America in Brief

New York City Mayor Eric Adams in Washington on Jan. 20, 2025. Angelina Katsanis/Pool/Getty Images

Prosecutors Drop Charges Against New York Mayor

The U.S. government has instructed federal prosecutors to drop the corruption case against New York Mayor Eric Adams.

Adams had been accused of accepting illegal campaign contributions and travel perks from Turkish diplomats.

Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove wrote in a memo that the reason was that it interfered with Adams’s 2025 mayoral reelection campaign and impeded him from his duties as mayor by supporting the federal government in addressing its illegal immigration problem.

Bove noted that the case could be brought back up later if needed.

Adams had pleaded not guilty.

Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon arrives at a press conference outside the federal correctional institution in Danbury, Con., on July 1, 2024. Yuki Iwamura/AFP via Getty Images

Steve Bannon Pleads Guilty in Border Wall Funding Case

Former Trump aide and “Bannon’s War Room” podcast host Steve Bannon has pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering in a private fundraising campaign that allegedly funnelled “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in donations into private funds.

Bannon had initially pleaded not guilty but then accepted a guilty plea deal in exchange for escaping prison time. He has received a three-year conditional discharge.

The “We Build The Wall” GoFundMe campaign, launched in 2018 by Air Force veteran Brian Kolfage and which Bannon joined a year later, was centred around raising funds to build a wall on the U.S.–Mexico border.

Part of President Donald Trump’s campaign promise during his first term was to secure the southern border but he was repeatedly blocked by Congress in his attempts to do so.

Tulsi Gabbard, nominee for Director of National Intelligence, testifies before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 30, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Tulsi Gabbard Confirmed as Intelligence Chief

Tulsi Gabbard has been sworn in as director of national intelligence.

President Donald Trump’s nominee will now be in charge of the U.S. Intelligence Community, which includes agencies like the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the National Security Agency (NSA), some intelligence components of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and military intelligence services.

The former congresswoman was confirmed on a partisan 52–48 vote after a heated few weeks of hearings. Some praised Gabbard for her dedication and commitment, while others questioned her ability to lead the agency, citing qualifications and judgment.

One of the key concerns raised was Gabbard’s praise of former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden. In 2013, Snowden leaked extensive intelligence files to the public before fleeing to Russia. Gabbard said his leak exposed the U.S. Intelligence Community’s overreach into American citizens’ lives.

She is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve.

Attorney General Pam Bondi, joined by Tammy Nobles (L), mother of Kayla Hamilton who was killed by an illegal immigrant, speaks during a press briefing at the Department of Justice in Washington on Feb. 12, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

US Challenges New York Over Immigration Enforcement

The U.S. government is taking legal action against New York officials over laws that favour illegal immigrants over U.S. citizens.

The country’s top prosecutor, Pam Bondi, announced the lawsuit on Feb. 12, targeting New York’s “Green Light Law.”

The “Green Light Law” allows residents of any status to apply for a driver’s license and prohibits the DMV from sharing applicant information with immigration authorities.

Bondi said the state even has a “tip-off” provision that requires the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to inform someone if officials are trying to request their information.

New York State Attorney General Letitia James, Gov. Kathy Hochul, and New York DMV Commissioner Mark Schroeder have been named in the lawsuit.