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US surgeon general calls for cancer warnings on alcohol

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Alcoholic drinks like beer and wine should carry warnings of their links to cancer, the U.S.’s top doctor said, citing a lack of public awareness of the popular products’ health risks.

Evidence of links between drinking and cancer has been rising for decades, yet less than half of Americans recognize that it raises their chances of ...Read more

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Mike Johnson wins reelection as House speaker on first ballot with boost from Trump

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House Speaker Mike Johnson won reelection on the first ballot Friday after the Republican leader wrangled final support from a few reluctant right-wing hardliners.

Johnson, who enjoyed the support of President-elect Trump, won the vote by 218-215, with only one GOP lawmaker, Rep. Tom Massie of Kentucky, voting against him.

He proclaimed his ...Read more

Jabin Botsford/Pool/Getty Images North America/TNS

NYC judge orders Trump to appear next week for sentencing in Stormy Daniels hush money case

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NEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump will become the first felon in the White House after a New York judge on Friday denied his request to throw out the guilty verdicts in his criminal hush money case and ordered him to appear for his sentencing next week.

State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, who presided over Trump’s criminal trial...Read more

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images North America/TNS

What Pennsylvania officials are saying about Biden's decision to kill the US Steel deal

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PHILADELPHIA — Saying a sale would threaten U.S. security, President Joe Biden blocked a Japanese company’s $15 billion bid to purchase Pennsylvania’s U.S. Steel on Friday.

“Steel production — and the steel workers who produce it — are the backbone of our nation,” Biden said in a statement. “A strong domestically owned and ...Read more

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images North America/TNS

Northern Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie lone GOP 'no' vote on House Speaker Mike Johnson

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Rep. Thomas Massie, the Northern Kentucky Republican who represents the 4th District in Congress, was the sole Republican to vote against Mike Johnson in his effort to retain his role as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday.

Massie had made his intent to vote against Johnson clear for weeks, even as President-elect Donald ...Read more

Alex Wong/Getty Images North America/TNS

Mike Johnson wins gavel after flipping first-ballot holdouts

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WASHINGTON — The new Congress got off to a stumbling start Friday, as Mike Johnson initially appeared to fall short of winning the speakership on the first ballot, before some last-minute arm-bending convinced two Republican holdouts to switch their votes. Johnson was elected speaker with 218 votes, the bare minimum.

Starting the year off ...Read more

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images North America/TNS

Mike Johnson wins reelection House Speaker on first ballot with boost from Trump

Current News / News & Features /

House Speaker Mike Johnson won reelection on the first ballot Friday after the Republican leader wrangled final support from a few reluctant right-wing hardliners.

Johnson, who enjoyed the support of President-elect Donald Trump, won the vote by 218-215, with only one GOP lawmaker, Rep. Tom Massie of Kentucky, voting against him.

Two other GOP...Read more

Kevin Richardson/Baltimore Sun/TNS

Angela Alsobrooks takes historic oath of office as new Maryland lawmakers begin session

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WASHINGTON — Angela Alsobrooks — with an oath to her country and a handshake from her mentor and friend, Vice President Kamala Harris — on Friday began her tenure as one of Maryland’s two U.S. senators, becoming the first Black woman and second woman ever to hold the role.

The Democrat from Prince George’s County was the first newly ...Read more

K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS

Family, friends of Cybertruck driver express shock, reports say

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LAS VEGAS — As authorities search for a motive behind the New Year’s Day truck explosion outside Trump International, friends and family of the suspected driver — a decorated active-duty member of the U.S. Army — talked to the media about his life and what is known of his last days.

At a news conference, Metropolitan Police Department ...Read more

Drew Angerer/Getty Images North America/TNS

Former Sen. Bob Menendez's lawyers ask judge for leniency in corruption case

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WASHINGTON — Attorneys for Bob Menendez painted him as a defeated man as they asked a federal court for leniency when sentencing the former senator, who was found guilty last summer on all charges in a sweeping federal corruption case.

As the 71-year-old longtime New Jersey Democrat is set to be sentenced in New York on Jan. 29, Menendez ...Read more

Allison Robbert/AFP/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/TNS

Delaware makes history as Sarah McBride and Lisa Blunt Rochester take the oath in Washington

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WASHINGTON — It's a historic day for Delaware in Washington.

Democrat Lisa Blunt Rochester will be sworn into the Senate Friday, becoming the first Black woman to represent the state in the chamber after four terms in the U.S. House.

Taking her seat in the House will be Sarah McBride, who will officially become the first transgender person ...Read more

Arvin Temkar/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS

Jimmy Carter's tiny hometown braces for influx before funeral procession

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PLAINS, Ga. — Residents in Jimmy Carter’s hometown tried their best to go about their business Friday as their farming whistle-stop prepared for a presidential farewell that will last nearly a week.

Before midday, while crews set up barricades and braced for an influx of visitors from all over, television trucks from Atlanta to Jacksonville...Read more

Alex Kent/Getty Images North America/TNS

Rudy Giuliani faces contempt hearing for failure to hand over assets to Georgia mother and daughter he defamed

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NEW YORK — Rudy Giuliani faces a contempt hearing in Manhattan federal court Friday for failing to satisfy a judge’s orders to cough up assets to the Georgia mother and daughter he was found liable for defaming.

The former New York City mayor turned up for the hearing after his legal team tried to get him out of having to appear in person ...Read more

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images North America/TNS

Mike Johnson wins reelection as House speaker on first ballot with boost from Trump

Current News / News & Features /

House Speaker Mike Johnson won reelection on the first ballot Friday after the Republican leader wrangled final support from a few reluctant right-wing hardliners.

Johnson, who enjoyed the support of President-elect Donald Trump, won the vote by 218-215, with only one GOP lawmaker, Rep. Tom Massie of Kentucky, voting against him.

Two other GOP...Read more

Richard A. Brooks/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Biden blocks Nippon Steel's $14.1 billion takeover of US Steel

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President Joe Biden has blocked the $14.1 billion sale of United States Steel Corp. to Nippon Steel Corp., killing a high-profile deal that sparked a political firestorm and tensions between the U.S. and Japan.

Biden announced his formal decision on Friday after the case was referred to him by a U.S. security review panel, ahead of a deadline ...Read more

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images North America/TNS

NY attorney general Letitia James recuses self from probe into beating death of Marcy inmate Robert Brooks

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NEW YORK — Attorney General Letitia James’ office is backing away from the criminal probe into the caught-on-camera beating death of Marcy Correctional inmate Robert Brooks, officials said Friday.

In a video update released Thursday, James said her office needs to recuse itself since four of the state Department of Corrections officers ...Read more

Alex Wong/Getty Images North America/TNS

Mike Johnson just short of winning reelection as House speaker on first ballot

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U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson fell short of winning reelection on a first ballot Friday, leaving the Republican leader’s future somewhat unclear as he tries to retain his position in the narrowly divided Congress.

Three GOP lawmakers, Rep. Tom Massie of Kentucky, Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Rep. Keith Self of Texas voted against...Read more

Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun/TNS

Rachel Morin case: Defense seeks to move trial out of Harford County

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BALTIMORE — The defense team representing Victor Martinez-Hernandez motioned for a change of venue out of Harford County Circuit Court in a Monday filing, stating their client “cannot receive a fair trial” there.

Martinez-Hernandez, 24, of El Salvador, is charged with first- and second-degree murder, first- and second-degree rape, third-...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

US surgeon general wants to label alcohol like cigarettes

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Wine, beer and spirits should carry a warning label about cancer risks, the U.S. surgeon general said Friday, in a move that could shape a larger debate over government healthy eating recommendations.

“Alcohol is a well-established, preventable cause of cancer responsible for about 100,000 cases of cancer and 20,000 cancer deaths annually in ...Read more

Convicted Massachusetts ex-senator who wants Trump pardon says he saw a police shooting, as he pushed for sentencing delay

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BOSTON — A former state senator convicted of fraud who wants a pardon from President-elect Donald Trump says he recently witnessed a police-involved shooting, as he pushed for a delay in his sentencing.

Dean Tran, a Massachusetts Republican who ran for Congress, last year was found guilty of pandemic assistance fraud and making false ...Read more