Politics

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill ...

Todd Blanche is sworn in as attorney general after bruising confirmation fight

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, Todd Blanche, was sworn in Monday as attorney general after a bruising confirmation fight that exposed bipartisan concerns about the Justice Department’s direction under the Republican president. Another former Trump attorney — Emil Bove, now a federal appeals court judge — administered the oath of office […]
7 days ago

Pentagon official asks Asian allies to invest more in defense to deter aggression

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Pentagon official on Monday asked allies in Asia to invest more in their defense and help deter aggression in the region and said the United States remains committed to do the same with “partners, not protectorates.” Elbridge Colby, an undersecretary of defense, made the remarks at a forum in the […]
8 days ago
FILE - Cooter, actor Ben Jones, sits atop one of the 229 hotrods, named the General Lee, used in th...

Ben Jones, good ol’ boy ‘Dukes of Hazzard’ actor and 2-term US House member, dies at 84

Ben Jones, who played the good ol’ boy mechanic in “The Dukes of Hazzard” TV series and parlayed his fame into a political career and two terms in the U.S. House, has died. He was 84. Jones had a heart attack in his home Sunday in Washington, Virginia, as he was waiting to watch his […]
8 days ago
FILE - National Guard members gather near a large portrait of President Donald Trump on the Labor D...

The Latest: Progressives challenge establishment in Democratic primaries in Wisconsin and Minnesota

President Donald Trump is scheduled to swear in Todd Blanche, his old personal lawyer, as attorney general Monday after the Senate voted to confirm him early Saturday. Blanche’s path toward confirmation exposed deep concerns — from some Republicans as well as Democrats — over installing Trump’s close ally atop a Justice Department that historically prided […]
8 days ago
FILE - Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., speaks at the NYCLU's May Day rally for worker's and ...

Ocasio-Cortez says she’s freezing her eggs as she decides her next political moves

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says she is freezing her eggs as she decides her next political moves ahead of the 2028 presidential election campaign. “This is a choice that I am making to feel more in control of my life,” Ocasio-Cortez, 36, said on Instagram about her decision regarding her reproductive options. The New York congresswoman, […]
8 days ago
FILE - Armed National Guard soldiers from West Virginia patrol the Mall near the Capitol in Washing...

Washington grapples with a National Guard deployment extended until 2029

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s been 12 months since President Donald Trump announced a crime emergency in Washington, pledging to make the city “safe and beautiful” and deploying the National Guard. But a mission that seemed temporary has been extended through January 2029. Residents and a new cadre of local officials see in it an unacceptable […]
8 days ago
FILE - Olara Otunnu, the United Nations special representative for children and armed conflict, bri...

Ugandan statesman is in the race to become the next secretary-general of the United Nations

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — A Ugandan statesman is in the race to become the next secretary-general of the United Nations, the latest entrant in a contest that includes six others who want to succeed Antonio Guterres at the end of this year. Backed by Uganda, Olara Otunnu is traveling in New York “to meet delegations […]
8 days ago

Congressional Democrats launch probe into efforts to deport US military members and their families

Congressional Democrats said they are investigating the Trump administration’s efforts to deport military service members and their families after The Associated Press found more than 50 active-duty troops’ spouses and parents have been detained by immigration authorities. In a letter sent Sunday evening to the Department of Homeland Security, the Defense Department and the Department […]
8 days ago
A person walks past a sign for a polling place on the first day of in-person absentee voting for Wi...

Wisconsin, Minnesota primaries are next to feature progressive clash with Democratic establishment

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Progressive candidates for governor in Wisconsin and U.S. Senate in Minnesota are making their final pushes ahead of Tuesday’s election, increasing the pressure on a Democratic establishment that has spent the year on its heels. The primaries come a week after Abdul El-Sayed narrowly defeated Rep. Haley Stevens in Michigan’s divisive […]
8 days ago
President Donald Trump boards Air Force One at Morristown Airport, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026, in Morrist...

Trump announces staff secretary Will Scharf will be his new White House counsel

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump announced Sunday that his new White House counsel will be Will Scharf, the staff secretary who as the Trump-appointed head of the National Capital Planning Commission helped secure approval for the $400 million ballroom project. Trump said that, beginning Sept. 1, Scharf will be replacing David Warrington, who will […]
8 days ago
Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Abdul El-Sayed Speaks at a General Election Kickoff Rally for Mi...

El-Sayed spoke with Obama as Michigan Democrats look to unite after a bitter Senate primary

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. (AP) — Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Michigan, said Sunday he has spoken with Barack Obama and hopes the former president campaigns with him as the party tries to unite after a bitter primary that exposed deep rifts between its progressive and moderate wings. El-Sayed said his Friday conversation […]
9 days ago
People arrive for immigration court hearings in New York, Monday, July 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wen...

Many immigrants face deportation without a lawyer at their side in court. This program tries to help

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Lawyer Kamalpreet Chohan ran her finger down a list of 57 names of people scheduled to appear during a morning of hearings at the immigration court in California’s capital and pointed out one glaring absence. “None of these folks are represented,” she said. Chohan is the coordinator of a program that […]
9 days ago
The Harrah's Casino, owned by the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma, is seen in Chandler, Okla., Wednesday, Au...

Watchdog for $46 billion tribal gambling industry can’t enforce the law without a chairperson

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — On opening day at the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma’s new Harrah’s-branded casino, the tribe’s chairman watched customers pack the gambling floor while a queue of cars spilled out of the parking lot. “We couldn’t let them in because we were so full,” Chairman Jacob Keyes said. “That’s a direct impact from […]
9 days ago
Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., from left, seated alongside daughter Nicole Nordone and husband Larry ...

Darline Graham tests value of a famous name vs. lack of experience in South Carolina primary

FLORENCE, S.C. (AP) — Few people have anything bad to say about Darline Graham, who was catapulted from obscurity last month when she was appointed to replace her late brother Lindsey Graham in the U.S. Senate. “I think Darline’s wonderful,” said Kathy Bustos of Mount Pleasant, after attending a Republican forum last week. But that […]
10 days ago
FILE - Bethsaida Sigaran, left, of Baltimore, her brother Jaime Sigaran, with American Rivers, and ...

A pillar of environmental enforcement is targeted by Trump and Musk’s AI company

WASHINGTON (AP) — Right-leaning legal activists along with Elon Musk ’s artificial intelligence company have brought sweeping challenges against a cornerstone of legal enforcement in the United States: the right of private groups, people and local governments to sue over violations of many major laws. Their argument, supported by the Trump administration, is that the […]
10 days ago
FILE - Maine loggers Stacey Kelly, second from left, Troy Jackson, and Hilton Hafford are threatene...

How Troy Jackson went from Maine logger to the Democratic nominee for Senate against Susan Collins

ALLAGASH, Maine (AP) — Troy Jackson stood alongside a small group of loggers deep in the northern Maine woods and stared down State Police troopers who threatened to arrest them. The lumberjacks had used their trucks to block access to the Quebec border in protest of Canadian loggers who were stealing their jobs by working […]
10 days ago
FILE - President George W. Bush, center, poses with President-elect Barack Obama, and former presid...

Trump goes unmentioned but not ignored as Clinton, Bush and Obama step up as essayists on presidents

WASHINGTON (AP) — When George W. Bush wrote an essay this year about another president named George, he avoided mentioning the one named Donald. So did Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. The three ex-presidents joined a roster of historians and authors in contributing to the In Pursuit project, a 250th-anniversary series that had each writer […]
10 days ago
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., talks with reporters outside of the Senate chamber during a vote at the U...

Senators head for the exits without meeting Trump’s demands for voting bill

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators headed for the exits in the predawn hours Saturday, ending for now a crushing standoff over President Donald Trump’s demands that they stay in session to pass a strict proof-of-citizenship voting bill before the summer recess. While they wrapped up many key priorities in the overnight votes, advancing Trump’s SAVE America […]
10 days ago

Todd Blanche narrowly confirmed as Trump’s attorney general in overnight vote

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate confirmed Todd Blanche as attorney general in a vote early Saturday morning, cementing President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney’s command of a Justice Department the Republican president has sought to bend to his will. The Republican-led Senate voted 50-49 to make Blanche the second confirmed attorney general since Trump returned […]
10 days ago
Sen. Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., left, speaks as Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., listens during...

Senate approves funding bill to avoid a shutdown before the election

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate in an overnight vote Saturday approved a short-term measure to fund federal agencies into early December and avoid a potentially chaotic government shutdown during the middle of campaign season. The late-summer action on a funding fix is unusual. Normally, Congress waits until the final days or hours of a funding […]
10 days ago
President Donald Trump speaks before signing executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House...

What to know about Trump’s new attempt to limit birthright citizenship

The Trump administration is once again trying to limit who can become an American, with a pair of executive orders issued this week that attempt to place restrictions on birthright citizenship and on foreigners who give birth in the U.S. A Supreme Court decision in June struck down a previous attempt at restricting birthright citizenship, […]
10 days ago
Shaka Smith, a vegan influencer who's politically an independent, poses for a portrait at his fast-...

California may fine content creators who don’t disclose they were paid to post about politics

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Weeks before voting ended in California’s primary for governor, Los Angeles-based influencer Shaka Smith took to Instagram to tell his more than 700,000 followers whom he was voting for and why. “Healthcare shouldn’t bankrupt you, housing should not feel impossible, polluters shouldn’t pass their bill to us and artists should not […]
10 days ago
FILE - Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall speaks during a Senate Armed Services budget hearin...

Pentagon revokes former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall’s access to classified information

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon revoked former U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall’s “eligibility” to access classified information and barred him from holding “any sensitive position,” alleging Friday that he disclosed sensitive information about Air Force One’s capabilities to the media. It follows reporting last month, including from The New York Times, on security concerns […]
10 days ago

Mark Cruz to lead Indian Health Service amid staffing and infrastructure challenges

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The U.S. Senate voted Friday to confirm Mark Cruz, a citizen of the Klamath Tribes, to lead the federal agency that provides healthcare for some 2.8 million American Indian and Alaska Native patients. Cruz will serve a four-year term as director of the Indian Health Service, a position that has sat […]
10 days ago