Politics

Gas prices are displayed at a gas station in Parma, Ohio, Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue O...

As fuel prices rise, US lawmakers push to suspend the federal gas tax

WASHINGTON (AP) — As the war in Iran pushes U.S. gas prices toward $4 a gallon nationally, some lawmakers are pushing to suspend the federal gasoline tax in the latest attempt to try to control surging energy costs. Lawmakers say the action would provide much-needed relief for families and businesses that rely on their cars […]
5 months ago
People opposed to new the U.S. House districts passed by the Missouri General Assembly demonstrate ...

Missouri court says new Trump-backed US House districts are in effect ahead of midterm elections

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — New U.S. House districts in Missouri backed by President Donald Trump can be used ahead of the midterm elections, despite the potential for a voter referendum on the new map, a judge ruled Friday. The decision by Cole County Circuit Judge Brian Stumpe marked a triumph for Republicans, who hope […]
5 months ago
FILE - Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., speaks during a hearing of the House Committee on Transportation and...

Powerful Missouri Republican who leads House transportation committee joins wave of retirements

Republican Rep. Sam Graves of Missouri, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, announced Friday that he won’t seek reelection, joining a wave of retirements ahead of the midterm elections. Graves, 62, has represented a solidly GOP and rural northern part of Missouri since 2001. Just last month, he filed for reelection in what […]
5 months ago
FILE - Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco speaks at a news conference in Lake Elsinore, Calif., F...

California and a voting rights group filed legal challenges to stop GOP sheriff’s ballot seizure

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California’s Democratic attorney general and a voting rights group launched legal challenges this week to halt a seizure and recount of more than half a million 2025 election ballots by a Republican county sheriff who is running for governor. The dispute over the ballot seizure in Riverside County, which began last […]
5 months ago
The U.S. Capitol is seen on Sunday, March 22, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner)Credit: AS...

The Latest: House considers whether to approve funding for TSA and most of Homeland Security

The House is considering whether to approve funds to pay Transportation Security Administration agents and most other Homeland Security agencies after the Senate unanimously passed the measure early Friday morning. The deal does not include funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but the package puts no new limits on immigration enforcement, which has remained […]
5 months ago
Vice President JD Vance, chair of the newly formed Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, speaks during the...

Vance holds first meeting of a new anti-fraud task force targeting benefit programs

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President JD Vance on Friday held the inaugural meeting of a new anti-fraud task force he’s leading as the Trump administration seeks to show it’s cracking down on potential misuse of social programs. Vance, speaking Friday before the task force held a closed-door meeting, said that the federal government for decades […]
5 months ago
FBI Director Kash Patel, listens during a House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence hearing ...

Pro-Iranian hacking group claims credit for hack of personal account of FBI Director Kash Patel

WASHINGTON (AP) — A pro-Iranian hacking group claimed Friday to have hacked an account of FBI Director Kash Patel and has posted online what appear to be years-old photographs of him, along with a work resume and other personal documents. Many of those records appeared to be more than a decade old. “Kash Patel, the […]
5 months ago
FILE - The U.S. Department of Education building is seen in Washington, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Jos...

Education Department directs student loan borrowers in SAVE plan to prepare for repayment

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 7 million student loan borrowers who have been enrolled in a Biden-era repayment plan will receive notices beginning Friday with instructions to seek a new plan to repay their debt, the Education Department said. Borrowers enrolled in the SAVE plan, which was struck down by a federal court earlier this […]
5 months ago
Legislative page Dean Roy is pictured with Vermont Lieutenant Governor John Rodgers on Friday, Febr...

A 14-year-old running for governor is the first teen to get on Vermont’s general election ballot

STOWE, Vt. (AP) — Looking back, gubernatorial candidate Dean Roy says his political ambitions started in the eighth grade. And by that he means, last year. After working as a legislative page at the Vermont Statehouse, the 14-year-old freshman at Stowe High School now has his sights set on the corner office. In November, he’ll […]
5 months ago
FILE - President Donald Trump's name is seen on the U.S. Institute of Peace building, Dec. 4, 2025,...

A year after Trump’s DOGE cuts, workers whose lives were upended question what was saved

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thea Price anticipated changes under the second Trump administration, but she never expected her life to be thrown into such disarray. Along with the 300 other employees of the United States Institute of Peace, Price was fired, rehired and then fired again as part of President Donald Trump’s crusade to shrink the […]
5 months ago
An aerial view of a container terminal in seen in Shanghai, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (Chinatopix vi...

China opens investigations into US trade practices in response to Trump tariff moves

BEIJING (AP) — China launched two investigations into U.S. trade practices on Friday, signaling its resolve to push back against President Donald Trump’s tariffs ahead of his visit in May. The Commerce Ministry said the new probes are a response to two investigations announced by Trump earlier this month against multiple countries, including China. A […]
5 months ago
FILE - A sign for the Department of Housing and Urban Development stands outside the agency's headq...

A Build America, Buy America law is causing construction delays amid the US housing crisis

It has a catchy name — Build America, Buy America — and the lauded goal of bringing manufacturing jobs back to the United States. But the law has spurred a bottleneck for affordable housing. Nearly everything from HVACs and lighting to sink hooks and ceiling fans in affordable housing projects that get federal dollars must […]
5 months ago
FILE - President Donald Trump, left, listens as Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif speaks dur...

Why Pakistan has emerged as a mediator between US and Iran

ISLAMABAD (AP) — As fears of a wider regional conflict escalate following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran that began in late February, Pakistan has emerged as an unexpected mediator, offering to help bring Washington and Tehran to the negotiating table. Islamabad isn’t often called on to act as an intermediary in high-stakes diplomacy, but […]
5 months ago

Trump says he’ll sign order to pay TSA agents as Senate works overnight on funding deal

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said he would sign an order instructing the Homeland Security secretary to immediately pay Transportation Security Administration agents, while senators worked overnight into Friday trying to end a budget impasse that has jammed airports and created financial hardship for workers. Trump announced his decision in a social media post […]
5 months ago
FILE - Bruce Springsteen performs at a campaign rally supporting Democratic presidential nominee Vi...

Minnesota to host ‘No Kings’ flagship rally, headlining Springsteen amid tensions over ICE and war

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota will be the flagship of the “No Kings” protest movement Saturday when Bruce Springsteen performs “Streets of Minneapolis” in a state where emotions are still raw over President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and the deaths of two residents shot by federal officers. More than 3,100 events are being organized […]
5 months ago
Attendees cheer as White House Border Czar Tom Homan exits the stage during Conservative Political ...

Older and younger conservatives at CPAC are split over Trump’s war in Iran

GRAPEVINE, Texas (AP) — A generational divide over the Iran war surfaced Thursday between older attendees and their political heirs at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference, as the group’s leaders pleaded for unity in a challenging midterm election year for Republicans. Younger conservatives spoke of disappointment and even “betrayal” over President Donald Trump’s launch […]
5 months ago
FILE - FBI agents are seen at the Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Center, Jan. 28, 2026, i...

Georgia’s Fulton County heads to court to seek return of 2020 ballots seized by FBI

ATLANTA (AP) — A federal judge plans to hear arguments Friday on a demand by officials in Georgia’s Fulton County that the FBI return seized ballots and other materials from the 2020 election. U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee wrote in a scheduling order that the hearing was needed after the two sides failed to reach […]
5 months ago
A man removes rubbles as he looks for missed stuff from his destroyed house that was hit in an Isra...

The Latest: Israel launches strikes on ‘heart of Tehran’ as Trump delays Strait of Hormuz deadline

Israel’s military said early Friday it had conducted a wave of strikes “in the heart of Tehran” while smoke was seen billowing in the Beirut skyline after U.S. President Donald Trump delayed his threat to obliterate Iran’s energy plants over its effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Israel has moved thousands of troops across […]
5 months ago
President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Thursday, March 26, 2026...

After markets rattle, Trump once again punts on following through with threat on Iran power plants

WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing a convulsing stock market, President Donald Trump on Thursday moved to buy himself more time and hold off, once again, on carrying out a threat to obliterate Iran’s energy plants over the Islamic Republic’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said he was delaying taking potential action because talks […]
5 months ago
Pages from the Anthropic website and the company's logos are displayed on a computer screen in New ...

Federal judge temporarily blocks the Pentagon from branding AI firm Anthropic a supply chain risk

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge has ruled in favor of artificial intelligence company Anthropic in temporarily blocking the Pentagon from labeling the company as a supply chain risk. U.S. District Judge Rita Lin on Thursday said she was also blocking President Donald Trump’s directive ordering all federal agencies to stop using Anthropic. Lin’s […]
5 months ago
FILE - Protesters yell at cars coming and going near a defaced sign for Bishop Whipple Federal buil...

Federal judge extends order requiring access to lawyers for Minnesota immigration detainees

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday extended her order requiring that federal authorities give immigrants detained in Minnesota access to attorneys immediately after they are arrested and before they are transferred out of state. U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel issued a preliminary injunction requiring that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement must ensure that […]
5 months ago
Pedestrians walk below an image of César Chavez on a mural in San Francisco, Wednesday, March 18, ...

César Chavez Day events renamed, postponed or canceled after sexual abuse allegations

Many of the celebrations and holidays honoring the late farmworker labor leader César Chavez are being renamed, postponed or completely canceled in the wake of allegations that he sexually abused women and girls while at the helm of the United Farm Workers Union. Labor rights activist Dolores Huerta revealed last week that she was among […]
5 months ago
U.N peacekeepers guard a house hit by a drone strike in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, Wednesd...

Conflict in eastern Congo is escalating with use of heavy weapons and drones, UN warns

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations’ acting top envoy for Congo warned the U.N. Security Council on Thursday that the conflict in mineral-rich eastern Congo is escalating and expanding, with increasing use of heavy weapons and offensive drones posing serious risks to civilians. Vivian van de Perre said that despite the withdrawal of Rwanda-backed […]
5 months ago
FILE - The U.S. Department of Education building is seen in Washington, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Jos...

Education Department headquarters will relocate as part of Trump’s dismantling

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Education Department will relocate from its headquarters to a smaller Washington office as part of the Trump administration’s dismantling of the agency, officials said Thursday. The agency has seen its ranks thinned by mass layoffs since President Donald Trump took office and its headquarters building has been 70% vacant, the Education […]
5 months ago