Politics

FILE - The Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott A...

Supreme Court clears way for deportation to South Sudan of several immigrants with no ties there

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for the deportation of several immigrants who were put on a flight in May bound for South Sudan, a war-ravaged country where they have no ties. The decision comes after the justices found that immigration officials can quickly deport people to third countries. The […]
1 year ago

University of California reiterates ban on student government boycotts of Israel

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The president of the University of California this week reiterated that student governments are prohibited from financial boycotts of companies associated with any particular country, including Israel, as the Trump administration continues its probe of alleged antisemitism on college campuses. Michael Drake did not mention Israel by name, but he did […]
1 year ago
FILE - The Colombian and U.S. flags decorate the table as U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin me...

US recalls top diplomat in Colombia as tensions with President Petro escalate

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — The Trump administration on Thursday recalled its top diplomat in Colombia for “urgent consultations” after recent comments from Colombia’s president appearing to question the U.S. position on an alleged plan to remove him from office. The U.S. State Department said Thursday that the charge d’affaires at the U.S. embassy in Bogota, […]
1 year ago
FILE - Pumpjacks operate in the foreground while a wind turbines at the Buckeye Wind Energy wind fa...

Here’s what to know about clean energy in Republican megabill headed to Trump

Congress passed a massive tax and spending cuts package Thursday that curbs billions of dollars in spending across clean energy. That means people will be paying a lot more for home solar, energy efficiency and other green technologies — and the nation’s efforts to address climate change just got a lot more challenging. The bill […]
1 year ago
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., is seen with other Republican House members after the pas...

Takeaways as Congress sends tax and spending cuts bill to Trump’s desk

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has passed the massive tax and spending cuts package that President Donald Trump calls “beautiful,” getting it to his desk a day before the July 4 deadline that he had set. The 887-page bill includes spending cuts, tax breaks, military spending, money for deportations and other longtime GOP priorities like […]
1 year ago
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., is seen in the chamber at the Capitol in Washington, Thur...

Photos capture the Republicans push to pass Trump tax cuts as opposition fails

WASHINGTON (AP) — The past week has seen Republicans on Capitol Hill working to pass President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” House Democrats failed Thursday to persuade enough Republicans — at least four — to vote against it two days after Senate conservatives passed the tax and spending cuts package Tuesday. Democrat Leader […]
1 year ago
FILE - The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) building is seen in Washington on Sept. 21, 2017. ...

EPA puts on leave 139 employees who spoke out against policies under Trump

The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday put on administrative leave 139 employees who signed a “declaration of dissent” with its policies, accusing them of “unlawfully undermining” the Trump administration’s agenda. In a letter made public Monday, the employees wrote that the agency is no longer living up to its mission to protect human health and […]
1 year ago
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as he tours "Alligator Alcatraz," a new migrant detent...

Republican donors and Florida’s hurricane know-how helped build ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ so quickly

In a matter of days, an isolated training airport in the Everglades where endangered Florida panthers roam became a sprawling immigration center christened “Alligator Alcatraz,” modeled after the state’s frequent responses to hurricanes and built in part by companies whose owners have donated generously to Republicans. It’s been less than two weeks since the state […]
1 year ago

What’s in Trump’s big bill that passed Congress and will soon become law

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans muscled President Donald Trump’s tax and spending cut bill through the House on Thursday, the final step necessary to get the bill to his desk by the GOP’s self-imposed deadline of July 4th. At nearly 900 pages, the legislation is a sprawling collection of tax breaks, spending cuts and other Republican […]
1 year ago
In this image taken from video, Amanda Hinton speaks about work requirements for Medicaid and the S...

Medicaid, food aid recipients worry about safety net cuts in bill sent to Trump

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Supporters of the sweeping tax and spending legislation that Congress has sent to President Donald Trump say the changes to Medicaid, food aid and other programs will encourage personal responsibility and halt those scamming the system. Critics of the bill, given final congressional approval Thursday, say the requirements will upend […]
1 year ago
Rep. Zack Hawkins, D-Durham, speaks against an anti-DEI bill on the House floor in the North Caroli...

North Carolina governor vetoes anti-DEI and transgender rights bills, calling them ‘mean-spirited’

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Democratic Gov. Josh Stein vetoed on Thursday three anti-DEI bills and another measure that in part would target transgender rights. His actions set up more showdowns with Republican lawmakers who pitch the legislation as doing away with structured racial bias in government and public education, protecting women and empowering […]
1 year ago
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., left, speaks in the House chamber prior to the final...

Hakeem Jeffries takes his ‘sweet time’ holding the floor to delay Trump’s tax bill

WASHINGTON (AP) — There’s no filibuster in the House, but Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries essentially conducted one anyway. Jeffries held the House floor for more than eight hours Thursday, taking his “sweet time” with a marathon floor speech that delayed passage of Republicans’ massive tax and spending cuts legislation and gave his minority party a […]
1 year ago
FILE - A North Atlantic right whale feeds on the surface of Cape Cod bay off the coast of Plymouth,...

Canada to take steps to protect vanishing North Atlantic right whales from ships

The Canadian government says it is taking steps this summer to protect a vanishing species of whale from lethal collisions with ships in its waters. The whale is the North Atlantic right whale, which numbers only about 370. The whales give birth off the southeastern U.S. in the winter and spring and migrate north to […]
1 year ago
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump pauses on stage during a military parade commem...

Melania Trump meets with patients, visits garden at Washington children’s hospital

WASHINGTON (AP) — First lady Melania Trump was set to visit with sick patients at Children’s National hospital in Washington on Thursday as the children made Fourth of July arts and crafts ahead of the holiday. Trump, continuing a tradition of support by first ladies for the pediatric care center, was also expected during her […]
1 year ago
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a plenary session of the 5th annual forum Strong Ide...

Putin and Trump to speak by phone in their 6th conversation this year

MOSCOW (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin said they will speak by phone Thursday, their sixth publicly disclosed chat since Trump returned to the White House this year. Trump said in a social media post the call will take place at 10 a.m. EDT. Neither leader offered any immediate details […]
1 year ago
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., walks behind his security detail through a crowd of repor...

The Latest: House leaders rush toward a final vote as Democrats hold the floor

House Republicans are ready to vote on President Donald Trump’s $4.5 trillion tax breaks and spending cuts bill early Thursday after staying up all night with GOP leaders and the president himself working to persuade skeptical holdouts to drop their opposition by his Fourth of July deadline. Final debates began in the predawn hours after […]
1 year ago
FILE - Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers gives the annual State of the State address, Jan. 22, 2025, at the...

Governor signs budget in early morning to secure Medicaid funds

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers signed a new two-year budget in the early morning hours Thursday in a race against Congress to ensure the state gets a federal Medicaid match that it would lose under President Trump’s tax and spending cuts package. In an extraordinarily rapid succession of events, Evers and Republican […]
1 year ago
Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee presents a signed bill that bans the sale of assault-style weapons in t...

How Rhode Island finally pushed a partial assault weapons ban over the finish line

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Passing a new law restricting assault weapons took Rhode Island lawmakers more than 10 years, but it may offer a road map to other states looking to ease the proliferation of such firearms. For advocates, the fight is a prime example of the current challenges to passing gun control measures in […]
1 year ago

House GOP clears key hurdle on Trump’s big bill, pushing it closer to vote

WASHINGTON (AP) — Up all night, House Republicans voted pre-dawn Thursday to advance President Donald Trump’s tax and spending cuts package, recouping after GOP leaders worked almost around the clock trying to persuade skeptical holdouts as they race to send the bill to his desk by the Fourth of July deadline. A roll call that […]
1 year ago
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung delivers a speech during a news conference to mark his first 3...

South Korea’s leader says trade deal with US remains unclear ahead of Trump’s deadline

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said that it remained unclear whether Seoul and Washington could conclude their tariff negotiations by the deadline set by President Donald Trump for next week, noting Thursday that both nations were still working to clarify their positions and identify areas of agreement. Speaking at […]
1 year ago
President Donald Trump talks with reporters before a flag pole is installed on the South Lawn of th...

Trump will kick off a yearlong celebration of America’s 250th anniversary with event in Iowa

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to deliver a “spectacular” yearlong birthday party to mark 250 years of American independence. On Thursday, he will be in the U.S. heartland to kick off the patriotic festivities leading up to next year’s anniversary. The event at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines […]
1 year ago

Man charged with killing former Minnesota House speaker is due back in court after delay

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The man charged with killing former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, and wounding a state senator and his wife, is due back in federal court Thursday for a hearing that was put on hold after his lawyer said his client had been unable to sleep while on […]
1 year ago
Massachusetts Health Connector Executive Director Audrey Morse Gasteier poses for a portrait in the...

Massachusetts advocates fear Trump’s bill will unravel health safety net in Obamacare’s model state

BOSTON (AP) — In the state that served as the model for Obamacare, advocates and health care workers fear the Trump administration is trying to dismantle piece-by-piece a popular program that has provided insurance, preventive care and life-saving medication to hundreds of thousands of people. Provisions contained in both the Senate and House versions of […]
1 year ago

Authorities search for a woman who got off a cruise ship in Alaska to hike and didn’t return

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Authorities were searching for a woman visiting Alaska’s capital city who did not return to her cruise ship from a hike she said she was taking, officials said Wednesday. The Juneau Police Department said it received a report Tuesday afternoon that the 62-year-old from Kentucky, who told relatives that morning that […]
1 year ago