National News - Page 21

Air Force One, with Trump aboard, turns around after ‘minor electrical issue’ is identified

By Elyse Perlmutter-Gumbiner and Dennis Romero Air Force One returned to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on Tuesday night after the crew identified “a minor electrical issue” after takeoff, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. President Donald Trump was seen boarding a new, smaller aircraft after landing. It will take the designation Air Force One, according to protocol noted by the Air Force. The plane with the electrical issue landed with Trump on board at 11:07 p.m. after having taken off shortly after 9:40 p.m. ET. The president uses one of two custom Boeing 747-200B planes that the Air Force calls VC-25 aircraft. It’s not clear which experienced

Trump loyalist Lindsey Halligan leaves her post as a top federal prosecutor

By Ryan J. Reilly and Gary Grumbach WASHINGTON — Attorney General Pam Bondi said Tuesday night that Trump loyalist Lindsey Halligan is leaving her post as a top federal prosecutor in Virginia. “Her departure is a significant loss for the Department of Justice and the communities she served,” Bondi said in a statement. “While we will feel her absence keenly, we are confident that she will continue to serve her country in other ways.” The announcement comes the same day a federal judge barred Halligan from “masquerading” as the top federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia. At the same time, U.S. District Judge David Novak said he

DOJ civil rights chief blasts Don Lemon for covering anti-ICE protest inside church, vows charges against protesters

By Megan Lebowitz WASHINGTON — The Justice Department “will pursue charges” related to a protest in a church in St. Paul, Minnesota, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said Monday, specifically calling out ex-CNN journalist Don Lemon for his coverage of the event. In an interview with conservative influencer Benny Johnson, Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for civil rights, said journalism is not a “shield” from a “criminal conspiracy.” “Don Lemon himself has come out and said he knew exactly what was going to happen inside that facility,” Dhillon said on “The Benny Show.” “He went into the facility, and then he

Inside a year of firings that have shaken the Trump Justice Department: ‘A great deal of fear’

By Eric Tucker WASHINGTON (AP) — Michael Ben’Ary was driving one of his children to soccer practice on an October evening last year when he paused at a red light to check his work phone. He was in the middle of a counterterrorism prosecution so important that President Donald Trump highlighted it in his State of the Union address. Ben’Ary said he was shocked to see his phone had been disabled. He found the explanation later in his personal email account, a letter informing him he had been fired. A veteran prosecutor, Ben’Ary handled high-profile cases over two decades at the Justice Department,

The U.S. political climate spurs efforts to reclaim the MLK holiday

By The Associated Press As communities across the country on Monday hosted parades, panels and service projects for the 40th federal observation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the political climate for some is more fraught with tensions than festive with reflection on the slain Black American civil rights icon’s legacy. In the year since Donald Trump’s second inauguration fell on King Day, the Republican president has adopted a scorched earth stance against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and targeted mostly Black-led cities for federal law enforcement operations, among other policies that many King admirers have criticized. One year ago, Trump’s executive orders, “Ending

HBCU basketball players connected to FBI gambling indictment

Federal prosecutors have charged several men’s college basketball players — including those with ties to HBCUs — in a widening point-shaving conspiracy that authorities say spanned multiple schools and involved hundreds of thousands of dollars in illicit wagers. According to an indictment filed this week in federal court, the alleged scheme reached into Division I programs across the country, including HBCUs such as North Carolina A&T, Coppin State, and Alabama State. Prosecutors say that at least four collegiate games in 2024 were intentionally manipulated to benefit a group of “fixers” who placed large bets through U.S. sportsbooks. The federal indictment, filed in Philadelphia,

Black lawmakers warn constituents that proposed funding formula changes could hurt Mississippi’s HBCUs

By Candace Wilder Proposed changes to how the state funds its eight public universities could harm historically Black institutions, some lawmakers said. The funding formula updates, which legislators discussed with higher education officials in December, would tie state money to post-graduation student success such as the number of Mississippians attaining jobs and completing some form of education beyond high school. A delegation of Black lawmakers said that factoring graduation rates, post-graduation employment and degrees awarded by universities into their allotted funding would unfairly penalize historically Black colleges and universities for challenges tied to decades of underfunding. Black lawmakers spoke about the funding

Trump threatens to invoke the Insurrection Act in response to Minneapolis protests

By Rebecca Shabad WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act in response to rising tensions between protesters and federal personnel in Minneapolis. “If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. His warning came just hours after a

Venezuela’s opposition leader gives Trump her Nobel Peace Prize medal

By Peter Nicholas and Monica Alba WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump lost out on the Nobel Peace Prize, yet in a rare confluence of geopolitics and chance, he wound up with the 18-karat gold medal nonetheless. María Corina Machado, who won the 2025 prize, presented her medal to Trump during a private meeting at the White House on Thursday in appreciation for deposing Venezuela’s repressive leader, Nicolás Maduro, in a U.S. military raid on Jan. 3. In a post on his social media site, Trump thanked Machado for parting with her prize. He did not say what he intends to do it. “It was my Great Honor to

Federal prosecutors resign over concerns about probe into Minneapolis ICE shooting, source says

By Julia Ainsley, Daniella Silva, Ryan J. Reilly and Michael Kosnar At least three prosecutors with the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota have resigned over their concerns with the direction of the investigation into the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, a person familiar with the resignations told NBC News on Tuesday. The person confirmed the resignations of Joseph Thompson, Melinda Williams and another attorney. The two named attorneys, Thompson and Williams, did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment by NBC News. The attorneys had felt pressure from Justice Department leadership, both in Minneapolis and in Washington,

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