Politics

FILE - Tourists flock to Mather Point at Grand Canyon National Park, Oct. 1, 2025, in Grand Canyon,...

Trump nominates a hospitality executive to lead the National Park Service

President Donald Trump has nominated for director of the National Park Service an executive from a hospitality company that holds extensive contracts with the agency he would lead. The nomination of Scott Socha late Wednesday follows widespread firings within the Park Service as part of efforts by Trump’s Republican administration to sharply reduce its size. […]
7 months ago
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Thu...

Homeland Security shutdown seems certain as funding talks between White House and Democrats stall

WASHINGTON (AP) — A shutdown for the Department of Homeland Security appeared certain Thursday as lawmakers in the House and Senate were set to leave Washington for a 10-day break and negotiations with the White House over Democrats’ demands for new restrictions had stalled. Democrats and the White House have traded offers in recent days […]
7 months ago
FILE - Trucks come and go from the "Alligator Alcatraz" immigration detention center in the Florida...

Lawyers say access to ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ is still hard to get as a judge weighs the case

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Attorneys for detainees at a state-run immigration detention facility in the Florida Everglades known as “Alligator Alcatraz” said Thursday that they are still facing hurdles in getting access to their clients, despite state claims that those barriers have been removed. Two attorneys filed statements with a federal court in Fort Myers, […]
7 months ago
Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., speaks during a news conference at Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026...

Judge temporarily blocks Pentagon from punishing Sen. Mark Kelly for call to resist unlawful orders

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge agreed Thursday to temporarily block the Pentagon from punishing Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, a former Navy pilot, for participating in a video that called on troops to resist unlawful orders. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled that Pentagon officials violated Kelly’s First Amendment free speech rights and “threatened the […]
7 months ago
People march during a rally in support of the extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Hai...

Judge won’t pause ruling keeping in place temporary protections for Haitians in US

A federal judge on Thursday refused to pause her ruling blocking the Trump administration from ending temporary immigration protections for Haitians living in the United States. During the hearing in Washington, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes also addressed threats she had received since that decision Feb. 2. She read directly from profane emails and social […]
7 months ago

Top US prosecutor appointed to New York Albany office by judges is immediately ousted

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The appointment of Donald T. Kinsella as the federal government’s top prosecutor by federal judges in northern New York was dead on arrival when word reached Washington’s Justice Department headquarters. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, his smiling picture affixed to his social media feed, ensured that by announcing on Wednesday in […]
7 months ago
FILE - Campers' belongings sit outside one of Camp Mystic's cabins near the Guadalupe River, Monday...

Camp Mystic parents seek stronger camp regulations in other states

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — When Patrick Marsh returned to the Bubble Inn cabin at Camp Mystic, he sat in the corner where his 8-year-old daughter Sarah’s bunk had been. The view out the window landed like a gut punch. Safety from the rising floodwater that took her life would have been just a short walk […]
7 months ago
Committee Ranking Member Rep. Jamie Raskin D-Md. Speaks as Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies bef...

Key Democrat accuses the Justice Department of ‘spying’ on lawmakers reviewing Epstein files

WASHINGTON (AP) — A top Democrat is calling for a watchdog investigation after photographs emerged suggesting that the Justice Department has been tracking the search history of lawmakers who are reviewing files from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, asked the Justice Department’s inspector general to […]
7 months ago
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after signing a spending bill that ends a partial shutdo...

Judge blocks Trump administration from moving former death row inmates to ‘Supermax’ prison

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from transferring 20 inmates with commuted death sentences to the nation’s highest security federal prison. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ruled late Wednesday that the government cannot send the former death row inmates to the “Supermax” federal prison in Florence, Colorado, because it […]
7 months ago
FILE - Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., appears before the Senate Fina...

RFK Jr. pledged more transparency. Here’s what the public doesn’t know anymore

NEW YORK (AP) — A year ago, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he wanted to rebuild trust in federal health agencies, and vowed to employ “radical transparency” to do it. But many types of health information that steadily flowed from the government for years or decades has been delayed, deleted and in […]
7 months ago

Federal authorities announce an end to the immigration crackdown in Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The immigration crackdown in Minnesota that led to mass detentions, protests and two deaths is coming to an end, border czar Tom Homan said Thursday. “As a result of our efforts here Minnesota is now less of a sanctuary state for criminals,” Homan said at a news conference. “I have proposed and […]
7 months ago
President Donald Trump speaks during an event on coal power in the East Room at the White House, We...

The Latest: Trump’s immigration enforcement in cities is unpopular, AP-NORC poll shows

About 6 in 10 U.S. adults say President Donald Trump has “gone too far” in sending federal immigration agents into American cities, according to a new AP-NORC poll that suggests political independents are increasingly uncomfortable with his tactics. Views of Trump’s handling of immigration — which fell over the course of his first year — […]
7 months ago
FILE - Observers film while federal agents conduct immigration enforcement operations Thursday, Feb...

Republicans’ edge on immigration shrinks as independents balk at Trump’s tactics, AP-NORC poll shows

WASHINGTON (AP) — About 6 in 10 U.S. adults say President Donald Trump has “gone too far” in sending federal immigration agents into American cities, according to a new AP-NORC poll that suggests political independents are increasingly uncomfortable with his tactics. Views of Trump’s handling of immigration — which fell over the course of his […]
7 months ago
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, second left, introduces United States Undersecretary of Defense ...

U.S. allies at NATO focus on Europe as the Trump administration steps back

BRUSSELS (AP) — European allies at NATO on Thursday brushed aside concerns that the United States has stepped back from its leadership role of the world’s biggest security organization, leaving them and Canada to do the lion’s share of defending Europe. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not attend Thursday’s gathering of defense ministers at […]
7 months ago
Israeli President Isaac Herzog speaks at a Jewish community event in Melbourne, Thursday, Feb. 12, ...

Israeli president ends a fraught Australia visit to comfort Jews as Gaza war protests follow

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Israeli President Isaac Herzog was due to end a contentious four-day visit to Australia on Thursday that brought comfort to Sydney’s Jewish community traumatized by a recent antisemitic mass shooting, but also attracted large-scale demonstrations protesting the civilian toll of the Gaza war. Herzog has been dogged by protesters who label […]
7 months ago
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, right, looks on ahead of a group photo at the Heads of states ...

Europe warily awaits Rubio at Munich Security Conference as Trump roils transatlantic ties

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio is leading a large U.S. delegation this week to the Munich Security Conference where increasingly nervous European leaders are hoping for at least a brief reprieve from President Donald Trump’s often inconsistent policies and threats that have roiled transatlantic relations and the post-World War II international order. […]
7 months ago
An airplane takes off behind the control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, on the...

Grieving families press Congress on aviation safety reforms after midair collision near DC

Key senators and the families of the 67 dead in an airliner collision with an Army helicopter near the nation’s capital are convinced that advanced aircraft locator systems recommended by experts for nearly two decades would have prevented last year’s tragedy. But it remains unclear if a bill will pass Congress requiring the systems around […]
7 months ago
FILE - A container is lifted by a crane backdropped by the construction of the Chinese-funded port,...

In blunt warning, the US says Peru could lose its sovereignty to China

LIMA, Peru (AP) — The Trump administration on Wednesday expressed concern that China was costing Peru its sovereignty in solidifying control over the South American nation’s critical infrastructure, a blunt warning after a Peruvian court ruling restricted a local regulator’s oversight of a Chinese-built mega port. The $1.3 billion deepwater port in Chancay, north of […]
7 months ago
FILE - A sign marks the entrance to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarter...

Democratic-led states sue to stop Trump from withholding $600M in health grants

Four Democratic-led states that have become frequent targets of President Donald Trump sued Wednesday to try to block his administration from cutting off hundreds of millions in public health grants. The Department of Health and Human Services told Congress on Monday that it planned to withhold about $600 million in grant funding allocated to the […]
7 months ago
A vehicle pauses as a convoy of Syria's Interior Ministry forces passes through en route to the tow...

Syria’s president and 2 top ministers were targets of 5 foiled assassination attempts, UN says

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Syria’s president, interior minister and foreign minister were the targets of five foiled assassination attempts last year, the U.N. chief said in a report on threats posed by Islamic State militants released Wednesday. The report said President Ahmad al-Sharaa was targeted in northern Aleppo, the country’s most populous province, and southern […]
7 months ago
FILE - The exterior of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) building in Washington, is photographed M...

A privacy breach at the IRS: Taxpayer data wrongly shared with DHS, court filing says

WASHINGTON (AP) — The IRS erroneously shared the taxpayer information of thousands of people with the Department of Homeland Security, as part of the agencies’ controversial agreement to share information on immigrants for the purpose of identifying and deporting people illegally in the U.S, according to a new court filing. The revelation stems from a […]
7 months ago
First lady Melania Trump works on Valentine's Day arts and crafts with patients at The Children's I...

Melania Trump says she doesn’t eat ‘much sweets’ as she celebrates Valentine’s Day with children

BETHESDA, Md. (AP) — Melania Trump on Wednesday celebrated an early Valentine’s Day with children and young adults being treated for rare and serious diseases, joining them in holiday-themed craft-making and chatting about their lives, health and other interests. After they finished making flower bouquets and lanterns out of construction paper and other materials, they […]
7 months ago
FILE - Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen holds a news conference, in Lincoln, Neb., Nov. 4, 202...

Nebraska to hand over sensitive voter data to the Justice Department after court loss

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s Republican secretary of state will turn over sensitive information on every registered voter in the state to the U.S. Justice Department on Thursday after Nebraska’s highest court rejected a legal effort to block the move. Secretary of State Bob Evnen told The Associated Press that the Nebraska Supreme Court denied […]
7 months ago
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks during a news conference at Capitol Hill, Tuesday,...

House faces showdown vote over Trump’s tariffs on Canada

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House is preparing to potentially slap back President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada in what would be a symbolic rebuke of the White House agenda after Democrats, with support from a few Republicans, forced the issue to a vote over the objections of GOP leadership. Wednesday’s floor action will be the […]
7 months ago