Politics

Education Secretary Linda McMahon, talks to her staff as they wait on the North Lawn of the White H...

Education Department will release some frozen grants supporting after-school and summer programs

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Education Department will release some previously withheld grant money for after-school programs, days after 10 Republican senators sent a letter imploring the Office of Management and Budget to allow the funds to be sent to states. President Donald Trump’s administration on July 1 withheld more than $6 billion in federal grants […]
1 year ago
President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khal...

President Donald Trump will sign a new cryptocurrency bill into law on Friday

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday will sign into law a new set of regulations for a type of cryptocurrency that are seen as a way to legitimize the burgeoning industry. The GENIUS Act sets initial guardrails and consumer protections for stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency that is tied to a stable asset […]
1 year ago
FILE - The Federal Trade Commission building is seen, Jan. 28, 2015, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex ...

Trump’s firing of 2 Democrats on the Federal Trade Commission was unconstitutional, judge rules

A federal judge has ruled that President Donald Trump illegally fired two Democrats on the Federal Trade Commission earlier this year in his efforts to exert control over independent agencies across the government. One of the commissioners, Alvaro Bedoya, resigned after suing to challenge the firings. The other plaintiff, Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, can now resume […]
1 year ago
President Donald Trump speaks during a lunch with African leaders including Senegalese President Ba...

Trump’s pivot from aid to trade leaves Africa wary as it faces tariffs and uncertainty

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — When U.S. President Donald Trump met five African leaders in Washington in July, his lack of familiarity with the continent was on display. He praised Liberian President Joseph Boakai’s English — Liberia’s official language — and gestured at another leader to wrap up remarks. But the bigger takeaway was Trump’s pledge […]
1 year ago
FILE - The Federal Reserve Board Building is seen as it undergoes renovations, June 10, 2025, in Wa...

Trump appointees pushed more marble in Fed building renovation White House now attacks

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has looked to the marble finishes and hefty price tag of the Federal Reserve headquarters to claim grounds to fire Chair Jerome Powell, with whom he has tussled for years over interest rates. But the extensive use of marble in the building is, at least in part, the result […]
1 year ago
FILE - President Donald Trump signs an executive order on birthright citizenship in the Oval Office...

The Latest: House approves Trump’s $9 billion cut to public broadcasting and foreign aid

The House gave final approval to President Donald Trump’ s request to claw back about $9 billion for public broadcasting and foreign aid early Friday as Republicans intensified their efforts to target institutions and programs they view as bloated or out of step with their agenda. The vote marked the first time in decades that […]
1 year ago
President Donald Trump speaks during a ceremony to sign the "Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentany...

Takeaways from the AP’s reporting on Trump’s business deals

WASHINGTON (AP) — From crypto coins to bibles, overseas development deals to an upcoming line of cellphones, President Donald Trump’s family businesses have raked in hundreds of millions of dollars since his election. That flood of money — from billionaires, foreign governments and cryptocurrency tycoons, often with interests before the federal government — has permitted […]
1 year ago
FILE - People hold signs during a protest outside the annual Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference, ...

Most US adults think the GOP tax bill will help the wealthy and harm the poor, AP-NORC poll finds

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican elected officials are promoting their recently passed tax and spending bill as a win for working Americans, but a new survey shows that Americans broadly see it as a win for the wealthy. About two-thirds of U.S. adults expect the new tax law will help the rich, according to the poll […]
1 year ago
FILE - Rep. Billy Long, R-Mo., asks questions during hearing May 14, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washi...

Billy Long will be sworn in as IRS commissioner, taking over an agency he once sought to close

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Missouri congressman Billy Long will be ceremonially sworn in as commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service on Friday, taking over a beleaguered agency that he once sought to abolish and that has since been beset with steep staffing cuts and leadership turnover. Long won confirmation in a 53-44 Senate vote last […]
1 year ago
Adrienne Hazel, left, poses for a photo with her son Ricky on Thursday, July 17, 2025, in Southfiel...

Civil rights work is slowing as Trump dismantles the Education Department, agency data shows

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration insists it hasn’t wavered in its duty to protect the civil rights of America’s children even as it dismantles the Education Department. Yet its own data shows the agency has resolved far fewer civil rights cases than in past years despite families filing more complaints. The Education Department’s civil […]
1 year ago
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., departs a news conference at the Republican National Comm...

House Republicans grasp for response to demands for transparency in Epstein case

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans were grasping late Thursday to formulate a response to the Trump administration’s handling of records in the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case, ultimately putting forward a resolution that carries no legal weight but nodded to the growing demand for greater transparency. The House resolution, which could potentially be voted on […]
1 year ago
Birds fly behind a Turkish military guard post with a Turkish, left, and Turkish Cypriot breakaway ...

UN talks with rival leaders of Cyprus fail to reach deal on new border crossings

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations chief said Thursday that he would have liked more results from his meetings with the rival leaders of divided Cyprus, while the Turkish Cypriot leader said he was “very, very upset” that there was no agreement on opening four new border crossings. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the meetings […]
1 year ago
President Donald Trump speaks during a ceremony to sign the "Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentany...

Trump offers regulatory relief for coal, iron ore and chemical industries

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is granting two years of regulatory relief to coal-fired power plants, chemical manufacturers and other polluting industries as he seeks to reverse Biden-era regulations he considers overly burdensome. Trump issued a series of proclamations late Thursday exempting a range of industries that he calls vital to national security. The […]
1 year ago
President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio listen during a meeting with Bahrain's Cr...

Trump administration tells embassies to rein in criticism of foreign elections

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department is pulling back from commenting on or criticizing elections overseas unless there is a clear and compelling U.S. foreign policy interest in doing so. In new guidance issued Thursday to all U.S. embassies and consulates abroad, the department said that those outposts should refrain from issuing statements that invoke […]
1 year ago
Acting U.S. Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook speaks during a press conference announcing the indictme...

Wife of embattled Louisiana police chief charged in immigration visa fraud scheme also arrested

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The wife of a Louisiana police chief, who earlier this week was charged for his alleged role in a mass immigration visa fraud scheme, has also been arrested, state police said Thursday. Alison Doyle, a former employee of the small city of Oakdale, has been charged with two counts of […]
1 year ago
FILE - Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones speaks at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, Oct. 15, 2024,...

A Georgia Republican governor candidate questions legality of rival’s $10M campaign loan

ATLANTA (AP) — A Republican candidate for Georgia governor asked a state ethics body Thursday to determine whether his GOP rival illegally lent $10 million to a campaign committee to evade restrictions under state campaign finance law. Attorney General Chris Carr’s campaign lawyer asked the Georgia Ethics Commission for a Lt. Gov. Burt Jones was […]
1 year ago
Refugees carry food at a distribution center run by the World Food Programme (WFP) at Kakuma Refuge...

US says it destroyed 500 metric tons of expired food aid but it won’t affect future distribution

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department says its destruction of 500 metric tons of emergency food aid that was stored in a warehouse in the Middle East was required because it had expired and that the move will not affect the distribution of similar assistance moving forward. The high energy biscuits — used primarily to […]
1 year ago
Matsapha Correctional Complex is seen in Matsapha, near Mbabane, Eswatini, Thursday July 17, 2025. ...

5 US immigrants deported to Eswatini in Africa are being held in solitary confinement

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Five immigrants deported by the United States to the small southern African nation of Eswatini under the Trump administration’s third-country program are in prison, where they will be held in solitary confinement for an undetermined time, a government spokesperson said. Thabile Mdluli, the spokesperson, declined to identify the correctional […]
1 year ago
FILE - An information packet and an American flag are placed on a chair at the U.S. Citizenship and...

Attorneys sue to restore deportation protections for abused and neglected migrant children

Attorneys representing migrant children who were abused, neglected or abandoned by a parent asked a federal court on Thursday to restore their deportation protections after the Trump administration ended them. The lawsuit, filed in the Eastern District of New York, was filed on behalf of nine young people and their legal advocates who want a […]
1 year ago
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefin...

Trump won’t recommend special counsel in Epstein investigation, spokeswoman says

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will not recommend a special counsel in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, a White House spokeswoman said Thursday, turning aside calls for further action in an inquiry that has roiled the Justice Department and angered supporters who had been expecting a treasure trove of documents from the case. The rejection […]
1 year ago
President Donald Trump is greeted by Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., as he arrives at "Alligator Alcatra...

Emails show DeSantis administration blindsided county officials with plans for ‘Alligator Alcatraz’

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration left many local officials in the dark about the immigration detention center that rose from an isolated airstrip in the Everglades, emails obtained by The Associated Press show, while relying on an executive order to seize the land, hire contractors and bypass laws and regulations. The […]
1 year ago
FILE - Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents escort a detained immigrant into an elevator afte...

In American life, a growing and forbidding visual rises: the law-enforcement officer in a mask

NEW YORK (AP) — In a matter of months, it has become a regular sight around the country — immigration enforcement agents detaining people and taking them into custody, often as public anger and outcry unfold around them. But in the process, something has disappeared: the agents’ faces, covered by caps, sunglasses, pulled-up neck gaiters […]
1 year ago
FILE - Pumpjacks operate in the foreground while a wind turbines at the Buckeye Wind Energy wind fa...

Trump administration order requires interior secretary to sign off on all wind and solar projects

WASHINGTON (AP) — All solar and wind energy projects on federal lands and waters must be personally approved by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum under a new order that authorizes him to conduct “elevated review” of activities ranging from leases to rights-of-way, construction and operational plans, grants and biological opinions. The enhanced oversight on clean-energy projects […]
1 year ago
FILE - People stand in line during the last day of early voting, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Charlot...

Prodded by lawsuits, North Carolina seeks to tighten voter ID records for roughly 200,000 people

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina election officials on Thursday launched an online database of voter registration records for 103,000 people who need to add their driver’s license numbers or partial Social Security numbers to the state’s records, a move critics worry could disenfranchise some voters. The State Board of Elections began the process in […]
1 year ago