Politics

President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netany...

Trump, in interview, defends his energy and health, offers new details on screening he underwent

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump defended his energy and health in an interview with The Wall Street Journal and disclosed that he had a CT scan, not an MRI scan, during an October examination about which he and the White House delayed offering details. Trump, in the interview, said he regretted undergoing the advanced […]
8 months ago

Zohran Mamdani officially sworn in on a Quran full of symbolism

NEW YORK (AP) — Incoming Mayor Zohran Mamdani took his midnight oath of office on a centuries-old Quran, marking the first time a mayor of New York City uses Islam’s holy text to be sworn in and underscoring a series of historic firsts for the city. The 34-year-old Democrat became mayor in a long-closed subway […]
8 months ago
President Donald Trump speaks at a New Year's Eve celebration at his Mar-a-Lago club, Wednesday, De...

Trump delays increased tariffs on upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets and vanities for a year

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed a New Year’s Eve proclamation delaying increased tariffs on upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets and vanities for a year, citing ongoing trade talks. Trump’s order signed Wednesday keeps in place a 25% tariff he imposed in September on those goods, but delays for another year a 30% tariff on […]
8 months ago
FILE - Pages from the U.S. Affordable Care Act health insurance website healthcare.gov are seen on ...

Health subsidies expire, launching millions of Americans into 2026 with steep insurance hikes

NEW YORK (AP) — Enhanced tax credits that have helped reduce the cost of health insurance for the vast majority of Affordable Care Act enrollees expired overnight, cementing higher health costs for millions of Americans at the start of the new year. Democrats forced a 43-day government shutdown over the issue. Moderate Republicans called for […]
8 months ago
New York Attorney General Letitia James, left, administers the oath of office to mayor-elect Zohran...

Zohran Mamdani sworn in as New York City mayor at historic subway station

NEW YORK (AP) — Zohran Mamdani became mayor of New York City just after midnight Thursday, taking the oath of office at an historic, decommissioned subway station in Manhattan. Mamdani, a Democrat, was sworn in as the first Muslim leader of America’s biggest city, placing his hand on a Quran as he took his oath. […]
8 months ago
U.S. Department of the Treasury Scott Bessent speaks before President Donald Trump arrives at the M...

US imposes sanctions on 4 Venezuelan oil firms and 4 more tankers in Maduro crackdown

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. on Wednesday imposed sanctions on four firms operating in Venezuela’s oil sector and designated four additional oil tankers, which the U.S. accuses of being part of a shadow fleet serving Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government, as blocked property. The action is part of the Trump administration’s monthslong pressure campaign on […]
8 months ago
President Donald Trump listens during a news conference with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netan...

US military strikes three more alleged drug boats, killing 3 and possibly leaving survivors

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military said Wednesday it struck three more boats that were allegedly smuggling drugs, killing three people while others jumped overboard and may have survived. The statement by U.S. Southern Command, which oversees South America, did not reveal where the attacks occurred. Previous attacks have been in the Caribbean Sea and […]
8 months ago
President Donald Trump speaks during a joint news conference with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zel...

Trump administration terminates lease for Washington’s 3 public golf courses

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has ended the lease agreement for three public golf courses in Washington, a move that offers President Donald Trump an additional opportunity to put his stamp on another piece of the nation’s capital. The National Links Trust, the nonprofit that has operated Washington’s three public courses on federal land […]
8 months ago
In this image from video released by the House Judiciary Committee, former special counsel Jack Smi...

Capitol riot ‘does not happen’ without Trump, Jack Smith told Congress

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Jan. 6. riot at the U.S. Capitol “does not happen” without Donald Trump, former special counsel Jack Smith told lawmakers earlier this month in characterizing the Republican president as the “most culpable and most responsible person” in the criminal conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The Republican-led House […]
8 months ago
Children watch television at ABC Learning Center in Minneapolis, Minn., on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025...

What to know about Trump administration freezing federal child care funds

The Trump administration has said it is freezing child care funds to all states until they provide more verification and administrative data about the programs in a move fueled by a series of fraud schemes at Minnesota day care centers run by Somali residents. All 50 states will be impacted by the review, but the […]
8 months ago
President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable on farm subsidies in the Cabinet Room of the Whit...

Farmers can now learn how much aid they will get from the Trump administration

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Farmers are now learning how much aid they can expect to receive from a $12 billion package that President Donald Trump announced earlier this month. The U.S. Department of Agriculture released the figures Wednesday for how much aid per acre farmers can plan on for each row crop. The details arrived […]
8 months ago
FILE - Vanessa Shields-Haas, a nurse practitioner, walks from the lobby toward the examination room...

Appeals court says Medicaid funding cuts for Planned Parenthood can stand while lawsuit proceeds

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The Trump administration can continue to withhold Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood and other health centers that provide abortions while a coalition of mostly-Democratic states challenge the cuts, a federal appeals court ruled. The decision Tuesday in one of multiple lawsuits filed after President Donald Trump signed tax breaks and spending […]
8 months ago
This photo provided by The New York Public Library shows the Schomburg Quran on Dec. 16, 2025 in Ne...

Zohran Mamdani will be sworn in as mayor on a Quran, a first in New York City history

NEW YORK (AP) — Incoming Mayor Zohran Mamdani will take his oath of office on a centuries-old Quran, marking the first time a mayor of New York City has used Islam’s holy text to be sworn in and underscoring a series of historic firsts for the city. When the 34-year-old Democrat becomes mayor shortly after […]
8 months ago
FILE - Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks during an event with President Donald Trump in t...

Department of Justice is reviewing more than 5.2 million documents related to Jeffrey Epstein

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Justice has expanded its review of documents related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to 5.2 million as it also increases the number of attorneys trying to comply with a law mandating release of the files, according to a person briefed on a letter sent to U.S. Attorneys. […]
8 months ago
President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netany...

These bipartisan bills were noncontroversial — until Trump vetoed them

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump issued the first vetoes of his second term on Tuesday, rejecting two low-profile bipartisan bills, a move that had the effect of punishing backers who had opposed the president’s positions on other issues. Trump vetoed drinking water pipeline legislation from Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, a longtime ally […]
8 months ago
Former White House chief usher Gary Walters, author of "White House Memories," is interviewed about...

Trump isn’t the 1st president to want more room to entertain, longtime White House usher says

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is not the first president to want more room at the White House for entertaining, says the longest-serving top aide in the executive residence, offering some backup for the reason Trump has cited for his ballroom construction project. Gary Walters spent more than two decades as White House chief […]
8 months ago
FILE - President Donald Trump talks to the media as he walks to Marine One from the White House, Fr...

A rough year for journalists in 2025, with a little hope for things to turn around

NEW YORK (AP) — By nearly any measure, 2025 has been a rough year for anyone concerned about freedom of the press. It’s likely to be the deadliest year on record for journalists and media workers. The number of assaults on reporters in the U.S. nearly equals the last three years combined. The president of […]
8 months ago
FILE - Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., left, New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, center, an...

Zohran Mamdani is set to be sworn in as mayor as NYC rings in the New Year

Zohran Mamdani will become mayor of New York City as the clock ticks over into 2026 — but the celebrations are set to last through New Year’s Day. The Democrat’s team is planning two separate swearing-in ceremonies Thursday — a small, private one with his family in an old subway station around midnight, followed by […]
8 months ago
President Donald Trump listens during a news conference with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netan...

CIA behind strike at Venezuelan dock that Trump claims was used by drug smugglers, AP sources say

WASHINGTON (AP) — The CIA was behind a drone strike last week at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels, according to two people familiar with details of the operation who requested anonymity to discuss the classified matter. The first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the U.S. began […]
8 months ago
FILE - In this Sept. 5, 2018, photo, Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., waits to be sworn in as a U.S. Senator ...

Former Republican Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona announces dementia diagnosis

PHOENIX (AP) — Former Republican U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona on Tuesday announced his withdrawal from public life following a dementia diagnosis. Kyl, 83, represented Arizona in both chambers of Congress for nearly three decades. Most of those years were in the Senate including a term as minority whip. “My family and I now […]
8 months ago
FILE - The Burkina Faso nationals flag with a man standing in front of it is seen during a memorial...

Mali and Burkina Faso impose retaliatory travel ban on US nationals

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Mali and Burkina Faso said late Tuesday they would ban U.S. citizens from entering their countries in retaliation for U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to ban Malian and Burkinabe citizens from entering the United States. The announcements, made in separate statements by the foreign ministers of the two West African countries, […]
8 months ago
FILE - Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-Colo., chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, d...

Former US Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, of Colorado, dies at 92

DENVER (AP) — Ben Nighthorse Campbell, the former senator and U.S. representative of Colorado known for his passionate advocacy of American Indian issues, died Tuesday. He was 92. Campbell died of natural causes surrounded by his family, his daughter, Shanan Campbell, confirmed to The Associated Press. Campbell, a Democrat who stunned his party by joining […]
8 months ago

Trump administration says it’s freezing child care funds to Minnesota after series of fraud schemes

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration announced on Tuesday that it’s freezing child care funds to Minnesota after a series of fraud schemes in recent years. Acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Jim O’Neill announced on the social platform X that the step is in response to “blatant fraud that […]
8 months ago
FILE - Motorists pass outside Bor State Hospital in Bor, South Sudan, Monday, Aug. 18, 2025. (AP Ph...

Judge temporarily halts Trump’s move to end protected status for South Sudanese immigrants

Hundreds of people from South Sudan may be able to live and work in the United States legally, while a federal judge on Tuesday weighs whether President Donald Trump’s move to revoke temporary protected status for immigrants from the East African country was illegal. The termination was set to take effect on January 6, 2026, […]
8 months ago