8+ min ago (1105+ words) CARACAS, Venezuela'On the face of it, the United States appears closer than ever to mounting a military campaign to remove President Nicol's Maduro from power in Venezuela. President Trump says he has authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations inside the Caribbean nation, and has massed troops, fighter jets and warships just off its coastline. U.S. service members in the region have been barred from taking Thanksgiving leave. Airlines have canceled flights to Venezuela after the Federal Aviation Administration warned of a "potentially hazardous situation" there. And on Monday the White House officially designated Maduro as a member of an international terrorist group. In Caracas, the nation's capital, there is a palpable sense of anxiety, especially as each new bellicose pronouncement emerges from Washington. "People are very tense," said Rosa Mar'a L'pez, 47, a podiatrist and mother of two. "Although no one…...

10+ min ago (1130+ words) First, President Donald Trump issued pardons and other acts of clemency for 1,500 rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, leaving police officers like Aquilino Gonell bloodied, many with injuries that would end their careers. Then, rioters started asking for reparations, committing alleged child sex crimes, or leading anti-Muslim protests. This summer, the Trump administration agreed to bestow military honors on Ashli Babbit, the air force veteran who died while trying to storm the Speaker's lobby, as "Stop the Steal" protestors attempted to block certification of the 2020 presidential election Joe Biden won. And in November, U.S. Pardon Attorney Ed Martin said Trump issued another set of sweeping pardons to nearly 80 individuals, including Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell and Mark Meadows, who helped Trump "put this scheme together" to overturn the 2020 result, Gonell said. By contrast, Capitol police officers who served on Jan. 6 have…...

10+ min ago (1130+ words) First, President Donald Trump issued pardons and other acts of clemency for 1,500 rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, leaving police officers like Aquilino Gonell bloodied, many with injuries that would end their careers. Then, rioters started asking for reparations, committing alleged child sex crimes, or leading anti-Muslim protests. This summer, the Trump administration agreed to bestow military honors on Ashli Babbit, the air force veteran who died while trying to storm the Speaker's lobby, as "Stop the Steal" protestors attempted to block certification of the 2020 presidential election Joe Biden won. And in November, U.S. Pardon Attorney Ed Martin said Trump issued another set of sweeping pardons to nearly 80 individuals, including Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell and Mark Meadows, who helped Trump "put this scheme together" to overturn the 2020 result, Gonell said. By contrast, Capitol police officers who served on Jan. 6 have…...

14+ min ago (404+ words) The Democrat Party could focus all their efforts on one seat in 2026, as the "biggest opportunity" to win it has appeared. Both Democrats in the state and nationally, according to NOTUS, believe they are in with a real chance of flipping Ohio blue after a series of poor election losses. Preparations for the 2026 midterms are already underway, with the Democratic National Committee already rolling out the red carpet for the state. The DNC has promised additional funding for the state and is already staffing up to prepare their push to win Ohio with "dream candidate", Sherrod Brown. Ohio Democratic Chari Kathleen Clyde has since explained the plan for the Democrat Party is to go heavy on Ohio. She told NOTUS, "We can't just focus on a couple of states and expect to perform well nationally. When we look toward the…...

15+ min ago (544+ words) A former Justice Department lawyer who spoke out publicly about the Trump administration's aggressive maneuvers to deport migrants has joined one of the legal advocacy firms challenging the administration's approaches to immigration, benefits for the poor and civil rights. In an interview with The New York Times, Erez Reuveni said he decided to work for the group Democracy Forward because "this is really a make-or-break moment for the rule of law, for democracy, for the rights of all people who live in this country." Mr. Reuveni, who worked for almost 15 years as a government lawyer, during which he often defended the Trump administration's immigration policies, was fired earlier this year in a standoff with his own bosses about what he said were efforts to mislead or ignore federal judges. Administration officials have said he refused to follow orders and have…...

15+ min ago (544+ words) A former Justice Department lawyer who spoke out publicly about the Trump administration's aggressive maneuvers to deport migrants has joined one of the legal advocacy firms challenging the administration's approaches to immigration, benefits for the poor and civil rights. In an interview with The New York Times, Erez Reuveni said he decided to work for the group Democracy Forward because "this is really a make-or-break moment for the rule of law, for democracy, for the rights of all people who live in this country." Mr. Reuveni, who worked for almost 15 years as a government lawyer, during which he often defended the Trump administration's immigration policies, was fired earlier this year in a standoff with his own bosses about what he said were efforts to mislead or ignore federal judges. Administration officials have said he refused to follow orders and have…...

16+ min ago (419+ words) The Inglewood Police Department "systematically" violated state public records laws by disregarding requests for documents related to police misconduct, including fatal shootings, and must now post the information on its website, a judge has ruled. In 2021, the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California sued the department, alleging that it had not produced a single document in response to public records requests made nearly three years before. The records the ACLU requested in 2019 included those related to fatal shootings by police officers, dishonesty by officers and sexual assaults involving officers. The ACLU's public records requests followed a state law, Senate Bill 1421, enacted the previous year that made those types of records publicly available for the first time. In an order issued Thursday, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Gary Tanaka granted the ACLU's motion for summary judgment, writing that the…...

16+ min ago (419+ words) The Inglewood Police Department "systematically" violated state public records laws by disregarding requests for documents related to police misconduct, including fatal shootings, and must now post the information on its website, a judge has ruled. In 2021, the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California sued the department, alleging that it had not produced a single document in response to public records requests made nearly three years before. The records the ACLU requested in 2019 included those related to fatal shootings by police officers, dishonesty by officers and sexual assaults involving officers. The ACLU's public records requests followed a state law, Senate Bill 1421, enacted the previous year that made those types of records publicly available for the first time. In an order issued Thursday, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Gary Tanaka granted the ACLU's motion for summary judgment, writing that the…...

17+ min ago (1010+ words) I've always been a fan of trains. As a child, my favorite book was "The Little Engine that Could," and I've seen the Hitchcock classic "North by Northwest" at least a half dozen times. So, when I saw that Amtrak offered cross-country train travel, I was immediately intrigued. I'd taken a five-hour train ride from Detroit to Chicago before, but I'd never been on a longer journey by rail. It seemed like a unique way to kick off our annual family vacation. We chose the Empire Builder, which travels from Chicago to Seattle over the span of 46 hours. Here's what the experience was like. I did a lot of research before booking tickets for our group of four adults and settled on two roomettes directly across the hall from each other for $2,988. It felt like the best value. On the…...

18+ min ago (338+ words) After President Donald Trump threatened to execute several Democratic lawmakers who urged service members to defy illegal orders, one conservative commentator is pushing back on the administration for what he labeled as "one of the dumbest controversies" he'd seen. "I really wish both sides would take it down a notch," said Andy McCarthy, a conservative commentator and former assistant U.S. attorney, appearing on Fox News Tuesday. "I think the Democrats are wrong to have pitched this the way they did; the reaction to it is a way, way overreaction, and we'd be better off if both sides just took it down about 11 notches." Last week, a handful of Democratic lawmakers published a video in which they urged active duty service members to "refuse illegal orders," sparking an immediate reaction from Trump: "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH" he wrote on social media....