First Run News

President Trump on Friday named his budget director as the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, moving to take control of the agency hours after its departing leader had taken steps to install his own choice for acting chief. By the end of the night, an agency born of the financial meltdown — and one Republicans have tried to kill from the start — had dueling directors, and there was little sense of who actually would be in charge Monday morning. The bureaucratic standoff began Friday afternoon when Richard Cordray, the Obama-appointed leader of the bureau, abruptly ann

Sufism is a mystical form of Islam, a school of practice that emphasizes the inward search for God and shuns materialism. It has produced some of the world’s most beloved literature, like the love poems of the 13th century Iranian jurist Rumi. Its modern-day adherents cherish tolerance and pluralism, qualities that in many religions unsettle extremists. But Sufism, often known as Islamic mysticism, has come under violent attack in recent years.

CAIRO — Militants detonated a bomb inside a crowded mosque in the Sinai Peninsula on Friday and then sprayed gunfire on panicked worshipers as they fled, killing at least 235 people and wounding at least 109 others. Officials called it the deadliest terrorist attack in Egypt’s modern history. The scale and ruthlessness of the assault, in an area racked by an Islamist insurgency, sent shock waves across the nation — not just for the number of deaths but also for the choice of target.

CAIRO — Militants detonated a bomb inside a crowded mosque in the Sinai Peninsula on Friday and then sprayed gunfire on panicked worshipers as they fled, killing at least 235 people and wounding at least 109 others. Officials called it the deadliest terrorist attack in Egypt’s modern history. The scale and ruthlessness of the assault, in an area racked by an Islamist insurgency, sent shock waves across the nation — not just for the number of deaths but also for the choice of target.

In a video posted to his social media accounts on Thursday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) offered a Thanksgiving greetings accompanied by a politically charged message for his supporters. After declaring Thanksgiving “his favorite holiday,” Sanders touted the Republican-controlled Congress’ inability to repeal parts of Obamacare and credited supporters as the reason. “I don’t have to tell anybody that from a political point of view, this has been a horrendous year,” Sanders said.

In a video posted to his social media accounts on Thursday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) offered a Thanksgiving greetings accompanied by a politically charged message for his supporters. After declaring Thanksgiving “his favorite holiday,” Sanders touted the Republican-controlled Congress’ inability to repeal parts of Obamacare and credited supporters as the reason. “I don’t have to tell anybody that from a political point of view, this has been a horrendous year,” Sanders said.

The director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau resigned Friday and named his own successor, leading to an open conflict with President Donald Trump — who announced a different person as acting head of the agency later in the day. That means there are now effectively two acting directors of the CFPB, when there should only be one. Typically an acting director position would be filled according to the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998.

President Donald Trump will head to Capitol Hill Tuesday to meet with Senate Republicans at their weekly policy luncheon, ahead of an expected vote on tax reform this week. “We look forward to welcoming President Trump to the Senate again next Tuesday,” the chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee, Sen.

President Donald Trump denounced the deadly mosque attack in Egypt and reached out to its president, asserting the world must crush terrorists by military means — and insisting the U.S. needs a southern border wall and the travel ban tied up in courts. "Need the WALL, need the BAN!" Trump tweeted Friday before calling Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.

When President Trump arrived at his Florida estate for the Thanksgiving holiday, his return was not welcome news for some local business owners and community members. The reason for many is not political, or even personal. It’s business. For Iftach Shimonovitc, who makes a living offering helicopter sightseeing tours in Palm Beach, Florida, every day the president is in town can mean upwards of a thousand dollars in lost revenue. “The problem is, when the president comes in town, we can’t fly.