Fmr. Special Counsel Jack Smith Testifies on Allegations of Targeting GOP Lawmakers

 

FULL: Tim Scott gives impassioned speech, defends Trump and pleads for GOP votes

 

Senate Approves Bill That Could End Pennies And Change Cash Payments Across The U.S.

The U.S. Senate has approved the Common Cents Act, a bill that could end new penny production, introduce changes to the nickel and reshape how Americans handle cash payments at stores across the country.

Credit: Sutterstock | en. Econostrum.info - United States

Lydia Amazouz
August 11, 2026

The U.S. Senate has passed a bill that could reshape the future of American coins by ending new penny production, changing cash transaction rules and opening the door to a redesigned nickel. The Common Cents Act received unanimous consent approval from the Senate, moving the legislation closer to becoming law after a similar version passed the House of Representatives.

The proposal addresses growing concerns about the cost of producing low-value coins and the challenges businesses face when handling cash payments without enough pennies available for change. If enacted, the bill would allow businesses to round cash transactions to the nearest five-cent increment while keeping existing pennies legal tender.

It would also give the Treasury Department authority to test a cheaper material composition for the nation’s five-cent coin. The legislation could mark one of the biggest changes to everyday U.S. currency use in decades.

Senate Bill Targets Penny Production And Cash Payment Challenges

According to The Hill, the Common Cents Act focuses on three major areas of U.S. currency policy: ending regular penny production, creating a national framework for cash rounding and exploring a new nickel design. The bill comes after the United States produced its final one-cent coin for circulation last year.

Although no new pennies are being made for everyday use, existing coins remain valid currency and can continue circulating throughout the economy. The disappearance of newly produced pennies has created challenges for some retailers that rely on cash transactions.

Without enough one-cent coins available, businesses have had difficulty providing exact change to customers. Under the proposed system, cash purchases would be rounded to the closest nickel.

For example, a transaction totaling $19.82 could become $19.80, while a purchase ending in $19.83 could be adjusted to $19.85. Supporters of the legislation argue that a nationwide rule would reduce confusion caused by different state and local regulations regarding cash rounding.

Senate Committee Votes to Hold Anthony Fauci in Contempt of Congress

Senate Committee Votes to Hold Anthony Fauci in Contempt of Congress | AC13

GBS

Aug 6, 2026  

The U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted along party lines to approve a resolution holding Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after he declined to answer questions during a recent hearing, invoking his Fifth Amendment rights. Committee Chairman Rand Paul argued that Fauci defied a lawful congressional order, while Democratic members warned the action could undermine constitutional protections and discourage future witnesses from testifying before Congress.

Watch the key moments from the committee hearing, reactions from lawmakers, and the latest developments surrounding the contempt resolution and its potential next steps.

Stay tuned for more breaking U.S. politics and congressional news.

Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing on the Muslim Brotherhood in America

Fauci’s 5th Frenzy: 111 Refusals on Capitol Hill

July 30, 2026 NewsHound



Dr. Anthony Fauci’s July 29, 2026, appearance before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, chaired by Sen. Rand Paul, was a contentious spectacle marked by his repeated invocation of the Fifth Amendment.

The 85-year-old former NIAID director, subpoenaed after declining voluntary testimony, opened by accusing Paul of an “obvious obsession” and “unhinged” campaign aimed at putting him “behind bars.” He cited Paul’s prior calls for prosecution, critical comments, and the recent public release of Fauci’s unredacted personal diary. On advice of counsel, he then declined nearly every question—invoking the Fifth roughly 111 times (reports range from over 100 to about 115)—with the fixed reply that he declined based on his constitutional rights against self-incrimination.

Compounding the optics was the preemptive “full and unconditional” pardon Biden granted Fauci on January 19, 2025—his final full day in office—covering any potential offenses from 2014 tied to his government service. That document was executed via autopen, the mechanical signature device, amid later revelations that White House staff (including then-Chief of Staff Jeff Zients) authorized its use after late-night meetings, with limited contemporaneous evidence of Biden’s direct personal review of every name. Critics have hammered the process as a last-minute shield that bypassed traditional accountability, raising unresolved questions about presidential intent and validity even as Biden insisted he made the decisions and that autopen use is longstanding and legal. The pardon did not cover potential new perjury or obstruction from this hearing itself, leaving Fauci still vulnerable and the Fifth as his remaining fortress.

Questions covered long-disputed topics: NIH funding related to gain-of-function research, the Wuhan lab and COVID-19 origins, pandemic response decisions, diary entries, and even trivial probes (tie color, carpet color) meant to test the scope of the privilege. Fauci answered no questions substantively. One of his attorneys was ejected after attempting to interject. Paul and other Republicans expressed frustration, warned of obstruction consequences, and signaled plans for a contempt-of-Congress vote, arguing the prior Biden preemptive pardon (covering actions through early 2025) limited the privilege’s applicability to new testimony risks such as perjury.



Fauci framed the hearing as a political trap rather than legitimate oversight, noting his extensive prior congressional appearances without invoking the Fifth. Supporters of the inquiry viewed the blanket silence as obstructive and damaging to accountability on pandemic policy and research. Critics of the proceedings saw it as a partisan exercise unlikely to yield new facts given the adversarial history between Paul and Fauci. The session produced no substantive answers, amplified existing divides over COVID origins and handling, and left legal questions (contempt, the interplay of pardon and privilege) for further process. It underscored how polarized the residual debates remain, 5-6 years later.

[BREAKING: Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is sending a plane to Washington DC to obtain mountains of evidence against Dr. Fauci so a state-level case can be brought — CIRCUMVENTING the pardon]

Gary Peters (Michigan Senator)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gary Peters

Official portrait, 2018

United States Senator from Michigan

Incumbent

Assumed office January 3, 2015

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Personal details

Born Gary Charles Peters

December 1, 1958 (age 67)

Pontiac, Michigan, U.S.

Party Democratic

Spouse Colleen Ochoa

Children 3

Education

Alma College (BA)

University of Detroit Mercy (MBA)

Wayne State University (JD, MA)

Michigan State University (MA)

Recorded April 20, 2023

Gary Charles Peters (born December 1, 1958) is an American politician, lawyer, and former naval officer serving as the senior United States senator from Michigan, a seat he has held since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. representative for Michigan's 14th congressional district, which included the eastern half of Detroit, the Grosse Pointes, Hamtramck, Southfield, and Pontiac, from 2009 to 2015 (the district was Michigan's 9th congressional district until 2013).

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Early life and education

After high school, Peters attended Alma College, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1980 with a bachelor of arts in political science and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.[4] He later earned a master of business administration from the University of Detroit Mercy in 1984.[8] Peters also holds a juris doctor and a master of arts in political science from Wayne State University and a master of arts in philosophy from Michigan State University.[9]

Source: Wikipedia

P.S.

University of Detroit Mercy:

The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Catholic university in Michigan.

Dr. Anthony Fauci testifies at Senate hearing on COVID-19 origins

Sen. Lindsey Graham dies at 71 after a 'brief and sudden illness,' his office says

Senate Votes to Fund Most of D.H.S. in Bid to End Partial Shutdown

The bill excludes funding for ICE and the Border Patrol but restores it for federal airport security workers. The House could consider the package on Friday.

The U.S. Capitol in Washington on Thursday.Credit...Eric Lee for The New York Times

By John Yoon and Michael Gold
March 27, 2026Updated 6:40 a.m. ET


The Senate voted early Friday to fund the Department of Homeland Security except for its immigration enforcement and deportation operations, raising the prospect of an end to a weekslong partial shutdown that has strained federal workers and caused long waits at airports.

The measure does not include funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the Border Patrol, in effect reflecting a proposal that Democrats had offered for weeks as they refused to fund federal immigration enforcement operations without adding new restrictions on agents.

“Senate Democrats were clear: no blank check for a lawless ICE and Border Patrol,” Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, said after the measure passed.

The bill must still be considered by the House, which could vote on it as soon as Friday. It was unclear whether the measure would pass that chamber, where Speaker Mike Johnson holds a narrow Republican majority. A number of hard-right Republicans have criticized the Senate’s approach and oppose a funding bill that does not include money for immigration enforcement.

Should the House approve the measure and President Trump sign it, the deal would end a negotiating standoff that caused the longest partial government shutdown on record.

The Senate’s agreement, which it passed in a voice vote at around 2:20 a.m., came hours after Mr. Trump said that he would direct the homeland security secretary to pay Transportation Security Administration agents, who have worked without pay since funding for the department lapsed on Feb. 14.

Airport chaos grows as shutdown drags on

 

Senate Chaplain Barry Black's prayer at hearing to increase affordable housing

  

Senate Chaplain Barry Black's prayer at hearing to increase affordable housing - March 2, 2026

Chaplain Barry Black:

Mighty God..> we pray in YOUR POWERFUL NAME, Amen.

Senate examines Minnesota immigration

The Hidden Power of the Senate Chaplain’s Prayers in Nation’s Crises

 

For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? Esther 4:14.

Is Barry Black giving the trumpet a certain sound?

As a Seventh day Adventist and 20 years as a CHAPLAIN (a Catholic concept) to the U.S. Senate, has he preached the Three Angels' Messages to the nation's legislators?

What to know about the partial government shutdown

January 31, 202612:01 AM ET

By
Lexie Schapitl

The U.S. Capitol is photographed on Jan. 27, 2026. Rahmat Gul/AP

The U.S. government has entered a partial shutdown after Congress failed to meet a deadline of midnight on Friday to complete work on a spending package to prevent funding from running out across multiple federal departments.

While funding has technically expired, Congress appears within striking distance of breaking the impasse that has led funds to expire across large stretches of government, including the Department of Defense, the State Department and the Department of Health and Human Services.

On Friday, the Senate approved legislation to fund each of these remaining government agencies through the end of the fiscal year in September, while also agreeing to a two-week stopgap bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security. That two-week continuing resolution is designed to allow lawmakers to negotiate reforms at the agency after federal immigration officers in Minnesota killed two U.S. citizens this month.

However, the legislation must now be approved by the House, which is on recess until Monday. President Trump has already endorsed the package, and lawmakers in the lower chamber are expected to vote on it soon after their return to Washington.

Senate Democrats and White House Reach Deal to Avoid Shutdown

Published Jan. 29, 2026

Updated Jan. 30, 2026, 9:26 p.m. ET

Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader, and Democrats reached a spending deal Thursday evening with the White House and Republicans to keep the government funded. President Trump endorsed the deal with a message on social media.

What We’re Covering Today

• Shutdown Talks: Senate Democrats have struck a deal with Republicans and the White House to pass five spending bills to fund a large portion of the government for the remainder of the fiscal year, as well as a stopgap measure to fund the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks while they continue negotiating guardrails to rein in immigration agents. It is unclear how quickly the House can and will process those funding bills after the Senate passes them. Read more ›
• ‘Melania’ Premiere: Mr. Trump is attending a screening of “Melania” at the Kennedy Center Thursday evening. The film follows his wife, Melania Trump, in the days leading up to his second inauguration. Amazon paid Ms. Trump’s production company $40 million for the film rights and is backing it with a $35 million marketing campaign. Read more ›
• Cabinet Meeting: Mr. Trump held his first cabinet meeting of the year, a more streamlined affair than past gatherings that he said had been “boring.” While a number of top advisers hailed administration policies on taxes and tariffs, some notable members of his cabinet did not speak at all, including Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary who has faced intense scrutiny over the immigration crackdown in Minnesota. Read more ›

Shutdown Talks

Jan. 29, 2026, 6:24 p.m. ET

Jan. 29, 2026


Chris Cameron

Reporting from Washington

President Trump endorsed a spending deal between Senate Democrats and Republicans that would stave off a government shutdown while lawmakers continue negotiating guardrails to rein in immigration agents.

“Hopefully, both Republicans and Democrats will give a very much needed Bipartisan “YES” Vote,” Trump wrote on social media.

Source

New Senate deal could keep government open, delay DHS funding decision

Can men get pregnant? Is our society going insane?

by R. Albert Mohler Jr.
Post Date:
January 15, 2026

Can men get pregnant? Is our society going insane?

In a Senate hearing yesterday, a display of leftist insanity revealed a culture on the brink of disaster

Dr. Nisha Verma Getty Images / Photo by Samuel Corum

Can men get pregnant? Can you believe such a question would ever be asked in a Senate hearing? Can you imagine that a doctor would refuse to answer the question?

If you have been paying attention to our continuing cultural breakdown, perhaps you can imagine such astounding nonsense. But, thanks to a U.S. Senate hearing yesterday, you don’t even have to use your imagination. You can just watch the insanity unfold.

In a hearing held by the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on the safety of chemical abortion drugs, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., asked Dr. Nisha Verma, an obstetrician, a very simple question: “Can men get pregnant?” But, astoundingly, Dr. Verma would not answer the senator’s question. Sen. Hawley pressed again and again, asking the same straightforward question. Dr. Verma just stonewalled, and stonewalled, and stonewalled.

The exchange is riveting. No work of fiction could match the intensity of the insanity. “Can men get pregnant?,” Hawley asked repeatedly. Dr. Verma responded with a carefully planned obstructionism. “I’m not really sure what the goal of the question” is, she asserted. Sen. Hawley just stated: “The goal is just to establish a biological reality.”

Abortion Doctor Won't Answer Congress on Whether or Not Men Can Get Preg...

Tim Kaine speaks about Venezuela after Senate vote on Trump's war powers

 

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P.S.

About Senator Tim Kaine, Hillary Clinton's VP Candidate in 2016...

In 1976, he graduated from Rockhurst High School, a Jesuit all-boys preparatory school in Kansas City, Missouri.[1][8] At Rockhurst, Kaine joined the debate team and was elected student body president.[2] 

Kaine received his Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of Missouri 

....

He entered Harvard Law School in 1979, interrupting his law studies after his first year to work in Honduras[10][11][a] for nine months from 1980 to 1981, helping Jesuit missionaries who ran a Catholic school in El Progreso.[7][14] While running a vocational center that taught carpentry and welding, he also helped increase the school's enrollment by recruiting local villagers.[2] Kaine is fluent in Spanish as a result of his time in Honduras.[14]

- Wikipedia