Politics

Trump administration finalizes push to allow oil and gas drilling in Alaska wildlife refuge

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Trump administration on Thursday finalized a plan to open the coastal plain of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling, renewing long-simmering debate over whether to drill in one of the nation’s most sensitive wilderness areas. The plan fulfills a promise by President Donald Trump and congressional […]
11 months ago
FILE - U.S. President Donald Trump, left, meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting ...

China and the United States, Fall 2025: A timeline of remarks, threats, critiques — and dialogue

Tensions between the U.S. and China escalated in the weeks leading up to a possible meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. In response to recent U.S. restrictions, China plans to expand permitting requirements on rare earth products. Trump has threatened a 100% tariff on Chinese goods. Such is the game […]
11 months ago
A home is left damaged in Kipnuk, Alaska, on a stream bank after the remnants of Typhoon Halong cau...

Trump issues disaster declarations for Alaska and other states but denies Illinois and Maryland

President Donald Trump approved major disaster declarations for Alaska, Nebraska, North Dakota and the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe late Wednesday, while denying requests from Vermont, Illinois and Maryland and leaving other states still waiting for answers. The decisions fell mostly along party lines, with Trump touting on social media Wednesday that he had “won […]
11 months ago
This photo, undated and and in an unknown location, provided by family member Zeyad Kadur shows tee...

A Florida teenager is in an Israeli prison. Why his family and advocates say he should be released

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A Florida family already grieving the beating death of a 20-year-old relative is now pleading with U.S. leaders to help free the dead man’s cousin, a 16-year-old Palestinian-American from Florida who has been held in an Israeli prison for eight months. Relatives, advocacy groups and some Congress members have been […]
11 months ago
FILE - A man uses a cell phone in New Orleans on Aug. 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)Credit: ...

Watch those texts! Smartphones emerging as a new way for public figures to get into hot water

NEW YORK (AP) — Some politicians carry threats to their livelihood in the palms of their hands. News stories in recent weeks about offensive or ill-advised text messages have blown up the careers of several young Republicans in a chat group, led a nominee for a White House job to drop out, threatened the campaign […]
11 months ago
FILE - The state Capitol building is seen on Dec. 12, 2012, in Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osor...

Michigan terminates controversial EV battery plant and seeks to claw back millions in incentives

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan is demanding millions of dollars in incentives back from a Chinese company after plans to build an electric vehicle battery plant collapsed following years of pushback against the project from neighbors and members of Congress. Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer supported the $2.36 billion factory in 2022, and state lawmakers approved […]
11 months ago
FILE - Volunteer Ollie Taylor fills bags with food at the Coconut Grove Crisis Food Pantry, which o...

States worry about how to fill the gap in food aid ahead of a federal benefits halt

A federal food aid program that helps about one-eighth of Americans buy groceries stands to be paused Nov. 1 because of the government shutdown, and even some states that want to step in to fill the gap have found they can’t. Recipients of the food aid, food banks, states and advocates are bracing for a […]
11 months ago
FILE Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., arrives in the Old Senate Chamber for a mock swearing-in ceremony, ...

Debt problems that dogged Sen. Jim Justice as West Virginia’s governor continue to nip at his heels

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The trail of debts — and claims made trying to collect them — that dogged Jim Justice well before he became West Virginia’s two-term Republican governor has ballooned since the former billionaire became a U.S. senator earlier this year. Justice was elected last November to the Senate seat vacated by the […]
11 months ago
U.S. Border Patrol Commander-At-Large Gregory Bovino stands with federal immigration enforcement ag...

As federal agents ramp up Chicago immigration crackdown, more elected officials caught in crosshairs

CHICAGO (AP) — Hoan Huynh was going door-to-door informing businesses of ramped up immigration enforcement on Chicago’s North Side when the Democratic state lawmaker got an activist notification of federal agents nearby. He followed agents’ vehicles and then honked to warn others when he was pulled over. Masked federal officers pointed a gun at him […]
11 months ago
New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks during his election campaign event, Monday, O...

Backing Israel was considered mandatory for New York politicians. Then came Zohran Mamdani

NEW YORK (AP) — A few weeks before his stunning loss to Zohran Mamdani in the Democratic mayoral primary, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo put forth a political calculus long accepted as fact in New York: “Being a Democrat,” he said, “it’s synonymous that you support Israel.” Mamdani, who would be the city’s first Muslim mayor, […]
11 months ago
FILE - Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron (10) smiles on sideline during an NCAA college football game...

Former Crimson Tide quarterback AJ McCarron is running to be Alabama’s lieutenant governor

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Former University of Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron, who helped lead the team to back-to-back national championships, announced Thursday that he running for lieutenant governor of Alabama. McCarron made the announcement in a video posted to YouTube on Thursday. McCarron, a first-time candidate, described himself as a political outsider. He cited conservative […]
11 months ago
This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows the White House in Washington, Sept. 26, 2025, with...

Satellite images show before and after of demolition of White House East Wing

WASHINGTON (AP) — New satellite images taken Thursday show the scale of the demolition of the White House East Wing as President Donald Trump moves forward with the construction of a new ballroom at the White House. See the change in images from Oct. 23 and Sept. 26, 2025 in images from Planet Labs PBC.
11 months ago
FILE - Team Oracle aerobatics pilot Sean D. Tucker flies over Coast Guard Island during a photo fli...

What to know about Coast Guard Island in California, where federal agents have headed

Federal immigration agents were greeted by protests Thursday in the San Francisco Bay Area on their way out to a century-old, government-owned artificial island that houses a U.S. Coast Guard base. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents began arriving at Coast Guard Island to support federal efforts to track down immigrants in the country illegally. […]
11 months ago
Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures while speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the Rus...

Trump’s turnaround on sanctions targets Russia’s oil companies that fund the war in Ukraine

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The U.S. and the European Union are hitting Russia with another round of sanctions, aiming to cut into oil and gas export earnings that fund Moscow’s war against Ukraine. More than 3 1/2 years into the war, the effort remains a cat-and-mouse game, with Russia finding new ways to get around […]
11 months ago
Construction workers atop the U.S. Treasury, bottom right, watch as work continues on a largely dem...

What lawmakers are saying about Trump’s demolition of the East Wing

WASHINGTON (AP) — They’re divided along party lines on policy. They’re divided on the government shutdown. And now federal lawmakers are divided on the demolition of the East Wing of the White House to make room for the 90,000-square-foot ballroom that President Donald Trump wants to build. The stunning images of the teardown this week […]
11 months ago
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., holds a news conference on day 23 of the government shutd...

Senate rejects bills to pay federal workers during government shutdown

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Thursday rejected dueling partisan bills to pay federal workers during the government shutdown, with both Republicans and Democrats deflecting blame as many employees are set to miss their first full paycheck at the end of this week. With unpaid staff and law enforcement standing nearby, Republicans objected as Democrats […]
11 months ago
Construction workers, bottom right, atop the U.S. Treasury, watch as work continues on a largely de...

White House East Wing demolished as Trump moves forward with ballroom construction, AP photos show

WASHINGTON (AP) — Associated Press photos on Thursday show the entire White House East Wing has been demolished as President Donald Trump moves forward with a ballroom construction.
11 months ago
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, left, and Independent candidate former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, ...

Eric Adams to endorse once bitter rival Andrew Cuomo in New York City’s mayoral race

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams will endorse Andrew Cuomo in the city’s mayoral election, a spokesperson said Thursday, throwing his weight behind a bitter rival he recently called a “snake and a liar” as the former governor tries to defeat Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee. Adams’ spokesperson Todd Shapiro said […]
11 months ago
Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner speaks at a town hall in Ogunquit, Maine, Wednesda...

What to know about the tumultuous Maine Senate primary

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — After days of posting multiple apology videos, showing off his chest to reveal a covered up tattoo that had been connected with a Nazi symbol and distancing himself from old online comments, Maine Democrat Graham Platner says he’s only further committed to his U.S. Senate campaign. Platner, an oyster farmer and […]
11 months ago

Trump pardons Binance founder Changpeng Zhao

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who created the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange and served prison time after failing to stop criminals from using the platform to move money connected to child sex abuse, drug trafficking and terrorism. Zhao had asked Trump for a pardon previously. He has deep […]
11 months ago

Trump backs off planned surge of federal agents into San Francisco after talking to the mayor

ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he’s backing off a planned surge of federal agents into San Francisco after speaking to the mayor, as protesters gathered outside a U.S. Coast Guard base where they were located. Trump posted on social media that Mayor Daniel Lurie told him Wednesday night that the […]
11 months ago
FILE - Marwan Barghouti, center, raises his handcuffed hands in the air on the opening day of his t...

Trump eyes imprisoned Palestinian leader Barghouti as US looks to Gaza’s post-Hamas rule

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is suggesting he could call on Israel to release imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, the most popular and potentially unifying Palestinian leader, as the United States aims to fill a leadership vacuum in postwar Gaza. Trump, in an interview published Thursday, said he has discussed the potential for Barghouti’s […]
11 months ago
FILE - Republican gubernatorial challenger state Sen. Darren Bailey participates in a debate, on Oc...

4 family members of Illinois governor candidate killed in Montana helicopter crash, campaign says

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Four family members of a Republican running for governor in Illinois were killed in a Montana helicopter crash on Wednesday, his campaign said. Killed in crash were the son and daughter-in-law of former state Sen. Darren Bailey, a Republican who lost the 2022 gubernatorial election in Illinois and is seeking his […]
11 months ago
President Donald Trump speaks as he meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office...

The Latest: US strikes 2 more alleged drug-carrying boats, this time in the Pacific Ocean

The U.S. military on Wednesday launched its ninth strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel, killing three people in the eastern Pacific Ocean, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, expanding the Trump administration’s campaign against drug trafficking in South America. It followed another strike Tuesday night, also in the eastern Pacific, that killed two people, Hegseth posted […]
11 months ago