Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan has stepped down shortly after apologizing for accepting a payment of $10,000 per month from a consultancy firm for a marijuana company. While Fagan initially resisted state Republicans' calls for her to resign, she conceded on Tuesday that the situation was distracting from her work.
“While I am confident that the ethics investigation will show that I followed the state’s legal and ethical guidelines in trying to make ends meet for my family, it is clear that my actions have become a distraction from the important and critical work of the Secretary of State’s office,” Fagan said in a statement. “Protecting our state’s democracy and ensuring faith in our elected leaders — these are the reasons I ran for this office. They are also the reasons I will be submitting my resignation today.”
U.S. officials say efforts ordered by President Joe Biden to strengthen defenses against Chinese espionage helped identify last week’s spy balloon — and determine that similar flights were conducted at multiple points during the Trump administration.
Control of Disney's Orlando area theme parks may soon go to a board chosen by Governor Ron DeSantis. Republican lawmakers unveil the bill that would give Republicans authority over the state's largest employer.
Thousands killed in Turkey earthquake, Ohio train derailment danger, and Europe bans Russian diesel imports. Here is everything you Need2Know for Monday, February 6, 2023.
Republicans said President Joe Biden allowed China to spy on the U.S. by not shooting the balloon down sooner while Democrats said similar incursions happened during the Trump administration.
