Politics

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger addresses a crowd at a rally at her alma mate...

Democrats in Virginia have a hefty fundraising advantage heading into November general election

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Democrats in Virginia have built up a hefty fundraising advantage for their effort to reclaim the governor’s mansion in a November election that is seen as a bellwether for the party in power in Washington ahead of the 2026 midterms. Democrat Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA spy turned congresswoman, has a […]
1 year ago
Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks after U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer granted an emergency temporary re...

Appeals court lets Trump keep control National Guard troops deployed to Los Angeles during protests

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An appeals court on Thursday allowed President Donald Trump to keep control of National Guard troops he deployed to Los Angeles following protests over immigration raids. The decision halts a ruling from a lower court judge who found Trump acted illegally when he activated the soldiers over opposition from California Gov. […]
1 year ago
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a press briefing at the White House, Thu...

Trump is silent about Juneteenth on a day he previously honored as president

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump honored Juneteenth in each of his first four years as president, even before it became a federal holiday. He even claimed once to have made it “famous.” But on this year’s Juneteenth holiday on Thursday, the usually talkative president kept silent about a day important to Black Americans for […]
1 year ago
FILE - The exterior of Dodgers Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Dodgers is seen in Los Angeles on M...

ICE agents asked to leave Dodger Stadium parking lot, team says

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers organization said Thursday that it asked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to leave the Dodger Stadium grounds after they arrived at a parking lot near one of the gates. Dozens of federal agents with their faces covered arrived in SUVs and cargo vans to a lot […]
1 year ago
Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks at a press conference while President of the King's Privy ...

Canadian tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum could rise depending on trade talks, says Carney

TORONTO (AP) — Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday he will impose new tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum imports on July 21 depending the progress of trade talks with U.S. President Donald Trump. Carney, who met with Trump at the Group of Seven meetings in Alberta this week, reiterated Thursday that Canada and […]
1 year ago
FILE - The Shearon Harris nuclear plant is seen in Holly Springs, N.C., on June 14, 2013. (AP Photo...

North Carolina lawmakers finalize bill that would scrap 2030 carbon reduction goal

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina legislators finalized a bill Thursday that would eliminate an interim greenhouse gas reduction mandate set in a landmark 2021 law, while still directing regulators to aim to cancel out power plant carbon emissions in the state within the next 25 years. With some bipartisan support, the state Senate voted […]
1 year ago
FILE - A server tends to customers in an outdoor dining area on The Promenade in Santa Monica, Cali...

Some US restaurants and servers oppose Republicans’ ‘no tax on tips’ budget proposal

Some segments of the U.S. restaurant industry don’t support President Donald Trump’s proposal to eliminate federal taxes on tips, saying it would help too few people and obscure bigger issues in the way tipped workers are paid. The Independent Restaurant Coalition, which represents nearly 100,000 restaurant and bars, has appealed to Congress to reconsider the […]
1 year ago
Farm workers plow the land for a strawberry field in Oxnard, Calif., on Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (...

ICE raids and their uncertainty scare off workers and baffle businesses

WASHINGTON (AP) — Farmers, cattle ranchers and hotel and restaurant managers breathed a sigh of relief last week when President Donald Trump ordered a pause to immigration raids that were disrupting those industries and scaring foreign-born workers off the job. “There was finally a sense of calm,’’ said Rebecca Shi, CEO of the American Business […]
1 year ago
FILE -The United Nations headquarters building is seen from inside the General Assembly hall, Sept....

These are 5 things the UN does that you may not have known

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations’ vast system has tackled everything from delivering life-saving humanitarian aid to providing crucial peacekeeping operations in conflict zones since it was established in the wake of World War II. As the international body closes in on 80 years, questions about its relevancy and efficiency have sharpened from supporters […]
1 year ago
(AP Illustration / Peter Hamlin)Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS...

New Hampshire’s Juneteenth celebration culminates with dance event

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) — By the time the drumming and dancing starts Thursday, an organization that promotes African American history and culture in New Hampshire will have hosted nearly a dozen events to celebrate Juneteenth. The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire’s weekslong celebration will culminate with the rededication of the African Burying Ground Memorial […]
1 year ago
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger addresses a crowd at a rally at her alma mate...

In Virginia and New Jersey governor’s races, Democrats reprise a 2018 roadmap for opposing Trump 2.0

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (AP) — Abigail Spanberger opened her general election bid for Virginia governor Wednesday using her high school alma mater near Richmond. “I grew up walking the halls of Tucker High School,” the former congresswoman says as she walks past a bank of lockers in her first ad since securing the Democratic nomination. […]
1 year ago
A candlelight vigil for former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, who were fatally...

Photos of candlelight vigil honoring slain Minnesota lawmaker and her husband

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Hundreds gathered outside Minnesota’s Capitol for a candlelight vigil honoring former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, who were fatally shot at their home. Governor Tim Walz, visibly moved, comforted mourners as the couple’s son, Colin, placed a photo of his parents at a growing memorial filled with […]
1 year ago
President Donald Trump talks with reporters as he meets with members of the Juventus soccer club in...

Trump’s latest judicial pick is someone that Joe Biden almost nominated

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday he plans to tap Chad Meredith, a former state solicitor general in Kentucky, for a federal judgeship in the state — a move that could face objections from Sen. Rand Paul, who opposed the nomination three years ago. Meredith was the starring player in a bit of […]
1 year ago
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and his wife Gwen Walz attend a candlelight vigil for former House Speaker ...

Hundreds gather to remember prominent Minnesota lawmaker and husband slain in their home

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Hundreds of people, some clutching candles or carrying flowers to lay in front of a memorial, gathered outside Minnesota’s Capitol on Wednesday evening for a vigil to remember a prominent state lawmaker and her husband who were gunned down at their home. As a brass quintet from the Minnesota Orchestra […]
1 year ago
FILE - A man uses a cell phone in New Orleans, Aug. 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)Credit: AS...

Trump administration removing 988 hotline service tailored to LGBTQ+ youth in July

The 988 National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline will stop providing tailored support options to LGBTQ+ youth and young adults on July 17, according to a statement on a federal agency’s website. The decision preempts the Trump administration’s 2026 budget proposal to cut funding for 988’s LGBTQ+ youth and young adult services, and is raising alarm […]
1 year ago
FILE - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gestures as he and Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez, answer questions afte...

Three more DeSantis allies to take the helm of public universities in Florida

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The state board that oversees Florida’s public universities has confirmed three more allies of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to become university presidents. It’s a move supporters say will grant the schools the political capital to secure critical state funding and navigate a rapidly shifting legal landscape, and one that critics see […]
1 year ago

Families of trans kids worry about what’s next after Supreme Court rules on gender-affirming care

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A U.S. Supreme Court decision Wednesday upholding Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors is leaving transgender children and their parents uncertain and anxious about the future. The court handed President Donald Trump’s administration and Republican-led states a significant victory by effectively protecting them from at least some of the legal […]
1 year ago
Republican South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster holds up a ceremonial copy of a bill he signed changi...

Under a hot summer sun, South Carolina’s governor says energy law will keep air conditioners humming

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Under the hot South Carolina summer sun, Republican Gov. Henry McMaster held a ceremonial bill signing for a law he and other supporters said will make sure the rapidly growing state has the energy to run air conditioners and anything else well into the future. McMaster signed the bill into law […]
1 year ago
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, questions the witnesses during a Senate Committee on the Judiciary hearing ...

Senate Republicans hold hearing on Biden’s mental fitness as Democrats boycott

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly six months after Joe Biden left the White House, Senate Republicans are still scrutinizing his presidency, kicking off the first in what’s expected to be a series of congressional hearings this year on his mental fitness in office. Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee brought in three witnesses Wednesday — none […]
1 year ago
A U.S. Marine stands guard outside the downtown Metropolitan Detention Center Tuesday, June 17, 202...

Photos of downtown Los Angeles after mayor lifts curfew imposed during protests

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Downtown Los Angeles businesses are hoping customers will return after Mayor Karen Bass lifted a curfew she had imposed last week to prevent vandalism and break-ins during nighttime protests against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. The curfew set in place June 10 provided “successful crime prevention and suppression efforts” and protected […]
1 year ago
Staff search visitors entering the Wisconsin Senate gallery in the state Capitol just days after th...

Lawmakers on edge as statehouse security tightens after Minnesota shootings

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Anxious lawmakers convened Wednesday under heightened security in Wisconsin’s state Capitol, one of the most publicly accessible statehouses in the country, days after a legislator and her husband in neighboring Minnesota were shot and killed at their home and others were targeted. The tension playing out in Wisconsin and other states […]
1 year ago
FILE - Wind turbines stretch across the horizon at dusk at the Spearville Wind Farm, Sept. 29, 2024...

Federal judge to deny Trump administration’s motion to dismiss lawsuit over block on wind projects

A federal judge in Massachusetts said Wednesday he plans to deny a motion by the Trump administration to dismiss a lawsuit over its blocking of wind energy projects, siding with a coalition of state attorneys general. Led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, attorneys general from 17 states and Washington, D.C. are suing in […]
1 year ago
A man looks at flames rising from an oil storage facility after it appeared to have been struck by ...

As Israel strikes Iran, many wonder if the US will deepen its involvement

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — As Israeli strikes kill top Iranian generals, take out air defenses and damage nuclear sites, many wonder if President Donald Trump will deepen U.S. involvement in the conflict. Trump has long railed against what he refers to as the “stupid, endless wars” waged by his predecessors, including in Afghanistan […]
1 year ago
FILE - Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., left, speaks with Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., right, during a S...

California senators demand Trump immigration officials stop using Medicaid data

WASHINGTON (AP) — California’s two U.S. senators demanded on Wednesday that the Trump administration stop using personal data of millions of Medicaid enrollees — including their immigration status — as part of its sweeping deportation campaign. In a letter to top administration officials, Democratic Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla expressed alarm over an Associated […]
1 year ago