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GOP budget would add an ‘unprecedented’ $5.8 trillion to the deficit, analysis finds

The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., is pictured on Thursday, March 14, 2024. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom) WASHINGTON — The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget released an analysis Friday showing the budget resolution Republicans plan to adopt later this month would allow Congress to add up to $5.8 trillion to the deficit during the next decade. The organization wrote the reconciliation instructions included in the budget would allow GOP lawmakers to draft a bill later this year that could outpace the deficit impact of many big-name laws enacted during the last two administrations. “A $5.8 trillion deficit-increasing bill would be unprecedented,” the analysis states. “It would add 14 times as much to the deficit than the bipartisan infrastructure law ($400 billion), more than three times as much as American Rescue Plan ($1.8 trillion), three times the 2020 CARES Act ($1.7 trillion), and nearly four times the original score of the 2017 Tax Cuts and J...
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Judge orders return of Maryland father deported by mistake to El Salvador prison

Protestors outside the U.S. District Court of Maryland in Greenbelt rally in support of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Maryland father who was deported to El Salvador in an "administrative error,” calling for him to be returned to the U.S. (Photo by Ariana Figueroa/States Newsroom) GREENBELT, MARYLAND — A federal judge in Maryland Friday ordered the Trump administration to return a national from El Salvador by April 7 who was erroneously deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador, despite an order blocking such removal. The ruling from U.S. District Court of Maryland Judge Paula Xinis sets up a fight with the Trump administration. Officials have admitted the deportation of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia of Beltsville, Maryland, was a mistake, but have stood by their actions. The case could also mean that the more than 250 Venezuelan men in a separate case who were removed under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 without due process can be returned to the U.S.  Chee...

‘Really scared’: Parents of kids with disabilities confront Education Department chaos

Children engaged in sensory exercises, often used in special education classrooms. (Photo by Getty Images) WASHINGTON — As President Donald Trump takes drastic steps to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, disability advocates are worried about whether the agency can carry out its responsibilities to serve students with disabilities. Representatives of several disability advocacy groups cited “chaos,” “fear” and “uncertainty” in describing the situation to States Newsroom. They said there’s a lack of clarity about both proposed changes within the realm of special education services and the impact overall of sweeping shifts at the agency, calling into question whether the department can deliver on its congressionally mandated guarantees for students with disabilities. “It’s only been a few weeks since these things started happening, so I don’t think we’re seeing any of the effects trickle down right now, but we do have parents reaching out to us, calling and feeling really sc...

Economists blast calculations for ‘bombshell’ Trump tariffs as faulty while stocks plunge

New Nissan cars are driven onto a rail car to be transported from an automobile processing terminal located at the Port of Los Angeles on April 3, 2025 in Wilmington, California. The Japanese automotive maker is being impacted by President Trump’s new 25 percent imported automobile tariffs. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) WASHINGTON — Markets and business owners in the United States and around the world reeled Thursday following President Donald Trump’s announcement of sweeping and steep tariffs that are not “reciprocal” but rather punish many countries that U.S. importers heavily rely on, experts say. U.S. stocks  plummeted , posting the worst one-day drop since June 2020, financial media reported at the closing bell Thursday. Business groups issued criticisms, experts predicted increases in household spending and even a conservative Republican senator pushed legislation that would increase congressional power over tariffs. Trump unveiled the tariffs Wednesday during a Whit...

Pentagon watchdog will probe ‘Signalgate,’ in response to senators

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during his Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on Jan. 14, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) WASHINGTON — The Defense Department’s Office of the Inspector General announced Thursday it has opened an investigation into Secretary Pete Hegseth’s highly criticized use of the Signal messaging app to communicate about plans to bomb Yemen. The evaluation stems from a letter the chairman and ranking member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, Republican Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Democrat Jack Reed of Rhode Island, sent last week,  asking the watchdog agency to look into the matter.  Acting Defense Department Inspector General Steven A. Stebbins  wrote in a memo announcing the investigation that the Inspector General Act of 1978 “authorizes us to have access to personnel and materials as we determine necessary to perform our oversight in a timely manner.” Th...

Religious instruction bill fails House committee; Senate version filed

Rep. Susan DuBose, R-Hoover, reading legislation in the House Education Policy Committee on April 2, 2025, in the Alabama State House in Montgomery, Alabama. HB 342, sponsored by DuBose, which would require local school boards to adopt a policy for religious instruction, failed the committee on a 4-9 vote. (Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector) A bill that would require local school boards to adopt policies on extending academic credit for “religious instruction” outside the classroom failed an Alabama House committee on Wednesday. The House Education Policy Committee rejected HB 342 , sponsored by Rep. Susan DuBose, R-Hoover, on a 4-9 vote despite significant amendments to the bill that gave local school boards more flexibility with the policy.  Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, the chair of the committee, said she supported the amendments but said the pushback from both sides was stronger than she expected. GET THE MORNING HEADLINES. SUBSCRIBE “I had every superintendent a...

Trump to impose 10% base tariff on international imports, higher levies on some nations

U.S. President Donald Trump holds up a chart while speaking during a “Make America Wealthy Again” trade announcement event in the Rose Garden at the White House on April 2, 2025 in Washington, D.C.  (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump rolled out sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs Wednesday on trading partners and allies across the globe. The president unveiled a baseline 10% levy on all international imports, plus what he described as additional “kind” and “discounted” tariff rates that will increase but not match the rates other countries apply to American imports. The levies, effective at midnight, will hit U.S. industries from agriculture to manufacturing to fashion. According to a  table distributed at Trump’s speech, U.S. tariffs will reach 34% on imports from China, 46% on products from Vietnam and 20% on European Union imports, among other increases.   Business owners who purchase goods from outside the U.S. will have...