Politics

A cargo ship carrying vehicles sails through the Arabian Gulf toward the Strait of Hormuz in the Un...

Trump’s changing course on Strait of Hormuz strategy raises questions about US war preparation

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — At war with Iran, President Donald Trump is cycling through an increasingly desperate list of options as he searches for a solution to the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz. He is jumping from calls to secure the waterway through diplomatic means to lifting sanctions and now escalating to […]
8 months ago
FILE - Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco speaks at a news conference in Lake Elsinore, Calif., F...

California sheriff running for governor seizes more than a half million ballots from 2025 election

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — A California sheriff running for governor has seized more than half a million ballots cast in a November special election from county election officials, saying he’s investigating a ballot count discrepancy. County elections officials have disputed the claims by Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican. California Attorney General Rob Bonta, […]
8 months ago
People wait in a TSA line at the John F. Kennedy International Airport, Sunday, March 22, 2026, in ...

Enhanced role for immigration officers at US airports as shutdown frustrates travels and screeners

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal immigration agents newly ordered to U.S. airports by President Donald Trump to help relieve security line congestion may guard exit lanes or check passenger IDs as a budget impasse has air travelers frustrated over hourslong waits and screeners angry about missed paychecks. Trump made clear on Sunday, a day after saying […]
8 months ago
People spend the night in the dark on the Malecon during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, Saturday, Marc...

Cuba begins to restore power after third nationwide collapse in a month

HAVANA (AP) — Cuba began restoring its energy system on Sunday, a day after a nationwide collapse of the entire grid left millions of people in the dark for the third time this month. Some 72,000 customers in the capital, among them five hospitals, had electricity again early Sunday, according to a report from the […]
8 months ago
Vice President JD Vance speaks at EDSI Cables Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in Auburn Hills, Mich. (AP...

Democrats sharpen criticism of Vance as they look past Trump to the 2028 presidential campaign

FAIRFIELD, Ohio (AP) — Although President Donald Trump is the top Democratic nemesis, some of the party’s most ambitious leaders are increasingly looking past him and at Vice President JD Vance. In the latest example, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear traveled to Vance’s home county in Ohio, where on Saturday night he said the vice president […]
8 months ago
A sign hangs outside the director's office of the Alaska Division of Elections, Thursday, March 19....

Cast a ballot and wait for the plane. In Alaska, a grace period for ballots is seen as a necessity

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The tiny Alaska Native village of Beaver is about 40 minutes — by plane — from the nearest city. Its roughly 50 residents rely on weekday flights for mail and many of their basic supplies, from groceries to Amazon deliveries of everyday household items. Air service plays an outsize role in […]
8 months ago
FILE - Sheer cliffs rise at Zion National Park, near Springdale, Utah., Sept. 16, 2015. (AP Photo/R...

Trump’s EPA is paving the way for haze to return to national parks, conservationists warn

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A year ago, federal environmental regulators told West Virginia officials that their plan to clear sulfur and smog from skies over the state’s national wilderness areas wasn’t good enough because a dozen coal plants didn’t analyze whether they needed better pollution controls. Six months later, the Environmental Protection Agency, now firmly […]
8 months ago

Detained immigrant children still face concerning conditions at Texas facility, lawyers say

Nearly 600 immigrant children were held in a Texas family detention center in recent months without enough food, medical care or mental health services, with dozens languishing inside far beyond court-mandated limits, according to court documents filed Friday. Children and families held in the Dilley detention facility where 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father […]
8 months ago
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before departing on Marine One from the South Lawn of ...

ICE officers soon will help with airport security unless Democrats end shutdown, Trump says

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Saturday he will order federal immigration officers to take a role in airport security starting Monday unless Democrats agree on a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security. In a pair of social media posts, Trump first threatened and then said he had made plans to put […]
8 months ago
Senate Majority Leader John Thune R-S.D., center, privately speaks to Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, and ...

Senate blocks amendment on transgender athletes during weekend session on voting bill

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Saturday blocked an amendment that would ban transgender athletes from playing in women’s sports, rejecting one of President Donald Trump’s priorities as he pressures Congress to act on a broad voting bill. Senators were holding a rare weekend session to debate the voting legislation, which would put in place […]
8 months ago

Former FBI Director Robert Mueller, who investigated Russia-Trump campaign ties, dies

WASHINGTON (AP) — Robert S. Mueller III, the FBI director who transformed the nation’s premier law enforcement agency into a terrorism-fighting force after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and who later became special counsel in charge of investigating ties between Russia and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, has died. He was 81. “With deep sadness, we […]
8 months ago
Passengers wait outside a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint at Hartsfield-Jackson A...

For airline passengers, the shutdown answer is simple: Pay TSA officers

ATLANTA (AP) — Regardless of politics or destination, passengers at Atlanta’s airport were unified by one desire Saturday — it’s time to pay Transportation Security Administration employees. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport — one of the world’s busiest airports — is a machine for moving people. But the shutdown is clogging TSA checkpoints that screen passengers […]
8 months ago
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before departing on Marine One from the South Lawn of ...

Trump’s mixed messages on Iran: ‘Winding down’ the war and easing sanctions but adding more troops

President Donald Trump frequently contradicts himself, sometimes in the same speech, social media post or even sentence. In the past 24 hours, he sent a torrent of mixed signals about the Iran war that raise more questions about the direction of the conflict and his administration’s strategy. Within the space of a few hours Friday, […]
8 months ago
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., descends an stairwell after a vote at the Capitol, Friday, March 20, 2026...

Congress looks for Trump’s exit plan as the Iran war drags on

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump took the United States to war without a vote of support from Congress, but lawmakers are increasingly questioning when, how and at what cost the war with Iran will come to an end. Three weeks into the conflict, the toll is becoming apparent. At least 13 U.S. military personnel […]
8 months ago
FILE - Rep. Tom Kean, R-N.J., listens during a Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs about Bela...

Tom Kean Jr.’s political roots date to 1776. Is that enough to protect the Republican’s House seat?

LEBANON, N.J. (AP) — Tom Kean Jr.’s political pedigree dates to 1776, when one of his ancestors became New Jersey’s first leader after the United States declared independence. His great grandfather was a senator, his grandfather was a congressman and his father was a governor. But the family lineage may not be enough to protect […]
8 months ago
FILE - Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, listens at the Ca...

Big money flows into state attorney general races as legal battles shape American politics

With control of Congress on the ballot in November, state attorney general races can get lost in the shuffle. But just outside the election spotlight, there are partisan groups, corporate interests and advocacy networks revving up campaigns for offices that are playing a growing role in American politics. The group of Republican organizations dedicated to […]
8 months ago
President Donald Trump speaks with Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in the Oval Office of the ...

Surprise, embarrassment, unease in Japan after Trump uses Pearl Harbor to defend Iran war

TOKYO (AP) — Senior U.S. and Japanese officials tend to shy away from anything but very careful public comments about Japan’s 1941 sneak attack on U.S. forces at Pearl Harbor. So there was embarrassment, confusion and unease on Saturday in Japan after President Donald Trump casually used the World War II attack to justify his […]
8 months ago
FILE - An aerial view of Rebola Neighborhood, in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, Jan. 30, 2015. (AP Phot...

Secretive deal leaves deportees from the US stuck in Equatorial Guinea with ‘no more hope’

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — When a U.S. immigration judge told a 28-year old refugee from East Africa that he was free to leave detention in California after 13 months, he was overjoyed. Though an asylum request was denied, the judge ruled he could not be deported home because it would put him in danger. “He […]
8 months ago
Iranians follow a truck carrying the coffins of Iran's intelligence minister Esmail Khatib and, acc...

Trump hints at wind-down of war as US sends more troops and Iran threatens tourism sites

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said he was considering “winding down” military operations in the Middle East even as the United States is sending three more amphibious assault ships and roughly 2,500 additional Marines to the region. Trump’s post Friday on social media followed an Iranian threat to attack recreational […]
8 months ago

The Latest: Israel says attacks on Iran to ramp up as Trump mulls ‘winding down’ military operations

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said attacks against Iran will “increase significantly” in the coming week. Katz spoke Saturday, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was considering “winding down” military operations in the Mideast even as the United States announced it was sending more warships and Marines to the region and Iran threatened […]
8 months ago
FILE This is the Voice of America building in Washington D.C., on May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Pu...

Judge orders Voice of America be put back together again. What are the chances that will happen?

NEW YORK (AP) — In a strongly worded decision this week, a federal judge ordered that the Voice of America — its mission to provide news for countries around the world largely shut down for the past year by the Trump administration — come roaring back to life. Whether or not that actually happens is […]
8 months ago

A US strike on a suspected drug boat off Costa Rica leaves 2 dead, 1 critically hurt

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — A U.S. strike on a boat suspected of transporting illegal drugs along Costa Rica’s Pacific coast left at least two people dead and one seriously injured, Costa Rican authorities said Friday. The attack on the alleged drug boat was reported by the U.S. Southern Command on its X account. […]
8 months ago

Chicago Transit Authority lawsuit targets federal construction funding halted last fall

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Transit Authority on Friday filed a federal lawsuit seeking restoration of $2 billion in commuter rail expansion funding that President Donald Trump’s administration stopped last fall. The action, filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, contends the administration acted arbitrarily in halting transit construction money for the city in […]
8 months ago

A Georgia appeals court rules Fulton County can reject GOP election board picks

ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia appeals court ruled on Friday that the state’s largest county doesn’t have to appoint two Republican nominees to the county election board, a decision that could tamp down GOP challenges to how elections are administered in predominantly Democratic areas. The state Court of Appeals found that while elected leaders of […]
8 months ago