Politics

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., wraps up a news conference on day 27 of the government sh...

Pressure builds on Congress to end the shutdown, but a quick breakthrough appears unlikely

WASHINGTON (AP) — The pressure to end the second-longest federal government shutdown is gaining new urgency this week as millions of Americans face the prospect of losing food assistance, more federal workers miss their first full paycheck and recurring delays at airports snarl travel plans. The building strain on lawmakers to end the impasse was […]
11 months ago
A shopper makes a purchase with food stamps on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Dam...

Food banks brace for surge as federal food aid pause looms amid government shutdown

Food banks and pantries were already struggling in the wake of federal program cuts this year, but now they’re bracing for a tsunami of hungry people if a pause in federal food aid to low-income people kicks in this weekend as the federal government shutdown persists. The rush has already begun. Central Christian Church’s food […]
11 months ago
FILE - Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., speaks during an interview at Libbie Mill Library in Henrico...

Virginia Democrats move forward in push for new congressional districts

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic candidate for Virginia governor, said Monday that she would not oppose a push by the state’s Democratic-controlled legislature to redraw congressional districts ahead of next year’s midterm elections. Virginia Democrats earlier in the day began taking steps to change the state’s constitution to allow for a new […]
11 months ago
FILE - Democratic National Committee chairman Ken Martin speaks after winning the vote at the Democ...

Democrats set January deadline for states to apply for early 2028 primary contests

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Not even a year out from the last presidential election, the Democratic National Committee has begun setting up a framework for the party’s next round of presidential primary elections, which could upend the early-voting calendar yet again. The Rules and Bylaws Committee of the Democratic National Committee on Monday approved a […]
11 months ago
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, left, and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., walk throu...

Flight disruptions continue as air traffic controllers brace for their first full missing paychecks

A shortage of air traffic controllers caused more flight disruptions Monday at airports around the country, including briefly at Los Angeles International Airport, where staffing problems a day earlier had led to flights being halted for a short time. The Federal Aviation Administration reported staffing-related delays on Monday afternoon averaging about 20 minutes at the […]
11 months ago
FILE - A California's SNAP benefits shopper pushes a cart through a supermarket in Bellflower, Cali...

Federal food benefits and preschool aid to run dry starting Saturday if shutdown continues

Federal funds could begin running dry Saturday that help tens of millions of Americans to buy food for their families and send their toddlers to preschool if Congress doesn’t reach a deal by then to end the U.S. government shutdown. Funding for another program that helps mothers care for their newborns could run out the […]
11 months ago
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks with reporters at the White House, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025...

Trump administation narrows list of potential Federal Reserve chairs to 5

WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday confirmed the names of five candidates to replace Jerome Powell as chair of the powerful Federal Reserve next year. On an Air Force One flight to Asia with President Donald Trump, Bessent said he would engage in a second round of interviews in the coming weeks […]
11 months ago
President Donald Trump, left, and Japan's Emperor Naruhito shake hands during their meeting at the ...

Trump will meet Japan’s new prime minister and address US troops in next stop on Asia trip

TOKYO (AP) — President Donald Trump begins one of his busiest days of his Asia trip on Tuesday, meeting with the new Japanese prime minister, speaking to U.S. troops aboard an aircraft carrier and mingling with business leaders. Although Trump is visiting one of America’s most steadfast allies in Asia, there’s no shortage of uncertainty […]
11 months ago
FILE - Fourth District Court Judge Tony Graf speaks during a waiver hearing for Tyler Robinson, the...

Suspect in Charlie Kirk killing can wear street clothes in court amid ‘extraordinary’ attention

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The 22-year-old Utah man charged with killing Charlie Kirk can appear in court wearing street clothes but must be physically restrained due to security concerns, a judge ruled Monday. Attorneys for Tyler Robinson argued images of him shackled and in jail clothing would spread widely in a case with extensive […]
11 months ago

Lawsuit challenges the boundaries of a GOP-held congressional district in New York

NEW YORK (AP) — A lawsuit filed Monday in New York seeks to redraw the lines of a Republican-controlled congressional district, with four residents arguing the current district unconstitutionally dilutes the power of Black and Latino voters. The case comes amid a national fight over congressional boundaries ahead of next year’s midterm elections, which will […]
11 months ago

Local GOP official’s social media post draws backlash in Kentucky for its depiction of the Obamas

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A local Republican leader in Kentucky shared a social media video depicting former President Barack Obama and his wife as apes, a historically racist trope that has ignited a backlash and a strong rebuke from the state GOP for the since-deleted post. The post by Bobbie Coleman, chairwoman of the Hardin […]
11 months ago
FILE - Kilmar Abrego Garcia attends a protest rally at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement fiel...

Judge seeks assurances that Abrego Garcia won’t be deported to Liberia in violation of court order

GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — A federal judge in Maryland on Monday sought assurances that the government will not deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia before she has lifted an injunction barring his removal from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement filed a notice late last week of their plan to deport him to the West African nation […]
11 months ago
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell walks to a meeting during the World Bank/IMF Annual Me...

Federal Reserve to cut key rate Wednesday, may signal another cut to follow

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve will almost certainly cut its key interest rate on Wednesday and could signal it expects another cut in December as the central bank seeks to bolster hiring. A cut Wednesday would be the second this year and could benefit consumers by bringing down borrowing costs for mortgages and auto […]
11 months ago
North Carolina state Sen. Warren Daniel, R-Burke (left and standing), presides over the Senate Comm...

Trump urged GOP-led states to redraw US House districts. Now other states also are gerrymandering

President Donald Trump’s call for Republicans to redraw U.S. House districts ahead of next year’s election has triggered an unusual outbreak of mid-decade gerrymandering among both Republican- and Democratic-led state legislatures. Democrats need to gain just three seats to wrest control of the House away from Republicans. And Trump hopes redistricting can help stave off […]
11 months ago
FILE - The Supreme Court is seen in the distance, framed through columns of the U.S. Senate at the ...

Trump administration asks the Supreme Court to allow it to fire head of US Copyright Office

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Monday asked the Supreme Court to allow it to fire the director of the U.S. Copyright Office. The administration’s newest emergency appeal to the high court was filed a month and a half after a federal appeals court in Washington held that the official, Shira Perlmutter, could not […]
11 months ago
Russell Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, attends a ceremony where President...

Trump wants to cancel more funding during the shutdown. Courts have hampered his earlier efforts

Congress has the constitutional power of the purse, but President Donald Trump’s robust assertion of executive authority is testing even that basic tenet of U.S. democracy. His administration has already canceled or threatened to cancel billions of dollars of previously approved federal spending and now wants to go after even more funding during the government […]
11 months ago
FILE - Protesters are seen outside Planned Parenthood, Sept. 18, 2023, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morr...

Wisconsin Planned Parenthood resumes offering abortions after a nearly monthlong pause

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin resumed scheduling abortions on Monday after a nearly monthlong pause due to federal Medicaid funding cuts in President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill that took effect at the beginning of October. Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin said it was able to resume scheduling abortions as of noon […]
11 months ago
FILE - Vehicles wait outside the international terminal at San Francisco International Airport in S...

British political commentator Sami Hamdi detained by federal authorities at California airport

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sami Hamdi, a British political commentator, was being held Monday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after he was detained by ICE officers at San Francisco International Airport, according to federal officials. One senior U.S. official said the detention was related to comments he has made about the Middle East. Hamdi, […]
11 months ago

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun calls a special session to redraw the state’s congressional boundaries

Indiana Republican Gov. Mike Braun called Monday for state lawmakers to return to Indianapolis for a special session to redraw the state’s congressional boundaries, escalating a national fight over midcycle redistricting. President Donald Trump has ramped up pressure on Republican governors to draw up new maps in an attempt to give the party an easier […]
11 months ago
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., center, joined from left by Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., c...

Republicans grapple with voter frustration over rising health care premiums

WASHINGTON (AP) — The first caller on a telephone town hall with Maryland Rep. Andy Harris, leader of the House’s conservative Freedom Caucus, came ready with a question about the Affordable Care Act. Her cousin’s disabled son is at risk of losing the insurance he gained under that law, the caller said. “Now she’s looking […]
11 months ago
Sasha Gallant, a former employee of the U.S. Agency for International Development and current co-fo...

Private donors gave more than $125M to keep foreign aid programs going after US cuts

NEW YORK (AP) — When the Trump administration froze foreign assistance overnight, urgent efforts began to figure out how to continue critical aid programs that could be funded by private donors. Multiple groups launched fundraisers in February and eventually, these emergency funds mobilized more than $125 million within eight months, a sum that while not […]
11 months ago
President Donald Trump meets with Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on the sidelines of ...

Lula is optimistic there will be a US-Brazil trade deal after meeting with Trump in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Brazil’s leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva expressed confidence Monday that his country and the United States will reach a trade deal, saying that U.S. President Donald Trump had practically “guaranteed” it during their talks the day before. The two presidents held talks on the sidelines of a regional summit […]
11 months ago
Former President Joe Biden speaks after receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Edward M. K...

Biden calls these ‘dark days’ as he urges Americans to ‘get back up’

Former President Joe Biden called these “dark days” as he urged Americans to stay optimistic and not to check out in response to what he says are attacks on free speech and tests on the limits of executive power by President Donald Trump. “Since its founding, America served as a beacon for the most powerful […]
11 months ago
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., left, New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, center, and Rep. ...

New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani rallies voters with support from Bernie Sanders and AOC

NEW YORK (AP) — New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani rallied supporters Sunday with heavyweight support from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as the race enters its final stretch, telling a raucous crowd that his campaign is a “movement of the masses.” Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, took the stage at a small […]
11 months ago