Ernst's ‘we all are going to die' quip underscores GOP's Medicaid challenge
As Senate Republicans return to work on President Donald Trump's priority legislative package, they face a messaging battle on Medicaid that is fraught with potential pitfalls.
They received a reminder of the perils Friday at an Iowa town hall, when Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) flippantly responded to an audience member who shouted out that people who lose coverage under the bill would die.
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CNBC
19 minutes ago
- CNBC
Oil slips on U.S. stockpile build, Saudi Arabia price cuts
Oil prices slipped in early trade on Thursday after a build in U.S. gasoline and diesel inventories and Saudi Arabia's cut to its July prices for Asian crude buyers. Brent crude futures fell 21 cents, or 0.3%, to $64.65 a barrel at 0047 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude lost 29 cents, or 0.5%, dropping to $62.58. Oil prices closed around 1% lower on Wednesday after official data showed that U.S. gasoline and distillate stockpiles grew more than expected, reflecting weaker demand in the world's top economy. EIA/S Adding to the weakness, Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, cut its July prices for Asian crude buyers to nearly the lowest in four years. The price cut by Saudi Arabia, key oil producer within OPEC+ - the oil producing group that includes members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia - follows the OPEC+ move over the weekend to increase output by 411,000 barrels per day for July. The strategy of OPEC+ group leaders Saudi Arabia and Russia is partly to punish over-producers and to wrestle back market share, Reuters has reported. Meanwhile, Canada prepared possible reprisals and the European Union reported progress in trade talks as new U.S. metals tariffs triggered more disruption in the global economy and added urgency to negotiations with Washington. "Uncertainty fueled by President Trump's shifting stance on tariffs has intensified fears of a global economic slowdown," analyst Ole Hansen at Saxo Bank said in a note.
Fox News
19 minutes ago
- Fox News
Trump orders Attorney General to investigate Biden's autopen use amid cognitive decline concerns
Print Close By Greg Wehner Published June 05, 2025 President Donald Trump called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to lead an investigation into whether certain individuals working for former President Joe Biden conspired to deceive the public about his mental state while also exercising his presidential responsibilities by using an autopen. In a memo on Wednesday, Trump said the president of the U.S. has a tremendous amount of power and responsibility through the signature. Not only can the signature turn words into laws of the land, but it also appoints individuals to some of the highest positions in government, creates or eliminates national policies and allows prisoners to go free. "In recent months, it has become increasingly apparent that former President Biden's aides abused the power of Presidential signatures through the use of an autopen to conceal Biden's cognitive decline and assert Article II authority," Trump wrote. "This conspiracy marks one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history. The American public was purposefully shielded from discovering who wielded the executive power, all while Biden's signature was deployed across thousands of documents to effect radical policy shifts." He continued, saying Biden had suffered from "serious cognitive decline" for years, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) recently concluded that Biden should not stand trial, despite clear evidence he broke the law, because of his mental state. EXCLUSIVE: COMER HAILS DOJ'S BIDEN PROBE AS HOUSE INVESTIGATION HEATS UP "Biden's cognitive issues and apparent mental decline during his presidency were even 'worse' in private, and those closest to him 'tried to hide it' from the public," Trump said. "To do so, Biden's advisors during his years in office severely restricted his news conferences and media appearances, and they scripted his conversations with lawmakers, government officials, and donors, all to cover up his inability to discharge his duties." Still, during the Biden presidency, the White House issued over 1,200 Presidential documents, appointed 235 judges to the federal bench and issued more pardons and commutations than any administration in U.S. history, Trump said. The president wrote about Biden's decision just two days before Christmas 2024, to commute the sentences of 37 of the 40 most dangerous criminals on federal death row, including mass murderers and child killers. TRUMP SAYS BIDEN DIDN'T FAVOR HIS ADMIN'S LAX BORDER SECURITY POLICY, SUGGESTS AUTOPEN PLAYED A ROLE "Although the authority to take these executive actions, along with many others, is constitutionally committed to the President, there are serious doubts as to the decision-making process and even the degree of Biden's awareness of these actions being taken in his name," Trump wrote. "The vast majority of Biden's executive actions were signed using a mechanical signature pen, often called an autopen, as opposed to Biden's own hand. This was especially true of actions taken during the second half of his Presidency, when his cognitive decline had apparently become even more clear to those working most closely with him. "Given clear indications that President Biden lacked the capacity to exercise his Presidential authority, if his advisors secretly used the mechanical signature pen to conceal this incapacity, while taking radical executive actions all in his name, that would constitute an unconstitutional wielding of the power of the Presidency, a circumstance that would have implications for the legality and validity of numerous executive actions undertaken in Biden's name," he added. TRUMP HAS NOT DIRECTED ADMIN TO DECLASSIFY BIDEN DOCS ON HEALTH 'COVER-UP' The memo goes on to call for an investigation that addresses if certain individuals, who are not named in the document, conspired to deceive the American public about the former president's mental state and "unconstitutionally" exercised the president's authority and responsibilities. Specifically, Trump called on the attorney general's investigation to look at any activity that purposefully shielded the public from information about Biden's mental and physical health; any agreements between his aides to falsely deem recorded videos of Biden's cognitive ability as fake; and any agreements between Biden's aides to require false, public statements that elevated the president's capabilities. The investigation will also look at which policy documents the autopen was used for, including clemency grants, executive orders, and presidential memoranda, as well as who directed Biden's signature to be affixed to those documents. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Trump said last week that he thinks Biden did not really agree with many of his administration's lax border security policies, instead suggesting that those surrounding the former president took advantage of his declining faculties and utilized the autopen to pass radical directives pertaining to the border. House Republicans, led by Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, launched an investigation earlier last month aimed at determining whether Biden, who was in declining health during the final months of his presidency, was mentally fit to authorize the use of the autopen. Comer said last week he was "open" to dragging Biden before the House to answer questions about the matter if necessary. Fox News Digital's Alec Schemmel contributed to this report. Print Close URL
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Most Asian markets rise as US data feeds rate-cut hopes
Asian shares mostly rose Thursday after soft US economic data boosted expectations the Federal Reserve will soon cut interest rates and put the focus on key jobs figures coming at the end of the week. Investors were also keeping track of developments in Donald Trump's trade war and signs of movement on possible talks between the US president and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. Wall Street provided an uninspiring lead as a report by payroll firm ADP showed private-sector jobs rose by 37,000 last month, a sharp slowdown from April's 60,000 and less than a third of what was forecast in a Bloomberg survey. Another survey showed activity in the services sector contracted in May for the first time since June last year. The readings stoked concerns that the world's number one economy was stuttering, with the Fed's closely watched "Beige Book" study noting that "economic activity has declined slightly". It flagged household and business caution caused by slower hiring and heightened uncertainty surrounding Trump's policies. However, the readings ramped up bets on a Fed cut, with markets pricing in two by the end of the year, with the first in September. Eyes are now on the non-farm payrolls release on Friday, which the central bank uses to help shape monetary policy. Still, there is some concern that the US president's tariff blitz will ramp up inflation, which could put pressure on the Fed to keep borrowing costs elevated. Most of Asia rose in early trade, with Hong Kong, Sydney, Singapore, Taipei and Wellington up. Shanghai was flat and Tokyo fell ahead of a closely watched Japanese government bond auction. Seoul rallied more than two percent on continued excitement after the election of a new president ended a six-month power vacuum. The won rose around 0.4 percent, building on a recent run-up. Jakarta edged higher as Indonesia's government began rolling out a $1.5 billion stimulus package after Southeast Asia's biggest economy saw its slowest growth in more than three years in the first quarter. The possibility of US rate cuts hit the dollar Wednesday and it struggled to recover in Asia, making small inroads against the yen, pound and euro. Investors are awaiting news of talks between Trump and Xi, with the White House saying they could take place this week. But while tariffs remain a millstone around investors' necks, IG's chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp said traders seemed less concerned than they were after the US president's April 2 "Liberation Day" fireworks. "With markets still rising, the overall view appears to still be that the US is no longer serious about imposing tariffs at the levels seen in April," he wrote in a commentary. "President Trump appears fixated on a call with China's president that might help to move the situation forward, but Beijing remains wary of committing itself to any deal. "This does leave markets open to another sudden shock, which might replicate some of the volatility seen in April. But that manic period appears to have dissuaded the administration from further major tariff announcements." - Key figures at around 0230 GMT - Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.2 percent at 37,658.46 (break) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.9 percent at 23,871.21 Shanghai - Composite: FLAT at 3,374.87 Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1415 from $1.1417 on Wednesday Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3546 from $1.3548 Dollar/yen: UP at 142.94 yen from 142.86 yen Euro/pound: UP at 84.27 pence from 84.26 pence West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.1 percent at $62.77 per barrel Brent North Sea Crude: FLAT at $64.88 per barrel New York - Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 42,427.74 (close) London - FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 8,801.29 (close) dan/sco Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
