Latest Government programs News

Funding cuts to Afghanistan are the biggest threat to helping women, aid agency chief warns

Jan. 19, 2025 12:08 PM EST

Funding cuts to Afghanistan are the biggest threat to helping the country’s women, the chief of a top aid agency warned Sunday. Jan Egeland, the secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said women and girls were bearing the brunt of dwindling financial support for...

Donald Trump has sweeping plans for a second administration. Here's what he's proposed

Jan. 19, 2025 10:03 AM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump has promised sweeping actions in his second administration. The president-elect has outlined a wide-ranging agenda that blends traditional conservative approaches to taxes, regulation and cultural issues with a more populist bent on trade and a shift...

It's not clear who will lead the Pentagon when Trump takes office. What happens then?

Jan. 18, 2025 13:16 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — It is unclear who will take over at the Pentagon and the military services when the top leaders all step down Monday as President-elect Donald Trump is sworn into office. As of Friday, officials said they had not yet heard who will become the acting defense...

France's Macron expresses support for new leadership in Lebanon as it recovers from crisis

Jan. 17, 2025 20:41 PM EST

BEIRUT (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron met Friday with Lebanon’s newly elected President Joseph Aoun and vowed to support the small nation as it tries to recover from a historic economic crisis and the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war. Macron’s trip to Lebanon, his first...

CBO projects US debt to grow $23.9 trillion in 10 years, not including costs of extending tax cuts

Jan. 17, 2025 15:31 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — The national debt is slated to rise by $23.9 trillion over the next decade, a sum that does not include trillions of dollars in additional tax cuts being championed by President-elect Donald Trump. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released its 10-year...

Walz urges lawmakers to end a power struggle upending the Minnesota Legislature

Jan. 17, 2025 14:09 PM EST

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz urged lawmakers Thursday to end a power struggle that has disrupted the first week of Minnesota's 2025 legislative session, but expressed support for House Democrats' boycott of the chamber to block Republicans from wielding power. House...

US Justice Department, Illinois sheriff agree to policing upgrades after Sonya Massey shooting death

Jan. 17, 2025 13:43 PM EST

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department and a central Illinois sheriff's office on Friday announced a deal resolving an inquiry into violations of federal anti-discrimination law in the shooting death last summer of an unarmed Black woman in her home after she called 911 for...

Russia and Iran have a troubled history despite their current alliance

Jan. 17, 2025 12:53 PM EST

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted his Iranian counterpart Friday for the signing of a broad pact between Moscow and Tehran. The Kremlin says the “comprehensive strategic partnership” agreement between Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will take...

Ozempic, Wegovy and other drugs are among 15 selected for Medicare's price negotiations

Jan. 17, 2025 11:05 AM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Popular weight loss and diabetes drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy have been added to Medicare’s list of medications that will be negotiated directly between the government and drug manufacturers, the Biden administration said Friday. The price negotiations for the...

Mississippi House passes $1.1 billion income tax elimination-gas and sales tax increase plan

Jan. 17, 2025 10:40 AM EST

A bill that phases out the state income tax, cuts the state grocery tax and raises sales taxes and gasoline taxes passed the House of Representatives with a bipartisan vote on Thursday. House Bill 1 — authored by Republican Rep. Trey Lamar of Senatobia and other House leaders –...