Politics

Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.,speaks to reporters outside of federal court in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. ...

Grand jury refuses to indict Democratic lawmakers in connection with illegal military orders video

WASHINGTON (AP) — A grand jury in Washington refused Tuesday to indict Democratic lawmakers in connection with a video in which they urged U.S. military members to resist “illegal orders,” according to a person familiar with the matter. The Justice Department opened an investigation into the video featuring Democratic Sens. Mark Kelly and Elissa Slotkin […]
7 months ago
A U.S. Capitol Police officer patrols on the East Front of the U.S. Capitol, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, ...

Potential conflicts over celebrating America’s 250th anniversary spill out in congressional hearing

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional Democrats on Tuesday accused the Trump administration of trying to hijack plans to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary and using the nonprofit National Park Foundation to solicit money from private donors for some of the president’s pet projects, including the massive arch he wants to build in the nation’s capital. During a […]
7 months ago
Journalist Don Lemon, talks to the media after a hearing at the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building i...

Former federal prosecutor who quit amid Trump administration dispute now representing Don Lemon

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A former federal prosecutor who quit amid a dispute with the Trump administration is now representing former CNN host Don Lemon, who was one of nine people indicted for their alleged roles in disrupting a service at a Minnesota church where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official was a pastor. A court […]
7 months ago
FILE - Voters fill out their ballots Nov. 4, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)Credit: ...

Federal judge dismisses attempt to obtain Michigan voter data in latest rejection of DOJ

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit from the Department of Justice that sought to obtain Michigan’s voter rolls, marking the latest judicial rejection in President Donald Trump’s wide-ranging attempts to gain access to voter data from states. The Justice Department has sued at least 23 states and the District of […]
7 months ago
A government supporter holds an image of former President Nicolás Maduro during a march calling fo...

Close Maduro ally pardoned by Biden once again a target of US criminal investigation

MIAMI (AP) — Less than three years after President Joe Biden pardoned a close ally of Nicolás Maduro, the Justice Department is once again targeting the businessman, The Associated Press has learned, an investigation that could bolster the U.S. prosecution of the deposed Venezuelan leader. Federal prosecutors for months have been digging into Alex Saab’s […]
7 months ago
Todd Lyons, acting director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) testifies during ...

How the head of ICE responded to questions in Congress over Trump’s immigration policies

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s top immigration officials appeared before Congress Tuesday for the first time since the shooting deaths of two American citizens in Minneapolis, seeking to defend their officers’ actions as their agencies face intensifying scrutiny over nationwide immigration enforcement operations. Todd Lyons, who is the acting head of Immigration and Customs […]
7 months ago
FILE - A briefcase of a census taker is seen as she knocks on the door of a residence, Aug. 11, 202...

Immigrant rights groups seek to dismiss a Republican lawsuit to exclude noncitizens from US census

Immigrant rights groups are seeking to toss out a Republican lawsuit that would prohibit the U.S. Census Bureau from counting people who are in the U.S. illegally during the 2030 census. The groups said the lawsuit filed late last month by Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway would violate the law and require a recount of […]
7 months ago
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks during a news conference in Blaine, Minn., Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (A...

Gov. Tim Walz says federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota could end within days

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz said Tuesday that he expects the federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota will end in “days, not weeks and months,” based on his recent conversations with top Trump administration officials. The Democratic governor said at a news conference that he spoke Monday with border czar Tom Homan and with White […]
7 months ago
FILE - A license plate reader used by U.S. Border Patrol is hidden in a traffic cone while capturin...

Privacy activists call on California to remove covert license plate readers

More than two dozen privacy and advocacy organizations are calling on California Gov. Gavin Newsom to remove a network of covert license plate readers deployed across Southern California that the groups believe feed data into a controversial U.S. Border Patrol predictive domestic intelligence program that scans the country’s roadways for suspicious travel patterns. “We ask […]
7 months ago
The Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Center, is seen Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Union Cit...

FBI search of Georgia offices tied to probe of possible 2020 election ‘defects,’ affidavit says

ATLANTA (AP) — An FBI search of the elections hub in Fulton County, Georgia, is part of an investigation into possible “deficiencies or defects” in the vote count in the 2020 contest lost by President Donald Trump, according to an affidavit unsealed Tuesday. The allegations outlined in the affidavit are largely based on claims that […]
7 months ago
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., points to a copy of his Verizon phone bill during a Senate Committee o...

Republican lawmakers grill telecom officials over phone records access in Trump investigation

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican lawmakers decried Tuesday what they said were invasive tactics in the investigation of President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, pressing representatives from leading telecommunications companies about their role in providing prosecutors with phone records of certain sitting members of Congress. “I think what you’ve done here is outrageous. […]
7 months ago
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance speaks to the media before boarding Air Force Two upon departure for...

Why the words ‘Armenian genocide’ matter after Vance social media reference is deleted

U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s team posted and then deleted a message on social media about the Republican’s visit to a memorial paying tribute to early 20th century Armenians killed by the Ottoman Empire. The issue was the post using the term “Armenian genocide,” a designation the U.S. government historically has not used for what […]
7 months ago
Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during the Critical Minerals Ministerial meeting at the State...

US to expand passport revocations for parents who owe child support, AP sources say

WASHINGTON (AP) — Parents who owe a significant amount of child support soon could lose their ability to travel internationally as the Trump administration expands and steps up enforcement of a 30-year-old law that allows the federal government to revoke American passports until payments are made, three U.S. officials told The Associated Press. While passport […]
7 months ago
The Trump administration has stopped flying a rainbow flag on the pole, center, in the Stonewall Na...

Trump administration takes down a rainbow flag at the Stonewall National Monument

NEW YORK (AP) — The Trump administration has stopped flying a rainbow flag at the Stonewall National Monument, angering activists who see the change as a symbolic swipe at the country’s first national monument to LGBTQ+ history. The multicolored flag, one of the world’s most well known emblems of LGBTQ+ rights, was quietly removed in […]
7 months ago
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick listens during an event with President Donald Trump in the Oval O...

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick acknowledges meetings with Epstein that contradict previous claims

WASHINGTON (AP) — Under questioning from Democrats Tuesday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick acknowledged that he had met with Jeffrey Epstein twice after his 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a child, reversing Lutnick’s previous claim that he had cut ties with the late financier after 2005. Lutnick once again downplayed his relationship with the disgraced […]
7 months ago
President Donald Trump steps off Air Force One, early Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, ...

Governors won’t hold Trump meeting after White House only invited Republicans

WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Governors Association will no longer hold a formal meeting with President Donald Trump when the group of state leaders meet in Washington later this month after the White House planned to invite only Republicans. “NGA staff was informed that the White House intends to limit invitations to the annual business […]
7 months ago
FILE - Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, departs the chamber at the Capitol in Washington, on July 24, 2...

Susan Collins announces reelection bid in pivotal Maine Senate race

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Republican Sen. Susan Collins announced her reelection bid Tuesday, betting that she can hold onto her coveted Maine seat despite a renewed Democratic effort to oust her in a race that could determine control of the U.S. Senate. The campaign will test Collins’ political survival skills. The 73-year-old has won five […]
7 months ago
Ryan O'Neil, left, and Kate Weaver of West Bloomfield, Mich., look at a photo that they took of the...

‘We hold these truths’: Viewing the Declaration of Independence, visitors reflect on America at 250

WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s 250th anniversary arrives at a time of deep political divisions and, in some quarters, heightened anxiety over whether representative government in the world’s oldest democracy can be sustained. Cultural institutions, sporting events, even communities are polarized. If there is any place the bitter partisanship is set aside, even temporarily, it is […]
7 months ago
A United States Border Patrol agent gestures to a car while conducting immigration enforcement oper...

Trump’s immigration chiefs to testify in Congress following protester deaths

WASHINGTON (AP) — The heads of the agencies carrying out President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda will testify in Congress Tuesday and face questions over how they are prosecuting immigration enforcement inside American cities. Trump’s immigration campaign has been heavily scrutinized in recent weeks, after the shooting deaths in Minneapolis of two protesters at the […]
7 months ago
FILE - The White House is seen from the Washington Monument Feb. 4, 2026,, in Washington. (AP Photo...

How Americans’ optimism about their future has changed, according to new polling

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans’ hope for their future has fallen to a new low, according to new polling. In 2025, only about 59% of Americans gave high ratings when asked to evaluate how good their life will be in about five years, the lowest annual measure since Gallup began asking this question almost 20 years […]
7 months ago
Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez answers questions from reporters in Manil...

US won’t abandon the Philippines in fighting China’s assertiveness at sea, Manila’s envoy says

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Manila’s top envoy to Washington expressed confidence Tuesday that the United States will not abandon the Philippines as it fights Beijing’s assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea — even as Donald Trump and Xi Jinping seek more direct talks to resolve differences. Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez welcomed […]
7 months ago
FILE - President Donald Trump answers a question from a reporter at the end of a news conference wi...

Israel’s Netanyahu is meeting with Trump this week to push for a far broader Iran deal

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is heading to Washington on Tuesday to encourage President Donald Trump to expand the scope of high-stakes nuclear talks with Iran. The negotiations resumed last week against the backdrop of an American military buildup. Israel has long called for Iran to cease all uranium enrichment, dial […]
7 months ago
Customers wait outside a store for Sushiro, a Japan-based conveyor-belt sushi chain, in Beijing, We...

In China, consumerism trumps nationalism despite tensions with the U.S. and Japan

HONG KONG (AP) — In China, consumerism appears to outweigh nationalism regardless of how testy relations have become in recent diplomatic spats with countries like Japan and the United States. It has been common practice for the ruling Communist Party to whip up nationalist sentiment and deploy propaganda condemning countries deemed to be violating China’s […]
7 months ago
FILE - The Saginaw passes construction on the Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting on the De...

Trump is threatening to block a new bridge between Detroit and Canada from opening

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to block the opening of a new Canadian-built bridge across the Detroit River, demanding that Canada turn over at least half of the ownership of the bridge and agree to other unspecified demands in his latest salvo over cross-border trade issues. “We will start negotiations, IMMEDIATELY. […]
7 months ago