Politics

FILE - Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appears before the House Committee on Homeland Secur...

Homeland Security says a fraud investigation is underway in Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal Homeland Security officials were conducting a fraud investigation on Monday in Minneapolis, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said. Noem posted a video on the social platform X showing DHS officers going into an unidentified business and questioning the person working behind the counter. Noem said that officers were “conducting […]
9 months ago
CORRECTS TO HEARING, NOT ARRAIGNMENT - U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., left, speaks t...

Florida congresswoman accused of stealing COVID funds maintains innocence

MIAMI (AP) — U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick reiterated her innocence Monday outside a Miami federal courthouse, where she faces charges of conspiring to steal $5 million in federal COVID-19 disaster funds. Cherfilus-McCormick was scheduled to be arraigned, but her attorney requested the proceeding be rescheduled to Jan. 20 so that she could finalize her legal […]
9 months ago
President Donald Trump attends a joint news conference with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy...

Trump indicates the US ‘hit’ a facility that he tied to alleged drug boats

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has indicated that the U.S. has “hit” a facility in South America as he wages a pressure campaign on Venezuela, but the U.S. offered no other details. Trump made the comments in what seemed to be an impromptu radio interview Friday. The president, who called radio host John Catsimatidis […]
9 months ago
FILE - People carry sacks and boxes of food and humanitarian aid that was unloaded from a World Foo...

US pledges $2B for UN humanitarian aid as Trump slashes funding and warns agencies to ‘adapt or die’

GENEVA (AP) — The United States on Monday announced a $2 billion pledge for U.N. humanitarian aid as President Donald Trump’s administration continues to slash U.S. foreign assistance and warns United Nations agencies to “adapt, shrink or die” in a time of new financial realities. The money is a small fraction of what the U.S. […]
9 months ago
Palestinian youth walk along a tent camp for displaced people as the sun sets in Nuseirat, central ...

Trump and Netanyahu are to meet in Florida at a crucial moment for the US-backed Gaza ceasefire

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, as Washington looks to create fresh momentum for a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in Gaza that could be in danger of stalling out before a complicated second phase. Trump could use the face-to-face at his Mar-a-Lago estate […]
9 months ago
FILE - New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani speaks during a news conference, in the Queens boro...

Zohran Mamdani has bold promises. Can he make them come true as New York City mayor?

Zohran Mamdani has promised to transform New York City government when he becomes mayor. Can he do it? Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, already faces intense scrutiny, even before taking office in one of the country’s most scrutinized political jobs. Republicans have cast him as a liberal boogeyman. Some of his fellow Democrats have deemed […]
9 months ago
This courtroom sketch depicts Brian Cole Jr., 30, of Woodbridge, Va., the man accused of planting a...

Pipe bomb suspect told FBI he targeted US political parties because they were ‘in charge,’ memo says

WASHINGTON (AP) — The man accused of placing two pipe bombs in Washington on the eve of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol told investigators after his arrest that he believed someone needed to “speak up” for people who believed the 2020 election was stolen and that he wanted to target the […]
9 months ago
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a media conference at the EU Summit in Brusse...

Zelenskyy to meet with Trump as efforts to end Russia-Ukraine war remain elusive

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (AP) — President Donald Trump will host his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Sunday to try to close out a peace agreement that would end nearly four years of war that began with Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The two will meet at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s private club in Palm Beach, Florida, where […]
9 months ago
FILE - Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones speaks at a campaign event at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Ce...

Anonymous money fuels $5 million in attacks on Georgia’s Lt. Gov. Burt Jones

ATLANTA (AP) — It’s the biggest mystery in Georgia politics right now: Who’s paying for the attacks on Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones? Someone operating under the name “Georgians for Integrity” has dumped around $5 million into Donald Trump’s endorsement in his run for governor next year, has been using his office to enrich himself. […]
9 months ago
Kilmar Abrego Garcia arrives at the United States District Court District of Maryland, Monday, Dec....

Federal judge to hold hearing on whether Kilmar Abrego Garcia is being vindictively prosecuted

A federal judge this week canceled the trial of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran man who was mistakenly deported, and scheduled a hearing on whether the prosecution is being vindictive in pursuing a human smuggling case against him. Abrego Garcia has become a centerpiece of the debate over immigration after the Trump administration deported him […]
9 months ago
New signage, The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center For The Performing Arts, i...

Kennedy Center criticizes musician who canceled performance after Trump name added to building

WASHINGTON (AP) — The president of the Kennedy Center on Friday fiercely criticized a musician’s sudden decision to cancel a Christmas Eve performance at the venue after the White House announced that President Donald Trump’s name would be added to the facility. “Your decision to withdraw at the last moment — explicitly in response to […]
9 months ago
Arturo Suarez, a Venezuelan migrant sent by the U.S. to El Salvador and later deported to Venezuela...

Venezuelan migrants sent to El Salvador demand justice after US judge ruling

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Men who were part of the group of Venezuelan migrants that the United States government transferred earlier this year to a prison in El Salvador demanded justice on Friday, days after a federal judge in Washington ruled that the Trump administration must give them legal due process. The men told reporters […]
9 months ago
FILE - The Cedar Viaduct, designed to take high-speed trains over Cedar and North avenues and State...

California drops lawsuit seeking to reinstate federal funding for the state’s bullet train

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — California this week dismissed a lawsuit officials filed against the Trump administration over the federal government’s withdrawing of $4 billion for the state’s long-delayed high-speed rail project. The U.S. Transportation Department in July slashed funds for the bullet train aimed at connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles. The Trump administration has […]
9 months ago
FILE - Philadelphians and visitors gather during the the lighting of the city's first kinara on the...

A beginner’s guide to Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa has become a nationally recognized celebration of African culture and community in the United States since its founding in 1966 and also is celebrated in countries with large African descendant populations. The holiday, which serves as a nationwide communal event reinforcing self-determination and unity in the face of oppression, spans seven days from the […]
9 months ago

Times Square to feature patriotic ball drop for New Year’s Eve, kicking off US’s 250th birthday

When the ball drops on New Year’s Eve in New York City, it will sparkle in red, white and blue, ushering in 2026 and kicking off months of celebrations for the nation’s upcoming 250th birthday. The patriotic touches at this year’s Times Square gathering, including a second confetti drop, will offer an early glimpse of […]
9 months ago

Trump says US struck Islamic State targets in Nigeria after group targeted Christians

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday night that he’d launched a “powerful and deadly strike” against Islamic State forces in Nigeria, after he spent weeks decrying the group for targeting Christians. “Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS […]
9 months ago
Houthi supporters carry the coffins of 5 leaders, who they said were killed during previous Israeli...

Saudi Arabia calls on Yemen separatists to leave 2 governorates as anti-Houthi coalition strains

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia on Thursday formally called on Emirati-backed separatists in Yemen to withdraw from two governorates their forces now control in the country, a move that threatens sparking a confrontation within a fragile coalition battling the Houthi rebels. The statement from Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry on Christmas morning appeared […]
9 months ago
President Donald Trump, accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, speaks during a call with service ...

Trump warns against infiltration by a’ bad Santa,’ defends coal in jovial Christmas calls with kids

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump marked Christmas Eve by quizzing children calling in about what presents they were excited about receiving, while promising to not let a “bad Santa” infiltrate the country and even suggesting that a stocking full of coal may not be so bad. Vacationing at his Mar-a-Lago estate […]
9 months ago

Tina Peters asks Colorado appeals court to recognize Trump’s pardon, release her from prison

DENVER (AP) — Former Colorado elections clerk Tina Peters is asking the state appeals court to recognize President Donald Trump’s pardon of her state convictions as valid. In a motion Tuesday, Peters’ lawyers said the Colorado appeals court no longer has jurisdiction over her case because of a Dec. 5 pardon issued by Trump. They […]
9 months ago
epstein files (2)...

DOJ says it may need a ‘few more weeks’ to finish release of Epstein files despite Dec. 19 deadline

The Justice Department may need weeks to complete the release of Jeffrey Epstein files, extending the wait for crucial information.
9 months ago

Editorial Roundup: United States

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad: ___ Dec. 23 The Washington Post on conservatism and free markets When American conservatives abandon free-market principles, there’s no telling what follows. The Heritage Foundation has been illustrating this the past few months. One of the largest conservative think tanks in D.C. has been bleeding […]
9 months ago
President Donald Trump listens to a question as he speaks at his Mar-a-Lago club, Monday, Dec. 22, ...

Judge blocks Trump effort to strip security clearance from attorney who represented whistleblowers

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from enforcing a March presidential memorandum to revoke the security clearance of prominent Washington attorney Mark Zaid, ruling that the order — which also targeted 14 other individuals — could not be applied to him. The decision marked the administration’s second legal setback on […]
9 months ago
A makeshift memorial of flags, flowers and other items is seen Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, outside of Fa...

Suspect in national guard shooting faces new federal charges that allow death penalty discussions

WASHINGTON (AP) — A man accused of shooting two National Guard troops near the White House has been charged in a complaint with federal firearms charges in connection with the ambush on November 26 that fatally wounded one of the West Virginia National Guard members and seriously injured the second. Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, has been […]
9 months ago
Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a news conference at the State Department, Friday, Dec...

EU warns of possible action after the US bars 5 Europeans accused of censorship

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s executive on Wednesday warned that it would take action against any “unjustified measures” after the U.S. State Department barred five Europeans it accuses of pressuring U.S. technology firms to censor or suppress American viewpoints. The Europeans were characterized by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as “radical” activists and […]
9 months ago