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.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom says there's no imminent threat to the state from Iran. ABC News says the FBI warned California that Iran had aspired to send drones to the West Coast in retaliation for war. The FBI later released text of the alert, which noted that the information was based on "unverified information." The White House now says, "No such threat from Iran to our homeland exists." Newsom says California and various agencies plan for worst-case scenarios. Police in Los Angeles and San Francisco say they are monitoring world events for any risks.
Some of Donald Trump's handpicked appointees who have a say in his White House ballroom project are asking questions about design and scale, even as they broadly endorsed the president's vision for a massive expansion. Members of the Commission on Fine Arts asked the project's lead architect on Thursday to come back to them with 3D scale models of the White House complex including the proposed addition, and to include the Treasury Department and Eisenhower office buildings that flank the White House. Separately, historic preservationists are challenging the project in federal court.
The White House says they determined it was not feasible to save the East Wing as they revealed details of President Donald Trump's planed ballroom at Thursday's meeting of the National Capital Planning Commission. Josh Fisher, director of the White House Office of Administration, listed off a variety of concerns, including a structurally unstable colonnade, water leakage and mold contamination, in explaining why it was more economical to tear down the East Wing to make room for the $400 million ballroom than to renovate it. The East Wing was torn down in October, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation sued to halt construction of the ballroom.
