分类： 未分类

Some states want to regulate prediction markets. Should the feds let them?

2026-06-24T15:56:12-0400 / CBS News

By

June 24, 2026 / 3:56 PM EDT / CBS News

The federal government and a growing number of U.S. states are clashing over the regulation of prediction markets.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the federal agency that oversees prediction markets, on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against Kentucky over its efforts to crack down on Kalshi and Polymarket for what state officials allege are violations of gambling laws. Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman sued the prediction market platforms earlier this month, along with two other companies, alleging they offered illegal sports betting and gambling services.

Including Kentucky, the CFTC has now initiated legal actions against nine states over their push to rein in prediction markets: Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, New York, New Mexico, Minnesota, Rhode Island and Wisconsin.

In its May suit against Minnesota, the CFTC is seeking to block a law that would make operating, or helping to operate, a prediction market in the state a felony.

What’s behind the battle for control?

The legal tussles boil down to whether the federal government or the states have primary authority to oversee prediction markets, which allow users to bet on the outcome of sports, elections and many other events.

The battle comes at a pivotal moment for companies like Kalshi and Polymarket, which have raised billions in venture capital, as prediction markets face scrutiny over allegations of insider trading and money laundering.

The CFTC says Congress gives it exclusive jurisdiction over the regulation of derivative markets. According to the agency, the Dodd-Frank Act, a 2010 law passed in the wake of the housing crash to tighten financial oversight, expanded its authority by giving it control over swaps, a type of derivative contract.

“The commission will continue to pursue litigation in any state that infringes on its federal authority,” a CFTC spokesperson said in a statement to CBS News.

Jeffrey Alberts, a partner at the law firm Pryor Cashman and a former federal prosecutor, said there is legal ambiguity about whether the CFTC’s jurisdiction extends to sports betting, which drives much of the trading volume on prediction markets. Over the last two years, sports have accounted for 80% of trading volume on Kalshi and 39% on Polymarket, according to Pew Research.

But allowing individual states to apply their own rules to prediction markets could lead to a patchwork of regulations that chills innovation and stymies growth, he noted.

“We’ve often seen other countries where their fintech companies are able to beat ours, not because they’re more innovative, but because we’re kind of kneecapping our own industry by making them comply with 50 different regulators at the same time, which slows them down,” Alberts said.

For their part, the states challenging the prediction markets contend that the platforms are breaking their laws by enabling illegal gambling.

Advocates for stronger state oversight, such as the American Gaming Association, also claim the CFTC lacks the expertise to regulate prediction markets, particularly in sports betting, which has historically fallen within states’ regulatory domain. Thirty-nine states offer some form of legal sports betting, according to CBS Sports.

“There’s a very real question about how does this small agency effectively take on the role as a national sports betting regulator?” said Chris Cylke, senior vice president of government relations at the AGA, which represents the casino and gambling industry. “We believe the answer is that they can’t.”

States play a large role in regulating gambling and preventing addiction, Alberts said, noting that the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) — the 1936 law that established the CFTC’s statutory framework — wasn’t designed to address those issues.

“Congress didn’t explicitly say that the CEA somehow converted the CFTC into a national sports gambling regulator,” he told CBS News. “When you look at the purpose of the CEA, it’s not to address things like addiction.”

Off to the Supremes?

Legal experts think the question of whether the federal government or the states should regulate prediction markets could end up before the Supreme Court, possibly as soon as next year.

Stephen Piepgrass, a partner at Troutman Pepper Locke who leads the law firm’s regulatory practice, said the high court could ultimately divide control, giving states authority to regulate certain sports wagers, such as so-called prop bets, while allowing prediction markets to continue offering other sports-related trades.

Congress also could provide clarification before the issue reaches the Supreme Court.

“We’re lobbying for Congress to act on this, because I think fundamentally we believe this boils down to congressional intent. This is not what they intended,” Cylke of the AGA said.

Edited by Alain Sherter

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/prediction-market-trader-created-ai-powered-program-to-help-him-win-big/

Letitia James fumes as Mamdani-backed socialists sweep New York primaries

Affluent college-educated voters backed DSA-affiliated candidates while working-class residents supported establishment picks

June 24, 2026 1:53pm EDT / Fox News

By Robert Schmad

Socialist candidates score victories in New York Democratic primary races

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani celebrates a ‘new chapter’ for Democrats after socialist candidates secured significant victories in three New York primary races, boosting the progressive wing. Rachel Bovard warns that this ‘growing movement,’ with members advocating extreme views such as abolishing the Senate and Supreme Court, is moving from the fringe to become the Democratic Party’s establishment.

NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

blob:https://www.foxnews.com/9ae37fce-26b4-4b98-955d-32bc899aa79b

Listen to this article

3 min

New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, bristled at fellow Democrat Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s growing clout after a slate of socialist candidates rode his endorsement to primary victories Tuesday night.

“Some of the candidates that he has supported are individuals who do not understand the politics of New York City, the cultural differences from district to district, who have not been part of the history and the struggle of some of these districts, and are relatively new to the body politic,” James, who famously prosecuted President Donald Trump on financial fraud charges, told CNN after the election results came in.

James added that she and other Democratic leaders are “disappointed” in Mamdani.

“[Black and Hispanic voters] don’t like the trick the DSA is trying to pull in Harlem — using the forces of gentrification to try to supplant our agenda and subvert our priorities,” one Democratic political operative told the New York Post. “Abolishing the police and releasing every prisoner, even rapists and murderers, isn’t progressive. It’s nuts. It isn’t people with a doorman who have the most to lose; we know it’s us, people of color, who are going to suffer most from the DSA’s reckless agenda.”

MAMDANI’S PRIMARY WIN EXPOSES DEMOCRAT DIVIDE AS TOP LEADERS WITHHOLD ENDORSEMENTS

Congressional candidates Claire Valdez, left, Brad Lander, second from left, and Darializa Avila Chevalier, right, raise their hands with Mayor Zohran Mamdani during a Get Out the Vote rally in New York City on June 18, 2026.(Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

The dynamic described by the operative played out across New York on Tuesday night as more affluent voters backed candidates affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America, while working-class residents threw their support behind establishment picks.

In New York’s 13th Congressional District, for instance, Mamdani-endorsed graduate student Darializa Avila Chevalier defeated incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat.

Espaillat overwhelmingly won lower-income and majority-Black precincts, while his socialist challenger carried areas with higher incomes, more university graduates and younger residents, according to demographic data compiled by The New York Times. In New York City, affluent, college-educated young people are more likely to be transplants from elsewhere in the United States than the general population.

‘PARTY OF ZOHRAN’: MAMDANI EMERGES AS DEMOCRATIC KINGMAKER AFTER SOCIALIST ALLIES SWEEP NYC PRIMARIES

Brad Lander, candidate for New York’s 10th Congressional District, and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani attend a watch party after winning the primary elections in Brooklyn, New York, on June 23, 2026.(Reuters)

Nine Democratic incumbents, among them seven state lawmakers and two congressmen, ultimately lost their seats as a wave of anti-establishment sentiment spurred by Mamdani washed over the state.

All three of the congressional candidates Mamdani endorsed ahead of Tuesday won their primary elections, with two defeating incumbent representatives and the third defeating the chosen successor of a retiring congresswoman.

Mamdani was quick to claim credit for the political shake-up.

“We are showing that last June, a year ago tomorrow, was not an anomaly,” the mayor said Tuesday night. “It was not the end. It was the beginning.”

REPUBLICANS PUSH TO MAKE MAMDANI THE NEW FACE OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY

New York Attorney General Letitia James stands silently during a press conference at the office of the Attorney General in New York City on Dec. 15, 2025.(Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

James acknowledged that many were dissatisfied with the state of the Democratic Party, but warned that Mamdani’s movement could damage their electoral prospects by stoking internal divisions. James told the New York Times that she favors coming to “some sort of understanding” with the socialists to defuse tensions.

“All of us are a little frustrated with the Democratic Party. But you don’t blow it up,” she said. “That’s what MAGA has done.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Some Republicans have cast the socialist victories as a boon for the GOP, predicting that inflammatory comments made by the political newcomers could damage the Democratic Party’s national branding.

The New York State Office of the Attorney General did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

Appeals court deals biggest setback yet to Trump DOJ’s demands for confidential voter roll data

Updated Jun 24, 2026, 3:02 PM ET / CNN

By Tierney Sneed

A new banner depicting U.S. President Donald Trump is put up on the Department of Justice building in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 20, 2026.

Ken Cedeno/Reuters/File

A federal appeals court on Wednesday rejected demands by the Justice Department that Michigan turn over non-public information in their voter registration files, in the biggest setback yet to the Trump administration’s attempt to obtain and audit unredacted voter rolls from states across the country.

The 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals said that Michigan was not obligated to produce the confidential voter data – which could include social security numbers and driver’s license ID numbers – to the department.

Nine judges at the district court level have ruled against the administration’s efforts. This is the first time an appeals court has weighed in, potentially setting up the stage for a Supreme Court showdown on the issue.

Writing for the appellate panel majority, Circuit Judge Andre Mathis said the 1960 civil rights law Justice Department was relying on in its lawsuit seeking to force the production of the data did not cover Michigan’s aggregated voter file.

“Back then, the government used this power to ensure that everyone who had the right to vote could freely exercise that right,” Mathis wrote. “But today, the government invokes Title III for an inverse purpose—to ensure that some people have not voted.”

The Justice Department has sued 30 states that have refused to produce their unredacted voter rolls.

This story is breaking and will be updated.

Bill Gates said Epstein tried to use knowledge of his affairs “to pressure me”

June 24, 2026 / 12:49 PM EDT / CBS News

By Graham Kates Reporter
Graham Kates is an investigative reporter covering criminal justice, privacy issues and information security for CBS News Digital. Contact Graham at KatesG@cbsnews.com or grahamkates@protonmail.com

Read Full Bio

Microsoft founder Bill Gates told members of Congress that he believes Jeffrey Epstein sought to leverage Gates’ extramarital affairs for influence.

Gates testified June 10 for nearly six hours before the House Oversight Committee, which is examining the government’s handling of the Epstein case and those with ties to him. A transcript of his testimony, released Tuesday, shows Gates said he became acquainted with Epstein in 2011, three years after Epstein entered a guilty plea in Florida state court for charges including soliciting a minor for prostitution, through an adviser named Boris Nikolic. Gates said he last had contact with Epstein in 2015, four years before Epstein’s arrest on federal sex trafficking charges and death in jail.

Gates denied knowing about Epstein’s ongoing criminal conduct, but acknowledged being aware of Epstein’s prior legal issues. He expressed surprise that Epstein appeared to know about two affairs involving young Russian women—a bridge player and a nuclear scientist—and acknowledged that Epstein had at one point requested several thousand dollars in reimbursements related to one of the women.

“These affairs had nothing to do with my interactions with Epstein, but they were painful for my family,” Gates said. In February, Gates apologized to staff at the Gates Foundation for his ties to Epstein.

Gates said he wasn’t blackmailed, but told the committee that emails suggest Epstein may have been attempting to move in that direction. He also admitted to a third affair and, in response to questions from a congressional staffer, said he was unaware that Epstein and Nikolic may originally have been connected through that woman.

Epstein was involved in negotiating an exit package for Nikolic; emails show he appeared to be acting as a middleman between the two as they negotiated severance.

Gates said in his opening statement that he and Epstein discussed “potential giving structures” related to Gates’ philanthropic fund, but the discussions “were a dead end.” He called their relationship a “grave error in judgment.”

Gates denied ever paying Epstein, stating that their conversations primarily centered on identifying wealthy individuals who could contribute to global health causes.

“As the public can now see based on what has been released in the files, Epstein was working to use information about my infidelities, in addition to many lies that he layered on top, to pressure me to reengage with him,” Gates said. “He was unsuccessful in this effort.”

He said they met in person roughly a dozen times, meetings that included visits to Epstein’s New York and Paris homes, and a flight on Epstein’s plane from New York to Florida. Gates said they also had several video calls.

In a statement released following his testimony, Gates said that he “appreciated the opportunity to meet with the House Oversight Committee today and to answer all of their questions. I support the release of all the files and hope my participation contributes to getting justice for the victims.”

Gates was one of several billionaires to testify before the committee, which also interviewed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and businessmen Les Wexner. It is expected to interview investor and Epstein confidant Leon Black later this week.

Others who are expected to be interviewed in the next month include former Goldman Sachs executive and Obama White House lawyer Kathy Ruemmler, and Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz and former JPMorgan Chase executive Jes Staley.

House Democrats’ anxiety rises after wins by Mamdani-backed candidates: ‘Are we going to let them take over the party?’

2026-06-24T18:29:25.448Z / CNN

Top Democrats insist that they’re unfazed by the party’s forming a “Zohran Mamdani wing,” after the New York City mayor’s stunningly successful primary night.

But there is growing angst among many sitting congressional Democrats after Mamdani allies won three primaries, including defeats of incumbent Reps. Adriano Espaillat and Dan Goldman. And, most immediately, they worry it will make it tougher to flip the House this year, with Republicans eager to tee up the Mamdani slate’s most controversial positions for attack ads in battlegrounds across the country.

“Obviously, the socialists had a big win last night. The question is, are we going to let them take over the party? Or are we going to stand up and fight back?” said Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, a moderate Democrat who has criticized Mamdani’s politics and how he’s addressed allies of Israel. “Many of us believe, as I do, that if you’re a socialist, you’re not a Democrat.”

Gottheimer and others worry that Republicans will try to yoke their most vulnerable members to what they see as far-left ultra-progressives — and they worry that it will only highlight Democratic divisions in a must-win election year.

“If you ask me, it was not a good night for New York,” Rep. Greg Meeks, a powerful New York Democrat who is close with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, told CNN when asked about deleted posts from Darializa Avila Chevalier, who defeated Espaillat, expressing support for abolishing police, prisons and borders.

Asked about the fraught relationship between the Democratic Socialists of America and the Democratic Party, Meeks added: “Instead of us making sure we put all of our resources to fight Republicans and to fight Donald Trump, we’re using it to fight each other. It just doesn’t make common sense to me.”

One Democratic lawmaker sitting in a battleground district told CNN that they are so concerned about the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America that they have recently begun having serious conversations with donors about leaving the party altogether.

If Democrats do flip the House, the number of democratic socialists in their ranks is still likely to be a small minority of the caucus. And Democrats remain confident they can still win the House in November.

The House Democratic caucus gathered for a private briefing by their party arm on Wednesday morning, where party leaders presented internal polling showing Trump underwater in key battlegrounds, according to two people familiar with the briefing. No one brought up the Mamdani-backed candidate wins.

The Mamdani-backed candidates who won on Tuesday ran on the same affordability message that the party has embraced nationally, but their victories highlight broader friction over Democrats’ status-quo tactics in Washington — as well as deep divides on Israel.

“Our party nationally will need to reckon with this fact given that what you witnessed yesterday was not an anti-affordability or anti-economic policy strategy that won; it was an anti-establishment strategy beyond messaging that trumped,” a senior House Democratic aide told CNN.

Speaking Wednesday morning in New York City, Mamdani made the opposite argument, though he also connected cost-of-living issues to his longstanding critiques of US military support for Israel, a key issue in all three primaries.

“What we saw last night was a hunger for leaders who will be there on the front lines looking to make it easier for working people to afford life in the greatest city in the world,” he said.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Wednesday downplayed fears within his party that the wins could reverberate in battleground districts this November.

“No, Donald Trump has a working relationship with the mayor of the city of New York, and he’s made that publicly and explicitly clear to America, not once but twice in the Oval Office,” Jeffries said.

Jeffries was asked by reporters if Mamdani had made enemies on Capitol Hill.

“Listen, the mayor and I agreed to strongly disagree about some of his endorsements, and he’s got work to do in terms of the conversations that he’s going to have with members of Congress moving forward,” Jeffries, who backed Espaillat and Goldman, told reporters.

Asked if Democratic voters want their members in Congress to be more progressive, Jeffries responded: “I think we’ve got to look at the totality of all 215 members of the House Democratic caucus, and that answer speaks for itself.”

The Brooklyn representative told reporters his relationship with Madmani is “a very good one” and that the pair speak regularly.

Morris Katz, a campaign strategist who is a key Mamdani ally, argued that Democrats can have a “big-tent populist party” that focuses on affordability and “invests in domestic priorities, in schools and in hospitals rather than in wars abroad.”

“I think that we spend a lot more time talking about labels than the average swing voter thinks about that,” Katz told CNN’s Dana Bash. “You see people interact with policies, campaigns, and ideas not predicated on the label they’re applying to themselves, but how are they going to make their lives better?”

And on Capitol Hill, progressives like Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna celebrated Tuesday night’s results.

“It’s a big win for the progressive wing of the party. We are a new party that will call out the genocide, tax the billionaires, and stand up for single payer healthcare” Khanna told CNN. “Our party wants a new generation leaders willing to challenge the status quo and call out the establishment.”

But one longtime Democrat, Rep. Vicente Gonzalez of Texas, firmly disagrees that the results reflect the mood of the country.

Instead, he said it’s a small minority of Democrats who have run extremely effective campaigns.

“I think we have a lot of more organizing to do on the ground, especially in places like New York and California, places where DSA is is is being more influential, and we need to educate young people, we need to get more people, young people involved on more moderate policies, just the way the other side has, and run strong campaigns,” Gonzalez said.

“I don’t think it should be a concern for people in South Texas, but I think nationally it’s a huge concern, and how they push the policies within the Democratic caucus that we’re going to have to defend,” Gonzalez added. “A lot of these policies that obviously I don’t agree with, and would be very difficult for me to sell to people in South Texas, and I don’t intend to sell them, because I don’t believe in most of them myself.

As for his own reelection, Gonzalez was confident he could still win despite any GOP attacks linking him to the DSA: “I’ve been around long enough that people don’t see me as a socialist. In fact, I get beat up by socialists.”

Trump seeks $672M to stop Iranian nukes as fate of uranium stockpile remains unresolved

2026-06-24T15:18:14-04:00 / Fox News

The Department of Energy funding would support disposition of proliferation-sensitive material and infrastructure

By Morgan Phillips Fox News

Published June 24, 2026 3:18pm EDT

Trump ‘has options’ if US-Iran deal doesn’t work out, Rubio says

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he wants the deal between the United States and Iran to succeed, “but if it doesn’t, the president knows what his options are.”

FIRST ON FOX:The Trump administration is seeking $672 million for the removal of Iranian nuclear materials, inspections and verification efforts, and other counterproliferation activities as part of its broader $80 billion supplemental funding request, Fox News Digital has learned.

The funding would support the removal and elimination of Iranian nuclear materials, including uranium hexafluoride (UF6), uranium in various forms and research reactor fuel, including highly enriched uranium, according to details shared by a White House official.

The request also would fund U.S. verification activities inside Iran, support inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency, strengthen nuclear-smuggling detection efforts and expand Nuclear Emergency Support Team operations across the Middle East.

IRAN WAR’S PRICE TAG HITS $80B — MORE THAN DOUBLE WHAT CONGRESS WAS TOLD

The funding would go to the Department of Energy to support “activities that would terminate Iran’s ability to develop or acquire a nuclear weapon, including the disposition of proliferation of sensitive material, technology, equipment, and infrastructure,” a White House official told Fox News Digital Wednesday.

The funding request comes as U.S. and Iranian negotiators work to translate the recent memorandum of understanding into a more detailed agreement governing Iran’s nuclear program and stockpile of enriched uranium.

Secretary Pete Hegseth is briefing members of the House Republican Study Committee on the $80 billion request to cover the costs of the offensive campaign against Iran known as Operation Epic Fury and rebuild munitions stockpiles.

The White House’s $80 billion supplemental funding request to Congress tied to the Iran conflict includes $672 million aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, Fox News Digital has learned.(Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

The funding request comes as U.S. and Iranian negotiators are attempting to translate the recent memorandum of understanding into a detailed agreement governing Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile and future nuclear activities.

The memorandum of understanding, signed by the United States and Iran June 17,kicked off technical talks led by Vice President JD Vance in Switzerland and established the “minimum” acceptable terms for Iran’s roughly 900-pound stockpile of uranium enriched to near-weapons grade as “downblending,” or reducing the concentration of uranium through dilution.

“The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran have agreed to resolve the disposition of stockpile enriched material pursuant to a mechanism that will be mutually agreed upon in accordance with the schedule mentioned in paragraph seven with the minimum methodology to be down blended on site under the supervision of the IAEA,” the memorandum states.

The agreement leaves unanswered key questions about the ultimate fate of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile.

Neither side has publicly said whether they have reached an agreement on what will happen to the material, including whether it will remain in Iran, be downblended, transferred to another country, or be destroyed altogether.

In what Vance hailed as a “major milestone,” he said Iran had agreed to allow U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors back into the country for the first time since U.S. and Israeli military strikes targeted Iranian nuclear infrastructure last year.

OBAMA-ERA INSPECTION FLAWS IN IRAN COULD PERSIST AS EXPERTS WARN OF NUCLEAR BLIND SPOTS

President Donald Trump has insisted Iran agreed to what he described as “nuclear honesty.”

President Donald Trump has insisted Iran agreed to what he described as “nuclear honesty.”(Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

“Iran has fully and completely agreed to highest level Nuclear inspections long into the future (Infinity!!!),” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “If they did not agree to this, there would be no further negotiations!”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The $672 million request is part of the administration’s broader $80 billion supplemental funding package related to the Iran conflict and its aftermath. The larger request is expected to cover military operations, replenishment of munitions stockpiles and other national security priorities stemming from the conflict.

“Iran has fully and completely agreed to highest level Nuclear inspections long into the future (Infinity!!!),” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “If they did not agree to this, there would be no further negotiations!”(Photo by IIPA via Getty Images)

The challenge of disposing of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile could be substantial. In 1994, the United States carried out a covert operation known as Project Sapphire to remove roughly 600 kilograms of highly enriched uranium from Kazakhstan after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The mission required weeks of repackaging nuclear material, extensive security precautions and military airlift operations before the uranium could be transported to the U.S.

US judge orders Trump administration to explain tarp obscuring Kennedy Center facade

2026-06-24T18:04:36.204Z / Reuters

By Mike Scarcella

June 24, 2026 6:04 PM UTC Updated 1 hour ago

A tarp covers the facade of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, following a federal judge’s order to remove U.S. President Donald Trump’s name from the institution, in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 13, 2026. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

WASHINGTON, June 24 (Reuters) – A federal judge on Wednesday ordered U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to explain why ​it placed a tarp over the Kennedy Center’s façade ‌after the Republican leader’s name was removed from the building under a court order.

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper said the administration ​must report by July 31 “the purpose and status of ​the tarp and scaffolding” now in place at ⁠the iconic building.

Jumpstart your morning with the latest legal news delivered straight to your inbox from The Daily Docket newsletter. Sign up here.

The tarp was installed as workers stripped Trump’s name in ​a predawn operation this month following an order from Cooper ​that the Trump administration unlawfully added his name to the facade in December.

The White House and Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to ​requests for comment.

In a lawsuit brought by Democratic Representative ​Joyce Beatty, a Kennedy Center board member, the judge last month ordered the removal of ⁠Trump’s name from the Washington theater complex’s signage and blocked his plans to close it for two years of renovations starting July 4. The Trump administration has asked a federal appeals court to put ​that order ​on hold.

Beatty’s lawyers ⁠this week in a filing told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District ​of Columbia Circuit that the “semi-permanent tarp” obscuring ​the late ⁠President John F. Kennedy’s name from public view at the center appears to be the Trump administration’s “effort to frustrate the ⁠restoration ​of the status quo as it ​existed prior to the renaming.”

Beatty called the obstruction of the facade an “act ​of petty defiance.”

Reporting by Mike Scarcella; Editing by Cynthia Osterman

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Lawyers for Rep. LaMonica McIver force judges to weigh the limits of congressional immunity

2026-06-24T17:12:47.792Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/24/politics/lamonica-mciver-argue-assault-charges-thrown-out

Do the legal protections for members of Congress hold even if they’re charged with assaulting a federal officer? That’s the question three federal judges considered Wednesday for nearly two hours in the case against Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver.

One of the first questions asked by the panel of judges in Wilmington, Delaware, was whether a member of Congress, during their legislative duties, would be protected if he “comes across a teenage girl and gropes her.”

“Isn’t this as weak a case as I hypothesized?” Judge Stephanos Bibas, who President Donald Trump nominated in his first administration, asked McIver’s attorney during Wednesday’s hearing.

In 2025, McIver was charged with assaulting an officer during her visit to an immigration detention facility in New Jersey when officers began to arrest Newark Mayor Ras Baraka outside the facility — an arrest that officials quickly dropped.

Prosecutors allege that McIver slammed her forearm into one officer and tried to restrain another by grabbing him as well as using her forearms to push against an officer when she was trying to get back into the facility.

The indictment against McIver does not allege that any officers were injured during the incident.

McIver’s attorney, Paul Fishman, said the New Jersey congresswoman was doing her legislative duty of oversight at the facility, which has become a recent hotbed for protests and violent clashes between law enforcement and protestors.

Fishman argued that the judges should “look at the field visit as a whole,” adding that the reason McIver and two other members of congress went outside the facility during Baraka’s arrest “was oversight” of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security.

The Speech and Debate clause in the Constitution generally protects members of Congress from prosecution for actions that fall within their duties.

“Being a critic of the administration,” Fishman said, is what the clause was designed to protect. “They are picking on someone who is a member of Congress” because she disagrees with the administration, Fishman said.

“Use of physical force is never, never covered by the Speech and Debate clause,” attorney for the Justice Department Mark Coyne shot back Wednesday, while acknowledging the case was “certainly not something I’m taking lightly.”

The case against McIver is on pause while the Third Circuit considers her appeal of a lower court ruling that rejected her efforts to toss the case on several issues, including congressional protections and vindictive prosecution.

When asked about Fishman’s effort to have the court consider the issue of whether the case was brought vindictively by the Trump administration, Coyne pushed back.

“I’m still here,” Coyne said, adding that if the administration started to charge a bevy of lawmakers, a hypothetical posed by Judge Thomas Ambro, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, Coyne would do “everything in my power” to ensure that would not happen.

On rebuttal, Fishman said the decision to prosecute was not Coyne’s but came from the Justice Department. “They are not made in Newark,” Fishman said of the decision to prosecute enemies of Trump.

Judge Ambro also questioned if Coyne could point to any other case where a lawmaker was charged with pushing against an officer as they were trying to make their way through a scrum.

“That doesn’t seem like assault,” Ambro said of one of the charges McIver faces.

Coyne conceded the case was not normal.

Fishman told the judges he was “not arguing that an assault is a legislative act” but rather that McIver was doing her congressional duties of oversight when immigration agents began to unlawfully arrest Baraka for his presence in the facility.

“If any member walks into a bar and decks an ICE officer,” Fishman said, that would not be protected.

McIver has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which carry a maximum of 17 years in prison.

During a press conference following the hearing, McIver, several months pregnant, told reporters the case was merely Trump going after his political enemies.

“I have literally the president of the United States and the Department of Justice trying to send me to jail for 17 years — that’s very frightening,” she said. “The point of it all is cruelty. The process is the pain for them.”

Trump to ask Congress to make 15% ethanol-gas blend permanent

2026-06-24 15:14:00 EDT / CBS News

The Trump administration intends to ask Congress to allow E15, an ethanol-gas blend, to be sold at the pumps year-round, a U.S. official familiar with the matter told CBS News.

The 15% ethanol blend is usually only available part of the year under a waiver from the Environmental Protection Agency as temperatures rise to help ease high gas prices. The administration plans to make the request when it submits a supplemental funding request to lawmakers, the official said.

Several requests on budget matters and non-budgetary matters were scheduled to be sent to the Hill on Wednesday.

A lower 10% ethanol blend is sold all year, but the 15% blend is subject to waivers because gas with the higher ethanol content evaporates more quickly in hot weather and contributes to higher levels of air pollution or smog. For this reason, federal rules normally require switching back to more costly blends.

The move to make E15 available year-round represents the White House’s latest effort to tame gas prices that have risen because of the war with Iran. President Trump repeatedly said on the campaign trail that he supported making E15 available year-round.

It was unclear if the proposal would have the votes to pass.

Lawmakers from corn-growing states and other proponents of E15 argue the blend gives drivers a cheaper option at the gas pump and creates rural jobs.

E15 prices are generally about 25 cents per gallon lower than regular gas, according to the Renewable Fuels Association. The White House has said E15 can collectively over $20 billion in annual fuel costs.

The Trump administration in March this year temporarily lifted gasoline regulations with emergency fuel waivers to allow refiners and retailers to sell E15 gasoline during a period ahead of and during the summer driving season.

Energy analysts weigh in on gas prices

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/returning-to-pre-iran-war-gas-prices-could-take-awhile-energy-analyst-says/

Returning to pre-Iran war gas prices could take awhile, energy analyst says

(09:15)

Swalwell friend Gallego defends campaign-funded Super Bowl, Miami trips: ‘Go where the money is’

June 24, 2026 1:36pm EDT / Fox News

The Arizona senator used a joint fundraising committee with former Rep Eric Swalwell to attend the 2023 game

By Hannah Brennan Fox News

‘That’s what you do’: Gallego defends Super Bowl fundraiser amid questions about campaign spending

Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., defended fundraising at high-profile events, in an interview with Fox News Digital, saying candidates must “go where the money is to raise money.” (Credit: Nicholas Ballasy for Fox News Digital)

NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

blob:https://www.foxnews.com/62c3583e-8ae1-4985-b9a2-76684ef3a589

Listen to this article

3 min

Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., defended his campaign-funded travel and fundraising events after recent reporting detailed luxury travel, childcare and event expenses paid through his political committees, arguing that trips to the Super Bowl and Miami were legitimate efforts to raise money for his political operation.

“You have to go where the money is to raise money,” Gallego told Fox News Digital when asked about criticism surrounding the expenditures.

It was recently reported that Gallego used his leadership PAC to pay for a variety of luxurious trips, including trips to Miami, Saint Barthélemy, Disneyland, Disney World and Chicago, according to financial filings. A source familiar with Gallego’s spending said the senator often used campaign cash to bring his family on these vacations and used donor cash to fund babysitting services for his children, as reported by Politico.

Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., walks out of the Senate Chamber in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 11, 2025, after two opposing health care bills intended to curb rising premiums failed.(Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Federal Election Commission records also show Gallego using a joint fundraising committee with former Rep. Eric Swalwell, who recently resigned from Congress after multiple women accused the California Democrat of sexual assault, that was used to fund tickets for him and his wife to attend the 2023 Super Bowl.

When asked about his recent financial controversies, Gallego claimed the Super Bowl endeavor to be a fundraiser event, the “Swallego Victory Fund,” which he hosted with Swalwell.

“The Super Bowl was in Arizona, I represent Arizona,” Gallego said. “We threw a Super Bowl fundraiser in Arizona where we raised money for my election in 2023. That’s what you do.”

SWALWELL’S ‘BEST FRIEND’ IN CONGRESS TURNS ON HIM AFTER BOMBSHELL ALLEGATIONS TORPEDO HIS POLITICAL CAREER

Then-Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., and Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., are pictured with their wives riding camels shirtless during a 2021 trip to Qatar funded by the U.S.-Qatar Business Council.(FOX NEWS/Tucker Carlson Tonight)

The event was held with donors at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, just 20 days after Gallego launched his Arizona Senate bid. A copy of the invitation obtained by Politico shows tickets costing $5,000, including a brunch that could be attended before the game for an additional $1,000.

The event cost over $37,000, with both lawmakers each receiving roughly $8,000 and halting the joint committee after the game.

A Gallego spokesperson told Politico that the “tickets were purchased at fair market value” and that “hosting donors and supporters at sporting events in their areas is a common, bipartisan practice.”

“There’s a lot of people that do fundraisers at golf tournaments, at NASCAR, at IndyCar,” Gallego told Fox News Digital. “So this is just the very same thing.”

The Arizona Democrat also used PAC money for a trip to Miami that coincided with his wife, Sydney Gallego’s, birthday. The couple retreated to the Loews hotel on Miami Beach and charged over $9,000 in expenses.

“We raised about $50,000 in our nine events in Miami,” Gallego said.

FAR-LEFT FIREBRAND SPENDS EYE-POPPING AMOUNT OF CAMPAIGN CASH ON LUXURY HOTELS, ‘TOP-TIER’ LIMO SERVICES

Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego defended Democrats’ efforts to extend Obamacare subsidies.(Go Nakamura/Reuters)

A Gallego spokesperson told Politico that the Gallegos “attended several widely attended political events and fundraisers” on their trip to Miami, but did not specify any specific numbers nor address the birthday aspect of the trip.

Federal campaign funds generally cannot be converted to personal use, but FEC guidance allows campaign-related travel, meals at fundraising events and childcare expenses incurred as a direct result of campaign activity. Mixed personal and campaign travel can require reimbursement for the personal portion.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox News Digital has not cited any FEC finding that the expenses violated campaign finance law.

Fox News Digital’s Robert Schmad contributed to this report.

Hannah is a Production Assistant for the Politics team at Fox News Digital.