Politics

President Donald Trump speaks during an event on health care affordability in the Oval Office at th...

Appeals court says Trump’s asylum ban at the border is illegal, agreeing with lower court

WASHINGTON (AP) — An appeals court on Friday blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order suspending asylum access, a key pillar of the Republican president’s plan to crack down on migration at the southern border of the U.S. A three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit found that immigration […]
7 months ago
First lady Melania Trump smiles during the 113th Annual First Lady's Luncheon, Thursday, April 23, ...

What’s all the buzz about? Melania Trump is growing the White House honey program with a new beehive

WASHINGTON (AP) — What’s all the buzz about? Melania Trump on Friday announced that she is expanding the White House honey program by adding a beehive in the shape of the White House to two other beehives that have been on the south grounds since 2009. The existing hives can swell to about 70,000 bees […]
7 months ago
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell leaves after the International Monetary and Financial ...

Justice Department drops criminal probe of Fed chair Powell, likely clearing way for successor

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has dropped its criminal probe of Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, likely clearing the way for his successor’s confirmation.
7 months ago
FILE - A grower cuts psilocybin mushrooms to prepare for distribution in Springfield, Ore., Monday,...

FDA plans ultra-fast review of three psychedelic drugs following Trump directive

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration said Friday it will offer ultra-fast review to three psychedelic drugs being developed to treat mental health conditions, including depression, the latest indication of the Trump administration’s commitment to the experimental treatment approach. President Donald Trump signed an executive order last weekend directing the FDA and other […]
7 months ago
Former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman's desk sits empty in memoriam except for flowers, he...

Locked Capitol doors and more cash for security are the new normal after Minnesota assassination

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Nearly a year after the assassination of a Minnesota legislative leader, lawmakers across the U.S. have worked to fortify security in state capitols and improve safeguards when officials are in their communities. The changes have followed a rise in political violence nationwide that included the stunning assassination last June of […]
7 months ago
FILE - The moon emerges from the clouds over the U.S. Capitol dome in Washington, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP...

Congress keeps holding all-nighters, creating dysfunction after dark

WASHINGTON (AP) — Just as the Senate prepared to launch into a late-night vote series, Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana went to the floor to vent. Frustrated and seemingly exhausted Wednesday, Kennedy said he wanted more time to debate his amendments to a budget resolution to fund immigration enforcement agencies. But he had another […]
7 months ago
FILE - President Ronald Reagan watches as first lady Nancy Reagan comments from the podium during t...

Correspondents’ Dinner’s biggest moments involve laughs, cringing and high-stakes politics

The White House Correspondents’ Dinner has had multiple iterations since it began a few years after World War I. Washington’s premier soiree on Saturday is most identified by its modern form: a red carpet for the capital’s journalism elite, political staffers and an assortment of American business leaders and celebrities — with the leader of […]
7 months ago
FILE -A Thai solider inspects a work station inside a scam center in O'Smach, Cambodia, Feb. 2, 202...

US launches sweeping crackdown on Southeast Asia cyberscams and sanctions Cambodian senator

BANGKOK (AP) — U.S. officials have announced a sweeping crackdown on Southeast Asian cyberscam operations as part of what U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro characterized Friday as a “new theater of war” launched by the Trump administration against Chinese transnational organized crime. The crackdown, led by a U.S. government Scam Center Strike Force, includes the Treasury […]
7 months ago

Pakistan forges ahead with diplomatic efforts to bring Iran and US together for talks

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Iran’s top diplomat and Pakistani officials on Friday talked over details of the ceasefire in the war with the United States and Israel, part of an effort by Islamabad to get Tehran to send a delegation for a second round of negotiations with Washington. Pakistan has been trying to get American and […]
7 months ago
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez arrives for the EU Summit in Nicosia, Cyprus, Friday, April 24...

Sánchez sidesteps a Spain-US dispute at NATO, brushing off reported Pentagon email

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Friday refused to be drawn into a dispute with the United States over reports that the Pentagon is weighing whether to punish members of NATO that fail to support American operations in the Iran war. Among those in the firing line is Spain, which has […]
7 months ago

Reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug might only be the first step for Trump

SEATTLE (AP) — President Donald Trump’s decision to reclassify state-licensed medical marijuana as a less dangerous drug is a boon for the industry: It gives dispensaries a big tax break, eases some barriers to researching cannabis and could even allow the export of marijuana to other countries. But that might only be Trump’s first step. […]
7 months ago
FILE - One of four panda bears at Zoo Atlanta rests in their habitat on Dec. 30, 2023, in Atlanta. ...

China to send giant pandas to Atlanta again

BEIJING (AP) — Atlanta will have giant pandas again. China on Friday announced it will send two giant pandas to Zoo Atlanta in the U.S., in Beijing’s latest efforts of panda diplomacy despite tensions with Washington, and less than a month before a much-anticipated visit by U.S. President Donald Trump to Beijing. The China Wildlife […]
7 months ago
FILE - The crowd reacts to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro while he speaks at a Centre County Democr...

Democrat Josh Shapiro tests political muscle in swing-state Pennsylvania’s midterms

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. (AP) — Josh Shapiro may be heavily favored to win reelection as Pennsylvania governor, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot on the line for him this year. Shapiro, who is just beginning to hit the campaign trail, wants voters to give Democrats control of the state legislature for the first […]
7 months ago
Chris Klomp, director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, right, speaks as President...

‘Two ways of calculating’: Trump defends his mathematically impossible calculations on drug prices

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump, who helped push the term “ fake news ” into the mainstream, now seems to have a new favorite subject: fake math. During a Thursday event announcing a deal with drugmaker Regeneron to lower the cost of its pharmaceutical products, Trump defended his past claims that prices on prescription […]
7 months ago
FILE - White House director of Science and Technology Policy Michael Kratsios speaks during a meeti...

Trump administration vows crackdown on Chinese companies ‘exploiting’ AI models made in US

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is vowing to crack down on foreign tech companies’ exploitation of U.S. artificial intelligence models, singling out China at a time that country is narrowing the gap with the U.S. in the AI race. In a Thursday memo, Michael Kratsios, the president’s chief science and technology adviser, accused foreign […]
7 months ago
Former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, far right, listens as his defense attorney, Barry Polla...

Federal officials charge US soldier with using inside info to win $400K bet on Maduro’s capture

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. soldier has been charged with using inside information to win $400,000 in an online betting market on Venezuelan President Maduro’s capture, federal officials announced Thursday. Gannon Ken Van Dyk was part of the work to capture Maduro in January and used his access to classified information to make money on […]
7 months ago
National Police patrol as factory workers march demanding a salary increase in Port-au-Prince, Hait...

Haiti’s new UN-backed gang-fighting force exceeds funding expectations

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The new U.N.-backed international force charged with combating Haiti’s violent gangs has received more pledges than the 5,500 military and police it is seeking, with Chadian troops already deployed in the capital, Port-au-Prince, the U.N. special envoy to the violence-torn country said Thursday. Carlos Ruiz Massieu told reporters after briefing the […]
7 months ago
FILE - A poster showing the Trump Gold Card is seen as President Donald Trump signs executive order...

Trump’s “gold card” visa starting at $1 million granted to just 1 person so far, Lutnick says

President Donald Trump’s “gold card” visa, where a foreigner can shell out at least $1 million to legally live and work in the U.S., has been approved for one person, said Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick Thursday — appearing to fall a bit short of an earlier claim. After it launched in December, Lutnick said that […]
7 months ago
FILE - FIFA President Gianni Infantino, right, presents President Donald Trump with the new FIFA Cl...

Amnesty International and rights groups issue a World Cup travel advisory for the US

Amnesty International and dozens of U.S. civil and human rights groups issued a “ World Cup travel advisory” Thursday, warning tournament visitors of “rising authoritarianism and increasing violence” in the United States during President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement. The groups said the advisory was necessary “in light of the deteriorating human rights situation in […]
7 months ago
A truck passes political signs outside a polling place at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in South Hi...

Republican proposes giving Democratic-leaning part of Virginia back to DC after redistricting vote

Virginia’s redistricting referendum, which could net Democrats a 10-1 House seat advantage, is spurring Republican legislation that would expand the borders of Washington, D.C., and cost the state Democratic voters. Georgia Republican Rep. Rich McCormick said Thursday he introduced the Make DC Square Again Act, a bill that would undo the 19th century return of […]
7 months ago
A child sits on a window ledge, chatting with an adult at a private bicycle wheel repair workshop i...

Cuban diplomat denies that releasing political prisoners is part of US negotiations

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Havana will not abide by any American “ultimatums” to release political prisoners as part of new talks, a Cuban diplomat said Thursday, while asserting that leaders are “preparing for all scenarios” if U.S. President Donald Trump makes good on threats to intervene in the island nation. In an interview with The […]
7 months ago
FILE - University of Kentucky Director of Athletics Mitch Barnhart watches an NCAA college football...

Retiring Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart won’t take new high-paying role at school

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Retiring Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart won’t take on a new high-paying role at the school after all, an announcement coming days after Gov. Andy Beshear questioned decision-making at the school that included Barnhart’s move. Barnhart and University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto issued statements Thursday confirming Barnhart wouldn’t become the […]
7 months ago
FILE -The ICE South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, is seen, Aug. 23, 2019. (AP P...

Federal judge orders release of family of man charged in Colorado firebomb attack

A federal judge on Thursday ordered the release from immigration custody of the family of a man charged in a fatal 2025 firebomb attack in Boulder, Colorado, against demonstrators supporting Israeli hostages in Gaza. U.S. District Judge Fred Biery in San Antonio said Hayam El Gamal and her five children can be released from a […]
7 months ago
Shown are marijuana joints at NJ Weedman's Joint dispensary in Trenton, N.J., Thursday, April 23, 2...

What to know about a federal order reclassifying medical marijuana as a less dangerous drug

President Donald Trump’s administration has reclassified medical marijuana, which is already licensed in most states, as a less dangerous drug. The order signed Thursday by the nation’s acting attorney general is a first step toward broader federal acceptance of one of the nation’s most commonly used drugs. The action could facilitate new research on medicinal […]
7 months ago