By CHARLOTTE KRAMON, ALEX VEIGA and MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press
In a rare bipartisan effort for a deeply divided Congress, the Senate has passed a broad bill to make U.S. housing more accessible and affordable. The bill passed on Thursday would reduce regulations, regulate corporate investors and expand how housing dollars can be used to build affordable homes and rentals. It now heads back to the House, which passed a separate version earlier this year. It is unclear whether President Donald Trump would sign it after declaring last weekend that he won't sign any new measures unless Congress passes legislation that would require voters to show proof of citizenship.
By MICHAEL R. SISAK, ERIC TUCKER, MICHELLE L. PRICE and COLLEEN LONG Associated Press
Michael Cohen is testifying again in Donald Trump's hush money trial. But there's been no witness-stand bombast or fireworks so far from Cohen, a man who was defined for years by his braggadocio as Trump's problem-zapper. Instead, his testimony is about purposefully mislabeled checks, false receipts and blind loyalty. And it underscored the foundational argument of the case — that it's not about the spectacle of what Trump was paying for, but rather his effort to illegally cover up those payments. A shocking moment did come, but it was courtesy of House Speaker Mike Johnson who appeared at the courthouse with Trump and declared the Manhattan criminal trial illegitimate.
The U.N. General Assembly has voted by a wide margin to grant new "rights and privileges" to Palestine and has called on the Security Council to reconsider Palestine's request to become the 194th member of the United Nations. The world body approved the resolution on Friday by a vote of 143-9 with 25 abstentions. The United States voted against it, along with Israel and a handful of other countries. The vote reflected the wide global support for full membership of Palestine in the United Nations, with many countries expressing outrage at the escalating death toll in Gaza.
Two men on opposite sides of the metal barricades during the riot at the U.S. Capitol are running for Congress on the same day. Derrick Evans served three months in federal prison on a felony civil disorder charge. He's challenging Rep. Carol Miller in Tuesday's West Virginia Republican primary. Harry Dunn was a Capitol Police officer who defended lawmakers from attack on Jan. 6, 2021. Dunn is part of a crowded field seeking the Democratic nomination for a congressional seat in Maryland. Their candidacies at least raise the possibility that they could serve alongside one another while holding starkly different views of the violence and destruction of Jan. 6.
Gov. Gavin Newsom says the state's budget deficit is $27.6 billion. The figure Newsom announced Friday is smaller than the deficit he anticipated in January. That's because it doesn't take into account $17.3 billion worth of budget actions he and lawmakers have agreed to take to close the gap. He's now proposing to help balance the budget by eliminating 10,000 vacant state jobs and suspending some business tax deductions. The Democratic governor says some of those cuts will also help balance next year's budget, as state revenues are projected to keep falling. The state Legislature must pass a spending plan by June 15.
