General Politics

The military Black Hawk helicopter that crashed into a passenger plane near Reagan National Airport Wednesday appears to have been flying above the permitted altitude, publicly available flight data analyzed by CBS News shows.

This data point is one of several key mysteries investigators are exploring as they seek to explain what caused the nation's worst air disaster in more than a decade, aviation experts said.

"That's the $64 million question that needs to be answered," said Greg Feith, a former senior air safety investigator with the National...

A U.S. appeals court on Thursday ruled against a federal law requiring young adults to be 21 to buy handguns, finding it violated the Second Amendment.

The ruling, handed down by a panel of three judges on the conservative U.S. 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, comes amid major shifts in the national firearm legal landscape following a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that expanded gun rights in 2022.

The court found that people aged 18-to-20 should not be prohibited from buying guns.

“Ultimately, the text of the Second...

Members of the New York City Council want answers after an I-Team investigation revealed a top staffer for Mayor Eric Adams has had a financial relationship with the firm selected to privatize the city’s public health laboratory.

The lab, where government scientists have battled disease outbreaks for decades, is being re-located to Harlem. The Adams Administration is now pushing for City Council approval, so the property left behind — 455 First Avenue in Manhattan — can be handed over to a private developer called Taconic Partners.

Earlier in...

Back in the public eye for the first time in days after a brief health leave, New York City Mayor Eric Adams gave a fiery speech in which he shot down any possible resignation rumors.

"Who started this stupid rumor that I was stepping down on Friday? Are you out of your mind?" a fired-up Adams said to cheers from clergy at an interfaith breakfast Thursday morning. "'Eric is resigning in 72 hours.' How many times do I have to say: When people say step down, I say step up."

The mayor's comments came as suspense about his future had been building...

In a Thursday press briefing, President Trump criticized his predecessor for his management of the Federal Aviation Administration and suggested, without evidence, that diversity initiatives at the agency could be to blame for a deadly crash between a passenger plane and an Army helicopter in Washington, D.C.

"I put safety first. Obama, Biden and the Democrats put policy first," Mr. Trump said. "The FAA's website states they include hearing, vision, missing extremities, partial paralysis, complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability...

A federal appeals court on Thursday struck down a landmark gun control regulation in place since 1968.

Hospitals in Colorado, Virginia and the nation’s capital say they have paused gender-affirming care for young people as they evaluate President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at cutting federal support for such care

If confirmed, former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard would become the youngest-ever DNI. Sources tell ABC News the vote on her nomination is expected to be close.

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed two executive orders appointing a new Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) deputy administrator and ordering an immediate assessment of aviation safety.

The orders came after an American Airlines plane carrying 64 people and an Army Black Hawk helicopter carrying three soldiers crashed in midair at about 9 p.m. Wednesday.

The aircraft plummeted into the frigid Potomac River near Reagan National Airport, leaving 67 people presumed dead.

In the Oval Office Thursday, Trump signed an order appointing Chris...

President Donald Trump's choice to head the Department of Veterans Affairs, Doug Collins, passed a Senate cloture vote Thursday night.

The vote was 83-13.

Collins will proceed to a full vote on the Senate floor for confirmation, which he is expected to easily secure with strong bipartisan support.

HAWAII'S HIRONO ONLY SENATOR TO VOTE NO ON COLLINS, CONTINUING PARTISAN STREAK AT HEARINGS

A former U.S. congressman, the Gainesville, Georgia, native also serves as a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.

Collins was not expected to face a...

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson continued his attack on President Donald Trump on Wednesday, saying anyone questioning what the U.S. would look like had the Confederacy won, should have no question at this point under his administration.

A reporter asked Johnson during a press conference on Wednesday if he planned to go to Washington, D.C. to testify about sanctuary cities as the Trump administration continues to conduct operations targeting criminal illegal aliens.

House Republicans, including U.S. Rep. James Comer, R-Tenn., chair of the...

The Senate Thursday evening advanced President Donald Trump's nominee to head the Department of Energy to a final confirmation vote.

The vote was 62-35.

Chris Wright, the CEO and founder of Liberty Energy Inc., an energy industry service provider based in Colorado, was tapped by the 47th president to head the Department of Energy under his administration.

The Trump nominee has received bipartisan support for his nomination, being introduced by a Democrat, Sen. John Hickenlooper of Colorado, during his confirmation hearing with the Senate Energy...

Several hundred well-paid foreign soldiers fighting on the side of the Congolese government surrender.

The Senate confirmed Doug Burgum as interior secretary late Thursday after President Donald Trump tapped the North Dakota billionaire to spearhead the Republican administration's ambitions to boost fossil fuel production.

The vote was 79-18.

Burgum, 68, is an ultra-wealthy software industry entrepreneur who came from a small North Dakota farming community, where he worked at his family’s grain elevator.

He served two terms as governor of the oil-rich state and launched a presidential campaign in 2023, but dropped out months later and quickly...

On the day of his inauguration, President Trump threatened steep new tariffs against key U.S. trading partners. Now he may be primed to deliver.

Mr. Trump said Jan. 20 that he could announce 25% tariffs against Canada and Mexico as soon as Feb. 1, while China could face a 10% duty. Economists have warned that stiff tariffs could reawaken inflation on a range of consumer goods and slow economic growth. Here's what experts have to say.

Mr. Trump has threatened tariffs against multiple nations for a range of reasons. He said he is specifically...