Politics

President Donald Trump boards Air Force One to depart Joint Base Andrews, Md., Friday, May 23, 2025...

What it would take to convert a jet from Qatar into Air Force One to safely fly Trump

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump really wants to fly on an upgraded Air Force One — but making that happen could depend on whether he’s willing to cut corners with security. As government lawyers sort out the legal arrangement for accepting a luxury jet from the Qatari royal family, another crucial conversation is unfolding […]
1 year ago
Rayceen Pendarvis speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Washington, Tuesday, June...

As a generation of gay and lesbian people ages, memories of worse — and better — times swirl

WASHINGTON (AP) — David Perry recalls being young and gay in 1980s Washington D.C. and having “an absolute blast.” He was fresh out of college, raised in Richmond, Virginia, and had long viewed the nation’s capital as “the big city” where he could finally embrace his true self. He came out of the closet here, […]
1 year ago
San Francisco Public Defender Manohar Raju stands for a photo after speaking at a news conference a...

Democratic states double down on laws resisting Trump’s immigration crackdown

As President Donald Trump’s administration targets states and local governments for not cooperating with federal immigration authorities, lawmakers in some Democratic-led states are intensifying their resistance by strengthening state laws restricting such cooperation. In California alone, more than a dozen pro-immigrant bills passed either the Assembly or Senate this week, including one prohibiting schools from […]
1 year ago
FILE - President Donald Trump holds up an executive order after signing it at an indoor Presidentia...

The 911 presidency: Trump flexes emergency powers in his second term

WASHINGTON (AP) — Call it the 911 presidency. Despite insisting that the United States is rebounding from calamity under his watch, President Donald Trump is harnessing emergency powers unlike any of his predecessors. Whether it’s leveling punishing tariffs, deploying troops to the border or sidelining environmental regulations, Trump has relied on rules and laws intended […]
1 year ago
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger speaks during a press conference in front of ...

A Virginia Democrat hunts for votes in rural pockets where MAGA has strengthened its grip

CULPEPER, Va. (AP) — Democratic politics in rural Virginia are not of a bygone era, according to Abigail Spanberger. The former congressional representative, now the Democratic nominee in the race to be Virginia’s next governor, posts videos online of herself sitting in a car on an interstate highway that goes up and down the Appalachian […]
1 year ago
In this long exposure zoom lens effect, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with re...

Appeals court hands AP an incremental loss in its attempt to regain its access to Trump events

Digging deep into free-speech precedents in recent American history, a federal appeals panel handed The Associated Press an incremental loss on Friday in its continuing battle with the Trump administration over access by its journalists to cover presidential events. By a 2-1 margin, judges on the three-judge U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington granted Trump […]
1 year ago
President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, N.J....

Judge says administration can dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Friday denied a request by the American Library Association to halt the Trump administration’s further dismantling of an agency that funds and promotes libraries across the country, saying that recent court decisions suggested his court lacked jurisdiction to hear the matter. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon had previously […]
1 year ago
A man stands outside a business where federal immigration authorities conducted an operation on Fri...

Immigration authorities carry out enforcement activity across Los Angeles amid crowds of protesters

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Federal immigration authorities carried out enforcement activities at several locations in Los Angeles on Friday, with some clashes breaking out as crowds gathered outside a warehouse and other locations across the city to protest the activity. Federal law enforcement officials were present at a Home Depot, an apartment complex, federal courts […]
1 year ago
FILE - Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks at a news conference at the Justice Department, Feb. 12, 2...

Former DC police officer sentenced to 18 months for lying about leaking info to Proud Boys leader

WASHINGTON (AP) — A retired police officer was sentenced on Friday to serve 18 months behind bars for lying to authorities about leaking confidential information to the Proud Boys extremist group’s former top leader, who was under investigation for burning a Black Lives Matter banner in the nation’s capital. Shane Lamond was a lieutenant for […]
1 year ago
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., pauses in the door of his office to answer questions fro...

Trump’s tariffs could pay for his tax cuts — but it likely wouldn’t be much of a bargain

WASHINGTON (AP) — The tax cuts in President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act would likely gouge a hole in the federal budget. The president has a patch handy, though: his sweeping import taxes — tariffs. The Congressional Budget Office, the government’s nonpartisan arbiter of tax and spending matters, says the One Big Beautiful […]
1 year ago

Guest lineups for the Sunday news shows

WASHINGTON (AP) — ABC’s “This Week” — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy; House Speaker Mike Johnson. ___ NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla., and Cory Booker, D-N.J. ___ CNN’s “State of the Union” — Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla.; Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y. __ CBS’ “Face the […]
1 year ago
FILE - Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, left, claps as Tesla and Spac...

Musk could lose billions of dollars depending on how spat with Trump unfolds

NEW YORK (AP) — The world’s richest man could lose billions in his fight with world’s most powerful politician. The feud between Elon Musk and Donald Trump could mean Tesla’s plans for self-driving cars hit a roadblock, SpaceX flies fewer missions for NASA, Starlink gets fewer overseas satellite contracts and the social media platform X […]
1 year ago

Former Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley eyes GOP Senate run against Jon Ossoff in Georgia

DALTON, Ga. (AP) — Derek Dooley, a former University of Tennessee football coach, said Friday that he is considering a Republican run for U.S. Senate in Georgia in 2026 against Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff. The trial balloon shows how Gov. Brian Kemp’s decision not to run for the seat has left Georgia Republicans looking for […]
1 year ago
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy speaks during a news conference to provide a status update o...

Transportation chief seeks to weaken fuel economy standards, calls Biden-era rule ‘illegal’

DETROIT (AP) — Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a rule Friday that Biden-era fuel economy standards for gas-powered cars and trucks were illegal and moved to reverse them, paving the way for a likely reset of rules. Combined with Senate language in the pending budget bill to eliminate penalties for exceeding standards regulating how […]
1 year ago

X users were glued to the Musk v. Trump blowup. Could this be good for the platform?

The blowup between the president of the United States and the world’s richest man has played out on social media in real time, the latest, perhaps ultimate example of how X has become Elon Musk’s personal platform, his own reality show where anyone can tune in to watch the mercurial twists and turns of his […]
1 year ago
Andrew Cuomo, right, greets Jessica Ramos before participating in a Democratic mayoral primary deba...

Another politician who demanded Cuomo resign as governor now endorses him for NYC mayor

A growing number of Democrats who called on Andrew Cuomo to resign as governor amid sexual harassment allegations are now backing his comeback bid for New York City mayor — including one of his opponents in the race. On Friday, state Sen. Jessica Ramos became the latest to flip-flop on Cuomo and endorse him, casting […]
1 year ago
FILE - The U.S. Social Security Administration office is seen in Mount Prospect, Ill., Oct. 12, 202...

Supreme Court allows DOGE team to access Social Security systems with data on millions of Americans

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court cleared the way Friday for the Department of Government Efficiency to access Social Security systems containing personal data on millions of Americans. The justices sided with the Trump administration in its first Supreme Court appeal involving DOGE, the team once led by billionaire Elon Musk. The high court halted […]
1 year ago
A young man arrives at a travel agency on Thursday, June 5, 2025, in the Brooklyn borough of New Yo...

Trump banned travel from 12 countries, but included some exceptions to avoid legal battles

MIAMI (AP) — The new travel ban on citizens of 12 countries that restricted access to people from seven others includes some exceptions, part of the administration’s efforts to withstand the legal challenges that a similar policy known as the “Muslim ban” faced during Donald Trump’s first administration. The ban announced Wednesday applies to people […]
1 year ago
President Donald Trump, left, speaks during a meet withGermany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz, not pic...

State Dept says current US visas from travel ban countries will not be revoked

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department instructed U.S. embassies and consulates on Friday not to revoke visas previously issued to people from 12 mainly African and Middle Eastern countries now under President Donald Trump’s new travel ban, which goes into effect next week. In a cable sent to all U.S. diplomatic missions, the department said […]
1 year ago
FILE - This undated photo provided by Murray Osorio PLLC shows Kilmar Abrego Garcia. (Murray Osorio...

US charges Kilmar Abrego Garcia with transporting illegal immigrants into the country

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kilmar Abrego Garcia has been charged with in the United States with transporting illegal immigrants into the country, nearly three months after the Trump administration mistakenly deported him to his native El Salvador. The human trafficking charges stem from a 2022 vehicle stop in which the Tennessee Highway Patrol suspected him of […]
1 year ago
FILE - A drone carries a mortar shell as soldiers take part in the U.S.-led Immediate Response 25 m...

Trump’s new drone orders aim to counter threats while encouraging flying cars and supersonic flights

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump wants to counter the threats drones pose to national security under new rules released Friday, while also aiming to make it easier for Americans to fly faster than the speed of sound and expedite the development of the flying cars of the future. The three executive orders will encourage […]
1 year ago
FILE - People walk around the California State Capitol, Aug. 5, 2024, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Pho...

Power bills in California have jumped nearly 50% in four years. Democrats think they have solutions

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers this week advanced several efforts aimed at reining in utility profits and slashing electricity bills as part of their agenda to tackle the sky-high costs of living. The proposals would make sweeping changes to how utilities fund expensive infrastructure projects like putting power lines underground to guard against wildfires. […]
1 year ago
President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with the Fraternal Order of Police in the State Dinn...

U.S., Chinese officials to meet in London next week for new round of trade talks

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senior U.S. administration officials will meet with a Chinese delegation on Monday in London for the next round of trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing, President Donald Trump said Friday. The meeting comes after a phone call between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday, which the U.S. president described as […]
1 year ago
President Donald Trump speaks during a summer soiree on the South Lawn of the White House, Wednesda...

Trump once opened the door to the LGBTQ+ community. Now activists say he’s their top threat

WASHINGTON (AP) — When he first ran for office, Donald Trump appeared to be a new kind of Republican when it came to gay rights. Years earlier, he overturned the rules of his own Miss Universe pageant to allow a transgender contestant to compete. He said Caitlyn Jenner could use any bathroom at Trump Tower […]
1 year ago