Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has agreed to apologize and pay $3.3 million in taxpayer money to four former staffers who accused him of bribery and abuse of office in 2020. The settlement does not resolve the ongoing FBI investigation into the accusations, and Paxton has denied them, calling them politically motivated. The agreement requires Paxton to apologize to the four former staffers and pay their legal fees in addition to the $3.3 million.
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Amsterdam is taking steps to improve the quality of life for its residents by banning the use of marijuana on the street and discouraging alcohol in its red light district. The city is introducing a ban on cannabis smoking, increasing police presence, imposing fines for public drinking, and increasing the number of public toilets. The new rules will come into effect from mid-May.
President Joe Biden has declined a request from Fox News for a pre-Super Bowl interview, instead opting to do an interview with Fox Soul, a streaming platform aimed at Black Americans. However, Fox has canceled the interview, continuing the Biden administration's icy relationship with the right-wing channel. The annual presidential Super Bowl interview is usually taped on the Friday before the game, but Biden is not expected to participate this year.
The FBI conducted a consensual search of former Vice President Mike Pence's Indiana home on Friday as part of a classified records probe. Local police were directing traffic in the area while the search was carried out, which followed the discovery of documents with classified markings by attorneys last month. The search is the latest indication that the investigation into the Trump administration's actions in the weeks leading up to the Capitol riot is expanding.
The FBI is conducting a search of former Vice President Mike Pence's home and office in Indiana and Washington, DC, respectively, as part of an investigation into former President Donald Trump's efforts to stay in office after the 2020 election and the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. The search follows the discovery of Obama-era classified documents in Pence's possession, and it is unclear what the FBI is looking for or if any documents will be seized.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and GOP Sen. Rick Scott are in a feud over Scott's proposal to sunset popular benefit programs like Medicare and Social Security, with McConnell calling it a "bad idea" and not reflective of Republican priorities. McConnell and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) have both stated that the proposal is not the Republican plan and would not have been included in their agenda even if they had won control of the chamber in November's midterm elections. Biden has been hitting Republicans hard on the subject, and McConnell and Scott's disagreement shows no signs of easing.
On Thursday, the U.S. Air Force shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon, prompting a response from Beijing and a call from U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to his Chinese counterpart. The House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution condemning China for the incident, and China's Defense Ministry refused Austin's call for a general-to-general talk. Republicans have criticized the Biden administration for not acting quickly enough, and the incident has further complicated the already tense relationship between the U.S. and China.
The White House announced today that Kate Bedingfield is leaving her role as Communications Director and will be replaced by Ben LaBolt, a top Democratic communications professional. LaBolt is expected to bring “a wealth of experience in strategic communications, crisis management, and political strategy” to the role, and is the first openly gay White House communications director. Bedingfield has been a key figure in the White House’s communications strategy since the start of the Biden presidency, and LaBolt is expected to continue her work.