Politics

Crew members of the USS Abraham Lincoln talk to a souvenir vendor in Pattaya, Thailand, Thursday, S...

USS Lincoln crew hits the streets of Thai beach city after lengthy Middle East deployment

PATTAYA, Thailand (AP) — Buses carrying crew members of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier streamed into Thailand’s seaside resort city Pattaya on Thursday, as part of a port call after a lengthy deployment to the Middle East. The Lincoln was supporting the U.S. war against Iran, and its deployment included a record-setting uninterrupted time […]
6 minutes ago
Protest ribbons are tied to a fence at Lafayette Park, near the White House, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026...

Trump’s plan for a fence at Lafayette Park near White House gets review by federal panel

The latest pieces of President Donald Trump’s wide-ranging Washington makeover are set for an airing Thursday in front of a federal panel that already has blessed other big-ticket plans from the designer-in-chief. The National Capital Planning Commission, which this spring approved Trump’s White House ballroom proposal after he razed the Executive Mansion’s East Wing without […]
3 hours ago
Democratic congressional candidate Chris Backemeyer poses in front of a campaign banner after an ev...

Here’s a look at ‘reach’ election races where Democrats hope to pull off House upsets

MURDOCK, Neb. (AP) — They aren’t toss-up races. Not even close. But Democrats are dreaming of pulling off upsets in what might be called “reach” House districts, where Republicans usually win and likely will again — but where races could tighten if a rare political wave gains strength in November. The party in power traditionally […]
3 hours ago
Meygan Maloney poses for a portrait with her son Callum Wilson, 3, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, at their ...

AP Exclusive: Hundreds of thousands of eligible kids are waiting for childcare assistance

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — There’s the mother of two who needs a full-time job to keep up with the bills, but can’t afford full-time childcare. There’s the medical technician who stopped buying groceries and turned to food banks so she could pay for her infant’s care. There’s the baby who remained in foster care, even after […]
3 hours ago
President Donald Trump speaks during an event with Republican lawmakers in the Rose Garden of the W...

Trump promises to campaign for Republicans and says they have a winning midterm message

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday urged Republican lawmakers facing tough reelection campaigns to run on his record in the White House despite his sagging popularity, and he pledged to campaign in all of the roughly three dozen contests that are likely to determine control of Congress. Voters’ dim views of the economy […]
6 hours ago
President Donald Trump listens before signing executive orders in the Oval Office of the White Hous...

A judge blocks Trump’s new bid to curb birthright citizenship, citing Supreme Court precedent

A federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump’s latest attempt to limit birthright citizenship, granting a preliminary injunction against an executive order that the administration said would target “birth tourism.” U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman in Maryland on Wednesday issued the injunction until a class-action lawsuit brought by immigrant families and advocacy groups is […]
6 hours ago

A US journalist sentenced to 2 years in federal prison for acting as an illegal agent for China

WASHINGTON (AP) — An American journalist has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for acting as an agent of a foreign government within the United States, the U.S. Justice Department said. Thomas Weir Pauken II, 51, pleaded guilty earlier this year and is not planning to appeal, according to his defense lawyer, Charles […]
9 hours ago
FILE - Voters cast their ballots at a voting center on the UCLA campus, June 2, 2026, in Los Angele...

Immigrant rights group seeks to block use of federal databases it says could purge legal voters

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An immigrant rights group sued the Trump administration Wednesday to block the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from using federal databases that it alleged are being used to target naturalized citizens who are eligible to vote. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington on behalf of the Coalition for […]
9 hours ago
FILE - Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks at a campaign event in Bar Harb...

Graham Platner no longer scheduled to speak at Labor Day rally

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Former Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner is no longer set to speak at a Labor Day rally when he makes his first major public appearance since ending his campaign against Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. Platner, who won the nomination in June but dropped out in July after Politico reported […]
10 hours ago
FILE - A sign for The New York Times hangs above the entrance to its building in New York, May 6, 2...

Trump administration backs OpenAI in New York Times’ copyright case over training of chatbots

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is wading into a legal fight between OpenAI and the New York Times, backing the ChatGPT-maker’s argument in a closely watched case over how it builds its AI technology by ingesting and processing millions of news articles. In court papers filed Tuesday, the Justice Department supported OpenAI’s argument that […]
12 hours ago
FILE - A primary voter wears a sticker after casting a ballot at a voting center in Dallas, Tuesday...

FACT FOCUS: Texans listed as ‘suspense voters’ can still cast a ballot if they confirm their address

Social media users are raising alarms over the inclusion of 1.2 million voters on Texas’ “suspense list,” claiming it shows efforts to tamper with the November midterms. But despite its name, voters’ registrations are not canceled if they are added to the list. They are still able to vote. Here’s a closer look at the […]
14 hours ago
Workers remove the sculpture "Blue" by artist Joel Shapiro on the grounds of the John F. Kennedy Ce...

Kennedy Center disassembles ‘Blue’ sculpture from its grounds

The Kennedy Center took down a sculpture known as “Blue” Wednesday, the latest change to the cultural and performing arts center that stirred some pushback in President Donald Trump’s second term. The sculpture, a tall, blue stick figure poised in action — as if to kick a ball or, from a different angle, having just […]
15 hours ago
FILE - Army Secretary Dan Driscoll speaks at the United States Army War College in Carlisle, Pa., d...

Driscoll offers no reason for his exit as Army secretary but says Wednesday is his last full day

WASHINGTON (AP) — Dan Driscoll has announced that his last full day as U.S. Army secretary is Wednesday, but his social media post offered no explanation for why he is stepping down after 18 months as the service’s civilian leader. Driscoll is a friend of Vice President JD Vance and has good relationships with both […]
15 hours ago
FILE - A federal agent wears an Immigration and Customs Enforcement badge in New York, June 10, 202...

China presses the US for answers after a man dies hours after entering ICE custody

The Chinese government is pressing for answers after a Chinese man died hours after being taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in a U.S. territory. Lianyong Wei, 51, died Aug. 23 at a hospital in the Northern Mariana Islands, ICE announced in a news release Tuesday. Wei was arrested Aug. 21 by […]
16 hours ago
FILE - The U.S. Mint has started producing a new $1 coin featuring President Donald Trump's image. ...

Heads or tails? $1 coin with Trump’s face and gold finish to go on sale

The $1 coin designed to celebrate America’s 250th birthday and seemingly President Donald Trump, whose face gazes from one side of the gold finish, will go on sale Wednesday, according the U.S. Mint. The coin’s design — Trump’s visage as “heads” and the Great Seal of the United States as “tails” — was given the […]
16 hours ago
The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln arrives at the port in Laem Chabang, Chonburi, T...

USS Abraham Lincoln crew visits Thailand’s Pattaya, in photos

LAEM CHABANG (AP) — The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier docked at a port in eastern Thailand on Wednesday after its grueling deployment in the Middle East.
20 hours ago

No Democrat has won a Kansas Senate seat in a century. Can a megachurch pastor change that?

EMPORIA, Kan. (AP) — Adam Hamilton has spent decades trying to bring people to Jesus as founder of the nation’s largest United Methodist church. Now he wants to bring Kansas voters to the polls as the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate. A first-time candidate, Hamilton faces an unusual balancing act between political ambition and spiritual […]
20 hours ago

The USS Abraham Lincoln arrives in Thailand following its Middle East deployment

LAEM CHABANG, Thailand (AP) — The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier arrived in eastern Thailand early Wednesday after its grueling deployment in the Middle East. Associated Press journalists watched the Lincoln, which is carrying about 5,000 service members, approach Laem Chabang port in Chonburi province shortly after the destroyer USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. sailed […]
1 day ago
FILE - Hung Cao speaks during the Republican National Convention, July 16, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP ...

Trump says he’s nominating acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao for the permanent job

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he is nominating acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao for the permanent job, giving the Navy combat veteran the nod as concerns have emerged that some sailors have been stretched to the limit during the Iran war. Cao has been serving as acting Navy secretary since John […]
1 day ago
Vice President JD Vance speaks at Universal Contracting and Urban Tree Trimming, Monday, Aug. 31, 2...

Vance talks about the end times and the attempted assassination of Trump in Christian podcast

Vice President JD Vance said in a podcast released Tuesday that if a 2024 assassination attempt had killed Donald Trump, he would have always wondered if it was part of a conspiracy and might not have accepted even another Republican as the next president. Vance made the statement during a conversation with Christian podcaster Bryce […]
1 day ago
Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., who is under threat of censure, is met by reporters as he walks to a cl...

House censures Rep. Chuck Edwards for conduct toward former female staffers

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House voted Tuesday to censure Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., following a House Ethics Committee investigation that concluded he engaged in persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct toward two young female staffers in his office. A censure registers the House’s deep disapproval of a lawmaker’s conduct that does not meet the threshold for […]
1 day ago
FILE - U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice, De...

Justice Department seizes more than $560,000 in cryptocurrency donations for Hamas

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI has seized more than $560,000 in cryptocurrency donations intended for Hamas, the Justice Department said Tuesday in announcing a disruption of financing for the militant group. In addition to seizing cryptocurrency meant to support Hamas’ military wing, the department said that it had taken control of website domains and communication […]
1 day ago
FILE - News media is set up in front of the home of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in North Bruns...

US judges reveal panic buttons, private security in chilling new reports about threats

Federal judges have varied their commutes, hired private security and fortified their homes, including with panic buttons, amid a barrage of threats and harassment in recent months that has left many of them anxious about their safety, according to two new studies. In an astonishing admission, one judge acknowledged considering an alternative ruling to avoid […]
1 day ago
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to reporters at the G20 Finance Ministerial in Asheville, N...

Bessent pitches US-backed financial literacy competition to world’s largest economies

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Driven in part by his own experience with poverty as a child, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is pitching a financial literacy campaign to leaders of the world’s largest economies and suggesting an investment account program begun under President Donald Trump as a model for it. As he hosted finance ministers from […]
1 day ago