Politics

Paola Freites, who asked to be identified by her middle name and second last name to protect her fa...

Florida was a top destination for immigrants who came to the US under Biden

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — After Paola Freites was allowed into the U.S. in 2024, she and her husband settled in Florida, drawn by warm temperatures, a large Latino community and the ease of finding employment and housing. They were among hundreds of thousands of immigrants who came to the state in recent years as immigration […]
1 year ago
FILE - Texas state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, right, listens as Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, ...

Texas’ redrawn US House map that boosts GOP begins a key court test

A panel of federal judges will begin Wednesday to consider whether Texas can use a redrawn congressional map that boosts Republicans and has launched a widening redistricting battle ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The case in an El Paso courtroom is the first test of Texas’ new map, which was quickly redrawn this summer […]
1 year ago
FILE - Construction continues at the Lithium Nevada Corp. mine site Thacker Pass project, April 24,...

US takes a minority stake company operating one of world’s largest lithium mines in Nevada

The U.S. government is taking a minority stake in Lithium Americas, a company that is developing one of the world’s largest lithium mines in northern Nevada. The Department of Energy will take a 5% equity stake in the miner, which is based in Vancouver. It will also take a 5% stake in the Thacker Pass […]
1 year ago
FILE - Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles speaks during a news conf...

Former judge is likely the next leader of the Mormon church and its 17 million members

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Dallin H. Oaks, a former Utah Supreme Court justice known for his jurist sensibilities and traditionalist convictions on marriage and religious freedom, is expected to be the next president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its more than 17 million members worldwide. The leadership transition follows […]
1 year ago
Pope Leo XIV gestures as he arrives for his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at The Va...

Pope intervenes in US abortion debate by raising what it really means to be pro-life

ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV has intervened for the first time in an abortion dispute roiling the U.S. Catholic Church, raising the seeming contradiction over what it really means to be “pro-life.” Leo, a Chicago native, was asked late Tuesday about plans by Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich to give a lifetime achievement award to […]
1 year ago
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., center, attends a news conference with members of Dem...

Democrats embrace a shutdown fight in a rare moment of unity against Trump

NEW YORK (AP) — On this, at least, the Democrats agree: It’s time to fight. Whether far-left activists, Washington moderates or rural conservatives, Democratic leaders across the political spectrum are shrugging off the risks and embracing a government shutdown they say is needed to push back against President Donald Trump and his Republican allies in […]
1 year ago

South Korea says US agrees to let Koreans work at sites with short-term visas and visa waivers

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The United States has agreed to allow South Korean workers on short-term visas or a visa waiver program to help build industrial sites in America, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday. The announcement came weeks after South Korea flew home more than 300 of its nationals who had been detained in […]
1 year ago

Conservative Wisconsin appeals court judge Maria Lazar running for state Supreme Court

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A conservative Wisconsin appeals court judge announced Wednesday she is running for an open seat on the battleground state’s Supreme Court, promising to stop the politicization of the courts after record-high spending in the last race fueled by billionaires Elon Musk and George Soros. Appeals Court Judge Maria Lazar, who formerly […]
1 year ago
Japan’s top negotiator on President Donald Trump’s tariffs, Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister...

Japan’s lead trade negotiator defends tariffs deal with the US

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s chief trade negotiator has defended a tariffs deal with the U.S., expressing respect for President Donald Trump and calling him a “tough negotiator.” Trade envoy Ryosei Akazawa noted that the pact setting on most Japanese exports to the U.S. at 15% was comparable to a deal between Washington and the European […]
1 year ago
The Capitol is seen at dusk as Democrats and Republicans in Congress are angrily blaming each other...

A government shutdown sparks a new wave of uncertainty, in photos

The U.S. government shutdown has begun after President Trump and Congress failed to reach a funding deal by Wednesday’s deadline. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers face furloughs and many offices will close. Trump has threatened irreversible actions as he seeks to punish Democrats. Democrats picked this fight as they demand funding to save health […]
1 year ago
FILE - The Kyger Creek Power Plant, a coal-fired power plant, operates April 14, 2025, near Cheshir...

EPA’s job is to protect America’s air, water and land. Here’s how a shutdown affects that effort

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency was already reeling from massive stuff cuts and dramatic shifts in priority and policy. A government shutdown raises new questions about how it can carry out its founding mission of protecting America’s health and environment with little more than skeletal staff and funding. In President Donald Trump’s second […]
1 year ago
Cuba's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla speaks during an interview with The Associated Pre...

Cuban foreign minister says Rubio’s ‘personal’ agenda in Latin America risks Trump’s peace prospects

NEW YORK (AP) — Recent U.S. escalations in the Caribbean are a result of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s “personal” agenda against the region, Cuba’s top diplomat said, adding that his American counterpart is increasingly pushing policies that do not align with President Donald Trump’s so-called mandate for peace. Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla told […]
1 year ago
FILE - The U.S. Department of Education building is seen in Washington, Nov. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Jo...

The government shutdown will halt some work at a diminished Education Department

WASHINGTON (AP) — Already diminished by cuts by the Trump administration, the U.S. Education Department will see more of its work come to a halt due to the government shutdown. The department says many of its core operations will continue in the shutdown kicking off Wednesday. Federal financial aid will keep flowing, and student loan […]
1 year ago
FILE - Democratic New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham speaks at a news conference, March 22, 202...

New Mexico Democrats rush to shore up safety net programs after federal cuts

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico’s Democratic lawmakers were set to meet Wednesday to begin shoring up safety net spending in response to President Donald Trump’s recent cuts in a top state for participation in Medicaid and federal food assistance. Legislators are seeking new food assistance spending, while Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is calling […]
1 year ago
Iris Delgado, center, founder of the Huntington Park Run Club, leads a huddle after their run in Hu...

LA running club monitors for immigration agents

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Iris Delgado started a running club in her largely Latino, Los Angeles suburb two years ago to connect runners and advocate for safety measures like crosswalks and designated bike lanes. Now, with the Trump administration’s immigration raids rocking Huntington Park, the group’s motto of keeping each other safe has taken on […]
1 year ago
The sunset is seen from the Capitol before Republican and Democratic news conferences about the gov...

Government shutdown begins as nation faces new period of uncertainty

WASHINGTON (AP) — Plunged into a government shutdown, the U.S. is confronting a fresh cycle of uncertainty after President Donald Trump and Congress failed to strike an agreement to keep government programs and services running by Wednesday’s deadline. Roughly 750,000 federal workers are expected to be furloughed, some potentially fired by the Trump administration. Many […]
1 year ago

Court disqualifies Trump-appointed US attorney in Nevada from overseeing multiple criminal cases

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A federal judge has disqualified Trump-appointed Nevada federal prosecutor Sigal Chattah from several cases after concluding that she is “not validly serving” as acting U.S. attorney for the state. Nevada federal public defenders in four cases challenged Chattah’s appointment, arguing that her term expired in July after she was appointed by […]
1 year ago
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks to senior military leaders at Marine Corps Base Quantico, ...

Hegseth wants ‘male standard’ for combat roles. Many female veterans say that’s already the case

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in an address Tuesday to the military’s top leaders waded back into a topic that nearly derailed his confirmation early this year and helped elevate his voice as a Fox News commentator — the fitness of women to serve in combat. Hegseth told hundreds of military commanders at a hastily called […]
1 year ago
President Donald Trump walks from Marine One after arriving on the South Lawn of the White House, T...

Trump administration blames Democrats for shutdown in official government warnings as deadline nears

HOUSTON (AP) — With the first U.S. government shutdown in almost seven years looming, the Trump administration is using official government communications to blame Democrats and promote the president’s policies. At least one agency has posted a public warning blaming “the massive pain” of any shutdown on “The Radical Left,” provoking questions about potential violations […]
1 year ago
President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House before signing an executive ord...

Trump pulls nomination of E.J. Antoni to lead Bureau of Labor Statistics, AP source says

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is withdrawing the nomination of E.J. Antoni to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an AP source says. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the White House action, which hasn’t been publicly announced. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. […]
1 year ago
FILE - The emblem of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is displayed on a podi...

Civil rights agency drops a key tool used to investigate workplace discrimination

The U.S. civil rights agency responsible for enforcing worker rights will stop investigating complaints about company policies that don’t explicitly discriminate but may disproportionately harm certain groups, according to an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press. The memo, emailed to all area, local and district office directors of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission […]
1 year ago
President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in Wa...

Trump administration says Minnesota violates Title IX by allowing trans athletes in girls sports

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration said Tuesday that the state of Minnesota and its governing body for high school sports are violating a key federal law against sex discrimination by allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls sports. The ruling came from the civil rights offices at the U.S. Department of Education and […]
1 year ago
Journalist L. Vural Elibol receives medical assistance after being shoved by federal agents in immi...

Federal agents grab and shove journalists outside NYC immigration court, sending one to hospital

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal agents grabbed and shoved journalists in a hallway outside a New York City immigration court on Tuesday, sending one to the hospital in the latest clash between authorities enforcing President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and members of the public seeking to observe and document their actions. A visual journalist identified […]
1 year ago
FILE - University of South Florida students walk with suitcases toward a dorm in Tampa on Aug. 16, ...

University of South Florida names sole finalist for president amid closed-door selection process

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The University of South Florida in Tampa on Tuesday named longtime academic Moez Limayem as the sole finalist to be its next president, the latest university in the Sunshine State to announce only one contender in the search for its new leader. Unlike other candidates nominated to lead Florida’s public universities […]
1 year ago