Politics

Jennifer Bittner holds her 6-year-old daughter Amelia at their home on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025, in...

Last-minute scramble over pay takes a toll on military families during the shutdown

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government shutdown is exacting a heavy mental toll on the nation’s military families, leaving them not knowing from week to week whether their paychecks will arrive. Alicia Blevins, whose husband is a Marine, said she’s going to see a therapist in large part because of the grinding uncertainty. “I don’t feel […]
1 year ago
New Mexico House Speaker Javier Martinez talks about state efforts to temporarily backfill SNAP ben...

Judge to consider demand to force the government to keep funding SNAP food aid despite the shutdown

BOSTON (AP) — A federal judge in Boston on Thursday will consider a motion that would require the Trump administration to continue funding the SNAP food aid program despite the government shutdown. The hearing in front of U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani comes two days before the U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to freeze payments […]
1 year ago
President Donald Trump, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, shake hands after their U.S....

China agrees to purchase 25 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans annually, treasury secretary says

WASHINGTON (AP) — China has agreed to purchase 25 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans annually as part of an agreement reached by its leaders, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday. Bessent said China will start by purchasing 12 million metric tons of soybeans from the U.S. between now and January. “So you know, our […]
1 year ago
FILE - The U.S. Department of Education building is seen in Washington, on Nov. 18, 2024. (AP Photo...

New Trump administration rule bars student loan relief for public workers tied to ‘illegal’ activity

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is forging ahead with plans to eject some nonprofits from a popular student loan forgiveness program if their work is deemed to have a “substantial illegal purpose” — a move that could cut off some teachers, doctors and other public workers from federal loan cancellation. New rules finalized Thursday […]
1 year ago
FILE - Custodian Ray Keen inspects a clock face before changing the time on the 100-year-old clock ...

Here’s how Americans feel about changing the clocks, according to a new AP-NORC poll

NEW YORK (AP) — Yes, you’ll get a shot at an extra hour’s sleep. But even with that, it might be one of the most dreaded weekends on the American calendar: the end of daylight saving time. Only 12% of U.S. adults favor the current system of daylight saving time, which has people in most […]
1 year ago
FILE - This photo provided by Safe Restraints Inc., in October 2025, shows a custom version of the ...

Democratic senators demand answers on ICE’s use of full-body restraints on deportation flights

WASHINGTON (AP) — A “near-total secrecy” surrounding deportation flights and the use of full-body restraints onboard is raising “serious human rights concerns,” a group of 11 Democratic U.S. senators wrote in a letter Thursday to top immigration officials. U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland called upon U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to provide a […]
1 year ago
President Donald Trump, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping, look at each other after their summ...

Takeaways from Trump’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi

BANGKOK (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said he had an “amazing” meeting Thursday with China’s top leader Xi Jinping that produced very important decisions. Trump met with Xi on the sidelines of Pacific Rim summit gatherings in South Korea, where the two leaders agreed to dial back some of their trade measures and work […]
1 year ago
FILE - A view of the TikTok app logo, in Tokyo, Japan, Sept. 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, Fil...

China says it will work with US to resolve issues related to TikTok

President Donald Trump’s meeting Thursday with China’s top leader Xi Jinping produced a raft of decisions to help dial back trade tensions, but no agreement on TikTok’s ownership. “China will work with the U.S. to properly resolve issues related to TikTok,” China’s Commerce Ministry said after the meeting. It gave no details on any progress […]
1 year ago
FILE - A sub-surface atomic test is shown March 23, 1955 at the Nevada Test Site near Yucca Flats, ...

Trump’s comments on nuclear testing upend decades of US policy. Here’s what to know about it

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — President Donald Trump’s comments Thursday suggesting the United States will restart its testing of nuclear weapons upends decades of American policy in regards to the bomb, but come as Washington’s rivals have been conducting their own atomic tests and expanding their arsenals. Nuclear weapons policy, once thought to be […]
1 year ago
FILE - Voters wait in line to cast there ballot at a polling place at Rowan College in Mt Laurel, N...

Trump ramps up involvement in this year’s elections in possible preview of midterms pressure

DENVER (AP) — After months of extraordinary steps to ensure his party maintains control of the U.S. House of Representatives in next year’s midterms, President Donald Trump is turning his sights toward the voting process in next week’s elections. That pivot is raising alarm among Democrats and others who warn that he may be testing […]
1 year ago
Homes are illuminated by sunlight as the San Francisco skyline is seen in the background, Friday, O...

San Francisco mayor proposes denser housing to tackle affordability crisis

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie is trying to get more homes built for people like Liam Murphy: a fifth-generation city kid who found himself repeatedly outbid for tiny two-bedroom houses that wound up selling for $1.6 million. Murphy, 39, now lives about an hour’s drive away from his job as a […]
1 year ago
Vice President JD Vance takes the stage during a "This Is the Turning Point" campus tour event at t...

JD Vance calls for reduction in legal immigration at Turning Point event

Vice President JD Vance advocated a slowdown in legal immigration Wednesday, saying, “We have to get the overall numbers way, way down.” Vance took questions from students at the University of Mississippi at an event organized by Turning Point USA, stepping into the role of debater that was so often performed by the organization’s slain […]
1 year ago
U.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., center, speaks during a press conference in Chico, Calif., Wednes...

GOP congressman urges ‘no’ vote on California measure to redraw US House maps

CHICO, Calif. (AP) — California Rep. Doug LaMalfa made a last-ditch plea Wednesday for Republicans to vote ‘no’ on a ballot measure aimed at pushing him out of office. “It’s really a blatant power grab,” he said at a news conference in Chico, a city at the southern end of his district that covers a […]
1 year ago
This undated photo provided by his family on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025, shows Chanthila “Shawn” ...

Judge’s order blocking removal of man from US wasn’t received until after he was deported, DHS says

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Immigration authorities did not receive word of a court order blocking the removal of a man living in Alabama until after he had been deported to Laos, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday, dismissing claims that officials violated the order. Chanthila “Shawn” Souvannarath, 44, was deported on Friday, according […]
1 year ago

US Army Corps of Engineers approves Enbridge plan to encase aging Great Lakes oil pipeline

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Wednesday approved energy company Enbridge’s plans to encase a segment of an aging oil pipeline that runs beneath a Great Lakes channel, pushing past its own findings that construction could ruin the environmentally sensitive area. The corps initially planned to issue a permitting decision early next year. The […]
1 year ago

Federal government shutdown threatens SNAP food aid as several states scramble to help

With federal SNAP food assistance set to run dry this weekend amid the protracted U.S. government shutdown, Louisiana, New Mexico and Vermont became the latest states Wednesday to announce help for low-income households that rely on the funds to eat. They join states from New York to Nevada in scrambling to find ways to get […]
1 year ago
FILE - President Donald Trump speaks about the relocation of U.S. Space Command headquarters from C...

Colorado says relocation of Space Command to Alabama is ‘punishment’ for mail-in voting

DENVER (AP) — Colorado officials filed a lawsuit Wednesday claiming the relocation of U.S. Space Command to Alabama was illegally motivated by President Donald Trump’s desire to punish Colorado for its mail-in voting system. The litigation announced by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser asks a federal judge to block the move as unconstitutional. Then-President Joe […]
1 year ago
FILE - Students who survived the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School hug survivors of the Puls...

Judges rule some Florida gun laws are unconstitutional. Here’s what to know

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A pair of court rulings declaring some of Florida’s gun restrictions unconstitutional are creating some confusion in the notoriously firearm-friendly state — and fueling activists’ calls for Republican legislators to take action to update state statutes so they abide by the new legal landscape. Despite Florida’s history of being a gun-supporting […]
1 year ago
President Donald Trump, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands before their meeting at ...

Trump and China’s Xi are meeting in South Korea to try to roll back months of trade tensions

BUSAN, South Korea (AP) — President Donald Trump is meeting face-to-face with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday, a chance for the leaders of the world’s two largest economies to stabilize relations after months of turmoil over trade issues. Trump’s aggressive use of tariffs since returning to the White House for a second term combined […]
1 year ago
tariff cantwell chamber of commerce...
Heather Bosch

U.S. Chamber of Commerce endorses Sen. Cantwell’s bipartisan tariff reform bill

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has officially endorsed Senator Cantwell's bipartisan legislation that would set rules a president must follow to enact tariffs.
1 year ago
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks with reporters following a closed-door meeting of...

Food aid at risk of expiring as effort to fund SNAP benefits fails in Senate

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican leaders in Congress said it’s all or nothing on Wednesday as they rejected a Democratic push to carve out funding to continue food aid for more than 40 million Americans who stand to lose it as part of the government shutdown. Democrats have repeatedly voted against reopening the government as they […]
1 year ago
President Donald Trump looks towards Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney as he delivers remarks at a ...

Ontario’s premier says US ambassador should apologize for tirade against his diplomat

TORONTO (AP) — The leader of Canada’s most populous province on Wednesday said the U.S. ambassador to Canada should apologize to Ontario’s representative in Washington after the ambassador reportedly shouted profanely at him about the province’s anti-tariff ad. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Ambassador Pete Hoekstra owes David Paterson an apology for an “absolutely unacceptable” […]
1 year ago
House Minority Leader Del. Terry Kilgore, R-Scott, speaks to members of the media during a special ...

Louisiana and Virginia take steps toward redistricting in a growing battle for US House power

Republican lawmakers in Louisiana and Democrats in Virginia pressed ahead Wednesday with plans that could allow mid-decade redistricting as part of a growing national battle for partisan advantage in next year’s congressional elections. Louisiana lawmakers passed legislation pushing back the state’s 2026 primary elections by a month — a move that could give lawmakers extra […]
1 year ago
FILE - President Donald Trump talks to reporters about the table full of fast food in the State Din...

What shutdown? Trump isn’t canceling travel, golf or his ballroom even with the government shuttered

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump isn’t curtailing travel. He’s not avoiding golf or making do with a skeleton staff in the West Wing. Even hamburgers served at the White House aren’t from McDonalds, this time. In shutdowns past — including during Trump’s first term — presidents normally scaled back their schedules. With staffers deemed […]
1 year ago