WASHINGTON (AP) – A federal appeals court on Friday lifted an order blocking Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from further cuts at the U.S. Agency for International Development.
The lawsuit was among of the first filed against Musk himself. It argued that DOGE's actions were unconstitutional because he was wielding significant power without being elected or Senate approved.
A lower court judge agreed, but the three-judge appeals court panel sided with the Trump administration, at least for now. It found that while DOGE played a part in the dismantling of USAID, the cuts were approved by government officials.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that social-media posts like Musk’s declaration that he “fed USAID into the wood chipper” didn't legally prove he was making the orders.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – Utah has become the first state to ban fluoride in public drinking water, pushing past opposition from dentists and national health organizations who warn the move will lead to medical problems that disproportionately affect low-income communities.
Republican Gov. Spencer Cox signed legislation Thursday barring cities and communities from deciding whether to add the mineral to their water systems.
Florida, Ohio and South Carolina are considering similar measures, while in New Hampshire, North Dakota and Tennessee, lawmakers have rejected them. A bill in Kentucky to make fluoridation optional stalled in the state Senate.
The American Dental Association sharply criticized the Utah law, saying it showed “wanton disregard for the oral health and well-being of their constituents.”
MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin’s Democratic attorney general asked a court on Friday to block billionaire Elon Musk from handing out $1 million checks to voters this weekend, just days before the state’s hotly contested Supreme Court race was to be decided.
Attorney General Josh Kaul filed the lawsuit in county circuit court to stop Musk from making the payments, which he said he would make Sunday in Wisconsin. Musk initially said in a post on his social media platform, X, that he planned to “personally hand over” $2 million to a pair of voters who have already cast their ballots in the race.
Musk later posted a clarification, saying the money will go to people who will be “spokesmen” for an online petition against “activist” judges. After first saying the event would only be open to people who had voted in the Supreme Court race, he said attendance would be limited to those who have signed the petition.
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — Israel on Friday launched an attack on the Lebanese capital, Beirut, for the first time since a ceasefire ended the latest Israel-Hezbollah war in November.
Associated Press reporters in Beirut heard a loud boom and witnessed smoke rising from the area in Beirut's southern suburbs that Israel's military had vowed to strike.
The attack was the first strike on Beirut since a ceasefire took hold on Nov. 27, 2024 between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group, although Israel has struck targets in southern Lebanon almost daily since then.
After the strike, Israel’s army said it attacked a Hezbollah drone storage facility in the area of Dahiyeh, which it called a key Hezbollah stronghold. Israel said Hezbollah uses civilians as human shields and said it issued advanced warning for people to leave.
