Politics

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, seated from ...

Trump offers assurances that US troops won’t be sent to help defend Ukraine

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday offered his assurances that U.S. troops would not be sent to help defend Ukraine against Russia after seeming to leave open the possibility the day before. Trump also said in a morning TV interview that Ukraine’s hopes of joining NATO and regaining the Crimean Peninsula from Russia […]
1 year ago
FILE - View of the U.S.S. Gravely (DDG 107) destroyer, Feb. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, Fi...

US destroyers head toward waters off Venezuela as Trump aims to pressure drug cartels

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States is deploying three Aegis guided-missile destroyers to the waters off Venezuela as part of President Donald Trump’s effort to combat threats from Latin American drug cartels, according to a U.S. official briefed on the planning. The USS Gravely, the USS Jason Dunham and the USS Sampson are expected to […]
1 year ago
FILE - Gen. David Allvin testifies during a Senate Armed Services Committee nominations hearing on ...

Air Force’s top uniformed officer is retiring early in latest Trump military shake-up

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Air Force’s top uniformed officer is set to retire early in the most recent shake-up of military leadership during President Donald Trump’s second term. Gen. David Allvin will continue serving as the service’s chief of staff until a replacement is confirmed by the Senate, the Air Force announced Monday. He expects […]
1 year ago
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks in Lafayette Park, across from the White House, afte...

The Latest: Trump planning for Putin-Zelenskyy meeting while affirming security guarantees

President Donald Trump said he’s begun arrangements for a face-to-face meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss a pathway to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Trump affirmed that the U.S. would back European security guarantees but stopped short of committing U.S. troops to a collective effort to prevent Moscow from reinvading its neighbor. […]
1 year ago
Smoke rises to the sky following an Israeli army airstrike in Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip, Monda...

A record 383 aid workers were killed in global hotspots in 2024, nearly half in Gaza, UN says

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A record 383 aid workers were killed in global hotspots in 2024, nearly half of them in Gaza during the war between Israel and Hamas, the U.N. humanitarian office said Tuesday on the annual day honoring the thousands of people who step into crises to help others. U.N. humanitarian chief Tom […]
1 year ago

Democrats get police escorts to prevent a new redistricting walkout as California moves to retaliate

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Democrats who ended a walkout found themselves shadowed by law enforcement officers to keep them from repeating the protest that stalled Republican efforts to redraw congressional districts and fulfill President Donald Trump’s desire to reshape U.S. House maps. Republicans in the Texas House forced returning Democrats to sign what the […]
1 year ago
FILE - Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey stands in the governor's office after being sworn in...

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey resigns to take a top FBI position

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, a Republican who has been an ardent backer of President Donald Trump, said Monday that he is resigning to take a leadership position at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The move is the latest in a series of changes at the FBI under Director Kash […]
1 year ago
Author Jules Witcover photographed in his home, on Sept. 7, 2019, in Washington, D.C. (Marvin Josep...

Jules Witcover, reporter best known for ‘Politics Today’ column, dies at 98

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jules Witcover, who cowrote one of the nation’s leading political columns for nearly three decades, died Saturday at the age of 98, his daughter Amy Witcover-Sandford said. Witcover’s widely syndicated daily column, written jointly for 24 years with the late Jack Germond, gave him an outlet to register strong opinions, leaving little […]
1 year ago

Former President Jimmy Carter to be honored by USPS with commemorative Forever stamp

PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — The late President Jimmy Carter will be honored with a commemorative Forever stamp on what would have been his 101st birthday. The U.S. Postal Service will release the stamp for purchase on Oct. 1 in Atlanta. The postage features a 1982 portrait of the nation’s 39th president by painter Herbert E. […]
1 year ago
FILE - Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters speaks during a special state Boa...

Oklahoma to test teachers from New York, California to guard against ‘radical leftist ideology’

Oklahoma will require applicants for teacher jobs coming from California and New York to pass an exam that the Republican-dominated state’s top education official says is designed to safeguard against “radical leftist ideology,” but which opponents decry as a “MAGA loyalty test.” Ryan Walters, Oklahoma’s public schools superintendent, said Monday that any teacher coming from […]
1 year ago

Trump administration says driver in Florida crash was in US illegally, faults California policy

FORT PIERCE, Fla. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Monday that a truck driver accused of making an illegal U-turn that killed three people in Florida was in the country illegally, fueling a verbal tussle with California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office over immigration. Harjinder Singh made the illegal turn last Tuesday from […]
1 year ago
FILE - Poll workers set up ballot-marking machines at an early in-person voting site at Asheville-B...

North Carolina updates 20,000 voter records, seeks more ID numbers

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Voter registration records for more than 20,000 people in North Carolina have been successfully amended thus far in an effort by election officials to add missing identification numbers. In mid-July, the State Board of Elections began formally an effort that seeks to resolve a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump’s Justice […]
1 year ago

US Attorney Jay Clayton approved by judges to remain as top prosecutor in New York

NEW YORK (AP) — The judges of the Southern District of New York approved Jay Clayton on Monday to remain as the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan. The outcome was announced in a release by Southern District Executive Edward Friedland. It said he will serve as U.S. attorney unless someone else is nominated by President […]
1 year ago
FILE - Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, speak to reporters after a closed-door meeting with fellow Republic...

Iowa US Senate candidate ends bid to run against Republican incumbent Joni Ernst

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa Democratic state lawmaker bowed out of the 2026 U.S. Senate primary race on Monday and endorsed a fellow legislator as the “best hope” to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, who has yet to formally announce her bid for a third term. Rep. J.D. Scholten said in a […]
1 year ago
FILE - Elon Musk attends a news conference with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the Wh...

Judge issues injunction preventing Trump’s FTC from investigating watchdog Media Matters

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has issued an injunction preventing the Trump administration’s Federal Trade Commission from investigating Media Matters for America, the liberal media watchdog group that had alleged the spread of hate speech on X since Elon Musk acquired the social media platform. U.S. District Court Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan ruled Friday […]
1 year ago
Federal agents stage outside a Home Depot during an operation Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, in Los Angeles...

Federal agent fires weapon during immigration stop in Southern California, officials say

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal agent fired at a moving vehicle in Southern California after the driver refused to roll down his window during an immigration stop and sped off, the Department of Homeland Security said. A DHS statement said the driver struck two U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents as he drove away […]
1 year ago
FILE - A voter drops off their ballot at a dropbox on Election Day, Nov. 5, 2024, in Portland, Ore....

Trump vows to change how elections are run. The US Constitution doesn’t give him that power

President Donald Trump on Monday vowed more changes to the way elections are conducted in the U.S., but based on the Constitution there is little to nothing he can do on his own. Relying on false information and conspiracy theories that he’s regularly used to explain away his 2020 election loss, Trump pledged on his […]
1 year ago
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., speaks to reporters as he arrives for a depo...

Justice Department to begin giving Congress files from Jeffrey Epstein investigation, lawmaker says

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has agreed to provide to Congress documents from the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation, a key House lawmaker said Monday in announcing a move that appears to avert, at least temporarily, a potential separation of powers clash. The records are to be turned over starting Friday to the House […]
1 year ago
President Donald Trump meets with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office at the...

Back in the Oval Office, Zelenskyy wears a blazer and Trump doesn’t shout

WASHINGTON (AP) — It was only a few months ago that U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last met in the Oval Office, but Monday’s face-to-face between the two leaders looked markedly different. For much of their February exchange, during which Trump and Vice President JD Vance blasted Zelenskyy as “disrespectful” and […]
1 year ago
President Donald Trump meets with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office at the...

Photos of Zelenskyy, top European leaders and Trump: Can they end Russia’s war?

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Europe’s top leaders were meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday on ending Russia’s war in Ukraine. Read what to know and get live updates. This is a photo gallery curated by Associated Press photo editors.
1 year ago
FILE - The Department of Justice seal is seen during a news conference at the DOJ office in Washing...

20 states and DC sue DOJ to stop immigration requirements on victim funds

A coalition of attorneys general from 20 states and Washington, D.C., is asking a federal judge to stop the U.S. Department of Justice from withholding federal funds earmarked for crime victims if states don’t cooperate with the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts. The lawsuit filed Monday in Rhode Island federal court seeks to block the […]
1 year ago

Editorial Roundup: United States

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad: ___ Aug. 14 The New York Times says shrinking crime rate is encouraging America is in the midst of a historic decline in crime. In 2023, murders fell 10 percent, which was then the largest annual drop since reliable records began in 1960. Last year, […]
1 year ago
Texas Democratic lawmakers return to Texas after leaving two weeks ago to block a vote on a redrawn...

What to know about redistricting fights as Texas Democrats return and California starts work

Republicans can move ahead with redrawing Texas’ congressional districts now that Democratic lawmakers have returned to the state. Efforts to thwart President Donald Trump’s push to tilt the political map for next year’s midterm elections in his favor shifted to California. Dozens of Texas Democrats ended a two-week walkout Monday after Democrats in California heeded […]
1 year ago
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Federal Protective Services wait on a tow truck to take away a...

Mississippi becomes fourth state to send National Guard troops to DC in expanding federal crackdown

WASHINGTON (AP) — Joining forces from three other Republican-led states, the Mississippi National Guard will deploy 200 troops to Washington as part of the Trump administration’s ongoing federal policing and immigration overhaul in the nation’s capital. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said in a statement Monday that he has approved the deployment of approximately 200 Mississippi […]
1 year ago