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Democrat wins special state Senate election in Pennsylvania in major upset

(The Hill) Democrat James Malone has won an open Pennsylvania state Senate seat in a major upset in a district that comfortably voted for President Trump in November, Decision Desk HQ projects. Malone, the mayor of East Petersburg, is projected to defeat Republican Lancaster County Commissioner Josh Parsons to represent Senate District 36 for the remainder of former state Sen. Ryan Aument’s (R) term. Parsons was considered likely to win in the conservative-leaning district, which President Trump carried in November with 57 percent of the vote and McCormick won with 56 percent.

LetMyPeopleVote

Democrat wins Pennsylvania special election, handing party control of state House

(The Hill) Democrat Dan Goughnour has won the open Pennsylvania state House seat left vacated by the death of the most recent officeholder, restoring Democrats’ narrow majority in the body, Decision Desk HQ projects. Goughnour, who is a member of the McKeesport school board and a police officer, will win over Republican Chuck Davis, the president of the White Oak Borough Council. The result is not a surprise in the Democratic-leaning House District 35, which voted for former Vice President Harris in November with about 58 percent of the vote.

demmiblue

The Atlantic has now published the Signal texts in response to administration denials

(The Atlantic) On Monday, shortly after we published a story about a massive Trump-administration security breach, a reporter asked the secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, why he had shared plans about a forthcoming attack on Yemen on the Signal messaging app. He answered, “Nobody was texting war plans. And that’s all I have to say about that.”

riversedge

Politics NSA warned of vulnerabilities in Signal app a month before Houthi strike chat

(CBS News) The National Security Agency sent out an operational security special bulletin to its employees in February 2025 warning them of vulnerabilities in using the encrypted messaging application Signal, according to internal NSA documents obtained by CBS News. News of the NSA bulletin comes amid the continued fallout from an explosive article published Monday in The Atlantic.

groundloop

Teen member of Musk's Doge staff provided tech support to cybercrime ring, records show

(The Guardian) The best-known member of Elon Musk’s so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) service team of technologists once provided support to a cybercrime gang that bragged about trafficking in stolen data and cyberstalking an FBI agent, according to digital records reviewed by Reuters. Past reporting had focused on the staffer’s youth – he is 19 – and his chosen nickname of “bigballs,” which became a pop culture punchline. Musk has championed the teen on his social media site X, telling his followers last month: “Big Balls is awesome.”

progree

China Swoops In to Replace Asian USAID Projects Axed by Trump

The US canceled two aid projects in Cambodia in late February -- one to encourage child literacy and another to improve nutrition and development for kids under five. A week later, China's aid agency announced funding for programs to achieve almost identical goals. --snip-- The contracts were terminated on Feb. 26 after President Donald Trump and adviser Elon Musk launched a sweeping overhaul of US foreign assistance, which included dismantling the US Agency for International Development. --s ...

BumRushDaShow

Melania Trump Could Face Deportation, Maxine Waters Suggests

Published Mar 26, 2025 at 5:27 AM EDT Congresswoman Maxine Waters suggested that Donald Trump should consider deporting his wife, Melania Trump, while criticizing his administration's immigration policies. Why It Matters The president has vowed to remove millions of migrants without legal status from the United States as part of his mass deportation program. What to Know The California Democrat made the remarks about Melania Trump while expressing her opposition to cuts to federal programs ...

BumRushDaShow

Trump Says He Would 'Love' to Defund Broadcasters NPR, PBS

Tue, March 25, 2025 at 3:40 PM EDT (Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump said he is in favor of defunding National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service, casting the outlets as unfavorable to him and a drain on taxpayer money. “I would love to do that,” Trump said Tuesday at the White House, suggesting that there was no longer a need for the public broadcasters. “There’s plenty of coverage. It was from a different age, and they spend more money than any other network of its type ...

BumRushDaShow

Hill Republicans aim to rein in judges but divided on strategy

March 25, 2025 4:23 PM ET Republicans on Capitol Hill are planning ways to push back at the federal judiciary over allegations that activist judges are unfairly targeting the Trump administration. But GOP members are divided about what to do, and their efforts to block action by the courts face significant political and legal hurdles. President Trump's efforts to remake the shape and size of the federal government using Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency and his use of a war-era ...

BumRushDaShow

Trump signs sweeping action overhauling US elections, including requiring proof of citizenship

Updated 6:20 PM EDT, March 25, 2025 NEW YORK (AP) -- President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a sweeping executive action to overhaul elections in the U.S., including requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and demanding that all ballots be received by Election Day. The order says the U.S. has failed "to enforce basic and necessary election protections" and calls on states to work with federal agencies to share voter lists and prosecute el ...

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South Korea admits to 'mass exporting' children for adoption

6 min ago - South Korean governments committed numerous human rights violations over decades in a controversial programme that sent at least 170,000 children and babies abroad for adoption, a landmark inquiry has found. It said the government's lack of oversight ... (BBC)

Judge blocks Iowa law banning books with sex acts from schools

14 min ago - 03/26/25 12:20 PM ET A federal judge on Tuesday put a hold on an Iowa law that says schools cannot carry books that depict sex acts. District Judge Stephen Locher placed a temporary block on the ban, saying there were “several dozen unconstitu ... (The Hill)

Trump to announce new auto tariffs Wednesday

47 min ago - Published Wed, Mar 26 2025 12:45 PM EDT Updated 7 Min Ago President Donald Trump will announce new tariffs on auto imports Wednesday, the White House said. Trump will unveil the new tariffs during a press conference in the Oval Office at 4 p.m. ET, W ... (CNBC)

U.S. could hit borrowing limit as soon as May, budget office warns

48 min ago - The deadline could come as late as September depending on how much tax revenue comes in this spring, the Congressional Budget Office said. The federal government could hit its borrowing limit as soon as May if tax revenue falls short of expectations ... (Washington Post)

4 American soldiers who went missing in Lithuania have died, NATO leader says

1 hr ago - Updated 12:38 PM CDT, March 26, 2025 WARSAW, Poland (AP) -- NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Wednesday that four U.S. soldiers who went missing while training in Lithuania have died, but that he did not yet know the details. A U.S. official wou ... (AP)

4 US Army soldiers reported missing during scheduled tactical training in Lithuania: US Embassy

1 hr ago - The Army and Lithuanian Armed Forces are among those involved in the search. By Rashid Haddou and Emily Shapiro March 26, 2025, 10:18 AM 4 US soldiers reported missing during training in Lithuania: US Embassy The soldiers, who the Army said are all ... (abc)

Four US soldiers feared dead near Belarus border in mystery tragedy

1 hr ago - Four US soldiers have reportedly been found dead in Lithuania after going missing during a training mission. A major search operation was launched after the tracked vehicle they were travelling in disappeared at around 4.45pm yesterday. The Embassy ... (Daily Express)

Judge targeted by Trump is assigned to Signalgate lawsuit

1 hr ago - U.S. District Judge James Boasberg -- the object of President Donald Trump's fury for blocking his effort to summarily deport Venezuelan nationals using wartime powers -- just got a second crack at the administration's handling of national security: ... (Politico)

Supreme Court skeptical of challenge to phone and internet subsidy program for under-served areas

1 hr ago - March 26, 2025, 6:00 AM EDT / Updated March 26, 2025, 1:42 PM EDT WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared unlikely to strike down a Federal Communications Commission program that subsidizes telecommunications services in rural and low-i ... (NBC News)

Exclusive: Trump Fired This Top Watchdog. Now He's Speaking Out.

2 hrs ago - 1 hour ago The former inspector general for the US Labor Department on losing his job and the dangers of DOGE. .................. But in his first week in office, President Donald Trump did something unprecedented. He fired at least 17 IGs—more ... (Mother Jones)

GOP lawmaker to file censure resolution against Crockett over Abbott comments

3 hrs ago - Updated 5:37 AM EDT, Wed March 26, 2025 CNN — Republican Rep. Randy Weber is planning to introduce a resolution to censure Rep. Jasmine Crockett over recent comments the Democratic congresswoman made about Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, according to ... (CNN Politics)

Massive American bomber build up suggests upcoming strike

3 hrs ago - A significant movement of US military assets to Diego Garcia has been observed in recent days, suggesting preparations for a major air operation. The surge in activity follows the largest US military strikes in the Middle East since President Donald ... (ukdefencejournal.org.uk)

Supreme Court upholds Biden-era ghost gun rule

3 hrs ago - Updated on: March 26, 2025 / 10:30 AM EDT Washington -- The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a Biden administration rule that regulates unserialized firearms called ghost guns, delivering a win for federal efforts to curb gun violence. The high cou ... (CBS News)

US adds dozens of Chinese entities to export restrictions list, including Inspur units

4 hrs ago - March 26, 2025 4:30 AM EDT Updated 5 hours ago WASHINGTON, March 25 (Reuters) - The U.S. added six subsidiaries of Inspur Group, China's leading cloud computing and big data service provider, and dozens of other Chinese entities to its export restric ... (Reuters)

Trump admin investigates Portland school district over letting trans student compete in girls sports

4 hrs ago - Updated 9:23 PM EDT, March 25, 2025 PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Education said in a news release Tuesday that it has opened an investigation into Portland Public Schools, Oregon’s largest school district, over allowing a tr ... (AP)

The Atlantic Publishes War Plans Discussed In Signal Group Chat

5 hrs ago - Mar 26, 2025, 08:40 AM EDT The Atlantic on Wednesday published the war plans shared in the Signal group chat that the magazine's editor-in-chief was inadvertently invited to join earlier this month. Jeffrey Goldberg had previously withheld sharing so ... (Huff Post)

Teen member of Musk's Doge staff provided tech support to cybercrime ring, records show

5 hrs ago - The best-known member of Elon Musk’s so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) service team of technologists once provided support to a cybercrime gang that bragged about trafficking in stolen data and cyberstalking an FBI ... (The Guardian)

Trump Considering Reparations for Jan. 6 Rioters He Pardoned: 'They Were Treated Very Unfairly'

5 hrs ago - Mar 25th, 2025, 10:04 pm President Donald Trump signaled openness to some form of “compensation” for the Jan. 6 rioters he pardoned. Hours after being sworn into office for a second time, Trump issued sweeping pardons to about 1,500 people ... (MEDIAite)

Exclusive: DOGE staffer, 'Big Balls', provided tech support to cybercrime ring, records show

5 hrs ago - The best-known member of Elon Musk's U.S. DOGE Service team of technologists once provided support to a cybercrime gang that bragged about trafficking in stolen data and cyberstalking an FBI agent, according to digital records reviewed by Reuters. Ed ... (Reuters)

Melania Trump Could Face Deportation, Maxine Waters Suggests

6 hrs ago - Published Mar 26, 2025 at 5:27 AM EDT Congresswoman Maxine Waters suggested that Donald Trump should consider deporting his wife, Melania Trump, while criticizing his administration's immigration policies. Why It Matters The president has vowed to re ... (Newsweek)