US Rep. Thomas Massie loses Kentucky GOP primary to Ed Gallrein in another victory for Trump
HEBRON, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie lost his Republican House primary Tuesday, becoming the latest Republican lawmaker to anger President Donald Trump and then fall to a primary challenger backed by the president.
Trump handpicked and endorsed Ed Gallrein, whose victory demonstrated the president’s influence over GOP voters and growing frustration with Massie's opposition to Trump. In recent weeks several other Republicans have been defeated by Trump-endorsed challengers, including Sen. Bill Cassidy in Louisiana and several Indiana state senators who defied him on redistricting.
Massie, who has served in Congress since 2012, was one of the most outspoken holdouts. He pushed for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, criticized the war in Iran and voted against the president's signature tax legislation last year. Still, he tried to convince voters that they could be for both him and Trump.
The race was the most expensive U.S. House primary in history.
After losing, Massie took the stage before a fired-up crowd that cheered and chanted, including slogans such as “no more wars” and “America First!”
The Latest: Gallrein defeats Massie in Kentucky, furthering Trump’s hold on GOP
There are primary elections Tuesday in Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, Oregon, Idaho and Pennsylvania. These contests will be a further test of President Donald Trump 's grip on Republican voters.
In Kentucky, Ed Gallrein won Republican nomination for U.S. House in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, beating incumbent Thomas Massie. Trump handpicked Gallrein after Massie broke with him over issues including the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. .
In Georgia, Republicans are choosing a challenger to take on Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. Trump has not endorsed a candidate, which could lead to a runoff on June 16. There’s also a bruising Republican primary for governor. Most polls are closed.
In Alabama, Republican voters will choose a U.S. Senate candidate to replace Tommy Tuberville, who is running for governor. Polls have closed.
In Pennsylvania, Democratic voters will pick their nominees to flip four Republican-held seats seen as critical for the party to retake the U.S. House. The races will be a test of Gov. Josh Shapiro’s influence. Polls have closed.
San Diego mosque shooters met online and left writings expressing hate, FBI says
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Two teenagers who shot and killed three people in an attack on a California mosque were radicalized online where they first met and shared white supremacist views, according to authorities and writings they authored.
The pair “didn’t discriminate on who they hated,” Mark Remily, the lead FBI agent in San Diego, said Tuesday.
The writings, obtained by The Associated Press, include hateful rhetoric toward Jewish people, Muslims and Islam, as well as the LGBTQ+ community, Black people, women, and both the political left and right. Both express beliefs that white people are being eliminated, and one writes about mental health struggles and being rejected by women.
Investigators also found at least 30 guns, ammunition and a crossbow at two residences after Monday's attack in San Diego and were trying to uncover whether the shooters had broader plans, Remily said. The shooters, Cain Clark, 17, and Caleb Vazquez, 18, killed themselves, according to police.
Family of the two teens could not immediately be reached for comment.
Blanche doesn't rule out considering payments for violent Jan. 6 rioters as he defends $1.8B fund
WASHINGTON (AP) — Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Tuesday wouldn't rule out the possibility that people who carried out violence during the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol will be considered for payouts from a new $1.776 billion fund to pay individuals who believe they were targeted politically.
Pressed during a Congressional hearing over whether those who assaulted police officers would be eligible for compensation from the “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” Blanche responded that all people can apply if “they believe they were a victim of weaponization.” The acting attorney general also refused to say whether he would direct those responsible for deciding who receives payments — a commission whose members he is tasked with appointing — to restrict funds to those convicted of violence.
“What I will commit to is making sure that the commissioners are effectively doing their jobs, and that includes setting guidelines as you’re describing,” Blanche told Sen. Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat. The decisions on payouts will be made a five-member commission appointed by the attorney general.
Appearing before Congress for the first time since taking the reins of the Justice Department last month, Blanche was peppered with questions about the fund announced on Monday to compensate those who believe they were mistreated by prior administrations' Justice Department. Blanche said the fund was “unusual” but not unprecedented, adding that those who benefit will not be limited to Republicans or to people who were investigated or prosecuted by the Biden administration. At one point, Blanche said President Joe Biden's son, Hunter — who faced gun and tax prosecutions under his father's administration — could also apply.
Tuesday’s hearing was meant to address the Trump administration’s budget request for the Justice Department but quickly delved into other controversies that have escalated concerns about the erosion of the law enforcement agency’s tradition of independence from the White House. Blanche defended the creation of the fund without any acknowledgment that the Trump administration has pursued investigations of Trump's political opponents, sparking criticism that the department is being weaponized in precisely the same way they allege it was under Biden's administration to prosecute Trump.
US government agrees to drop tax claims against Trump in broadening of IRS lawsuit settlement
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government will permanently drop tax claims against President Donald Trump, according to a settlement document made public Tuesday, in an extraordinary use of executive power that could effectively help shield the president from further examination of his finances and legal conduct.
As part of the settlement deal meant to resolve Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns, the U.S. is “forever barred and precluded” from examining or prosecuting Trump, his sons and the Trump organization’s current tax examinations, according to a one-page document posted to the Justice Department's website.
The government is also barred from looking into Trump's family, affiliates and others, according to the document, which is signed by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. That document is a separate addendum from the original settlement announced Monday, and was quietly added to the Justice Department website on Tuesday.
The White House referred Associated Press inquiries to the Justice Department, and the U.S. Treasury did not respond to Associated Press requests for comment.
The settlement refers only to existing audits, not future examinations, the Justice Department said in response to a request for comment on the expanded settlement.
Trump shows reporters ballroom construction site as lawmakers balk at $1B for White House security
WASHINGTON (AP) — Shouting over the banging and clanging sounds from heavy construction equipment, President Donald Trump on Tuesday gave a group of reporters a closer look at the construction for the White House ballroom he's building on the site of the former East Wing to mount a defense for the project that has hit a speed bump in Congress.
The administration has asked for $1 billion from taxpayers for security additions on the White House campus, including for the ballroom. But the Senate parliamentarian ruled the proposal could not be included in a bill to fund immigrant enforcement agencies for three years, and several Republican lawmakers have balked at the price tag in an election year where voters are grappling with gasoline, grocery and other prices spurred to new heights by the Iran war and the disruption in oil supplies.
So Trump, ever the pitchman, surprised White House reporters by bringing them to a platform overlooking the construction site on a hot and breezy morning as workers in hard hats and fluorescent yellow vests milled about below.
Easels were set up to display renderings of the ballroom building and at least one of them blew off in the wind. “Give that to me, I'll hold it,” Trump told an assistant.
“There will never be another building like this built, that I can tell you,” Trump told reporters.
Senate advances bill aimed at ending Iran war as Cassidy, after primary loss, flips to support
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate advanced legislation Tuesday that seeks to force President Donald Trump to withdraw from the Iran war, as a growing number of Republicans defied the president's direction on a conflict that has spanned well over two months.
Since Trump ordered the attack on Iran at the end of February, Democrats have forced repeated votes on war powers resolutions that would require him either to gain congressional approval or withdraw U.S. troops. Republicans had been able to muster the votes to reject those proposals, but Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy — fresh off a primary election loss in which Trump endorsed his opponent — switched sides.
The 50-47 vote tally showed that a small but growing number of Republicans are willing to challenge Trump on the Iran war, even though the effort may not advance much further. Three Republicans were absent Tuesday and their votes would be enough to defeat the measure, if they maintain their stance on the war.
Still, the vote showed how Republicans are increasingly uneasy with a conflict that shows no signs of ending, is stuck in a fragile ceasefire and is causing rising gas prices in the U.S.
“Republicans are starting to crack, and momentum is building to check him,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement after the vote. "We are not letting up.”
WHO chief concerned over 'scale and speed' of Ebola outbreak as Congo reports 134 dead
BUNIA, Congo (AP) — The head of the World Health Organization on Tuesday expressed concern over the “scale and speed” of an outbreak of a rare type of Ebola known as Bundibugyo in eastern Congo, where authorities reported 134 suspected deaths and more than 500 suspected cases.
The virus spread undetected for weeks after the first known death as authorities tested for a more common type of Ebola and came up negative, health experts and aid workers said. The Bundibugyo virus has no approved medicines or vaccines.
In Bunia, the site of the first known death, health workers in protective gear moved among residents wearing fabric masks. “I know the consequences of Ebola, I know what it’s like,” said a worried resident, Noëla Lumo.
Congo was expecting shipments from the United States and Britain of an experimental vaccine for different types of Ebola, developed by researchers at Oxford, said Jean-Jacques Muyembe, a virus expert at the National Institute of Biomedical Research.
“We will administer the vaccine and see who develops the disease,” he said. But experts said such efforts would take time.
More than 17,000 under evacuation orders as Southern California wildfire threatens homes
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — More than 17,000 people were under evacuation orders in Southern California on Tuesday as a wildfire threatened suburban homes.
The wind-driven Sandy Fire was reported Monday in the hills above Simi Valley, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles.
By Tuesday morning, it had consumed more than two square miles (five square kilometers) of dry brush and destroyed at least one home, according to the Ventura County Fire Department.
The flames were initially pushed by gusts that topped 30 mph (48 kph), but firefighters were aided by calmer winds overnight, said department spokesperson Andrew Dowd.
“We've made a lot of progress against this fire with those improved weather conditions," Dowd said. Crews hoped to make further progress before winds increased again, he said.
Arsenal wins its first Premier League title in 22 years after Man City draws with Bournemouth
Arsenal's decades-long wait is over.
Mikel Arteta's team was crowned Premier League champion for the first time since 2004 on Tuesday after Manchester City drew 1-1 with Bournemouth.
“I told you all.. it's done,” Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice posted on social media with a photo of he and his teammates celebrating.
The result put an end to what might be Pep Guardiola's final title challenge with City after the decorated manager didn't dismiss reports he was set to leave the club at the end of the season.
City needed to win at Bournemouth to take it down to the final game of the campaign on Sunday. But the draw left Arsenal with an unassailable four-point lead at the top, ending its 22-year wait for the title.
