Domestic News

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve, determined to choke off rapid inflation before it becomes a permanent feature of the American economy, is steering toward another three-quarter-point interest rate increase later this month even as the economy shows early signs of slowing and recession fears mount.

Economic data suggest that the United States could be headed for a rough road: Consumer confidence has plummeted, the economy could post two straight quarters of negative growth, new factory orders have sagged and oil and gas commodity prices have dipped...

Among tax lawyers, the most invasive type of random audit carried out by the I.R.S. is known, only partly jokingly, as “an autopsy without the benefit of death.”

The odds of being selected for that audit in any given year are tiny — out of nearly 153 million individual returns filed for 2017, for example, the I.R.S. targeted about 5,000, or roughly one out of 30,600.

One of the few who received a bureaucratic letter with the news that his 2017 return would be under intensive scrutiny was James B. Comey, who had been fired as F.B.I. director that...

You cannot kill what is already dead. So, while it is puzzling that the Supreme Court issued a decision on the unlawfulness of the Clean Power Plan — an Obama-era policy to cut climate pollution from the U.S. power sector that never actually took effect — that regulation is not the decision’s primary casualty. Economic trends drove industry to surpass the Clean Power Plan’s goals to burn less coal years ago. The Clean Power Plan was merely a zombie that the court raised to issue a decision.

The real wrecking ball in

The single most important development in the digital economy over the last decade has been

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is clinging to power, and all eyes are on

An appellate court on Wednesday heard arguments on a key immigration case that could determine the future of hundreds of thousands of young immigrants.

The case, which involves the legality of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, riled up opponents and supporters of the Obama-era program, but it's unlikely to be resolved anytime soon.

"There is no established timeline for when they must or will decide the case," said Thomas Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican-American Legal Defense Fund (MALDEF).

"But we do know that when a decision is rendered it is likely that whichever side finds itself in disagreement with the decision will then consider further action. Either request for a full hearing by the entire Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, or petition to the Supreme Court," added Saenz.

A Fifth Circuit panel in New Orleans took up the appeal led by the Biden administration, a group of DACA beneficiaries and the state of New Jersey against a ruling by district court Judge Andrew Hanen, who last year decreed DACA to be illegal.

Texas, which led a multi-state lawsuit against DACA, argued in favor of Hanen's decision.

While the Fifth Circuit could take weeks or months to come to a decision, the hearing renewed passions in a legal fight that sits at the core of the country's disagreements on immigration.

"DACA has been under attack since its inception," said Greisa Martínez Rosas, executive director at United We Dream, an immigrant youth advocacy organization.

"The forces working against us are not shy about what they want. They want to end DACA and put all immigrants on a path towards detention and deportation. Republican governors continue to deliberately use DACA as a political weapon and continue to politicize our court systems," she added.

It's no coincidence that the DACA case is before the conservative Fifth Circuit. Texas filed the lawsuit against the program in Brownsville, hoping for it to be heard by Hanen and then the Fifth Circuit on its way to the Supreme Court.

Hanen, a vocal critic of immigration benefits who previously struck down an expansion of DACA and a partner program to protect parents of DACA recipients, ruled last year that the program had been illegal all along.

The ruling prevented the Biden administration from signing up new beneficiaries for the 10-year-old program, but Hanen himself tempered his ruling, avoiding stripping existing recipients of their benefits.

Still, immigrant advocates and "Dreamers" — undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States as minors — picketed the Fifth Circuit Court in New Orleans Wednesday as the judges inside heard arguments.

The defendants, supporting a continuation of DACA, argued Texas had no standing to sue to terminate the program, and that the Obama administration properly implemented DACA and had the power to do so.

"More recently, a fourth issue arose: recent Supreme Court decisions surrounding whether federal law prevented the implementation of an injunction nationwide against DACA. Specifically, whether the Immigration and Nationality Act restricts the ability of the federal court in respect to DACA," said Saenz.

While it's unclear how or when the Fifth Circuit panel will rule, the arguments energized the program's supporters.

"We will continue to organize, unapologetically, with hope and love. We will continue to fight with this movement – lawyers like the ones represented on this call," said Martínez Rosas.

"And we need our elected leaders, congressional Democrats and Republicans, President Biden to do the same – to pass permanent legislation so that we are no longer living court case to court case. The time is now. Our home is here. And we're here to stay," she added.

Armed with Hanen's ruling, opponents of DACA and other liberalized interpretations of immigration law have been similarly energized.

“When President Obama created DACA, he bypassed Congress’s unambiguous authority to decide who may enter and remain in our nation," said RJ Hauman, director of government relations and communications at the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), a group that advocates for reduced immigration.

"Our duly enacted immigration laws are clear – DACA beneficiaries are illegal aliens who have no legal right to live and work in this country, and are subject to removal. These laws cannot be changed or ignored through an executive order, policy memorandum, or regulation,” added Hauman.

With midterms quickly approaching, rhetoric tying border management to immigration has consistently escalated among many Republicans, to the point where a group of county leaders in Texas declared an official "invasion" of immigrants at the border.

Texas statewide elected officials sprang up in support of the declaration of the so-called "invasion."

"We are being invaded, and if we are being invaded under the constitution I think that gives us the power to put hands on people and send them back," Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R)

Key indicators suggest long-awaited relief on gas prices. Meanwhile, environmentalists slam new European Union rules on nuclear and natural gas, and the Great Salt Lake hits a new low.

This is Overnight Energy & Environment, your source for the latest news focused on energy, the environment and beyond. For The Hill, we’re Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk. Someone forward you this newsletter?

All eyes will be on Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) this month to see whether Senate Democratic leaders are able to resurrect President Biden’s long-stalled climate and social spending package.

Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday took a step toward a potential deal to revive the “Build Back Better” bill,

The Department of Justice is investigating Texas' $3 billion border security mission known as Operation Lone Star for potential civil rights violations, according to state records.

The Federal Coordination and Compliance Section of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division sent a letter to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) on May 16, saying that they've been made aware of potentially unlawful activity related to the border security mission.

"The Department is seeking this information after receiving information indicating that DPS may be...

Jerone Davison (R-AZ), a congressional candidate in Arizona's 4th District, uses an AR-15 to scare off the KKK (Klu Klux Klan) in a viral campaign ad released Wednesday.

The ad opens with white hooded figures holding a bat and menacing through a yard, while Davison casually sips on an American flag mug before folding his hands to pray.

The group of KKK members, who apparently represent the Democratic Party, approach Davison's house as he stands inside holding a semi-automatic rifle in the ad.

"Democrats like to say that nobody needs an AR-15 for...

In light of the recent Supreme Court decision on abortion,

Story at a glance​

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• Skies over Sioux Falls, South Dakota turned a bright green reminiscent of the Wizard of Oz’s Wicked Witch of the West Tuesday afternoon.

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• The severe weather was a derecho, a powerful storm system that can travel for hundreds of miles bringing heavy rain and powerful winds.

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• Green skies are not unheard of before a storm, but the exact reason why this happens is still unclear.

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The sky above Sioux Falls, South Dakota turned a bright shade of emerald green on Tuesday right before severe weather barreled through the southeastern part of the state.

Sioux Falls was hit with more than three inches of rain over a few hours last night and strong wind gusts as part of a derecho, the Midwest's answer to a hurricane.

Derechos are massive thunderstorm bands that can travel hundreds of miles in a relatively straight line and can be just as destructive as a tornado, according to the National Weather Service.

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America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your

Climate protesters are planning to disrupt the Congressional Baseball Game unless Congress gets legislation across the finish line.

At the annual event, Democrats face off against Republicans in a friendly match to raise money for charity.

But this year, the activists say they will try to prevent it from happening unless the players get climate action across the finish line in Congress.

“We refuse to watch a member of Congress play baseball while the world burns,” Jamie DeMarco, federal policy director for Chesapeake Climate Action Network, told

U.S. Capitol Police officers arrested a man who had two Molotov cocktails on Wednesday not far from the U.S. Capitol.

Capitol police said in a

Senators on the Intelligence Committee asked the Federal Tade Commission (FTC) to investigate TikTok, ramping up scrutiny of the company’s data practices.

Meanwhile, Apple