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Trump prosecutor Jack Smith reviewed texts from 44 US lawmakers, Republican senators say

2026-07-14 21:40:29 UTC / Reuters

By Andrew Goudsward

July 14, 2026 9:40 PM UTC Updated 1 hour ago

Former Special Counsel Jack Smith prepares to depart after testifying before the House Judiciary Committee about his criminal investigation of U.S. President Donald Trump, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 22, 2026. REUTERS/Aaron Schwartz/File Photo

• Summary

• Prosecutors subpoened text messages from phones used by top Trump officials
• Lawmakers included 40 Republicans and four Democrats, senators say
• Smith investigated Trump’s attempts to overturn 2020 election

WASHINGTON, July 14 (Reuters) – Former U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team reviewed text messages from ​44 Republican and Democratic members of Congress during his investigation into President Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the ‌2020 election, according to two Republican senators.

The records came from subpoenas to the National Archives and Records Administration for text messages from government phones used by Trump and a range of his top officials and advisers from October 2020 until the end of his first term in ​January 2021.

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The records Smith’s team obtained included text messages that 40 Republican lawmakers and four Democrats exchanged with Trump ​officials, according to Republican Senators Chuck Grassley, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and ⁠Ron Johnson, the chair of a Senate investigative panel.

The new material underscores how many senior figures in the U.S. government ​were examined as Smith investigated Trump’s attempts to reverse his defeat to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020 and his alleged mishandling of ​classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort during Biden’s administration. Both cases were dropped after Trump won the 2024 election.

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The officials included Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows and then-Vice President Mike Pence, who resisted Trump’s pressure to block congressional certification of the 2020 election results.

Grassley released the ​material the day before Todd Blanche, who defended Trump against both of Smith’s cases, goes before the Senate Judiciary Committee on ​his nomination to serve as attorney general.

Justice Department officials under Trump have provided Grassley with a range of records as the president’s allies ‌press claims ⁠that Smith’s investigations were improperly aimed at damaging Trump’s political prospects and swept up sensitive information irrelevant to those cases.

“Jack Smith has answering to do, and I intend to have him before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the coming months to hold him accountable,” Grassley said in a statement.

blob:https://www.reuters.com/4eef6744-ac4a-4f5d-88b1-cee2d7d2d2e6

A spokesperson for Smith did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ​disclosures. Smith has argued in court ​filings and in public ⁠testimony that his investigations followed Justice Department policy and were not influenced by politics.

Grassley alleged that a prosecutor on Smith’s team appeared to violate Justice Department protocol by viewing the records ​before a separate team screened them for potential legal privileges. The filter review team was ​set up to ⁠separate material involving attorney communications with clients, not members of Congress.

Grassley previously revealed that Smith obtained call logs from some Republican senators around the time of the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. FBI Director Kash Patel and White House chief of ⁠staff Susie ​Wiles also had their phone records subpoenaed as part of the classified ​documents probe, Reuters has reported.

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Subpoenaing phone records is a common step in federal investigations. Smith previously told a House committee that lawmakers’ phone records were necessary to ​investigate Trump’s pressure campaign to stop certification of his election defeat.

Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Michael Learmonth and Jamie Freed

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

中国四个省级电网用电负荷创历史新高

2026年7月15日 07:34 / 联合早报

中国全国用电负荷7月14日再创新高，达到15.51亿千瓦。图为河北省武安市境内的500千伏超高压邯郸北变电站。 （新华社档案照）

中国全国用电负荷再创新高，其中四个省级电网用电负荷创历史新高。

据中新社报道，中国国家能源局星期二（7月14日）消息，继今年7月10日全国用电负荷首创新高后，7月14日全国用电负荷再创新高，达到15.51亿千瓦。

当天，华中地区以及冀南、四川、湖北、湖南等四个省级电网用电负荷创历史新高。

中国国家能源局表示，跨省跨区市场机制有力支撑用电保障。有关方面发挥全国统一电力市场体系作用，加强电力互济，7月10日跨省跨区跨网最大输送电力合计2.63亿千瓦，7月14日合计2.78亿千瓦，有力支撑全国用电保障。

国家能源局强调，目前，中国能源电力供需形势总体平稳，各地未出现需求响应和有序用电情况。

中国官方预计，今年全国最大电力负荷在15.75亿至16亿千瓦，若出现大范围极端高温天气可能超过16亿千瓦。中国电力企业联合会14日发布的《中国电力行业年度发展报告2026》显示，今年全国电力供需呈总体平衡态势，夏季局部地区平衡偏紧。

中国电力企业联合会规划发展部主任张琳指出，迎峰度夏期间，若出现大范围极端天气、一次能源供应紧张等情况，局部地区部分时段电力供需形势偏紧，需要供需两侧协同发力，利用好跨省跨区余缺互济作用，全力保障系统安全稳定运行和电力可靠有序供应。

Scammers are using FaceTime to steal bank account passwords

July 14, 2026 / 4:24 PM EDT / CBS News

By Megan Cerullo

Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting.

Read Full Bio

A growing scam relies on Apple’s popular FaceTime video calling app, with fraudsters using the service to impersonate bank representatives and drain consumers’ bank accounts.

According to CBS News national consumer correspondent Ash-Har Quraishi, the scammers convince consumers they need to provide information to verify their bank accounts.

Victims first receive a text message about account activity related to their bank or credit card, and are asked to call a phone number included in the text. Other times, they receive a direct call from the scammer, who says they require “additional verification.”

That’s when the fraudster switches from an audio-only call to FaceTime. Victims are tricked into sharing their computer screens with the scammers while they log into their online banking accounts.

“The scammer watches in real-time while victims expose passwords, account numbers and even one-time security codes,” Quraishi said.

Apple says scammers are exploiting FaceTime because consumers generally trust the app and view it as a secure platform.

But the tech giant urges consumers who believe they’re receiving a suspicious FaceTime call from someone posing as a bank representative to take a screenshot of the call.

blob:https://www.cbsnews.com/4c7becf4-726d-4cc3-bf7b-66b2efa37dfa

Tap the “info” button next to the call, hit “take live photo,” and send the image to reportfacetimefraud@apple.com.

Here are other tips consumers should heed to avoid falling victim to the FaceTime scam.

• Never share your screen with anyone who calls out of the blue. Apple notes that it will not ask for a customer’s password, passcode or two-factor authentication code.
• Urgency is a red flag. Anyone who pressures you to make money moves immediately should be considered suspicious. Hang up the call and contact your bank directly.
• If you receive a scammy-seeming text, don’t call the number included in the message. To contact your bank, dial the number on the back of your bank card.

Edited by Aimee Picchi

Spain reaches World Cup final with dominant 2-0 win over France

July 14, 2026 / 8:03 PM EDT / CBS/AP

In a match Tuesday in Arlington, Texas, featuring two of soccer’s biggest heavyweights, Spain put in a masterful performance, frustrating France to the tune of a 2-0 win to advance to Sunday’s World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

It marks Spain’s second-ever appearance in a World Cup final. Spain won the tournament in 2010.

The Spaniards will face the winner of the second semifinal between defending champion Argentina and England, taking place Wednesday.

Spain’s first goal came in the 22nd minute when Mikel Oyarzabal scored from the penalty spot after Spain teenager Lamine Yamal drew a foul with a heady play.

France defender Lucas Digne was trying to collect the ball after an awkward bounce when Yamal, a day after his 19th birthday, raced in from behind to challenge in the penalty area. Yamal was kicked as Digne tried to clear the ball.

Oyarzabal’s fifth goal of this year’s World Cup marked the first time either of the two teams had trailed in their seven games in this tournament. It was his 30th goal in 60 international games for Spain.

A day after his 19th birthday, Yamal was denied a goal on a close offside call that came soon after Spain defender Pedro Porro’s give-and-go with Dani Olmo in the 58th minute had put Spain up 2-0. But it was Yamal’s smart play against a veteran defender that put Spain in the lead.

“We gave it our all in order just to go through to the final,” Porro said. “We knew that we’re a very tough team, we’re doing things really well. This is our team, it’s not about me.”

Pedro Porro of Spain celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal with teammates during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Semi Final match between France and Spain at Dallas Stadium on July 14, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images

After a quarterfinal win over Belgium last Friday, Yamal said he believed France should fear Spain. Those words certainly proved true.

The loss means France failed in its effort to reach its third consecutive final, after winning in 2018 and losing in a penalty shootout to Argentina four years ago. They instead will play in the third-place game in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Saturday, the day before the final at MetLife Stadium across the river from New York City.

This win on soccer’s biggest stage marked the third summer in a row that Spain beat France in a tournament semifinal match. Yamal scored in a 2-1 win in the 2024 European Championship semifinals just days before his 17th birthday, and La Roja won 5-4 in Nations League play last year.

France had allowed only two goals in its first six games in this tournament. Spain goalkeeper Unai Simón has six shutouts while allowing only one goal in seven games so far.

Kylian Mbappé was in France’s starting lineup after the striker exited in the 77th minute of the team’s quarterfinal win over Morocco. Mbappé scored his eighth goal against Morocco and entered the semifinals even with Argentina superstar Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot. The 39-year-old Messi has a World Cup record 21 goals in his career, one more than the 27-year-old Mbappé.

Spain’s run at this year’s World Cup has extended its unbeaten streak in regular time to 37 matches (28 wins and nine draws) since March 2024. That broke the country’s previous record of 35 in a row from 2007-09.

The loss broke France’s record-matching streak of six consecutive World Cup wins, which also was accomplished in the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.

特朗普介入判决惹议 巴洛贡：美国队因红卡风波分心

2026年7月15日 07:38 / 联合早报

美国队前锋巴洛贡说，特朗普介入红卡判决的举动影响到球队在16强赛的表现。 （路透社）

（纽约综合电）美国队前锋巴洛贡（Balogun）星期二（7月14日）透露，他在世界杯期间获得的“红卡特赦”判决，让国家队内部的情绪经历了从狂喜到极度不安的过山车，而这种紧绷的氛围最终影响到球队在世界杯16强赛吞败的表现。

巴洛贡在做客哥伦比亚广播公司（CBS）早间节目《CBS Mornings》时，描述这段跌宕起伏的心路历程。在早前对阵波黑的32强赛中，他被红卡罚下，但国际足球联合会（FIFA）随后破天荒撤销了其禁赛令，使他得以在16强硬碰比利时的生死战中上阵。

然而，在美国总统特朗普公开表示已亲自游说国际足联重新审议这个判罚后，外界对美国队的敌意与反感铺天盖地而至。在国际足联宣布巴洛贡获准参赛后，比利时主帅加西亚（Garcia）随即表态说，比利时已做好准备去“捍卫足球运动的公信力”，这番谈话更是将针对美国队的舆论推向了顶点。

在7月7日于西雅图举行的16强赛中，比利时在下半场彻底主导局势，最终以4比1狂胜美国，将东道主淘汰出局。在这场惨败中，美国队疲软的战术表现备受外界抨击，而核心球星普利西奇（Pulisic）在因腿伤退场前也状态挣扎，未能有效带动攻势。

巴洛贡在受访时说：“对阵比利时是一场极其艰难的比赛，这在一定程度上让外界开始质疑我们当时是否足够专注。但作为身处集训营和整个团队中的一员，我很清楚我们当时对那场比赛是百分之百专注的。”

然而，这支年轻的美国队当时显然承载了过于沉重的世界政治角力。

巴洛贡说：“我的第一反应当然是为重返球队感到高兴。但当我开始静下心来反思时，我知道这必将引来巨大的争议。我甚至能察觉到队友们身上流露出的些许紧张和焦虑。因为这件事情实在是太不寻常了。

“随着比赛临近，我试图尽最大努力保持专注，但在外界铺天盖地的舆论噪音下，这真的很难。你几乎无法避开这些声音。”

虽然美国队在小组赛前两场取得全胜并以D组头名出线，随后也成功挺进16强，但他们最终未能追平国家队在世界杯历史上的最佳战绩。美国队曾在2002年的韩日世界杯中成功闯入八强。

The Trump team’s worst predictions about the Iran war

2026-07-14T22:57:46.741Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/14/politics/trump-worst-predictions-iran-war

One of the most infamous comments uttered about the Iraq War was then-Vice President Dick Cheney’s prediction, just days before it began, that US troops would be “greeted as liberators.”

Over the years, that comment came to epitomize not just the George W. Bush administration’s broken promises, but also its apparent failures to prepare for and understand the war it launched. How could it be so brazen as to directly predict something that turned out to be so wrong?

The Trump administration’s track record on the Iran war is rife with similar examples.

Over the last four and a half months, President Donald Trump and those around him have confidently made predictions that quickly fell apart.

It often seems as if Trump, especially, has little to no understanding of what’s happening with the war he launched. But the wayward comments are hardly limited to him.

Here are some of the biggest examples.

Trump shocked the world on Monday by confidently announcing the United States would soon take over the Strait of Hormuz as its “guardian” and charge countries 20% cargo fees for passage.

Except this ran counter to what the administration previously said about anyone charging tolls in the strait.

“We’ve always said a tolling system in the strait would be unacceptable. But we don’t just say that; the world has said that,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in May. He also said it would be “completely illegal, by the way.”

Trump’s Monday comments also raised the prospect of the United States needing a sustained military presence to control the strait for years to come.

In other words: It seemed wholly impractical. And sure enough, just a day later, Trump reversed himself.

That the president would even float something so extreme and difficult suggests he’s not terribly clued in on what’s feasible. CNN reported Tuesday that advisers scrambled to talk him out of the idea.

Trump predicted early on that the war would be brief, repeatedly projecting it would last “four to five weeks.”

More than two months in, on May 1, he said that it “shouldn’t be too long.”

It’s now been four and a half months — with no end in sight.

Many of the early predictions weren’t hard and fast, and the administration argues the war wasn’t ongoing during the ceasefire, which Trump has since declared over. But officials’ early projections suggested the administration anticipated a much different type of war.

After the US and Iran agreed on a memorandum of understanding last month, Trump and Vice President JD Vance spoke as if Iran’s leaders had suddenly seen the light.

“We’re dealing with people that I think are very rational people,” Trump said on June 16, adding that Iran’s leaders were “nice to deal with” and “not radicalized.”

Vance said in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper: “The coolest thing about the progress we’ve made over the last few weeks is that you see people within the Iranian system, senior leadership, even IRGC officials say, ‘You know what, we may have some animosity, we may have some mistrust, but we recognize the way that we’ve done business with the United States for 47 years is a mistake.’”

It didn’t take long for the administration to eat those words. After the ceasefire and the memorandum crumbled last week, Trump called Iran’s leaders “cuckoo,” “evil,” “sick,” “dirty players” and “scum.”

It’s not clear whether Trump and Vance believed what they were saying earlier or whether they were just saying nice things.

But either way, their comments quickly came to look pollyannaish — as many predicted at the time.

When he first launched strikes on Iran in late February, Trump was focused on the idea that the Iranian people could rise up and change their regime.

He even concluded his announcement that night by focusing on the idea.

“I call upon all Iranian patriots who yearn for freedom to seize this moment — to be brave, be bold, be heroic, and take back your country,” Trump said. “America is with you. I made a promise to you, and I fulfilled that promise. The rest will be up to you, but we’ll be there to help.”

But when the popular uprising didn’t happen, Trump quickly dropped the subject — as if it was never his goal to begin with. And today, he’s talking as though it were unthinkable.

“Unless they could be completely armed, I never thought they’d have that kind of an uprising, because these people are violent,” Trump told radio host Hugh Hewitt on Monday. “Their so-called leadership is very violent.”

But Trump clearly thought it was a possibility at one point. In fact, it was a major point of emphasis.

When Iran made its big move to gain leverage by shutting the Strait of Hormuz, the administration initially shrugged it off and suggested it couldn’t possibly last.

“It’s something we’re dealing with; we have been dealing with it,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on March 13. He added that people “don’t need to worry about it.”

A few days earlier, on March 9, Trump said the strait “doesn’t really affect us” because “we have so much oil.”

“The Strait of Hormuz is going to remain safe,” Trump added.

The strait has not remained — or been consistently — safe. And while it’s true that other countries have been more impacted by Iran shutting it down, the closure has also wrought significant damage on the US economy.

It’s also giving Iran major leverage over Trump.

Related to its naiveté about the strait, the administration has made many wayward assurances about gas prices.

In an interview with Tapper on March 8, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said gas prices would be back under $3 per gallon “before too long.”

Pressed on precisely when, Wright said that, even in the “worst case,” it would be “weeks” rather than “months.”

It’s been even worse than Wright’s worst-case scenario. More than four months later, gas still isn’t under $3 per gallon. Prices haven’t fallen below $3.70 in the national average, according to Gas Buddy, and they’re now spiking again after renewed hostilities.

The bad prediction underlines how the administration didn’t seem to fully anticipate just how much damage Iran could do by closing the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump has said dozens of times that Tehran was “begging” for a deal, it was “desperate” and “dying” to make one, and that it wanted a deal “so badly” and “very badly.”

He also routinely predicted a deal was just around the corner.

But the events of the past three months have shown the opposite. Iran has not only held out for very significant concessions, it’s also scuttled what seemed to be pretty favorable terms in last month’s memorandum of understanding.

Perhaps it’s some wishful thinking or spin from Trump, but it suggests he doesn’t understand the motivations of his adversary.

From the war’s earliest days, Trump and Hegseth claimed Iran’s military defeat was so absolute that the United States could basically fly anywhere it wanted to without risk.

At a March 4 briefing, Hegseth claimed the US and Israel “will have complete control of Iranian skies” within a week.

“And Iran will be able to do nothing about it,” Hegseth said.

Trump repeated in the weeks that followed that Iran “can’t do a thing about it.”

“They have no anti-aircraft equipment. Their radar is 100% annihilated,” Trump said. “We are unstoppable as a military force.”

But by early April, Iran managed to take down two US aircraft.

曼联6000万元签下比利时中场蒂勒曼斯

2026年7月15日 07:46 / 联合早报

曼联宣布从维拉签下比利时中场蒂勒曼斯。 （路透社）

（伦敦综合电）英超豪门曼联（Manchester United）星期二（7月14日）宣布，从阿斯顿维拉（Aston Villa）签下比利时中场蒂勒曼斯（Youri Tielemans），据报转会费为3500万英镑（约6000万新元）。

现年29岁的比利时队长蒂勒曼斯与“红魔”曼联签下一份为期五年的合同，他在刚结束的世界杯征程带领比利时队闯入复赛。

这也是曼联在这个夏季转会窗口的第三笔签约。在此之前，红魔已先后引进切尔西（Chelsea）中场桑托斯（Santos）以及利兹（Leeds）门将达洛（Darlow）。

蒂勒曼斯说：“我很难用言语来形容加盟曼联让我有多自豪。能与这样一家特别的球会签约，感觉太不可思议了。自我开始爱上足球以来，多年的努力终于在今天迎来巅峰。

“我有幸在职业生涯中体验过成功，而这只让我争取更多荣誉的决心更加坚定。球会里每个人的雄心都非常明确——我们都决心在未来几年里去争夺最顶级的奖杯。”

曼联足球总监威尔科克斯（Wilcox）盛赞蒂勒曼斯是近年来英超最优秀的中场球员之一。他说：“他具备在曼联立足并取得成功的所有技术特质，以及雄心和心态。”

蒂勒曼斯是在2023年以自由身从莱斯特（Leicester）加盟维拉，他曾协助莱斯特夺得英格兰足总杯。上赛季，他在埃梅里（Emery）麾下扮演关键角色，不仅协助维拉挺进欧冠联赛，更勇夺欧洲联赛冠军。

在刚刚结束的世界杯复赛中，比利时以1比2不敌西班牙被淘汰，而蒂勒曼斯因伤缺席那场比赛。

在卡塞米罗（Casemiro）离队以及乌加特（Ugarte）在世界杯期间遭受膝盖韧带重伤后，曼联将引援重心放在加强中场实力上。就在星期一（13日），红魔刚宣布以5000万英镑从切尔西签下巴西中场桑托斯。

上赛季在新帅卡里克（Carrick）的执教下，曼联最终夺得英超第三名，顺利取得欧冠入场券。

Supreme Court Justice Kagan remembers Lindsey Graham ahead of testimony

July 14, 2026 at 4:48 p.m. EDT / The Washington Post

The senator’s vote was one of few Republican votes in favor of Kagan’s confirmation in 2010.

Elena Kagan testifies before the House Appropriations subcommittee on July 14. (Tyler M. Andrews/The Washington Post)

By Stella Canino-Quiñones

Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan began her testimony before Congress Tuesday by remembering Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), who died suddenly Saturday.

Kagan reflected on Graham’s vote to confirm her nomination to the highest court in 2010.

“I didn’t get many Republican votes when I was confirmed to the Supreme Court,” she said. “Not many Republicans vote for the nominees of somebody selected by a Democratic president, and not many Democrats do the same. … And yet Sen. Graham voted for me.”

Kagan and Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett appeared before the House Appropriations subcommittee to request a raise in the security budget amid increasing threats against judges.

Recalling Graham’s sense of humor, Kagan shared an anecdote about a back and forth during her confirmation where she said Graham made her look funny by asking what she did on Christmas the previous year.

“Many people said to me afterwards, that exchange with Sen. Graham was the moment my confirmation was sealed,” Kagan said.

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Elon Musk likely broke the law by giving voters $1 million, Wisconsin board says

2026-07-14T20:11:44.252Z / Associated Press

Elon Musk speaks during a town hall meeting at the KI Convention Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on March 30, 2025.

Scott Olson/Getty Images/File

Madison, Wisconsin AP—

Billionaire Elon Musk likely broke Wisconsin law when he handed out $1 million checks to voters in the 2025 state Supreme Court election, a bipartisan panel has found.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission last week referred two complaints to the Brown County district attorney’s office, which can choose to bring criminal charges over violating the state law against election bribery. Prosecutors have 40 days to report back to the commission.

Musk, the founder of SpaceX and CEO of Tesla, was deeply involved in the effort to flip majority control of the highest court in battleground Wisconsin.

The tech titan and groups he supported spent at least $20 million on the candidate backed by Republicans, Brad Schimel. However, he lost by 10 percentage points to Democratic-backed candidate Susan Crawford.

A month after the lopsided loss, Musk announced that he would be spending far less on political campaigns. Spending on the election topped $100 million, making it the most expensive judicial race in US history.

The complaints, which are confidential under state law, were brought by voters in Milwaukee and Green Bay, which is in Brown County. Musk handed out checks at a rally there just days before the election.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission, consisting of three Democrats and three Republicans, voted 5-1 in closed session on Thursday to refer the complaints to the district attorney, the commission’s spokesperson, Emilee Miklas, said.

Brown County District Attorney David Lasee, a Republican, did not immediately return a message seeking comment Tuesday.

The motion approved by the elections commission said it found probable cause that Musk broke Wisconsin law by making a social media post offering $1 million to people who voted in the Supreme Court election “in order to induce them to vote in that election.”

Spokespeople for Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Three Wisconsin voters received checks from Musk, including two who got them in person at the Green Bay rally. Two weeks before the election, Musk’s political action committee, America PAC, offered $100 to voters who signed a petition in opposition to “activist judges,” or referred someone to sign it.

Crawford’s win kept liberals in control of the state Supreme Court, and their majority grew to 5-2 after Democratic-backed candidate Chris Taylor’s victory this year.

Musk’s spending on the 2025 race has already resulted in one lawsuit filed by a government watchdog group, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, which seeks to prohibit him from ever again offering cash payments in the state.

That lawsuit is pending in Brown County. It alleges that Musk and two groups he funds violated prohibitions on vote bribery and unauthorized lotteries and that his actions were an unlawful conspiracy and public nuisance.

Wisconsin’s Democratic attorney general sued to stop Musk from handing over the checks to two voters, but was rejected by state courts.

Musk’s attorneys argued in legal filings in 2025 that Musk was exercising his free speech rights with the giveaways and any attempt to restrict that would violate both the Wisconsin and US constitutions.

The payments are “intended to generate a grassroots movement in opposition to activist judges, not to expressly advocate for or against any candidate,” Musk’s attorneys argued in court filings.

Musk’s political action committee used a nearly identical tactic before the 2024 presidential election, offering to pay $1 million a day to voters in Wisconsin and six other battleground states who signed a petition supporting the First and Second amendments. A judge in Pennsylvania said prosecutors failed to show the effort was an illegal lottery and allowed it to continue through Election Day.

House passes bill to make daylight saving time permanent

July 14, 2026 / 5:53 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington — The House on Tuesday voted to make daylight saving time permanent nationwide, amid a yearslong push to end the twice-annual clock changes.

The bill, titled the Sunshine Protection Act, passed in a 308 to 117 vote. In addition to keeping clocks shifted one hour ahead, which happens in the spring, the measure would allow states to use standard time if an exemption is in effect before the federal law is enacted. Hawaii and most of Arizona currently use standard time year-round.

“I don’t really know anybody who wants to change the clock anymore,” said Democratic Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey on Monday as the House Rules Committee considered the measure.

GOP Rep. Vern Buchanan of Florida, who introduced the bill, said Tuesday the clock changes disrupt schedules “for no good reason.”

Proponents of the bill argue the change would have positive impacts on sleep schedules, people’s health and the economy, and would allow Americans to have more daylight hours in the evening throughout the year. Its critics say extended darkness in the morning hours of winter would have negative effects on health and safety.

The bill now heads to the Senate, where its future is unclear. The Senate adopted a similar measure in 2022, but it was never taken up in the House. Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, who spearheaded prior efforts in the upper chamber to make daylight saving time permanent, called on Senate Majority Leader John Thune to “bring this bill to a vote as soon as possible.”

President Trump’s position on the issue has changed over the years. He has called both for daylight saving time to be eliminated and for it to be made permanent. In May, when the bill advanced out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Mr. Trump said he would sign it into law if it makes it to his desk.

blob:https://www.cbsnews.com/81f98681-735a-4ca1-b461-40411d93ac8f

Congress enacted daylight saving time in 1918 to add additional daylight hours and help conserve energy during World War I. It was implemented again during World War II. In 1973, Congress briefly made daylight saving time permanent, but reversed course just months later after public opinion soured on the experiment. The current practice of starting daylight saving time on the second Sunday in March and ending it on the first Sunday in November was enacted under President George W. Bush.

“Permanent daylight savings time was repealed within a year because it didn’t work,” Democratic Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon of Pennsylvania said Monday during the Rules Committee meeting. “We all enjoy the extra hour or so of sunlight in the summer, but when people are considering this, they need to consider the extra hours of darkness in the winter.”