No one would have predicted it. But you could have made a lot of money if you did. With uncharacteristic dispatch, the United States Senate unanimously voted to ban senators and staff from playing in the prediction markets. “This is a national security risk,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. “The very possibility that a member’s vote could be influenced by a bet is reason enough to...

President Donald Trump is eyeing oil-rich Venezuela as a potential 51st state as officials continue to court oil companies for investments in the South American country following the U.S. intervention that removed President Nicolas Maduro from power. Trump said in a phone call with Fox News that he is motivated by the estimated $40 trillion value of oil in Venezuela, adding that he is popular with the country’s...

ELLSWORTH, MAINE — Graham Platner says he still wouldn’t support Sen. Chuck Schumer as Senate Democratic leader going forward, even after holding what he described as a “perfectly cordial conversation” with the top Democrat in the chamber. Platner, an oyster farmer and Army and Marine veteran who served in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, will face off in this year’s midterm elections in blue-leaning Maine against longtime Republican...