Politics

President Donald Trump attends a business meeting at Qasr Al Watan, Friday, May 16, 2025, in Abu Dh...

Trump asks the Supreme Court to allow his government downsizing plans to proceed

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration on Friday asked the Supreme Court to allow him to resume his downsizing of the federal workforce, while a lawsuit filed by labor unions and cities proceeds. The Justice Department is challenging an order issued last week by a federal judge in San Francisco that temporarily halted Trump’s […]
2 years ago
Former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada arrives at the federal courthouse Friday, May 9, 2025, i...

Jury convicts ex-Tennessee House speaker and his aide in legislative mail scheme

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A federal jury on Friday convicted a former Tennessee House speaker and his onetime chief of staff in a scheme to win taxpayer-funded mail business from state lawmakers even after scandals drove the two out of political power. Former Republican Rep. Glen Casada was found guilty of 17 of 19 charges, […]
2 years ago
President Donald Trump signs the guest book after touring the Abrahamic Family House, Friday, May 1...

Humanities groups sue Trump administration to reverse local funding cuts

WASHINGTON (AP) — A humanities federation and a state council have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to reverse local funding cuts made by Trump adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Portland, Oregon, by the Federation of State Humanities Councils […]
2 years ago
FILE - Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden arrives at the presentation of the Gershwin Prize, to be ...

Donald Trump’s Library of Congress fight is really about the separation of powers

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s not really about the books. President Donald Trump’s abrupt firing of top officials at the Library of Congress and equally sudden attempt to appoint a slate of loyalists as replacements has instead morphed into an enormous fight over the separation of powers, as the White House tries to wrest control of […]
2 years ago
Shoppers consider a large-screen television with the help of a sales associate in a Costco warehous...

US consumer sentiment slides to lowest in 3 years as trade war raises anxiety about inflation

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer sentiment fell slightly in May for the fifth straight month as Americans increasingly worry that President Donald Trump’s trade war will worsen inflation. The preliminary reading of the University of Michigan’s closely watched consumer sentiment index, released Friday, declined 2.7% on a monthly basis to 50.8, the lowest since July […]
2 years ago
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, May 9, ...

Report: Trump had more exchanges with reporters in first 100 days than 6 predecessors

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump had more frequent exchanges with reporters during his first 100 days in office than any of his six predecessors, a study has found. Trump’s 129 interactions through news conferences or interviews averaged nearly two each workday, according to Martha Joynt Kumar, director of the White House Transition Project. […]
2 years ago
FILE - Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks to reporters just after House Republicans na...

Conservatives block Trump’s big tax breaks and spending cuts bill in a stunning setback

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a massive setback, House Republicans failed Friday to push their big package of tax breaks and spending cuts through the Budget Committee, as a handful of conservatives joined all Democrats in a stunning vote against it. The hard-right lawmakers are insisting on steeper spending cuts to Medicaid and the Biden-era green […]
2 years ago
President Donald Trump gestures before departing on Air Force One at Abu Dhabi International Airpor...

Trump says Iran has a proposal from the US on its rapidly advancing nuclear program

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that Iran has an American proposal over its rapidly advancing nuclear program as negotiations between the two countries go on. Trump made the comment aboard Air Force One as he ended his trip to the United Arab Emirates, the last stop on […]
2 years ago
A man takes an image with his phone next to where the border wall separating Mexico and the United ...

Asylum-seekers still arrive at the US border, but what will happen to them?

They arrive at the U.S. border from around the world: Eritrea, Guatemala, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Ghana, Uzbekistan and so many other countries. They come for asylum, insisting they face persecution for their religion, or sexuality or for supporting the wrong politicians. For generations, they had been given the chance to make their case to U.S. authorities. […]
2 years ago
FILE - This undated photo provided by Murray Osorio PLLC shows Kilmar Abrego Garcia. (Murray Osorio...

US wants to withhold details in Kilmar Abrego Garcia case. Judge will hear arguments

A federal judge in Maryland will hear arguments Friday over whether the Trump administration can invoke the state secrets privilege to withhold information about bringing Kilmar Abrego Garcia back to the United States. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered Abrego Garcia’s return from El Salvador in April and has since directed the administration to provide […]
2 years ago
FILE - The sign above the door to the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging inside t...

As Trump targets DEI, Republican-led states intensify efforts to stamp it out

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Republican-led states are accelerating efforts to stamp out diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, expanding from higher education to other government functions since President Donald Trump fully embraced the movement. Governors and lawmakers this year have about doubled last year’s actions targeting DEI initiatives, which had roughly doubled those of 2023, […]
2 years ago
Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., right, speaks during town hall event with Lewis County Commi...

Democratic Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez won in a Trump district. Now she faces an uprising from the left

CENTRALIA, Wash. (AP) — Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez gave Democrats a rare win last fall when she defeated a MAGA diehard in a Republican district in southwestern Washington state. Hailed by some as a model for winning back blue-collar voters who abandoned the Democratic Party in last year’s elections, the auto repair shop owner shunned […]
2 years ago
FILE - President Joe Biden, left, joined by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaks during...

Democrats want to focus on Trump. Instead, they’re being asked about Biden’s mental acuity

PHOENIX (AP) — Joe Biden’s time in public office is now behind him, but his age and mental acuity have become a litmus test for the next leaders in his party. A new book that alleges White House aides covered up Biden’s physical and mental decline has put the questions about Biden’s health back in […]
2 years ago
President Donald Trump speaks at the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum at the King Abdulaziz Internationa...

Trump’s Mideast trip splashes out on deals and diplomacy but is unusually quiet on human rights

WASHINGTON (AP) — Saudi royalty and American billionaires were in the front row for a speech in Riyadh where President Donald Trump condemned what he called past U.S. interference in the wealthy Gulf states. Gone were the days when American officials would fly to the Middle East to give “you lectures on how to live, […]
2 years ago
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testifies during a House Committee on Homeland Security hea...

Trump administration officials say Secret Service is investigating Comey’s ’86 47′ social media post

WASHINGTON (AP) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Thursday that federal law enforcement is investigating a social media post made by former FBI Director James Comey that she and other Republicans claim is a call for violence against President Donald Trump. In an Instagram post earlier in the day, Comey wrote “cool shell formation […]
2 years ago
Clean up continues inside the fire station after flooding on Wednesday, May 14, 2025 in Westernport...

FEMA’s acting chief says agency will shift more disaster recovery responsibilities to the states

The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s acting chief plans to shift responsibility for disaster recovery to states during the upcoming hurricane season, he said during a staff town hall on Thursday. David Richardson said his intention was to “return primacy to the states” as part of an agencywide transformation. In comments that cemented the Trump administration’s […]
2 years ago
FILE - Kentucky State Auditor Allison Ball speaks to the audience gathered in the Rotunda at the st...

Kentucky auditor sues governor in bid to end dispute blocking kinship care law

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s Republican auditor sued Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear on Thursday, asking a judge to untangle a dispute blocking the implementation of a state law meant to support adults who step up to care for young relatives who endured suspected abuse or neglect at home. The standoff revolves around whether funds are […]
2 years ago
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks at the Al Udeid Air Base, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in ...

Military commanders will be told to send transgender troops to medical checks to oust them

WASHINGTON (AP) — Military commanders will be told to identify troops in their units who are transgender or have gender dysphoria, then send them to get medical checks in order to force them out of the service, officials said Thursday. A senior defense official laid out what could be a complicated and lengthy new process […]
2 years ago
FBI Director Kash Patel testifies before a Senate Committee on Appropriations and Subcommittee on C...

The FBI is disbanding one of its Washington-based public corruption squads, AP sources say

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI is disbanding a Washington-based squad that investigates allegations of fraud and public corruption against members of Congress and other federal officials, people familiar with the matter said Thursday. The move is part of a broader reorganization of the FBI’s Washington field office, said one FBI official familiar with the plans, […]
2 years ago
FILE - Signs are seen as Tshishiku Henry, a former refugee and Washington State Delegate for the Re...

Seattle judge rescinds order directing Trump administration to admit 12,000 refugees

SEATTLE (AP) — A judge on Thursday rescinded an order that would have required the Trump administration to admit some 12,000 refugees into the United States. U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead in Seattle issued the order earlier this month, following instructions from a federal appeals court that said the government must process refugees who before […]
2 years ago
FILE - Georgia state Rep. Mack Jackson, D-Sandersville, looks at a map of proposed state House dist...

Challengers argue Georgia’s new maps still harm Black voters

ATLANTA (AP) — Challengers on Thursday told a federal appeals court that Georgia lawmakers are still violating Black voters’ rights after redrawing the state’s congressional and legislative maps. If judges uphold the challenges, they could order different district lines to be used in Georgia for the rest of the decade, making it possible that more […]
2 years ago
Gov. Tim Walz and leaders of the Minnesota Legislature announce a budget deal during a news confere...

Walz contrasts Minnesota’s bipartisan budget breakthrough with Washington’s deep divisions

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz and leaders of the Minnesota Legislature announced a hard-fought budget deal Thursday, contrasting the bipartisan cooperation that produced the agreement with the deep divisions that have tied Washington in knots. The Democratic governor and former vice presidential candidate noted that he was sharply critical of President Donald […]
2 years ago
A visitor looks at an exhibit of paintings by President George W. Bush on display at the George W. ...

Former President George W. Bush draws inspiration close to his Dallas home in his latest paintings

DALLAS (AP) — Former President George W. Bush didn’t need to look too far for inspiration for his newest works of art. The 78-year-old has brushed portraits of world leaders and people who immigrated to the U.S. But his newest collection draws on scenes much closer to home: his presidential library in Dallas. The exhibit […]
2 years ago
FILE - Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks to reporters just after House Republicans na...

Trump’s ‘beautiful’ bill spans 1,116 pages. Here’s what’s inside it

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans are advancing President Donald Trump’s big bill of tax breaks, spending cuts and beefed-up border security as Speaker Mike Johnson attempts to pass the package over unified Democratic opposition by Memorial Day. House committees have labored on the legislation, which runs a whopping 1,116 pages and is titled the “One […]
2 years ago