MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Trump administration said Thursday that it has opened an investigation into whether a Minnesota state agency’s newly updated affirmative action policy violates civil rights laws. The Minnesota Department of Human Services’ policy requires supervisors to provide a “hiring justification when seeking to hire a non-underrepresented candidate.” Supervisors who don’t comply can […]
ROME (AP) — The co-sponsors of a new bipartisan U.S. sanctions package targeting Russia briefed European allies and Ukraine on the legislation Thursday, in an effort to show continued resolve to help Kyiv and force Moscow to the negotiating table through what they describe as a “game-changer” bill. The bill backed by Republican Sen. Lindsey […]
BOSTON (AP) — Plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s campaign of arresting and deporting college faculty and students who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations spent the first few days of the trial showing how the crackdown silenced scholars and targeted more than 5,000 protesters. The lawsuit, filed by several university associations, is one of […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — World leaders, lawmakers and even one Native American tribe are deploying a novel strategy for remaining on good terms with Presidential Donald Trump: Praise his peacemaking efforts and nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize. The announcements of nominations are piling up for the mercurial Republican president, who has long coveted the […]
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Five state lawmakers who were denied access to a new immigration detention center built by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration in the Florida Everglades have sued the governor, arguing that he overstepped his authority in blocking legislative oversight of the facility known as “Alligator Alcatraz.” Thursday’s filing with the state Supreme Court […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Director Kash Patel pledged at his confirmation hearing that the bureau would not look backward, but the Trump administration’s fresh scrutiny of the Russia investigation has brought back into focus a years-old inquiry that continues to infuriate the Republican president. The Justice Department appeared to acknowledge in an unusual statement this […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Thursday opened a civil rights investigation into the hiring practices at George Mason University, expanding a national campaign against diversity policies to Virginia’s largest public university. The Education Department said it is responding to a complaint from multiple professors at George Mason who accuse the university of favoring […]
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton, the wife of Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, filed for divorce on Thursday, seeking to end 38 years of marriage as her husband campaigns for the U.S. Senate. Angela Paxton had stuck by her husband through a decade of legal troubles that included state and […]
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Federal judges will weigh a request to bring Alabama back under the preclearance requirement of the Voting Rights Act after ruling the state intentionally diluted the voting strength of Black residents when drawing congressional lines. Black voters and civil rights organizations, who successfully challenged Alabama’s congressional map, are asking a three-judge […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — White House budget director Russell Vought suggested in a Thursday letter that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is in violation of government building rules in the renovation of the Fed’s headquarters. Vought, in a letter he shared on social media, called the initial renovation plans featuring rooftop terrace gardens, VIP dining rooms […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked an attempt to reverse a little-noticed provision from their tax and spending cuts law that professional gamblers warn could be the end of their industry. Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada sought unanimous passage of a bill that would roll back the change on gambling tax […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended a memorial service on Thursday for two slain Israeli Embassy staffers as he wraps up a four-day visit to Washington in which talks with President Donald Trump, White House aides and lawmakers focused on finding a pathway to a ceasefire deal in Gaza. But as Netanyahu gets […]
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The top Democrat in the U.S. House is holding a town hall Thursday in Louisiana, home to Republican Speaker Mike Johnson and his deputy, to rally against the health care cuts in the GOP bill that President Donald Trump signed into law. Led by New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, Democrats are […]
NEW YORK (AP) — On a recent afternoon, Mahmoud Khalil sat in his Manhattan apartment, cradling his 10-week-old son as he thought back to the pre-dawn hours spent pacing a frigid immigration jail in Louisiana, awaiting news of the child’s birth in New York. For a moment, the outspoken Palestinian activist found himself uncharacteristically speechless. […]
FORT PIERCE, Fla. (AP) — A man charged with attempting to assassinate Donald Trump last year at his Florida golf course told a federal judge Thursday he wants to fire his court-appointed lawyers and represent himself. Ryan Routh made his request during a hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon. When the judge asked […]
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan State University professor Josh Cowen announced Thursday that he is running for one of the battleground state’s most competitive congressional districts, joining a crowded field of Democrats seeking to challenge Republican Rep. Tom Barrett. In an interview with The Associated Press, Cowen said federal worker layoffs and cuts to research […]
NEW YORK (AP) — Nursing homes already struggling to recruit staff are now grappling with President Donald Trump’s attack on one of their few reliable sources of workers: immigration. Facilities for older adults and disabled people are reporting the sporadic loss of employees who have had their legal status revoked by Trump. But they fear […]
ROME (AP) — The head of the United Nations’ migration agency warned Thursday that Western nations risk creating greater instability by simultaneously tightening borders and reducing development aid to countries experiencing mass migration. In an interview with The Associated Press, Director General of the International Organization for Migration Amy Pope said that an approach focused […]
GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday will consider Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s request to be sent to Maryland to await trial on human smuggling charges, a bid aimed at preventing the Trump administration from trying to deport him again. Abrego Garcia could be released as soon as next week from a jail in […]
The Trump administration has announced it’s issuing sanctions against an independent investigator tasked with probing human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories, the latest effort by the United States to punish critics of Israel’s 21-month war in Gaza. The State Department’s decision to impose sanctions on Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur for the West […]
Americans overwhelmingly view the cost of child care as a significant issue, and most support initiatives to offer free or low-cost day care and to require employers to provide paid family leave for parents of babies, according to a new poll. But they’re divided over how to solve the problem and what role the government […]
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — One hundred years ago, a public high school teacher stood trial in Dayton, Tennessee, for teaching human evolution. His nation is still feeling the reverberations today. The law books record it as State of Tennessee v. John T. Scopes. History remembers it as the “ Monkey Trial.” The case ballooned into […]
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A federal judge in New Hampshire will hear arguments Thursday on whether to certify a class-action lawsuit that would include every baby affected by President Donald Trump’s restrictions on birthright citizenship. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of a pregnant woman, two parents and their infants, is among numerous cases challenging Trump’s […]
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart will meet Thursday in Malaysia for what could be a testy conversation as tensions between the countries rise over Moscow’s increasing attacks on Ukraine and questions about whether Russia’s leader is serious about a peace deal. Rubio and Foreign Minister […]
