US government is investigating messages impersonating Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles

US government is investigating messages impersonating Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government is investigating after elected officials, business executives and other prominent figures in recent weeks received messages from someone impersonatingSusie Wiles, PresidentDonald Trump's chief of staff. A White House official said Friday the matter is under investigation and the White House takes cybersecurity of its staff seriously. ,The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The FBI did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. TheWall Street Journal reported Thursdaythat senators, governors, business leaders and others began receiving text messages and phone calls from someone who seemed to have gained access to the contacts in Wiles' personal cellphone. The messages and calls were not coming from Wiles number, the newspaper reported. It is unclear how the person gained access to Wiles' phone, but the intrusion is the latest security breach for Trump staffers.Last year, Iran hacked into Trump's campaignand sensitive internal documents were stolen and distributed, including a dossier on Vice President JD Vance, created before he was selected as Trump's running mate. Wiles, who served as a co-manager of Trump's campaign before taking on the lynchpin role in his new administration, has amassed a powerful network of contacts. Some of those who received calls heard a voice that sounded like Wiles that may have been generated byartificial intelligence, according to the report. Some received text messages that they initially thought were official White House requests but some people reported the messages did not sound like Wiles. ___ Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report.

byJason Lawson

in

May 30, 2025

US government is investigating messages impersonating Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles

US government is investigating messages impersonating Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles WASHINGTON (AP) — The government is investigat...

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Supreme Court lets Trump revoke safe-haven program for Cubans, Haitians, Venezuelans and Nicaraguans

Supreme Court lets Trump revoke safe-haven program for Cubans, Haitians, Venezuelans and Nicaraguans

WASHINGTON − TheSupreme Courton May 30 said theTrump administrationcanrevoke the temporary legal statusof hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans living in the United States. Two of the court's liberal justices – Ketanji Brown Jackson and Sonia Sotomayor – dissented. The administration wants to cut short a program that provided a two-year haven for immigrants because of economic, security, political and health crises in their home countries. Lawyers for the migrants said half a million people lawfully in the country will become subject to deportation, what it called the "largest mass illegalization event in modern American history." Labor unions and communities that have welcomed the migrants said they've filled gaps in key industries, including healthcare, construction and manufacturing. Nearly 20% of the workers at one automotive parts manufacturer are in the temporary program, according to labor unions. The Trump administration said it's determined the migrants' presence in the United States is "against the national interests" and the courts don't get to decide otherwise. The move is part of the PresidentDonald Trump'scrackdown on immigrationandpush to ramp up deportations, including of noncitizens previously granted a legal right to live and work in the United States. TheBiden administration hoped the programwould deter migrants from those countries from trying to enter the country illegally. But theTrumpadministration cancelled people's work permits and deportation protections, arguing the program failed as a deterrent and makes it harder to enforce immigration laws for those already in the country. Immigrant rights groups challenged the change on behalf of the immigrants and their sponsors. A federal judge in Massachusettssaidthe abrupt curtailing of the program was based on a legal error, as the administration wrongly concluded that letting the temporary status naturally expire would foreclose the Homeland Security Department's ability to legally expedite their deportations. District Judge Indira Talwani, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, also said early cancellation of protections requires a case-by-case review for each participant. A three-judge panel of the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of AppealsbackedTalwani's decision to temporarily block mass cancellation. All three judges were appointed by Democratic presidents. The Justice Department argued the lower courts are "undoing democratically approved policies that featured heavily in the November election." Lawyers for a group of cities and counties said the abrupt cancellation of the program "would case severe economic and societal harms." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Supreme Court lets Trump revoke migrants' temporary status

byJason Lawson

in

May 30, 2025

Supreme Court lets Trump revoke safe-haven program for Cubans, Haitians, Venezuelans and Nicaraguans

Supreme Court lets Trump revoke safe-haven program for Cubans, Haitians, Venezuelans and Nicaraguans WASHINGTON − TheSupreme Courton May 30 ...

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Chrisley family to hold first press conference since Trump's presidential pardon

Chrisley family to hold first press conference since Trump's presidential pardon

The Chrisley family is set to address reporters on Friday, days after the formerly jailed reality TV starsTodd and Julie Chrisleywerepardoned by President Donald Trumpand released from federal prison. The family will be holding a press conference at 10:30 a.m. CT, 11:30 a.m. ET, at the Kimpton Aertson Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee, flanked by their attorneys. It is unclear if Todd and Julie Chrisley will be present. Trump issued pardons to the Chrisleys on Wednesday. The pair, known for their roles on reality TV show "Chrisley Knows Best," were convicted in 2022 of tax evasion and defrauding banks to obtain personal loans worth more than $36 million and fund a lavish lifestyle. Prosecutorssaidthat the Chrisleys submitted false bank statements, audit reports and personal financial statements to Georgia community banks to obtain the loans. They were found guilty by an Atlanta jury in 2022 andconvicted of fraud, tax evasion and conspiracyto defraud the United States. Todd Chrisley was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison and Julie Chrisley was sentenced to seven years. Their daughter, Savannah Chrisley, was pivotal in getting her parents released. The 27-year-old spoke at the Republican National Convention in July and began petitioning Trump to pardon her parents before the president was inaugurated, according to the Chrisleys' attorney, Alex Little. Little told NBC News on Wednesday that the family did not try to petition the Biden administration for the couple's release. Julie Chrisley made her first public outing on Thursday, to a butcher shop in Nashville, Tennessee. The 52-year-old was sporting her natural hair color, gray. Later that day, Savannah Chrisley also posted selfies with her father on Instagram and captioned the images: "To the paparazzi following us looking to pay your bills… here's your photo." The Chrisleys' pardons were amongseveral presidential clemencies to raise eyebrowsin recent months. Former President Joe Bidenissued a pardonfor his son Hunter Biden on federal gun and tax charges in December, andpre-emptive pardonsfor other members of his family before leaving office. Within his first days of his second term, Trumppardoned roughly 1,500 criminal defendantsin connection with the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. And on Monday, Trump announced he was pardoningScott Jenkins, a former sheriff of Culpeper County, Virginia. The former sheriff was sentenced to 10 years in prison last year for acceptingover $75,000in exchange for giving law enforcement authority to local businessmen, in addition to two undercover FBI agents. The Chrisleys' former accountant, who was found guilty in 2022 of defrauding the Internal Revenue Service,told the Atlanta Journal-Constitutionon Wednesday that he also plans to petition the Trump administration for a pardon. The accountant, Peter Tarantino, served three years in prison for the crimes. Chase Chrisley, one of the convicted couple's sons, did not rule out whether his parents would return to reality TV in an interview with "Entertainment Tonight" on Thursday. He cautioned that "there's no deal in place for my parents." Chase added that cameras were rolling when he and his siblings first spoke with their parents by telephone after their pardons were announced. "You guys will see it. And it's just been raw reality and truth of, like, the struggles that we've been going through as a family, as individuals and how to navigate that while still staying together and holding our family together," he said. It is unclear if the reality stars will be filming the press conference on Friday.

byJason Lawson

in

May 30, 2025

Chrisley family to hold first press conference since Trump's presidential pardon

Chrisley family to hold first press conference since Trump's presidential pardon The Chrisley family is set to address reporters on Frid...

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Syria's only female minister says lifting of economic sanctions offers hope for recovery

Syria's only female minister says lifting of economic sanctions offers hope for recovery

DAMASCUS (AP) — The lifting of economic sanctions onSyriawill allow the government to begin work on daunting tasks that include fighting corruption and bringing millions of refugees home, Hind Kabawat, the minister of social affairs and labor, told The Associated Press on Friday. Kabawat is the only woman and the only Christian in the 23-membercabinet formedin March to steer the country during a transitional period after the ouster of former PresidentBashar Assadin a rebel offensive in December. Her portfolio will be one of the most important as the country begins rebuilding after nearly 14 years of civil war. She saidmoves by the U.S. and the European Unionin the past week to at least temporarily lift most of the sanctions that had been imposed on Syria over decades will allow that work to get started. Before, she said, "we would talk, we would make plans, but nothing could happen on the ground because sanctions were holding everything up and restricting our work." With the lifting of sanctions they can now move to "implementation." One of the first programs the new government is planning to launch is "temporary schools" for the children of refugees and internally displaced people returning to their home areas. Kabawat said that it will take time for the easing of sanctions to show effects on the ground, particularly since unwinding some of the financial restrictions will involve complicated bureaucracy. "We are going step by step," she said. "We are not saying that anything is easy -- we have many challenges — but we can't be pessimistic. We need to be optimistic." The new government's vision is "that we don't want either food baskets or tents after five years," Kabawat said, referring to the country's dependence on humanitarian aid and many displacement camps. That may be an ambitious target, given that 90% of the country's population currently lives below the poverty line, according to theUnited Nations. Thecivil warthat began in 2011 also displaced half the country's pre-war population of 23 million people. The U.N.'s refugee agency, UNHCR, estimates that about half a million havereturned to Syriasince Assad was ousted. But the dire economic situation and battered infrastructure have also dissuaded many refugees from coming back. The widespread poverty also fed into a culture of public corruption that developed in the Assad era, including solicitation of bribes by public employees and shakedowns by security forces at checkpoints. Syria's new rulers have pledged to end the corruption, but they face an uphill battle. Public employees make salaries far below the cost of living, and the new government has so far been unable to make good on a promise to hike public sector wages by 400%. "How can I fight corruption if the monthly salary is $40 and that is not enough to buy food for 10 days?" Kabawat asked. Women and minorities The country's new rulers, led by PresidentAhmad al-Sharaa— the former head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, a Sunni Islamist insurgent group that spearheaded the offensive against Assad — have been under scrutiny by western countries over the treatment of Syrian women and religious minorities. In March, clashes between government security forces and pro-Assad armed groups spiraled into sectarian revenge attacks onmembers of the Alawite sectto which Assad belongs. Hundreds ofcivilians were killed. The government formed a committee to investigate the attacks, which has not yet reported its findings. Many also criticized the transitional government as giving only token representation to women and minorities. Apart from Kabawat, the cabinet includes only one member each from the Druze and Alawite sects and one Kurd. "Everywhere I travel… the first and last question is, 'What is the situation of the minorities?'" Kabawat said. "I can understand the worries of the West about the minorities, but they should also be worried about Syrian men and women as a whole." She said the international community's priority should be to help Syria to build its economy and avoid the country falling into "chaos." 'Rebuilding our institutions' Despite being the only woman in the cabinet, Kabawat said "now there is a greater opportunity for women" than under Assad and that "today there is no committee being formed that does not have women in it." "Syrian women have suffered a lot in these 14 years and worked in all areas," she said. "All Syrian men and women need to have a role in rebuilding our institutions." She called for those wary of al-Sharaa to give him a chance. While the West has warmed to the new president -- particularly after his recenthigh-profile meetingwith U.S.President Donald Trump— others have not forgotten that he fought against U.S. forces in Iraq after the invasion of 2003 or that his HTS group was formed as an offshoot of al-Qaida, although it later cut ties. "People used to call (Nelson) Mandela a terrorist, and then he became the first leader among those who freed South Africa, and after that suddenly he was no longer a terrorist," Kabawat said. She urged skeptics to "give us the same chance that you gave to South Africa."

byJason Lawson

in

May 30, 2025

Syria's only female minister says lifting of economic sanctions offers hope for recovery

Syria's only female minister says lifting of economic sanctions offers hope for recovery DAMASCUS (AP) — The lifting of economic sanctio...

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Karen Read trial live updates: Defense ready to present its case

Karen Read trial live updates: Defense ready to present its case

Testimony is expected to resume Friday inKaren Read's second murder trial,as the Massachusetts woman's defense team prepares to present its case to the jury. On Thursday, prosecutors finishedhighlighting evidencethey believe showed that Read, 45, struck her Boston police officer boyfriend, John O'Keefe, with her SUV and left him for dead in the snow outside another cop's home after a night of heavy drinking with friends in 2022. The former finance professor has been charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and leaving the scene of a crime. Like true crime? Check out Witness: A library of true crime stories But her defense team alleges the car crash at the center of the prosecutor's case never even happened. More:Karen Read claims police bungled the investigation. What did they supposedly do wrong? They say Read was framed for O'Keefe's murder ina conspiracy theorydeveloped by Massachusetts police officers, who they say beat O'Keefe, set a ravenous dog on him and then dropped his battered body on a pile of snow during a burgeoning blizzard. So far, Read's lawyers have built their case by fiercely questioning the prosecution's witnesses, often sewing doubt into the reliability of evidence they've presented. Now, they will begin trying to convince jurors of their own version of the events that led up to O'Keefe's death on January 29, 2022. The strategy is nearly identical to that used by the defense team in Read's first trial, whichended in a hung juryin 2024. CourtTV has been covering the case against Read and the criminal investigation since early 2022, when O'Keefe's body was found outside a Massachusetts home. You can watchCourtTV's live feed of the Read trialproceedings from Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts. Proceedings began at 10 a.m. ET. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Karen Read trial live updates: Defense team ready to present its case

byJason Lawson

in

May 30, 2025

Karen Read trial live updates: Defense ready to present its case

Karen Read trial live updates: Defense ready to present its case Testimony is expected to resume Friday inKaren Read's second murder tri...

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