Politics

FILE - Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem gives a news conference at Federal Emergency Managem...

Photos of Kristi Noem, Trump’s first Cabinet secretary to leave during his second term

President Donald Trump fired Kristi Noem as his Homeland Security secretary Thursday amid growing criticism of her leadership, making her the first Cabinet secretary to leave during his second term. This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
6 months ago
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testifies before a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the...

The Latest: Trump fires Homeland Security Secretary Noem amid criticism over immigration enforcement

President Donald Trump has fired his embattled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and says he’ll nominate in her place Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin. Trump made the announcement on social media on Thursday, two days after Noem faced a grilling on Capitol Hill from GOP members as well as Democrats. Trump says he’ll make Noem […]
6 months ago
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, talks with reporters as he leaves the Senate chamber during a Senate war...

Cornyn goes on offense against Paxton as Republicans await Trump’s endorsement

As Texas waits on President Donald Trump’s promised endorsement, Sen. John Cornyn isn’t holding back on his runoff opponent in the Republican primary. His campaign is releasing a new video Thursday with a litany of ethical and personal accusations against state Attorney General Ken Paxton. It’s an initial salvo in a second round of campaigning […]
6 months ago

Capitol rioter who was pardoned by Trump gets a life sentence for molesting 2 children in Florida

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Florida handyman who was sentenced on Thursday to life in prison for molesting two children had been convicted of storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, but was pardoned by President Donald Trump. Andrew Paul Johnson, 45, is among several Jan. 6 defendants who have been charged with new crimes since […]
6 months ago
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testifies during a House Committee on the Judiciary oversig...

Trump says he’s replacing Homeland Security Secretary Noem with GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he’s replacing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem with GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma.
6 months ago

Wisconsin man accused of setting fire to congressman’s office over TikTok ban gets 7 years in prison

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin man who allegedly told police that he tried to set fire to a Republican congressman’s office last year because he was angry that the lawmaker backed a bill requiring TikTok’s Chinese owner to sell off its U.S. operations was sentenced Thursday to seven years in prison. In addition to […]
6 months ago
Cars drive by a Mercedes-Benz dealership on the Bedford Automile in Bedford, Ohio, Friday, Feb. 20,...

More than 20 states sue over new global tariffs Trump imposed after his stinging Supreme Court loss

WASHINGTON (AP) — Some two dozen states challenged President Donald Trump’s new global tariffs on Thursday, filing a lawsuit over import taxes he imposed after a stinging loss at the Supreme Court. The Democratic attorneys general leading the suit argue that Trump is overstepping his power with planned 15% tariffs on much of the world. […]
6 months ago
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a press briefing at the Pentagon, Wednesday, March 4, ...

Hegseth urges Latin American allies to go on offense against drug cartels

MIAMI (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday urged Latin American countries to take a more aggressive approach against drug cartels, warning that the Trump administration would be forced to act by itself if governments fail to effectively combat criminal organizations that directly threaten the United States and border security. “America is prepared to […]
6 months ago
FILE - Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez attends a session of parliament in Madrid, Wednesday, J...

Meet Pedro Sánchez, Europe’s most vocal critic of Trump’s attacks on Iran

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spain’s Pedro Sánchez has once again emerged as Europe’s most consistently vocal critic of U.S. President Donald Trump, drawing his ire for refusing to allow the American military to stage operations for its attacks on Iran from Spanish military bases. Trump lashed out at the Spanish prime minister on Tuesday, saying […]
6 months ago
FILE - Former President Barack Obama speaks at the Obama Foundation Democracy Forum in Chicago, Dec...

Obama throws his support behind Virginia Democrats’ redistricting plan as it heads to voters

Former President Barack Obama is promoting a Democratic effort to redraw congressional lines in Virginia, the latest front in a nationwide redistricting battle ahead of this year’s midterm elections. The announcement Thursday comes a day after the state Supreme Court allowed the redistricting question to go to voters for an April 21 election. Early voting […]
6 months ago
Healthcare workers unload from a vehicle, the bodies of Iranian sailors who died when their IRIS De...

Iranian warship sunk by the US was sailing home after taking part in an exhibition hosted by India

GALLE, Sri Lanka (AP) — An Iranian warship that was sunk by a U.S. submarine near Sri Lanka had participated in naval exercises hosted by India before heading out into international waters in the Indian Ocean on its way home, New Delhi said. The sinking underscored the scope of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran and […]
6 months ago
Officers from Israel's Home Front Command inspect a damaged apartment building after an Iranian mis...

Iran’s barrage of attacks across the Persian Gulf shows regional chaos is key to its strategy

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — For years, Iran’s theocratic government warned it would blanket the Middle East with missile and drone fire if it felt its existence was threatened. Now, the Islamic Republic is doing just that. Since the U.S. and Israel launched the war Saturday and killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, […]
6 months ago
Adrienne King poses for a portrait in front of Pennridge School District's buildings in Perkasie, P...

Families turn to states for civil rights support as Trump dismantles the Education Department

WASHINGTON (AP) — In their mostly white school district, Black students routinely heard racial slurs. White classmates hurled insults like “slave,” “monkey” or worse. It often went unpunished. Parents made those claims in a 2024 complaint asking the U.S. Education Department to investigate racial bullying at the Pennridge School District in Pennsylvania. They thought their […]
6 months ago
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., pauses before speaking with reporters just days befor...

Republicans take another crack at Homeland Security funding, citing Iran war

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans are invoking the war in Iran and the prospect of retaliatory terrorist attacks as they tee up votes Thursday on a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security. The House already approved a DHS spending bill in January, but it faltered in the Senate as Democrats insisted on changes to […]
6 months ago

House to vote on Iran war powers resolution in a test of Trump’s strategy

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House is preparing to vote Thursday on a war powers resolution to halt President Donald Trump’s attack on Iran, a sign of unease in Congress over the rapidly widening conflict that is reordering U.S. priorities at home and abroad. It’s the second vote in as many days, after the Senate defeated […]
6 months ago
FILE - Utah Rep. Burgess Owens talks to supporters during an Utah Republican election night party, ...

Utah Republican Burgess Owens announces retirement from Congress after redistricting shakeup

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — U.S. Rep. Burgess Owens, the professional football player turned Utah congressman, said Wednesday he will not seek reelection after a redistricting shakeup left the state’s four Republican representatives to vie for three U.S. House seats this fall. Democrats have a high likelihood of flipping one of Utah’s four seats under […]
6 months ago
Supporters wave flags, including Honduran flags, as President Donald Trump's motorcade passes by on...

Honduras weighs shift in China-Taiwan ties as Trump pushes for US dominance in Latin America

WASHINGTON (AP) — Three years after Honduras parted ways with Taiwan and forged diplomatic ties with China in hope of economic gain, shrimp farmers in the Central American country are in revolt. Their sales to Taiwan fell to a mere $16 million in 2025, down from more than $100 million in 2022, and the Chinese […]
6 months ago
The White House, including the West Wing and construction of the new ballroom, is seen from the Old...

Trump’s White House ballroom is too big, architect says, as 2nd panel prepares to vote on it

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump ’s White House ballroom project is way too big and should be scaled back, an architect and member of the board of the National Trust for Historic Preservation said Wednesday — one of a number of changes he has suggested for a project he says could permanently alter the […]
6 months ago
FILE - U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino stands with Federal agents outside a convenience sto...

US Homeland Security investigates whether Bovino made disparaging comments about Jewish faith

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection has opened an internal investigation into whether Gregory Bovino, the one-time architect of President Donald Trump’s large-scale immigration crackdown, made disparaging comments about the Jewish faith of the U.S. attorney for Minnesota. “Following a letter from a Congressman inquiring about reporting on anonymous allegations, CBP opened an […]
6 months ago
FILE - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a news conference, Aug. 12, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP...

Federal judge blocks Florida governor’s foreign terrorist label of Muslim groups

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A federal judge temporarily blocked the enforcement on Wednesday of an executive order issued last year by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that designates two Muslim groups as foreign terrorist organizations. U.S. District Judge Mark E. Walker wrote in his preliminary injunction that the First Amendment bars the governor from continuing the […]
6 months ago

American Airlines gets approval to resume regular flights to Venezuela

American Airlines received approval Wednesday to become the first U.S. airline to resume flights to Venezuela. The airline announced its intent to restore service to Venezuela in January on the same day that President Donald Trump ordered the Transportation Department to open up commercial airspace over that country in the wake of the U.S. military […]
6 months ago
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testifies during a House Committee on the Judiciary oversig...

Noem defends Homeland Security Department in post-shooting appearances before Congress

WASHINGTON (AP) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrapped up two days of scrutiny in Congress on Wednesday, appearing for the first time in front of lawmakers since the shooting deaths of two protesters in Minneapolis at the hands of immigration enforcement officers. Noem came under blistering criticism from Democrats — and a few Republicans […]
6 months ago
FILE - Cuba's President Raul Castro listens to the Cuban and Venezuelan national anthems during his...

Florida revives a long-dormant probe into Raul Castro over 1996 shootdown of exile group’s plane

MIAMI (AP) — Florida’s attorney general said Wednesday that a state-level criminal investigation into former Cuban leader Raul Castro’s role in the 1996 shootdown of four planes operated by anti-communist exiles will be reopened. Attorney General James Uthmeier said during a news conference in Miami on Wednesday that an investigation into possible crimes against Raul […]
6 months ago
FILE - Tina Peters, former Mesa County, Colo., clerk, listens during her trial, March 3, 2023, in G...

Colorado governor signals willingness to release Tina Peters from prison amid Trump pressure

DENVER (AP) — Colorado’s Democratic governor, facing a pressure campaign from President Donald Trump, is signaling his openness to granting clemency to a former county clerk who was convicted in a scheme that attempted to find proof of fraud in the 2020 presidential election. A social post by Gov. Jared Polis brought swift rebuke Wednesday […]
6 months ago