Congressman Darren Soto represents Florida's 9th district, roughly 200 miles from the site of the tragic high school shooting in Parkland, FL that left 17 dead. The congressman is calling for action in Washington after "another unspeakable tragedy."
Rep. Soto has co-sponsored many bills to close the private purchase loophole and stop the sale of bump stocks, but the process has stalled because a vast majority of Republicans don't support such legislation. Many GOP lawmakers are backed by the National Rifle Association, which is why they won't support bills that regulate gun ownership.
Congressman Soto says the Sandy Hook school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut was a turning point for him. As a lawyer, he was a strong advocate for constitutional rights, but the horror of that mass shooting caused him to reevaluate and fight for gun reform.
The White House budget office says mass firings of federal workers have started in an attempt to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers as the government shutdown continues.
President Donald Trump says “there seems to be no reason” to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as part of an upcoming trip to South Korea after China restricted exports of rare earths needed for American industry. The Republican president suggested Friday he was looking at a “massive increase” of import taxes on Chinese products in response to Xi’s moves. Trump says one of the policies the U.S. is calculating is "a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States." A monthslong calm on Wall Street was shattered, with U.S. stocks falling on the news. The Chinese Embassy in Washington hasn't responded to an Associated Press request for comment.
Most members of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate setting committee supported further reductions to its key interest rate this year, minutes from last month’s meeting showed.
From Wall Street trading floors to the Federal Reserve to economists sipping coffee in their home offices, the first Friday morning of the month typically brings a quiet hush around 8:30 a.m. eastern, as everyone awaits the Labor Department’s monthly jobs report.
The Supreme Court is allowing Lisa Cook to remain as a Federal Reserve governor for now.
Rep. John Moolenaar has requested an urgent briefing from the White House after Trump supported a deal giving Americans a majority stake in TikTok.
