponents, struggled to raise money for his reelection bid as the House Ethics Committee investigates numerous allegations against him. …
Washington — GOP Sen. Ashley Moody and Democratic state Rep. Angie Nixon will face off in November after winning their primaries for U.S. Senate on Tuesday night, The Associated Press projects. Moody defeated a handful of lesser-known Republicans to secure the GOP nomination Tuesday as she fights to hold onto the seat she was appointed…
The final 155 beagles from Ridglan Farms, a Wisconsin facility that bred dogs for biomedical research, are beginning new lives after being relocated to a Florida rescue — the last of more than 2,000 dogs released from the facility this year. Despite a growing push to reduce animal testing, USDA records show that more than…
Washington — A former senior adviser at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has pleaded guilty to a charge stemming from a scheme to hide federal records during the COVID-19 pandemic. Under a deal reached with federal prosecutors in Maryland, David Morens, 78, agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to…
Washington — Most Americans probably hadn’t heard of Natalie Harp before this week, but the close Trump aide has been in the political spotlight in recent days. The 35-year-old’s official title is special assistant and executive assistant to the president, and she is frequently seen at President Trump’s side, by all accounts unwavering in her…
Washington — The Trump administration pressured its career civil rights attorneys to investigate allegations of antisemitism at the university campuses of Harvard, Columbia and Brown even though there was no factual or legal basis to do so, according to a former Justice Department attorney. Haley Van Erem, a longtime lawyer at the Justice Department’s Civil…
Companies that stuck with their diversity, equity, and inclusion policies during the second Trump administration, which has sought to cut such programs from the federal government and encouraged private-sector firms to follow suit, have incurred no financial penalties, according to a new study. Corporations in the S&P 500 that maintained their DEI programs performed just…
