By Mike Stone WASHINGTON The Biden administration has been circulating on Capitol Hill the first breakdown of which

Longtime conservative check-writers the Koch family are reportedly working to make sure Donald Trump doesn’t win the 2024 Republican primary, according to a new report. Americans for Prosperity Action, a network of political organisations created by Charles and David Koch, will spend money for the first time in its existence on the Republican presidential primary. It has already raised more than $70m to fund races that officials hope will help the Republican party move past Mr Trump, according to the New York Times. The group’s intent is reportedly aimed at stopping Mr Trump — the clear Republican front-runner — from winning the 2024 primary. The Times reports that a top official in the network, Emily Seidel, wrote to the group’s donors in a memo that it was time to “have a president in 2025 who represents a new chapter.” In the 2020 election cycle the group spent nearly $500m backing Republican candidates and causes. Though Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is the only Republican with competitive numbers when compared to Mr Trump, the organisation reportedly has not decided who it will field in its mission to stop Mr Trump from taking on Joe Biden in 20224. Read More Kevin McCarthy knows he crossed the line with Donald Trump Trump's GOP support dips slightly after his indictment over classified documents, AP-NORC poll finds ‘Any Republican not named Trump’: Paul Ryan says former president is only candidate who would lose to Biden

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Francisco Lindor homered and drove in five runs, and Max Scherzer pitched eight fantastic innings for his longest outing with the New York Mets in their 11-1 victory over the skidding Houston Astros

As Speaker Kevin McCarthy tries to placate his House Republican conference in the fight over spending, the White House is holding out hope that a bipartisan deal brokered days ago in the Senate can eventually overcome the standoff.

The Department of Justice has informed former Vice President Mike Pence’s legal team that it won't pursue criminal charges related to the discovery of classified documents at his Indiana home

Keke Palmer said, 'It is because of our son, Leo, that I was finally able to end my relationship with Darius once and for all and escape the abuse'

Former Trump administration attorney general Bill Barr gave a devastating analysis of the indictment against Donald Trump, his former boss, in an appearance on Fox News Sunday. Mr Barr said that if even half of what is alleged in the 49-page, 37-count document is true, then the former president is “toast”. Host Shannon Bream asked the former attorney general about the argument from Trump loyalists that the case should have been handled under the Presidential Records Act and not under the Espionage Act. Mr Barr explained that this all began under the Presidential Records Act with the National Archives trying to retrieve the documents that Mr Trump had no right to have. However, it quickly became apparent that the government was particularly worried about how sensitive the classified documents were. He continued by saying that their sensitivity and how many there were shocked him, and that because Mr Trump had wilfully retained those materials that made the counts under the Espionage Act “solid”. “If even half of it is true, he is toast,” the former attorney general told Bream. “I mean, it’s a very detailed indictment, and it’s very, very damning.” Mr Barr also demolished claims that Mr Trump is some kind of victim being politically persecuted in a Democrat-led witch hunt. “This idea of presenting Trump as a victim here or a victim of a witch hunt is ridiculous,” he said. “Yes, he’s been a victim in the past. His adversaries have obsessively pursued him with phony claims. And I’ve been at his side defending against them when he is a victim. But this is much different. He’s not a victim here.” Mr Barr continued: “He was totally wrong that he had the right to have those documents. Those documents are among the most sensitive secrets that the country has. They have to be in the custody of the archivist. He had no right to maintain them and retain them.” The former attorney general then reminded viewers of his history of sticking up for Mr Trump despite the current hostility the former president now has for him. “He’s been angry with me for a while,” Mr Barr told Bream. “But you know, I defended the president on Russiagate. I stood up and called out Alvin Bragg’s politicised hit job. And I have spoken out for 30 years about the abuse of the criminal justice process to influence politics.” He continued: “But this is simply not true. In this particular episode of trying to retrieve those documents, the government acted responsibly. And it was Donald Trump who acted irresponsibly.” Mr Barr had previously drawn the former president’s ire by predicting he would face charges over the classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida. He also described it as a crisis of his own making. Mr Trump lashed out at him for those comments calling him “sloppy” and “weak”. The former attorney general has also warned that Mr Trump getting a second term as president would “deliver chaos” to the country. “If you believe in his policies, what he’s advertising as his policies, he’s the last person that could actually execute them and achieve them,” Mr Barr said at a City Club of Cleveland luncheon in Ohio in early May. Read More Jim Jordan rejects Trump’s statement suggesting Mar-a-Lago papers weren’t declassified Trump-appointed judge will stay on Mar-a-Lago documents case unless she recuses Jonathan Turley tells Fox News the Trump indictment is ‘extremely damning’ and a ‘hit below the waterline’

Shares are higher in Asia, tracking Wall Street gains following an easing of pressure from the bond market

By Maayan Lubell, Nidal al-Mughrabi and Ammar Awad JERUSALEM/GAZA/SDEROT Israeli forces clashed with gunmen from the Palestinian group

Americans' reckoning with their own democracy extends beyond the looming presidential election to a much more local level.