Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a GOP presidential candidate, vowed on Friday to meet “whatever is set” as the criteria for making the stage for the Republican debates starting at the end of the summer.  Hutchinson said in an interview with Fox News on Friday that getting on the debate stage is “very important,” but he takes issue with some of the criteria that the Republican National Committee (RNC) set for candidates to be able to participate in debates — including the fundraising requirements and the loyalty pledge to support the eventual nominee.  “First of all, I’m going to ..read more

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg took to social media on Friday to mourn the loss of his pet dog, Truman. "We are heartbroken to have had to say goodbye to Truman today after his many faithful years at our side," Buttigieg posted on Twitter. "He brought such laughter and mischief to our lives amid all that swirled around us. We miss him already." We are heartbroken to have had to say goodbye to Truman today after his many faithful years at our side. He brought such laughter and mischief to our lives amid all that swirled around us. We miss him already. pic.twitter.com/HhAozQafOd — Pet ..read more

Just over a quarter of all children in the U.S. are of Hispanic or Latino decent, a new data analysis of the 2020 U.S. census shows. The analysis found a 2.6 percent rise in children who are Hispanic or Latino origin in the last ten years — rising from 23.1 percent in 2010 to 25.7 percent in 2020. When analyzed by state, Florida experienced the largest numeric increase across all states at an additional 259,931 children in the past decade. New Jersey and Maryland followed behind, adding 105,575 and 89,159 children respectively. Evaluated by percentage, Connecticut and Maryland had the largest ..read more

Texas became the largest state to ban gender-affirming care for minors on Friday after Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed a bill into law. The law, which will take effect on Sept. 1, will prohibit health care providers from prescribing hormones or puberty blockers to minors or performing surgeries to help with their gender transition.  It includes an exception for youth currently receiving hormones or puberty blockers and those that have attended 12 or more sessions of mental health counseling over a period of at least six months before they began treatment. But, it also requires that they be gr ..read more

A Texas federal judge has banned legal filings that are drafted primarily by artificial intelligence (AI) in his court without a person first checking those documents for accuracy.  U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr ordered that attorneys file a certificate before appearing before the court that either AI platforms did not contribute to any part of a filing or that someone checked any language that it drafted for accuracy using print reporters or traditional legal databases.  “These platforms are incredibly powerful and have many uses in the law: form divorces, discovery requests, s ..read more

Two weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the Ukrainian city of Kherson one of “four new regions of Russia,” satellite photographs captured two Russian trucks hauling away roughly 10,000 artifacts from the Kherson Regional Art Museum. While Putin may have said he was taking what was his, Smithsonian Distinguished Scholar and ambassador-at-large Richard Kurin called it a “war crime.” This act, he claimed during a panel on "Protecting Cultural Heritage in Conflict Zones," is part of a larger campaign to erase Ukrainian culture. Kurin added that nearly 1,700 other instances of lik ..read more

Ford Motor Co. announced on Friday that it is recalling more than 140,000 of its vehicles over a risk of their battery monitor sensor overheating and possibly catching fire.  The company said in a statement that customers who own certain Lincoln MKC vehicles from model years 2015 to 2019 should park their vehicles outside and away from structures while Ford supplies its dealers and Lincoln retailers with the parts and repair instructions needed to fix the issue.  Ford said the location of the sensor in these vehicles might make it susceptible to damage when the battery or other relat ..read more

President Biden on Friday commended Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for his role in reaching an agreement on the debt ceiling, highlighting a rare moment of bipartisanship between the White House and the GOP-controlled House. "I want to commend Speaker McCarthy. You know, he and I and our teams, we were able to get along and get things done," Biden said in prime time remarks from the Oval Office. "We were straightforward with one another, completely honest with one another, respectful of one another. Both sides operated in good faith, both sides kept their word." The president said he will s ..read more

Close Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters here The latest in politics and policy. Direct to your inbox. Sign up for the Health Care newsletter Subscribe Welcome to The Hill's Health Care newsletter {beacon} Health Care Health Care   The Big Story  CDC pick will find agency at a crossroads President Biden has reportedly selected Mandy Cohen to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after Rochelle Walensky leaves this month. © Getty Cohen, a former North C ..read more

A former U.S. informant who pleaded guilty to charges related to the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was sentenced to life in prison on Friday.  Multiple news outlets reported that 51-year-old Rodolphe Jarr, a dual Haitian-Chilean citizen, is the first to be sentenced from a plot to kill Moïse, who had served as president since 2017.  Jarr pleaded guilty in March in U.S. federal court in Miami to charges of conspiring to provide material support, providing material support and conspiring to kidnap and kill Moïse. Ten other defendants have been charged in the Uni ..read more