Washington — The Supreme Court is hearing arguments Wednesday morning in a high-profile dispute over efforts in Oklahoma to create an online Catholic charter school, a case that could open the door to public dollars flowing directly to religious schools. A ruling in favor of the school, St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, could lead to the country’s first religious charter school and upend laws in 45 states and the District of Columbia, as well as the federal charter school program, all of which require charter schools to be nonsectarian, Oklahoma’s Republican attorney general, Gentner Drummond, has warned.  “This would…

Nearly 400 scientists across the United States were informed Monday afternoon that their services were no longer needed to help write a major report on climate change for the federal government. The report, known as the National Climate Assessment, is a major publication produced every four years that summarizes the impacts of climate change in the United States, and it is congressionally mandated under the Global Change Research Act of 1990. The sixth edition is scheduled for publication in 2027 and preparations have been underway for months to meet that deadline. The National Climate Assessment is the basis for which…

President Trump’s nominee to be the U.S. surgeon general, the Fox News contributor and family medicine physician Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, has described herself as a double board-certified physician with a degree from the University of Arkansas School of Medicine — credentials the president touted in his announcement. But those claims about her certification and schooling appear to be misleading.  Nesheiwat actually earned her medical degree from the American University of the Caribbean (AUC) School of Medicine, located in St. Maarten, in the Caribbean, according to records reviewed by CBS News. A spokesperson for the University of Arkansas confirmed to CBS News…

Voters in Canada headed to the polls on Monday for an election widely considered the most significant in a generation, as voters will determine who is best suited to manage the economy — and U.S. President Trump. Canadians are deciding whether to continue the Liberal Party’s hold on power by picking new Prime Minister Mark Carney or transfer control to the Conservatives and their populist leader Pierre Poilievre. Mr. Trump’s threat to annex Canada and his sweeping tariffs, which undermine the country’s economy, have dominated the campaign and influenced voters’ choices. Additionally, domestic issues such as affordability, immigration, jobs and crime…

Washington — Congress returns Monday from a two-week recess with Republicans eyeing an ambitious schedule to move on the centerpiece legislation of President Trump’s first-year agenda.   After both the House and Senate adopted a budget resolution that serves as a blueprint earlier this month, congressional committees are set to begin work this week on the massive plan to key to implementing Mr. Trump’s priorities on border security, defense, energy and taxes. The legislation aims to extend the 2017 tax cuts, along with authorizing additional tax cuts, while raising the debt ceiling by as much as $5 trillion. And GOP…

Two people were arrested this weekend in connection with the Easter Sunday theft of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s purse, authorities confirmed Sunday.  The first suspect was arrested in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, according to the U.S. Secret Service. Noem said Sunday that the man was in the country illegally. She called the suspect a “career criminal,” but did not specify any more details about the individual’s immigration status.  Mario Bustamante Leiva, 49, has been arrested and charged with two counts of robbery. He also faces additional charges for an offense being investigated by the United States Secret Service, authorities…

Is 100 days enough time to evaluate this president? His supporters generally don’t think so, but others do — perhaps because most Americans think President Trump is already making major changes to how the government — and the U.S. economy — work.  Those opening days, in public opinion terms, have been marked by Mr. Trump’s continued support from a loyal base of supporters, but also a widespread and growing belief among others that the administration is focused too much on tariffs and not enough on lowering prices. That’s weighing on his approval ratings on the economy and inflation, which have…

Washington — Inside the kitchen at the Washington Hilton ahead of Saturday night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner are frenetic dinner preparations for about 2,600 people.   “So, if it’s a three-course, you multiply that by three, we could walk away doing almost 10,000 plates in the kitchen as a whole,” Daniel Bennett, the hotel’s executive chef, tells CBS News. The correspondents’ dinner has been an annual tradition since 1921, bringing together presidential comedy and the press corps, and the Hilton has been its home for 57 years. The Washington Hilton is also known for one of the darkest moments in…

The FBI on Friday arrested a Wisconsin county judge on obstruction charges, accusing her of preventing the arrest of a man by immigration authorities during a federal law enforcement operation at her courthouse. FBI Director Kash Patel said Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan “intentionally misdirected federal agents away” from an immigrant who is in the U.S. illegally and was set to be arrested.  Patel said that the man, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, was later arrested and is currently being detained.  Dugan was arrested at 8 a.m. on Friday at the courthouse where she works, according to a federal law enforcement source.…

The Pentagon set up a system in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s office that enabled him to check messages on the encrypted messaging app Signal while at the office, sources familiar with the matter told CBS News. Two of the sources said the system bypasses standard Defense Department security protocols.  A computer monitor in Hegseth’s office was installed to give him remote access to the Signal app and text messages from his personal cellphone, the sources said. Hegseth has used the system to check and respond to those messages at his desk, multiple sources said.  The Associated Press earlier reported that…

Trump, Biden to attend Pope Francis’ funeral Trump, Biden and Zelenskyy to attend Pope Francis’ funeral 04:12 Former President Joe Biden, who maintained a close working and personal relationship with Pope Francis dating back to the late pontiff’s visit to the United States in 2015, will attend the papal funeral Saturday in Vatican City, Biden’s office confirmed Friday. Former first lady Jill Biden will also be traveling with her husband to Italy for the funeral. Francis began his papacy in 2013 during the Obama administration, but former President Barack Obama is not planning to attend, according to a spokesman. Pope Francis…

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Thursday that the Kremlin is “ready to reach a deal” with the U.S. on Ukraine, though he also said some elements need to be “fine tuned.” “The President of the United States believes, and I think rightly so, that we are moving in the right direction,” Lavrov said in an interview Thursday with “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.” The comments came after Russia struck Kyiv overnight Thursday, killing at least eight people and injuring more than 70, in the deadliest assault on the Ukrainian capital in months as President Trump pushes a proposal…

President Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order aiming to change the college accreditation process so colleges are accredited based on “results,” with the president wondering aloud about looking into the math capabilities of students admitted to Harvard University and Yale University.  The president also signed an order to enforce laws on the books requiring universities to disclose when they accept large foreign gifts, with one of Mr. Trump’s top aides specifically calling out Harvard as a school they believe has violated the law. Federal law requires higher education institutions that receive federal funds to disclose any gifts or contracts…

Washington — Hundreds of U.S. universities and colleges, including Harvard, Princeton, Penn, Brown, MIT, Cornell and Tufts issued a joint letter Tuesday condemning President Trump’s “political interference” in the nation’s education system. The move comes a day after Harvard University sued the Trump administration, which announced an initial funding freeze of $2.2 billion and later signaled its intention to suspend an additional $1 billion in grants. The moves came after weeks of escalation between the administration and Harvard, which had rejected the administration’s demands to change many of the school’s policies and leadership, including auditing the student body and faculty for “viewpoint diversity.” “We…