Israel’s Crisis Is Just Beginning

JERUSALEM — It’s a strange experience to observe the place you live in slide from controlled crisis into utter chaos in just under 24 hours. Crisis is a fairly common situation in Israel. There is always something going on. Hamas launches rockets; Israelis enjoy brunch. Hezbollah threatens to annihilate the country; Israelis know their air force will chortle. This may be...

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Light-headedness caused McConnell to abruptly leave press conference, office says

Mitch McConnell abruptly stopped his opening remarks at an afternoon press conference on Wednesday, causing alarm when he left for a few minutes and then returning to answer questions. The Senate minority leader only got through a few words of his speech about the chamber's annual defense bill, then trailed off and stared straight ahead for a few minutes as his fellow senators asked if he was OK. A McConnell aide said he was feeling light-headed....

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DeSantis suggests he could pick RFK Jr. to lead the FDA or CDC

Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. might have an offer to run a federal agency in 2025 — but not for the party he is running to gain the nomination from. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is struggling to gain steam in the GOP primary, mused on Wednesday in an interview with Clay Travis on OutKick that he generally aligns with Kennedy’s conservative views...

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DeSantis-appointed board eyes millions of dollars in cuts to Disney’s district

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A public police force that provides overtime services to Walt Disney World’s sprawling theme park in central Florida is on the chopping block under the governing board Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed. The board on Wednesday teased millions of dollars worth of spending cuts to the area that spans thousands of acres and provided Disney with self-governing...

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Fed hikes rates again — and leaves options open for more

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates Wednesday for the 11th time in more than a year to kill inflation, in what investors hope will be the last hike in 2023. But central bank officials are cautioning that there might be more increases coming. The central bank's rate-setting committee will assess how much borrowing costs are already crimping growth "in determining the...

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N.C. governor sets Medicaid expansion date, pressuring Republicans to act

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration on Wednesday announced the state will expand Medicaid on Oct. 1 — even though lawmakers have yet to approve the funding to do so. The unusual move, agreed to by the Biden administration, puts additional pressure on the state’s Republican-controlled legislature to either pass a budget or fund Medicaid expansion separately — something...

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Judge declines to approve Hunter Biden plea deal for now

WILMINGTON, Del. — Hunter Biden’s plea deal hit a major roadblock during an unexpectedly contentious federal court hearing Wednesday as prosecutors and Biden’s attorneys initially disagreed about the scope of the agreement and the judge then balked at approving the deal. After pressing both sides for details about the deal, U.S. District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika adjourned...

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