Author: Leslie Stewart

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) warned in an interview on “Meet the Press” on Sunday that the Republican Party will be “very vulnerable” during the midterm elections.Subscribe to read this story without ads Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Asked if the Republican Party is starting to break with President Donald Trump, Massey said the party is “concerned about its own political death.””Certainly we can beat the Republicans in the primaries, but the Republicans will be very vulnerable this fall.”Massey lost in last week’s primary to former Navy SEAL Ed Galine, who was backed by Trump. The president strongly…

Firefighters were trying to cool down a chemical tank literally on the “brink” of exploding in Southern California to avert a dire “worst-case” scenario, the incident commander said Saturday.Subscribe to read this story without ads Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.A 7,000-gallon tank containing methyl methacrylate, a toxic chemical used in the manufacture of resins and plastics, could later cause an explosion in a nearby 15,000-gallon tank containing the same substance, Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) Incident Commander Chief Craig Covey told NBC News on Saturday. “What we’re talking about may be one of the worst chemical…

On Friday, the estranged husband of a prominent New York City art dealer was found guilty of hiring a hitman to kill her in Brazil.Subscribe to read this story without ads Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Daniel Sikkema, 55, could be sentenced to life in prison. Brent Sikkema, 75, was found stabbed to death in his Rio de Janeiro townhouse in January 2024.Daniel Sikkema, a US and Cuban citizen living in New York, was arrested in April 2024. He was found guilty in federal court in Manhattan on charges including conspiracy to commit murder and manslaughter.The alleged…

Miodrag Ignjatovic | Eplus | David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesU.S. consumers will pay more for everything from fuel to hot dogs and hamburgers heading into Memorial Day weekend as the Iran war reignites inflation.Federal government data released this month showed shoppers’ total inflation rose 3.8% in April from the same month last year, the highest annual rate since 2023. Travel, recreation and food prices rose particularly sharply, draining Americans’ wallets as the unofficial start of summer began.”They’re not going to be satisfied with what they see,” said Stephen Juneau, senior U.S. economist at Bank of America. “You’re…

The Department of Justice confirmed Friday that it has removed from its website a press release detailing charges against hundreds of people who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Subscribe to read this story without ads Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.”There is nothing ‘quiet’ about it,” the Justice Department Rapid Response “We are proud to de-weaponize the Department of Justice under the Biden Administration,” the post continued. “We will do everything in our power to bring sanity to those who have been persecuted for political purposes. This includes removing partisan propaganda from the Department…

Consumer sentiment fell to a new record low in May as the war between the U.S. and Iran and soaring oil prices heightened concerns about rising prices, University of Michigan Consumer Research said Friday.The consumer sentiment index fell to 44.8 from the preliminary figure of 48.2. It is also well below the 49.8 level at the end of April. “Consumer sentiment has declined for the third consecutive month as gas prices continue to rise due to supply disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz,” Consumer Research Director Joan Hsu said in a statement. “Sentiment is now just below the previous historic…

Last week, a Long Island woman was arrested on suspicion of beheading a statue of Jesus at a Catholic church.Subscribe to read this story without ads Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.According to Suffolk County Police, Deyonna Sbert, 41, vandalized a statue at St. Mary’s Church in Bayshore on May 15 at approximately 11:15 p.m. Svelte, who is homeless, was charged with second-degree criminal mischief and taken into custody outside 221 W. Main St. at 6:39 a.m., according to NBC4. She is scheduled to be arraigned May 21 in First District Court in Central Islip. The incident…

The Democratic National Committee was thrown into fresh turmoil Thursday after it was forced to release an autopsy report commissioned by Chairman Ken Martin on its failed 2024 presidential campaign.Subscribe to read this story without ads Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Rather than quelling speculation about the findings or anger over Martin’s initial claims of confidentiality, the announcement compounded the public relations and management nightmare. After months of refusing to release the autopsy, the DNC said it had learned important lessons from it, but on Thursday, Martin told a different story. In fact, he said the report…

In a heartbreaking victim impact statement, Matthew Perry’s mother Suzanne Morrison accused Perry’s former assistant Kenneth Iwamasa of fueling the addiction that led to Perry’s death in 2023.Subscribe to read this story without ads Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.”His primary responsibility was to ensure that Matthew remained drug-free. But instead of protecting Matthew, he aided and abetted illegal drug use, arranging one source and then another,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison wrote. Perry, 54, was found unresponsive in the bathtub of her home and died. It was later determined that he died from an accidental ketamine overdose.In…

Bahrain’s industry minister told CNBC that the trade deal between the UK and the Gulf state is a “monumental achievement”. Bahrain’s Minister of Commerce, Abdullah bin Adel Fakhroh, said the free trade agreement announced on Wednesday was a win-win for the UK and the Gulf Cooperation Council and was “very important”.”The size of this FTA (free trade agreement) is very large, the bilateral trade between countries is very large, and the investment between countries is very large,” he told CNBC’s Dan Murphy, adding that he expects the deal will expand these areas of cooperation. “We really consider this a monumental…