Raw Story

The chair of the Libertarian Party's National Committee suddenly resigned last month as embezzling allegations swirled around her — and she quickly accepted a job in Donald Trump's administration.

Angela McArdle stepped down from the national organization on January 24, three days after Jack Porter, a former Libertarian candidate for Iowa governor, went public with his investigation into a company called Freedom Calls LLC. He claims the party chair had used it to direct more than $45,000 in party funds to her domestic partner Austin Padget, who had apparently set up the company, reported Reason.

"Porter discovered that McArdle's domestic partner and father of her child, Austin Padgett, was the incorporator of record for that entity," Reason reported. "The operation's website says it offers phone banking, canvassing, and website and email services, but the 'Who are you?' squib merely says they are 'a radical group of individuals who've come together to change the system. We are futurists. The tech industry is full of disrupters and secret dissidents.' No names are provided. Porter says he could find no Federal Elections Commission records of any other entities paying Freedom Calls."

"The LNC had previously decided to suspend a series of monthly payments directly to Padgett in January 2024," Reason added. "The payments to Freedom Calls began the following month."

The party requires that contracts or agreements for payments with legal relatives, domestic partners and business associates be disclosed to the committee and then approved by a vote, which didn't happen in this case. McArdle levied a series of accusations against other party members on her way out the door before eventually finding herself a job with the Trump administration.

"The LNC is reacting as best they can in the face of constant attacks by unstable litigants like Caryn Ann Harlos, and my cyber stalkers Todd Hagopian and Jake Porter," McArdle told Reason in a statement. "I have retained an attorney to deal with the aggressive cyberstalking by these men."

"I will be working with new appointees in the Trump administration to find out if the FBI and State Dept have been involved in the attacks on the LP and me," McArdle added. "There are lots of unclassified documents on Reason Magazine and yourself, Brian Dougherty [sic], in the State Dept archives. We know the feds have a strong interest in disrupting the Libertarian movement, especially at a moment like now when we have freed Ross Ulbricht - the biggest political victory the LP has ever achieved."

McArdle claims that she persuaded Trump to pardon Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road online black market, and she angered other Libertarians last spring by inviting the now president to speak at their national convention.

Abortion foes worried before his election that President Donald Trump had moved on, now that Roe v. Wade is overturned and abortion policy, as he said on the campaign trail, “has been returned to the states.”

Their concerns mounted after Trump named Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime supporter of abortion rights, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services — and then as he signed a slew of Day 1 executive orders that said nothing about abortion.

As it turns out, they had nothing to worry about. In its first two weeks, the Trump administration went further to restrict abortion than any president since the original Roe decision in 1973.

Hours after Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance spoke to abortion opponents gathered in Washington for the annual March for Life, the president issued a memorandum reinstating what’s known as the Mexico City Policy, which bars funding to international aid organizations that “perform or actively promote” abortion — an action taken by every modern Republican president.

But Trump also did something new, signing an executive order ending “the forced use of Federal taxpayer dollars to fund or promote elective abortion” in domestic programs — effectively ordering government agencies to halt funding to programs that can be construed to “promote” abortion, such as family planning counseling.

Dorothy Fink, the acting secretary of Health and Human Services, followed up with a memo early last week ordering the department to “reevaluate all programs, regulations, and guidance to ensure Federal taxpayer dollars are not being used to pay for or promote elective abortion, consistent with the Hyde Amendment.”

The emphasis on the word “promote” is mine, because that’s not what the Hyde Amendment says. It is true that the amendment — which has been included in every HHS spending bill since the 1970s — prohibits the use of federal dollars to pay for abortions except in cases of rape or incest or to save the mother’s life.

But it bars only payment. As the current HHS appropriation says, none of the funding “shall be expended for health benefits coverage that includes coverage of abortion.”

In fact, for decades, the Hyde Amendment existed side by side with a requirement in the federal family planning program, Title X, that patients with unintended pregnancies be given “nondirective” counseling about all their options, including abortion. Former President Joe Biden reinstated that requirement in 2021 after Trump eliminated it during his first term.

So, what is the upshot of Trump’s order?

For one thing, it directly overturned two of Biden’s executive orders. One was intended to strengthen medical privacy protections for people seeking abortion care and enforce a 1994 law criminalizing harassment of people attempting to enter clinics that provide abortions. The other sought to ensure women with pregnancy complications have access to emergency abortions in hospitals that accept Medicare even in states with abortion bans. The latter policy is making its way through federal court.

Trump’s order is also leading government agencies to reverse other key Biden administration policies implemented after the fall of Roe v. Wade. They include a 2022 Department of Defense policy explicitly allowing service members and their dependents to travel out of states with abortion bans to access the procedure and providing travel allowances for those trips. (The Pentagon officially followed through on that change on Jan. 30, just a few days after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth took over the job: Service members are no longer allowed leave or travel allowances for such trips.) The order is also likely to reverse a policy allowing the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide abortions in some cases, as well as to provide abortion counseling.

But it could also have more wide-ranging effects.

“This executive order could affect other major policies related to access to reproductive health care,” former Biden administration official Katie Keith wrote in the policy journal Health Affairs. These include protections for medication abortion, emergency medical care for women experiencing pregnancy complications, and even in vitro fertilization.

“These and similar changes would, if and when adopted, make it even more challenging for women and their families to access reproductive health care, especially in the more than 20 states with abortion bans,” she wrote.

Anti-abortion groups praised the new administration — not just for the executive orders, but also for pardoning activists convicted of violating a law that protects physical access to abortion clinics.

“One after another, President Trump’s great pro-life victories are being restored and this is just the beginning,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said in a statement.

Abortion rights groups, meanwhile, were not surprised by the actions or even their timing, said Clare Coleman, president and CEO of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association. The association represents grantees of Title X, which has been a longtime target of abortion opponents.

“We said we didn’t think it would be a Day 1 thing,” Coleman said in an interview. “But we said they were coming for us, and they are.”

HealthBent, a regular feature of KFF Health News, offers insight into and analysis of policies and politics from KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner, who has covered health care for more than 30 years.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.

by Beiyi SEOW

The U.S. trade gap swelled last year to its second-largest on record, government data showed Wednesday, as deficits come under the spotlight with President Donald Trump's return to the White House.

In 2024, the overall US trade deficit grew to $918.4 billion, widening 17 percent from 2023 as imports ballooned more than exports, said the Commerce Department.

The trade deficit in goods also reached a new record for the year, in official data going back to 1960.

The high figures could attract renewed scrutiny under the new U.S. administration, with Trump already threatening tariffs on major US partners over trade imbalances and other issues.

Over the weekend, Trump announced fresh duties on the United States' three biggest trading partners in goods -- Canada, Mexico and China -- before reaching deals with Canada and Mexico to halt the levies for a month as talks continued.

Chief among his justifications were concerns over illegal immigration and the flow of deadly fentanyl across US borders, but he has previously also pointed to America's trade deficits with its neighbors.

Stock markets wavered as tariffs targeting Beijing came into effect Tuesday, with an accompanying suspension of duty-free exemptions for low value parcels sparking worry.

With Beijing's announced retaliation, economies are on edge over the prospect of broadening trade wars.

For all of last year, imports jumped by 6.6 percent or $253.3 billion while exports increased 3.9 percent by $119.8 billion.

Driving the growth in goods exports were products like computer accessories and semiconductors, while travel was a key factor behind services exports growth.

Imports surged on the back of goods like consumer goods, computers and semiconductors, as well as foods.

- Uncertain path ahead -

"Looking forward, the path for trade remains uncertain due to the capricious nature of the Trump administration's tariff policies," said Matthew Martin, senior economist at Oxford Economics.

"While Mexico and Canada may be spared, the tariffs on China stuck and we expect the European Union to be next in the cross-hairs," he added in a note.

Martin expects computer and electronic products from China would likely be impacted the most, adding that there are risks involving chemicals and manufacturing equipment from the EU.

For all of 2024, the goods deficit with China -- a major issue during Trump's first administration -- came in at $295.4 billion.

This was wider than values for the trade gap with North American neighbors Canada and Mexico combined, and more than the gap with the EU as well, according to government numbers.

In December alone, the U.S. deficit rose by nearly 25 percent to $98.4 billion, said the Commerce Department.

The figure was slightly above the consensus estimate by Briefing.com of $98.0 billion.

Imports rose 3.5 percent to $364.9 billion while exports slipped 2.6 percent to $266.5 billion for the month.

"The jump in import volumes may reflect companies efforts to accelerate imports to beat Trump import threats," said Carl Weinberg and Mary Chen, of High Frequency Economics.

But they added it was hard to prove, given that strong exports also indicate "a fast-growing economy that is near its full potential level of output."

Trump has threatened tariffs on the EU, previously saying they had treated Washington "very badly."

© Agence France-Presse

CNN's normally stoic Dana Bash made fun of the Republican leadership on Wednesday morning as they stammered and fled reporters seeking a comment on Donald Trump's plan to occupy Gaza by moving 2 million Palestinians out.

The president set off a firestorm on Tuesday during a press conference where he said he thought it would be a great idea for the U.S. to make the war-torn Gaza Strip the "Riviera of the Middle East."

To the delight of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump told reporters, "The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, we'll own it, and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site … level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area," before adding, "I do see a long-term ownership position."

ALSO READ: 'Driven to self-loathing': Inside the extremist website believed to 'groom' teen attackers

Late Tuesday and early Wednesday, Trump's proposal had Republicans scrambling.

On CNN, "Inside Politics" host Bash showed a clip of House Majority Leader Mike Johnson (R-LA) searching for words as he told reporters, "A — look, there'll be more details forthcoming on that, of course. The initial announcement yesterday, I think, was greeted by surprise by many, but cheered by, I think, people all around the world."

In a subsequent clip, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) didn't fare much better as he fled into a room while using his aides as human shields to keep reporters away. Thune could be heard saying, "... a more peaceful and secure Middle East ––put some ideas out there," as he threw his hands up.

"Homina, homina, I think is another way to say it," Bash smirked as the clip ended. and her panel laughed.

Prior to the clips running Bash pepped her audience, by explaining, "Well, it's a good thing that John Thune, the Senate Majority Leader, is a runner, so he does stretch every morning. I'm not sure about Mike Johnson, but he's definitely more of a yoga guy."

Watch below or at the link here.

Two U.S. biotech companies say the Food and Drug Administration has cleared them to conduct clinical trials of their gene-edited pig kidneys for human transplants.

United Therapeutics along with another company, eGenesis, have been working since 2021 on experiments implanting pig kidneys into humans: initially brain-dead patients and more recently living recipients.

Advocates hope the approach will help address the severe organ shortage. More than 100,000 people in the United States are awaiting transplants, including over 90,000 in need of kidneys.

United Therapeutics's approval, announced Monday, allows the company to advance its technology toward a licensed product if the trial succeeds.

The study authorization was hailed as a "significant step forward in our relentless mission to expand the availability of transplantable organs," by Leigh Peterson, the company's executive vice president.

The trial will initially enroll six patients with end-stage renal disease before expanding to as many as 50, United Therapeutics said in a statement. The first transplant is expected in mid-2025.

Meanwhile, rival eGenesis said it had received FDA approval in December for a separate three-patient kidney study.

"The study will evaluate patients with kidney failure who are listed for a transplant but who face a low probability of receiving a deceased donor offer within a five-year timeframe," the company said.

Early experiments in primates faltered, but advances in gene editing and immune system management have brought the field closer to reality.

Pigs have emerged as ideal donors: they grow quickly, produce large litters, and are already part of the human food supply.

United Therapeutics said trial patients would be monitored for life, assessing survival rates, kidney function, and the risk of zoonotic infections -- diseases that jump from animals to humans.

Currently, there is only one living human recipient of a pig organ: Towana Looney, a 53-year-old from Alabama who received a United Therapeutics kidney on November 25, 2024.

She is also the longest-surviving recipient, having lived with a pig kidney for 71 days as of Tuesday. David Bennett of Maryland received a pig heart in 2022 and survived 60 days.

© Agence France-Presse

A former U.S. State Department employee under the first Trump administration is urging current federal workers to take an offered buyout and flee Washington.

Chuck Park served as a diplomat for 10 years before quitting the Foreign Service in disgust in 2019. Park wrote an opinion piece for The Washington Post then to explain his decision, and is now urging other government employees in the second Trump administration to follow his lead.

In a new opinion piece, Park references the "Fork in the road" email sent by "First Buddy" Elon Musk on Jan. 28, urging federal employees to consider taking a "deferred resignation offer." Park writes in Tuesday's piece, "Here’s my advice to civil servants: Take the fork."

"My breaking points were scenes of crying children at the border and a horrific episode of violence against immigrants in El Paso. Now the nation seems poised to repeat such cruelties," Park writes, adding that his vehement opposition to the first administration's policies was his signal to leave.

ALSO READ: 'Driven to self-loathing': Inside the extremist website believed to 'groom' teen attackers

Park argues, "It isn’t noble to resist from within. It’s not public service to hide and bide your time within the vast machinery, ticking down the days until the next presidential election or the day your pension kicks in. If you can’t execute this administration’s policies (the lawful ones, that is), then it is your duty to leave. To be a part of some hostile 'deep state' or mire the administration in 'the swamp' only erodes Americans’ faith in government. That’s part of what got us here in the first place.'"

Quitting is not the same thing as surrendering, according to Park, and pursing his passion to fight for immigrants' rights became "the most powerful resistance."

"Many civil servants played heroic, steadying roles in the first Trump transition, from securing nuclear material to forecasting destructive hurricanes," Park writes. "This time around, the difference is that the president has two hands firmly on the steering wheel. His administration is moving with intention, not abandon. And it’s the responsibility of Congress, the courts and civil society — not the executive agencies — to resist his dangerous lurches."

Read The Washington Post opinion piece here.