Politics

Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico, left, and Tarrant County Commissioner Alisa Simmons arr...

Plan to cut number of polling sites in a major Texas county draws protests as Senate race looms

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A plan in one of Texas’ largest counties to use dozens fewer polling locations than in previous years is drawing protests from Democrats who say the reductions could create confusion in the November midterm elections. The proposal, set for a vote Tuesday, would reduce the number of polling locations across booming […]
2 months ago
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent departs after speaking at a news conference, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026...

US Treasury blocks certain journalists from G20 meeting in North Carolina

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Treasury Department is preventing certain journalists from covering a finance meeting among the world’s most powerful countries, the latest example of how President Donald Trump’s administration has restricted media access. Individual reporters from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg were not granted credentials to the Group […]
2 months ago
FILE - A sign is displayed on a Google building at their campus in Mountain View, Calif., Sept. 24,...

Lake Ontario now called Lake America on Google Maps for US users after Trump ordered name change

Google has updated its maps application to rename Lake Ontario as ‘Lake America’ ​​for users in the United States, reflecting a recent order by President Donald Trump that changed the name of the lake, the global technology giant says. The Google Maps update comes days after Trump’s order amid an escalating trade war with Canada […]
2 months ago
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks at a news conference, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, at the Treasur...

US plans to sanction another bank in effort to clamp down on Iran transactions, Bessent tells AP

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — The Trump administration plans to impose sanctions on another bank this week in an effort to clamp down on Iran transactions, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday. Bessent spoke with The Associated Press ahead of Group of 20 meetings in Asheville, North Carolina, where he will meet individually with his counterparts […]
2 months ago

Exclusive: US coaches Polish forces in a drone-focused drill based on lessons from Ukraine

HOHENFELS, Germany (AP) — On a moonless and rainy night, a group of soldiers emerged from a ramshackle building meant to resemble a church. The alpine terrain loomed over them as they quietly set off for the tree line of the German countryside a short distance away. The soldiers are members of the Polish special […]
2 months ago
In this combination photo, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., speaks during a news conference at the Capitol ...

Moulton says Sen. Markey, 80, is too old for another term. Young Massachusetts Democrats are divided

BOSTON (AP) — In a race that has centered on whether Ed Markey, 80, is too old for another U.S. Senate term, the Massachusetts Democrat’s answer to a recent debate question was especially striking. When asked whether he uses AI platforms like Claude or ChatGPT in his work, Markey seemed unclear on the topic. He […]
2 months ago
The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln sails past Singapore as seen from Batam, Indones...

USS Abraham Lincoln sails past Singapore on its way home from Middle East

BATAM, Indonesia (AP) — The U.S. aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln sailed past Singapore early on Sunday as it headed home after a grueling deployment in the Middle East. It’s expected to stop in Thailand for a port visit. Associated Press journalists on the Indonesian island of Batam, across the Singapore Strait, spotted the massive […]
2 months ago
FILE - Olivia Rodrigo performs at the Glastonbury Festival in Somerset, England on June 29, 2025. (...

Olivia Rodrigo’s festival is uniting women and girls behind nonprofits promoting their well-being

Evoking the same do-it-yourself pop-rock feminism of her ’90s musical influences, Olivia Rodrigo raised $20 million for women’s well-being with a benefit show that activated her young audience. Daisy Chain Fields united a women-led lineup boasting queer pop star Chappell Roan, breakout rapper Doechii and riot grrrl pioneers Bikini Kill behind issues of women’s health, […]
2 months ago
FILE - Students walk through the Stanford University campus, March 14, 2019, in Santa Clara, Calif....

Trump cannot deport students for criticizing Israel, judge rules

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Citing the importance of the First Amendment, a federal judge in California says the U.S. government is unconstitutionally silencing critics of Israel’s war in Gaza and others as part of the Trump administration ‘s quest to deport noncitizens who it says disrupted college campuses while expressing their views. Judge Noël […]
2 months ago
FILE - Flames rise from flare stacks at the Amuay refinery in Los Taques, Venezuela, Jan. 14, 2026....

What we know about Trump’s deal giving US access to vast oil reserves in Venezuela

WASHINGTON (AP) — Besides a social media post from President Donald Trump, the White House has said little about what he is calling “THE BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY” in Venezuela. Trump said the agreement announced Friday night would give the United States a stake in Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, a step toward his […]
2 months ago
FILE - Voters cast their ballots during the primary election in Windsor, Conn., Aug. 11, 2026. (AP ...

Noncitizen voting claims animate Trump’s attacks on midterms and set up potential result challenges

The drumbeat by President Donald Trump and his allies about the perceived threats of voting by people who are not U.S. citizens is getting louder as the November election approaches. He is pushing to have the U.S. Postal Service send mail ballots only to voters verified as U.S. citizens. The Census Bureau promoted a dubious […]
2 months ago
FILE - Protestors march through Manhattan up to Central Park during the "Make Billionaires Pay" cli...

The Earth is sizzling, but climate isn’t a hot topic for Democrats in this year’s campaigns

BOSTON (AP) — Climate change has been the backdrop to Charles Hughes’ entire life, from kindergarten lessons about disappearing habitats to wildfire smoke billowing through the air he breathed while growing up in Colorado. But now that he’s a college student in Massachusetts, he said global warming is rarely a top issue. “Honestly, it doesn’t […]
2 months ago
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks at the Davie shipyard in Levis, Quebec on Monday, Aug. 2...

Untested in court, Trump’s new tariffs on Canada raise legal questions

WASHINGTON (AP) — In firing up a trade war with Canada, President Donald Trump turned to a 96-year-old statute so obscure that many trade lawyers didn’t even know it was still on the books. A week ago, Trump invoked Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 to slap a 50% tax on $20 billion […]
2 months ago
FILE - Motorbikes drive past a billboard depicting Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamene...

The US and Israel tried to topple Iran’s government. Six months on, new leaders are defying them

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — After six months of war, Iran’s leadership has coalesced around a hard core of military generals and clerics long entrenched in the ruling theocracy. They are ready for a potentially long confrontation with the U.S. and determined to prevent any unrest at home. It’s a far cry from U.S. […]
2 months ago
A helicopter from Marine Helicopter Squadron One, or HMX-1, flies past the White House after Presid...

Former White House teleprompter operator ordered to turn over profits, pay fine over insider trading

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former White House teleprompter operator accused of using inside knowledge to make bets on the prediction market Kalshi has been ordered to turn over more than $100,000 in profits and pay a $65,000 fine as part of a settlement with federal authorities. The settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, announced […]
2 months ago
Colombia's President Abelardo De la Espriella announces a joint effort with Bogota's Mayor Carlos F...

Colombia captures a suspected Tren de Aragua gang leader as US security ties deepen

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombian security forces captured a suspected senior leader of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, the U.S. Southern Command announced on Friday, hailing the arrest as a result of stronger military cooperation between the historically close allies. The capture on Thursday of Luis Saúl Pérez Nieto, who Colombian authorities described as […]
2 months ago
President Donald Trump holds up a signed executive order in the Oval Office of the White House, Thu...

Seneca Nation calls for reversal of Trump’s ‘Lake America’ executive order

The leader of the Seneca Nation in upstate New York is criticizing President Donald Trump’s decision to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America,” saying it violates a more than 225-year-old treaty and shows a “blatant disrespect” for the Indigenous people who gave it its name in the first place. Seneca Nation President J. Conrad Seneca […]
2 months ago
President Donald Trump waves after arriving off Air Force One, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, at Joint Base...

Trump says US has entered deal with Venezuela to take control of 65 billion barrels of oil reserves

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday said the U.S. has entered an agreement with Venezuela to take control of 65 billion barrels of the South American country’s oil reserves. Trump in a social media post announced the agreement he said was negotiated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and […]
2 months ago
President Donald Trump speaks after arriving on Air Force One, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, at Joint Base...

Trump says he will observe the 25th anniversary of 9/11 at the Pentagon

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will mark the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks at the Pentagon. Trump confirmed his plans Friday. Vice President JD Vance will attend the New York observance and other administration officials will go to the ceremony in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, the White House said. This year marks a quarter-century […]
2 months ago
FILE - An FBI seal is displayed on a podium before a news conference at the field office in Portlan...

FBI no longer treating an applicant’s experience with prostitution as automatic bar against hiring

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI is dropping a categorical hiring ban on applicants who have had sexual encounters with prostitutes and will instead consider in a more holistic manner at least some candidates who have engaged in the practice in the past, according to people familiar with the matter. The move away from an automatic […]
2 months ago
This image taken from a WRIC video shows workers attaching straps to a Confederate statue as they p...

Virginia removes three Confederate memorials

Years into efforts to purge Richmond, Virginia — a former Confederate Capital — of memorials honoring the Confederacy, the Commonwealth of Virginia began removing three more Confederate memorials in the city on Friday. Statues honoring Confederate Generals Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson and Gov. William “Extra Billy” Smith, as well as Confederate Dr. Hunter Holmes McGuire, […]
2 months ago
FILE - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Steven Butler, charge d'affaires ad interim of the U...

US diplomats and family members slowly begin to return to the Mideast embassies

WASHINGTON (AP) — American diplomats and at least some of their family members are beginning to return to U.S. embassies in the Middle East after many were ordered to leave their posts during the early days of the war with Iran. Although most embassies are not returning to full strength immediately, starting this week the […]
2 months ago
FILE - A mockup of President Donald Trump's proposed triumphal arch stands at the Great American St...

National Park Service backs Trump’s arch, despite its impact on Washington’s sightline

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new National Park Service report backs President Donald Trump’s proposed arch, despite what it says are adverse effects to the sightline between a host of iconic landmarks in Washington, including the Washington Monument and Lincoln and Jefferson memorials. The report released Friday says the 250-foot-tall (76-meter) memorial arch is likely to […]
2 months ago

Far-right British provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos arrested by US immigration enforcement

U.S. Immigration officials arrested controversial British far-right commentator Milo Yiannopoulos on Thursday in New Orleans, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Immigration officials said that Yiannopoulos was arrested at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport on Friday and accused him of entering the United States illegally in May 2019 through New York City. An […]
2 months ago