Congress approves Trump’s $9 billion cut to public broadcasting and foreign aid

The House has approved President Donald Trump’s request to claw back about $9 billion for public broadcasting and foreign aid. Democrats argued that the Republican administration’s animus toward foreign aid programs would hurt America’s standing in the world and create a vacuum for China to fill.

The White House argued that the cuts best served the taxpayer and would incentivize other nations to do more to address humanitarian crises.

The cancellation of $1.1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcast represents the full amount it is due to receive during the next two budget years.

Some lawmakers voiced concern about what the cuts could mean for local public stations in their state.

The owner of the Tennessee factory where workers drowned after Hurricane Helene won’t face charges

The owner of a factory where six workers died last year in flooding from Hurricane Helene won’t face charges after a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation found no criminal wrongdoing.

First Judicial District Attorney General Steven Finney announced the decision to close the case on Friday.

Finney says the investigation found no evidence that Impact Plastics employees were told they would be fired if they left the factory. It also found employees had time to evacuate the industrial park in Erwin, Tennessee.

The conclusion mirrors that of a similar investigation by the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

It found that even though the exit road was submerged, workers could have evacuated by makeshift routes.

— Associated Press