Politics

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, center, and his brother Cesar Abrego Garcia, left, arrive at the Immigration ...

What to know Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s asylum claim. Experts say it’s a smart but risky legal move

Kilmar Abrego Garcia ’s request for asylum in the United States is a prudent legal strategy, experts say, because it gives his lawyers better options for fighting the Trump administration’s efforts to deport him. But it’s also a gamble. Depending on how the courts rule, Abrego Garcia could end up back inside the notorious El […]
1 year ago
Protest signs from a selection of historic demonstrations are displayed at the Smithsonian’s Nati...

A walk through a Smithsonian museum reveals American genius and cruelty as Trump presses for change

WASHINGTON (AP) — In an afternoon’s walk through ground zero of Americana — the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History — objects around every corner invite one question: What could possibly be more American than this? What could be more American than that enormous Star-Spangled Banner in all its timeworn glory? Or more American than […]
1 year ago
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Special Response Team members demonstrate how the team en...

Federal judge issues order blocking Trump effort to expand speedy deportations of migrants

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from carrying out speedy deportations of undocumented migrants detained in the interior of the United States. The move is a setback for the Republican administration’s efforts to expand the use of the federal expedited removal statute to quickly remove some migrants in […]
1 year ago

City council member in Connecticut faces additional charges in absentee ballot investigation

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) — A city councilor in Connecticut was arrested Friday on 10 additional counts in connection with an investigation into absentee ballot tampering in the state’s largest city, officials said. Bridgeport City Council member Alfredo Castillo was among five Democratic politicians and operatives charged earlier this year with tampering with absentee ballots in […]
1 year ago
FILE - Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham R-Calif, gestures while testifying on Capitol Hill in Washingto...

Randy ‘Duke’ Cunningham, Vietnam War hero convicted of accepting bribes as a congressman, dies at 83

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Randy “Duke” Cunningham, whose feats as a U.S. Navy flying ace during the Vietnam War catapulted him to a U.S House of Representatives career that ended in disgrace when he was convicted of accepting $2.4 million in bribes, has died. He was 83. Cunningham died Wednesday at a hospital in a […]
1 year ago
FILE - Environmental Protection Agency employees and their supporters take part in a national march...

EPA fires employees who publicly criticized agency policies under Trump

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday fired at least eight employees who signed a letter criticizing the agency’s leadership under Administrator Lee Zeldin and President Donald Trump. “Following a thorough internal investigation, EPA supervisors made decisions on an individualized basis,” an EPA spokeswoman said Friday in a statement. The so-called declaration of […]
1 year ago
Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano, left, listens as President Donald Trump speaks during...

Social Security whistleblower who claims DOGE mishandled Americans’ sensitive data resigns from post

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Social Security official who has filed a whistleblower complaint alleging the Department of Government Efficiency officials mishandled Americans’ sensitive information says he’s resigning his post because of actions taken against him since making his complaint. Charles Borges, the agency’s chief data officer, alleged that more than 300 million Americans’ Social Security […]
1 year ago

Federal appeals court to decide whether Texas can give police broad powers to arrest migrants

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal appeals court is set to decide whether a Texas law to give police broad powers to arrest migrants suspected of illegally entering the U.S. can take effect. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday vacated an earlier ruling by a three-judge panel that the law is unconstitutional, and […]
1 year ago
East High School's clocktower is seen in Denver on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Thomas Peiper...

Denver school district pushes back but hasn’t decided whether to change all-gender bathrooms

Denver school officials pushed back Friday against a U.S. Education Department finding that its all-gender bathrooms violate Title IX protections against sex-based discrimination, accusing the Trump administration of using that law to promote an “anti-trans agenda.” In a statement, Denver Public Schools said the department did not cite any statutes or legal cases to back […]
1 year ago
FILE - The Salesforce Tower and skyline are shown behind the gasoline price board at a gas station ...

California energy regulators pause efforts to penalize oil companies for high profits

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California energy regulators Friday put the brakes on plans requiring oil companies to pay a penalty if their profits climb too high, a temporary win for the fossil fuel industry two years after the governor declared the state had “finally beat big oil.” The postponement by the California Energy Commission until […]
1 year ago
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., listens during a town hall meeting on Friday, July 25, 2025, in Wasco, Ore....

Trump administration plans to remove nearly 700 unaccompanied migrant children, senator says

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is planning to remove nearly 700 Guatemalan children who had come to the U.S. without their parents, according to a letter sent Friday by Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, and the Central American country said it was ready to take them in. The removals would violate the Office of […]
1 year ago

Appeals court blocks Trump administration from ending legal protections for 600,000 Venezuelans

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal appeals court on Friday blocked President Donald Trump’s plans to end protections for 600,000 people from Venezuela who have had permission to live and work in the United States, saying that plaintiffs are likely to win their claim that the Republican administration’s actions were unlawful. A three-judge panel of […]
1 year ago
In this photo provided by the Department of Health and Human Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., rig...

Trump’s new CDC chief: A Washington health insider with a libertarian streak

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has picked Jim O’Neill, a former investor and critic of health regulations serving under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to take control of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, following a tumultuous week in which the agency’s director was forced out. O’Neill, Kennedy’s deputy at the Department […]
1 year ago
Patrick Crowley, president of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, calls on the Trump administration to allow ...

Trump admin cancels $679 million for offshore wind projects as attacks on reeling industry continue

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Transportation Department on Friday canceled $679 million in federal funding for a dozen offshore wind projects, the latest attack by the Trump administration on the reeling U.S. offshore wind industry. Funding for projects in 11 states was rescinded, including $435 million for a floating wind farm in Northern California and $47 […]
1 year ago
A member of the West Virginia National Guard gazes up at the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall ...

Judges, defense lawyers and grand jurors poke holes in cases from Trump’s DC federal intervention

WASHINGTON (AP) — A grand jury refused to indict a man who was captured on video hurling a sandwich at a federal agent. Prosecutors dropped another case after complaints that police illegally searched a man’s satchel and found a gun. Judges, too, have balked at keeping several defendants in jail, citing weak evidence and dubious […]
1 year ago
FILE - President Donald Trump holds up an executive order after signing it at an indoor Presidentia...

Trump administration tells states to remove references to ‘gender ideology’ from sex ed materials

President Donald Trump’s administration this week told 40 states to eliminate parts of lessons that focus on LGBTQ+ issues from federally funded sexual education materials or that they will lose funding. The move is the latest in a line of efforts since Trump returned to the White House in January to recognize people as only […]
1 year ago
FILE - Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer gives a policy speech at an event, April 9, 2025, in Washingt...

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer calls special election for state Senate seat that could split Michigan chamber

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called a special election Friday for a state Senate seat that has been vacant for nearly nine months, setting up a contest that could let Republicans hobble Whitmer’s agenda in the Democrat’s final year in office. The 35th Senate District has been unrepresented in the Legislature all […]
1 year ago
President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025, at the White House ...

US revokes visas of Palestinian officials ahead of UN General Assembly

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio has revoked the visas of a number of Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization officials ahead of next month’s annual high-level meeting of the U.N. General Assembly, where the groups previously have been represented. The State Department said in a statement Friday that Rubio also had ordered […]
1 year ago
With the White House in the distance, National Guard troops patrol the Mall as part of President Do...

As Trump threatens more Guard troops in US cities, here’s what the law allows

WASHINGTON (AP) — Since sending the National Guard to Los Angeles and Washington, President Donald Trump has openly mused about sending troops to some of the nation’s most Democratic cities — including Chicago and Baltimore — claiming they are needed to crack down on crime. The threats to expand a federal intervention have legal experts […]
1 year ago

Appeals court blocks Trump administration from ending legal protections for 600,000 Venezuelans

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal appeals court on Friday blocked President Donald Trump’s plans to end protections for 600,000 people from Venezuela who have had permission to live and work in the United States, saying that plaintiffs are likely to win their claim that the Republican administration’s actions were unlawful. A three-judge panel of […]
1 year ago
The Chicago city skyline is seen from Diversey Harbor, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Erin Hoo...

Chicago is in the Trump administration’s sights for its next immigration crackdown

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration plans to surge officers to Chicago for an immigration crackdown in its latest move to expand the federal law enforcement presence in major Democratic-run cities, according to two U.S. officials. The operation in the country’s third-largest city is expected to last about 30 days and could start as […]
1 year ago
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks to the media following a bill signing as Texas senators debate a bill...

Texas governor signs new voting maps pushed by Trump to gain five GOP seats in Congress in 2026

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday signed into law a new congressional voting map designed to help Republicans gain more seats in the 2026 midterm elections, delivering a win for President Donald Trump and his desire to hold onto a slim GOP majority in the U.S. House. The Texas map drafted […]
1 year ago
Kilmar Abrego Garcia attends a protest rally at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field offic...

Abrego Garcia’s lawyers worry he can’t get a fair trial and request gag order for top US officials

Lawyers for Kilmar Abrego Garcia say they are concerned he can’t get a fair trial in his human smuggling case because Trump administration officials keep attacking him with “highly prejudicial, inflammatory, and false statements.” The attorneys are asking a federal judge in Tennessee to order U.S. government officials involved with his case — including Attorney […]
1 year ago
FILE - Federal agents including Immigration and Customs Enforcement detain a person outside an immi...

What is E-Verify, which is used to vet employment eligibility? A look at the system by the numbers

OLD ORCHARD BEACH, Maine (AP) — Some U.S. businesses verify applicants’ eligibility to work using an online government system called E-Verify. When individuals present their documents showing they’re authorized to work, employers can check the validity of that information by using the free tool to compare it with records available to the U.S. Department of […]
1 year ago