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US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shake hands during an expanded bilateral meeting in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on September 21, 2023. The U.S. will provide Ukraine with an additional $325 million in military aid, President Joe Biden announced Thursday during a White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Before the meeting began in the Oval Office, Biden and Zelenskyy gave brief remarks to the press. In Washington, Zelenskyy met for a little more than an hour with senators on Capitol Hill. Zelenskyy visited Washington in December and delivered an address to a joint meeting of Congress.

Persons: Joe Biden, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Abrams, Biden, Amanda Sloat, Andrea Mitchell, Sloat, Zelenskyy, Jake Sullivan, Antony Blinken, Kamala Harris, Defense Lloyd Austin, Kevin McCarthy, McCarthy, Zelensky, Sen, Mike Rounds, Zelenskyy's, Cynthia Lummis, Rounds Organizations: White, Washington , D.C, National Security Council, Office, Russia, Pentagon, Defense, United Nations General Assembly, Punchbowl News, NBC, Republicans, Management, Shalanda Young, Wall Street, Capitol, General Assembly, NATO, Department of Defense Locations: Washington ,, U.S, Ukraine, Europe, Ukrainian, Washington, Russia, New York City, Zelenskyy, Ukrainians, Vilnius, Lithuania

☆ Biden admin proposes regulation to eliminate 'gun show loophole'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Ken Dilanian | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement Thursday that the move is a result of the bipartisan law passed by Congress last year. The "gun show loophole" has been cited for years as a major hole in the federal background check system, allowing a vast number of private sales without background checks. The ATF currently licenses about 80,000 brick-and-mortar gun dealers, but gun sales are increasingly taking place outside that system, free of background checks. Earlier this year, Biden signed an executive order designed to expand background checks. Biden also noted that the law closed the so-called boyfriend loophole by keeping guns away from unmarried dating partners convicted of abuse.

Persons: WASHINGTON —, General Merrick Garland, Biden, Garland, Thursday's, Barack Obama, Pat Toomey, Joe Manchin Organizations: Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, Biden, Congress, Safer, ATF, NBC News, Justice Department, Sandy Hook Elementary, Senate, Republicans Locations: Washington ,, WASHINGTON, Midland, Odessa , Texas, Newtown , Connecticut

Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) speaks during a press conference on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) with members of the House Freedom Caucus on July 14, 2023 in Washington, DC. The House narrowly passed an annual defense policy bill on Friday after Republicans added provisions on abortion and transgender surgeries — measures that were a nonstarter for Democrats. The amendments, adopted Thursday, would ban the secretary of defense from paying for or reimbursing service members for abortion-related expenses and transgender surgeries and hormone treatments. House Democratic leaders said Thursday that members of their caucus will vote against passing the bill. The defense legislation will eventually need to be reconciled with a version of the bill under consideration in the Senate.

Persons: Ronny Jackson, Ken Buck, Ken Buck of Colorado, Andy Biggs, Eli Crane of, Thomas Massie of, Henry Cuellar, John Duarte of, Brian Fitzpatrick, Matt Rosendale, Joe Biden's, Hakeem Jeffries, Sen, Tommy Tuberville, Scott Perry, We're, Perry, Pete Aguilar, I've, Pat Ryan Organizations: National Defense, Caucus, Democrats, Four, Rep, Texas Democrat, Republicans, Department of Defense, Defense Department, Democratic, House Democratic, Senate, GOP, House Armed Services Committee Locations: Washington ,, Ken Buck of, Eli Crane of Arizona, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Texas, John Duarte of California, Pennsylvania, D

☆ Secret Services ends White House cocaine investigation with no leads
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Kelly O'Donnell | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The Secret Service investigation has concluded with no usable forensic or video evidence to identify the individual responsible, three Secret Service officials familiar with the investigation tell NBC News. The Secret Service received results Wednesday from tests conducted by the FBI, "which did not develop latent fingerprints and insufficient DNA was present for investigative comparisons," according to an official statement from the Secret Service released Thursday. "The presence of illegal drugs in the White House is unacceptable and a shameful moment in the White House's history." White House officials noted the Biden family was not at the White House when the cocaine was discovered; the president and his family had left for Camp David for the holiday weekend Friday and did not return to the White House until Tuesday, July 4th, after the cocaine had been discovered. The individuals were notified they could not bring the marijuana to the White House campus, the officials said.

Persons: Biden, Jake Sullivan, Karine Jean, Pierre, Jean, James Comer, Kimberly Cheatle, Comer, Camp David, Pierre said, it's Organizations: Service Police, Lafayette, Service, NBC, White, FBI, NBC News, Homeland, Capitol, West, Wing, West Wing, District of Columbia Fire Department, Department of Homeland, Camp, Secret Services, Washington , D.C, White House Locations: Washington ,, Ky, Fort Detrick , Maryland

☆ U.S. ambassador visits detained journalist Evan Gershkovich in Russian prison
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Abigail Williams | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy saw American journalist Evan Gershkovich on Monday, the second visit by Biden administration officials since the Wall Street Journal reporter was arrested in March. U.S. consular officials, including Tracy, were last able to see Gershkovich on April 17, about two weeks after Russian government officials arrested him. A Moscow court ruled last month that Gershkovich must remain in prison until Aug. 30. "Ambassador Tracy reports that Mr. Gershkovich is in good health and remains strong, despite his circumstances," a State Department spokesperson said. "U.S. Embassy officials will continue to provide all appropriate support to Mr. Gershkovich and his family, and we expect Russian authorities to provide continued consular access."

Persons: Evan Gershkovich, Lynne Tracy, Tracy, Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Mr, Whelan Organizations: Court, Biden, Street, State Department, Embassy, Federal Security Service Locations: Moscow, American, U.S, Russia, Moscow's

☆ Bat-wielding attacker injures Virginia congressman's district office staff
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Rebecca Shabad | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) listens at a news conference outside of the U.S. Capitol Building on June 16, 2022 in Washington, DC. "This morning, an individual entered my District Office armed with a baseball bat and asked for me before committing an act of violence against two members of my staff. He said his focus is on ensuring his staff members receive the care they need. "My District Office staff make themselves available to constituents and members of the public every day. His district office is in Fairfax, Virginia, which is less than 15 miles from downtown Washington.

President Joe Biden suggested on Thursday morning that officials appeared to be nearing a breakthrough in their investigation into who leaked the documents online. The Washington Post was the first news outlet on Wednesday night to report about the gaming group, and only identified him as "OG." The Post said it reviewed approximately 300 photos of classified documents that the suspect allegedly leaked, most of which the report said have not been made public. NBC News has not yet verified the details about the gaming group and that it was the source of where the classified documents were first shared. He also said that it appears that some of the classified documents had been altered from their original form.

☆ Former Trump adviser Stephen Miller appears at D.C. federal court where Jan. 6 grand jury meets
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Rebecca Shabad | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Former Trump adviser Stephen Miller arrived Tuesday at the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., and was seen entering the area where the grand jury tied to special counsel Jack Smith's Jan. 6 investigation meets. The grand jury is investigating the role former President Donald Trump played in the Jan. 6 riot and efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. His appearance at the federal court comes after a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Meanwhile, Trump on Monday filed an appeal in federal court in an effort to block former Vice President Mike Pence from testifying before the federal grand jury. It's unclear when Pence would appear before the grand jury in Washington, a source familiar with the matter said last week.

A different report containing classified material will be shared with members of Congress, which comes in response to requests from congressional committees, the White House said. "President Biden's choices for how to execute a withdrawal from Afghanistan were severely constrained by conditions created by his predecessor," the report said. But the Trump administration "provided no plans for how to conduct the final withdrawal or to evacuate Americans and Afghan allies," the White House said. "No agency predicted a Taliban takeover in nine days," Kirby told reporters at the White House press briefing. Many critics of the withdrawal — including lawmakers from both parties — faulted the Biden administration for how it handled the pullout.

☆ Ex-Trump aide Peter Navarro ordered to turn over hundreds of emails to the National Archives
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Rebecca Shabad | Daniel Barnes | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Thursday ordered former Donald Trump aide Peter Navarro to hand the National Archives 200 to 250 emails that he sent during his time in the Trump administration using a private email account instead of his White House email. Lawyers for Navarro alleged the Justice Department was using the Presidential Records Act, which requires that official White House records be preserved, as a way to gather evidence against him in his ongoing criminal contempt of Congress case. They argued that forcing Navarro to produce the emails could violate his 5th amendment right against self-incrimination. Navarro did not copy his official White House account on the email exchanges, nor did he forward the email chains to his White House account, a violation of the Presidential Records Act, the department said. The National Archives had reached out to Navarro to ask that he turn over the records, but he did not respond, the Justice Department's complaint said.

☆ Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro says his office made a criminal referral in East Palestine train derailment
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Rebecca Shabad | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Drone footage shows the freight train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, U.S., February 6, 2023 in this screengrab obtained from a handout video released by the NTSB. Josh Shapiro on Tuesday said that his office has made a criminal referral in response to the recent train derailment over the border in East Palestine, Ohio, and the aftereffects on the environment and nearby communities. Shapiro shared the information during a press conference in East Palestine with Ohio Gov. Meanwhile, consumer advocate Erin Brockovich is planning a town hall in East Palestine for Friday. In an interview Tuesday on MSNBC, she reacted to footage of Regan and DeWine drinking an East Palestine resident's tap water.

President Joe Biden jogs across the South Lawn of the White House to speak with visitors before boarding Marine One, Friday, March 18, 2022, in Washington. President Joe Biden remains "fit" to conduct his duties as president, according to a medical memo released by the White House following a routine physical exam on Thursday. "President Biden remains a healthy, vigorous 80-year-old male, who is fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency," White House physician Kevin O'Connor said in a five-page memo. Biden was expected to have his exam in January, but it was postponed due to schedule conflicts, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said earlier this month. In 2021, Biden's exam included a colonoscopy, which required sedation.

☆ DOJ charges 3 men in murder-for-hire plot against journalist critical of Iran
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Soon after the charges were announced, Masih Alinejad revealed that she was the target of the assassination plot. “Fortunately, their plot failed because we didn’t,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said at a press conference announcing the indictment. Amirov, a citizen of Azerbaijan and Russia who was living in Iran during the plot, was taken into custody in New York on Thursday. Omarov then directed Mehdiyev to carry out the plot against Alinejad and Amirov and Omarov arranged to pay Mehdiyev $30,000 in cash. Before he could carry out the plot, however, Mehdiyev was arrested near Alinejad's home in July with the assault rifle in his possession.

☆ Democratic Govs. Newsom, Pritzker push back on DeSantis after Florida blocks AP African American studies course
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Ron DeSantis after his administration blocked the teaching of an Advanced Placement course on African American studies. J.B. Pritzker is urging the College Board not to appease DeSantis, a likely 2024 Republican presidential candidate, and alter the course curriculum. DeSantis’ administration rejected the AP African American studies program in a letter this month to the College Board, which oversees AP classes. Pritzker meanwhile said that Illinois expects any AP course focused on African American studies "to include a factual accounting of history, including the role played by black queer Americans." The College Board said Tuesday it would release a new framework for the AP course, which it said has been under development since March.

☆ Sen. Josh Hawley says he'll introduce legislation to ban TikTok nationwide
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON — Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., has announced he plans to introduce legislation Wednesday that would ban the popular social media app TikTok in the United States. Now I will introduce legislation to ban it nationwide." "But listen, I welcome all efforts to ban TikTok, of whatever form it takes." Under that measure, the president could impose sanctions on TikTok and other social media companies to prevent commercial operation in the U.S. Several states have also taken steps to prohibit the use of TikTok on government devices.

☆ Ben Crump plans to sue DeSantis over rejection of AP African American studies course
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — Civil rights lawyer Benjamin Crump is expected to announce Wednesday that he intends to sue Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over his administration's decision to block a new Advanced Placement course on African American studies from being taught in high schools. DeSantis' administration rejected the AP's African American studies program in a letter this month to the College Board, which oversees AP classes. On Tuesday, The College Board said it would release a new framework for the AP course, which it said has been under development since March. “We are glad the College Board has recognized that the originally submitted course curriculum is problematic, and we are encouraged to see the College Board express a willingness to amend,” Alex Lanfranconi, a spokesperson for the agency, said in a statement.

WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris is planning to travel to her home state of California following a spate of mass shootings there that have left at least 19 people dead in the last several days. "Then on top of that, we see what’s happened in California, and what’s happened to the Asian American community has been devastating," he said. "The vice president is going to be going out," Biden said, without providing any details about her trip. Biden said he's been speaking with a number of California Democrats, including Gov. The president also mentioned that on Monday, a group of Senate Democrats, including California's Dianne Feinstein, reintroduced legislation to ban assault weapons.

☆ White House tells House Republicans probing Biden documents that it will cooperate with 'legitimate oversight'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON — The White House Counsel's Office said it is reviewing recent requests from a GOP committee chair related to Biden's handling of classified documents and signaled they plan to cooperate to an extent. Delery, however, suggested that there will be a limit to what the White House is willing to share with Congress. To that end, White House staff will reach out to Committee staff to arrange a time to discuss this matter." Delery acknowledged that the FBI conducted a "thorough, consensual search" of Biden's Wilmington residence on Friday after the president's lawyers offered to provide access to his home. Comer's probe is one of two major House Republican investigations into the Biden documents.

☆ Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego expected to announce a bid for Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's seat in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Haley Talbot | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., is expected to announce Monday that he's running for Senate in Arizona in 2024, according to a source familiar with his planned rollout. Gallego, a progressive Democrat, is running for the seat held by Sinema, who decided in December to leave the Democratic Party and become an independent. If she does, and Gallego wins the Democratic nomination, they'd face each other in the general election. In December, after Sinema announced she was changing her party affiliation, Gallego signaled to NBC News he was likely to launch a Senate bid. Gallego went on to say he believes if Sinema runs, “it will almost ensure the fact that the Senate seat will stay in Democratic hands” because of the GOP’s struggles to hold its coalition together.

☆ Nikki Haley teases a 2024 presidential run: 'We need to go in a new direction'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — Republican Nikki Haley strongly hinted in an interview that aired Thursday that she might run for president, though stopped short of declaring a bid. "Yes, we need to go in a new direction," Haley said. "I don’t think you need to be 80 years old to go be a leader in D.C. I think we need a young generation to come in, step up and really start fixing things," she said. Before serving in federal government, Haley was the governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017.

☆ March for Life anti-abortion rally set to take place for the first time since Roe was overturned
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Organizers of the annual rally and march say they need to continue holding the event despite the high court's decision last year to reverse the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling. The activists say they will continue to march every January "until a culture of life is restored in the United States of America." The Supreme Court overturned Roe in a 5-4 decision on June 24 — nearly 50 years after the landmark ruling — in a case about Mississippi’s abortion ban, which it upheld in a 6-3 ruling. And as conservatives implement restrictions across the country, Democrats are expanding access to abortion in states where they control the legislatures. The Biden administration has also sought to protect abortion rights despite the end of Roe.

☆ Union membership fell to record low in 2022, Bureau of Labor Statistics says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Rebecca Shabad | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Amazon Labor Union interim president Chris Smalls celebrates the first union election win at an Amazon warehouse on April 1, 2022, in New York. Union membership in the U.S. dropped to the lowest since the federal government began collecting such data in 1983, according to a report released Thursday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The agency found that the union membership rate fell to 10.1% in 2022, down from 10.3% in 2021. he Bureau of Labor Statistics began measuring the union membership rate in 1983, when it was 20.1% and there were 17.7 million workers. According to the 2022 data, the highest union membership rate was among people who worked in protective service, in education, training and libraries.

☆ George Santos says his mom was in the World Trade Center on 9/11. Records show she wasn't in the U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON — Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., has claimed that his mother was at her office inside the World Trade Center during the 9/11 terror attacks, but records obtained by NBC News on Wednesday show she was living in Brazil at the time. She later applied for re-entry and was re-admitted into the U.S. in 2003, the records show. In 2021, when he was running for Congress, Santos claimed in a reply to an account on Twitter that 9/11 claimed his mother’s life. Calzareth, who’s originally from Nassau County but not Santos’ congressional district, submitted the FOIA requests about Santos’ mother in late December 2022. But House Republicans awarded him slots on two committees after pressure to prevent him from being seated on congressional panels.

☆ Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar receive committee assignments after Democrats kicked them off
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — House Republicans have assigned Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., to serve on committees again after Democrats stripped them of that privilege in 2021, according to a member of the GOP Steering Committee, which doles out the appointments. Greene has been assigned to the House Committee on Homeland Security, which Republicans will use to focus on border security and investigate Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Gosar, meanwhile, has been assigned to the House Committee on Natural Resources, where he had served just before his removal, the member said. The Democratic majority chose to pursue a proposal to remove Greene from her committees after House Republican leaders opted not to take action against Greene. As part of the measure, Gosar was censured, which is considered the harshest punishment against a member in the House, after expulsion.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will deliver his second State of the Union address before Congress on Feb. 7. Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., invited Biden to deliver the address on that date in a letter Friday. Biden has accepted the invitation to deliver his speech on that date, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. Last year, Biden delivered his State of the Union speech in March and his first one, which was an address to a joint session of Congress, was in late April 2021. This also marks the first address Biden is making as president to a Republican-controlled House.

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