USA

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Unexplained Caribbean and European trips that cost taxpayers more than $90,000. A $600 sports coat paid for by an event organizer. A $45 office Christmas cake taken as his own.

These are among the perks that Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s former employees say he reveled in while using his office in ways that now have him facing a federal criminal investigation and potential ouster over allegations of corruption.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has delivered a recommendation to the Drug Enforcement Administration on marijuana policy, and Senate leaders hailed it Wednesday as a first step toward easing federal restrictions on the drug.

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said Wednesday on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that the agency has responded to President Joe Biden’s request “to provide a scheduling recommendation for marijuana to the DEA.”

SAVAGE, Md. (AP) — One person died and 18 others were injured in a wrong-way crash involving a Greyhound passenger bus on a Maryland highway, police said.

The driver of an SUV died early Thursday when the vehicle, which driving on the wrong side of the highway, hit the bus, according to police. The crash injured the bus driver and 17 bus passengers.

(AP) --- As former President Donald Trump dominates the Republican presidential primary, some liberal groups and legal experts contend that a rarely used clause of the Constitution prevents him from being president after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former organizer of the far-right Proud Boys extremist group was sentenced on Thursday to 17 years in prison for spearheading an attack on the U.S. Capitol to prevent the peaceful transfer of power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden after the 2020 presidential election.

The sentence for Joseph Biggs is the second longest among hundreds of Capitol riot cases so far, after the 18-year prison sentence for Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes.

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than a dozen people nationally have been charged with threatening election workers by a Justice Department unit trying to stem the tide of violent and graphic threats against people who count and secure the vote.

NEW YORK, Aug 30 (APP): Muslim leaders Wednesday warmly welcomed as a “historic moment” New York City Mayor Eric Adams announcement that mosques in the city will be able to amplify the Azaan at Jumma prayers and at iftar time during the holy month of Ramadan.

“We are eliminating bureaucracy and we are saying clearly that if you are at any service or place of worship, you do not need to apply for a permit to announce the Friday prayer call to prayer louder,” Adams said at a press conference in the presence of leaders of Muslim leaders.

NEW YORK, August 30. /TASS/: Western countries can no longer afford to integrate Ukraine into NATO, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in an interview with Tucker Carlson.

Aug 30 (Reuters) - Pediatricians and parents are calling for the U.S. to treat new high-caffeine energy drinks like alcohol and cigarettes and ban their sale to minors as a single serving can contain as much caffeine as six Coca-Colas.

Aug 30 (Reuters) - The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday moved to extend mandatory overtime pay to 3.6 million salaried workers, going even further than an Obama-era rule that was struck down in court.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released a proposed rule that would require employers to pay overtime premiums to workers who earn a salary of less than $1,059 per week, or about $55,000 per year.