California mayor charged with acting as illegal agent for China
City of Arcadia, councilmember, Eileen Wang attends the Asian Hall of Fame 2023 induction ceremony, October 21, 2023, in Los Angeles. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Eileen Wang, the mayor of Arcadia, California, was charged with acting as an illegal foreign agent for China, the Justice Department announced on Monday.
Wang agreed to plead guilty, the DOJ said.
The City of Arcadia said Wang resigned from her position on Monday.
Starting in late 2020, Wang and Yaoning “Mike” Sun worked together to operate a website called U.S. News Center that “purported to be a news source for the local Chinese-American community.”
The Justice Department said in a plea agreement that Wang and Sun “received and executed directives from PRC (People’s Republic of China) government officials to post pro-PRC content on the website, and sometimes sought approval from PRC government officials to circulate other pro-PRC content.”
In one instance in November 2021, Wang wanted to circulate an article about the Chinese and Russian ambassador asking for Americans to respect the PRC’s “democratic rights.”
“This is what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wants to send,” she said.
In her plea agreement she admitted to not notifying the attorney general that she was working for the PRC.
“Individuals elected to public office in the United States should act only for the people of the United States that they represent,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “It is deeply concerning that someone who previously received and executed directives from PRC government officials is now in a position of public trust at all, but particularly so because that relationship with that foreign government had never been disclosed.”
Reverend Al Sharpton speaks during last day of National Action Network Convention at Sheraton Times Square. (Photo by Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — What is expected to be the biggest gathering of possible Democratic 2028 presidential hopefuls is set to happen at the convention for the National Action Network, an organization dedicated to fighting for civil rights and equality. In New York City this week, the potential candidates will gather to look to engage with Black civil rights leaders and voters.
The event, hosted by Rev. Al Sharpton, has become a hub for those considering a presidential run and will offer a preview of what the jostling for the Black vote in the 2028 election will look like.
“Two years out, we’ll see some of the people that have been thinking of running, and they’ll see us,” Sharpton told POLITICO in an interview about the gathering.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Sen. Mark Kelly and Rep. Ro Khanna are among the potential 2028 Democratic candidates who will attend the convention, according to the National Action Network website.
Nearly all of the lawmakers have either expressed interest or have not shut down the idea about running for president. All of them are set to take part in a conversation with Sharpton.
The four-day-long National Action Network’s 35th anniversary convention is an opportunity for potential 2028 presidential candidates to connect with Black voters and test out their messaging ahead of the 2028 cycle.
Harris has not closed the door on running for president again, saying in a February podcast interview that she has not yet decided whether she would run again, adding that she might.
Sharpton told POLITICO not to count Harris out, calling her a strong force in the Black community.
“I wouldn’t ignore the fact that she’s absolutely a potent force in the Black community,” Sharpton told POLITICO. “I do not have any idea whether she’s going to try to go again, but I think she’s due all the respect for what she did, and the fact that she got more votes than any presidential candidate in American history, other than Trump. I think she has been ignored, and we’re going to raise that at our convention.”
The 2024 election showed President Donald Trump — who made an appearance at the convention in 2002, 14 years before he was first elected president — made gains with Black voters, a group that has been critical to the Democratic Party for decades.
According to the Pew Research Center, Trump nearly doubled his support among Black voters between 2020 and 2024, with 8% voting for him in 2020 compared to 15% in 2024. Still, 83% of Black voters backed Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
Janiyah Thomas, who served as Trump’s Black media director during the 2024 election, told ABC News in a phone interview that Trump’s gains with Black voters stemmed from his focus on issues that matter most to American households.
“Overall, the president made gains with Black voters because I think we cut out all the noise and just spoke to the kitchen table issues that really matter to all people, no matter what race, and I think people really love the president’s authenticity,” Thomas said.
And while Democrats are looking to win back Black voters who supported Trump, the convention will also give potential Democratic presidential candidates a chance to connect with the Black community, including those who previously struggled to garner support from Black voters.
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, a potential 2028 presidential candidate who struggled to garner support from Black voters during the 2020 presidential election, has increased his engagement with Black candidates by campaigning with Shawn Harris in his congressional election in Georgia and Chedrick Greene in his state Senate election in Michigan.
US President Donald Trump during an executive order signing ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, April 30, 2026. Trump signed an executive order aimed at expanding access to retirement plans for workers whose employers don’t offer that benefit, seeking to refocus the administration’s messaging on economic issues. (Photographer: Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — With Iranian forces attacking commercial vessels near the Strait of Hormuz and oil infrastructure in the United Arab Emirates, President Donald Trump on Monday stopped short of saying the U.S.-Iran ceasefire has been violated.
“[It was] not heavy firing,” Trump said in a phone call with ABC News when asked if the ceasefire had been violated. “We’ll let you know. Ships are moving. You know, we moved quite a few last night — big ones. There was no firing. I guess there has been some recently. I’m looking into it.”
Over the past several hours, Iran fired on a South Korean ship near the Strait of Hormuz, and fired missiles and drones on the UAE. Plus, according to CENTCOM, U.S. forces fired on six Iranian fast boats and intercepted several Iranian missiles and drones.
Trump told ABC that “Iran “better hope [the ceasefire] remains in effect. The best thing that can happen to them is that we keep it in effect.”
And what happens if the ceasefire is broken?
“I’ll let you know, like I’ll let everyone else know,” the president said. “We just heard about this, and we’ll find out about it. What should happen is South Korea should get involved. It was a South Korean ship that got hit. And I would think, if you have a ship that’s hit, you should immediately send some people.”
“Right now, we we’re being very nice. We’re taking care of the world,” Trump added.
On the Iran’s firing of missiles and drones at the UAE, Trump said “they were shot down for the most part.”
“One got through. Not huge damage,” he said.
So we shouldn’t overreact?
“Overreacting is very bad for them,” Trump said. “Not for me.”
And what does this all mean about the prospects for ending the war?
“We have it under control,” Trump said. “One way or the other, we win. And you know why, Jon? I always win. You found that out a long time ago.”
The U.S. Capitol Building dome, on May 12, 2026, in Washington, DC. (Graeme Sloan/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — In an unanimous 99-0 vote, the Senate on Wednesday advanced a resolution to withhold pay from senators during a government shutdown.
Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts did not vote on the resolution, which was introduced by Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana.
The vote was a procedural one. The legislation now moves toward final passage, and is expected to pass with resounding support.
The legislation, which would take effect after the November 2026 election, would instruct the secretary of the Senate to place senators’ paychecks on hold during the duration of any future federal government shutdowns. Those payments would be released to lawmakers only after the government reopens.
While multiple similar House bills have been introduced, it’s unclear if legislation in the lower chamber will pass.
“Take your brain with you, because this is about shared sacrifice. This is about putting our money where our mouth is,” Sen. Kennedy said on the Senate floor ahead of Wednesday’s vote.
Kennedy’s resolution comes after federal workers faced a historic 43-day government shutdown late last year caused by a deadlock between parties over Affordable Care Act subsidies.
During that time, approximately 670,000 federal workers were furloughed, 60,000 workers outside the federal government lost their jobs and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients lost out on benefits all while members of Congress continued to get paid — highlighting the disparity of financial pain endured by members of Congress and the people they serve.
Calls for withholding pay from members of Congress continued to grow this year during the record 75-day partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security. Transportation Security Administration agents, Coast Guard members and other department employees went without pay as a stalemate played out on Capitol Hill over immigration enforcement funding and oversight reforms.
