Politics

A man crosses a street in Havana, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Jorge Luis Banos)Credit: AP Photo...

US commander meets with Cuban military officials as Trump pressures island nation

WASHINGTON (AP) — The top U.S. commander in Latin America met with Cuban military leaders on Friday in a “brief exchange on operational security matters” near the U.S. Navy base in Guantanamo Bay, the latest official to visit the island nation as President Donald Trump ramps up pressure on its leaders. Trump has warned that […]
3 months ago
Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, campaigns for the Republican nomination for governor during a rally wi...

Trump jumps into 2 GOP governor primaries, backing Evette in South Carolina and Feenstra in Iowa

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — President Donald Trump endorsed two Republican gubernatorial candidates Friday, wading into contests in South Carolina and Iowa that have pitted allies against each other in a fierce competition for their party leader’s blessing. In a pair of social media posts, Trump gave his backing to South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette […]
3 months ago
U.S. President Donald Trump, right, speaks with Chinese President Xi Jinping while leaving after a ...

US and China trade journalist expulsions days after Trump visits Xi in Beijing

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has revoked the visa of a Chinese national working for the state news agency Xinhua in the United States, in an apparent reciprocal act to Beijing’s decision to expel a New York Times reporter. A person familiar with the matter confirmed the visa had been revoked. The person spoke […]
3 months ago
A federal immigration officer pulls the respirator mask from a protester outside Delaney Hall deten...

NJ governor sends state police to set up protest zone outside contested immigration detention center

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill is sending state police to bring order to an immigration detention center in Newark that has been the site of violent demonstrations and arrests in recent days. The Democrat announced Friday that police will create designated protest zones and set up vehicle checkpoints to regulate traffic outside Delaney Hall. She […]
3 months ago
FILE - Cigarettes are arranged for a photograph in New York on Dec. 17, 2019. (AP Photo/Patrick Sis...

US adult cigarette smoking rate hits another all-time low

NEW YORK (AP) — The cigarette smoking rate among U.S. adults dropped to another all-time low last year, with 1 in 11 adults saying they were current smokers, according to government survey data released this week. Cigarette smoking is a risk factor for lung cancer, heart disease and stroke, and it’s long been considered the […]
3 months ago
Eileen Wang, the former mayor of Arcadia, Calif., at right, exits federal court after pleading guil...

Former Southern California mayor pleads guilty to secretly acting as agent of Chinese government

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A former Southern California mayor pleaded guilty Friday to acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government. Eileen Wang, who stepped down as the mayor of Arcadia earlier this month, was charged in April with one count of acting in the United States as an illegal agent of a foreign […]
3 months ago
Voters cast their ballots at the Dryades YMCA polling location in New Orleans, Saturday, May 16, 20...

Federal judge says New Hampshire must make it easier to prove citizenship when registering to vote

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A federal judge has said that New Hampshire must make voter registration easier by allowing applicants to attest to their U.S. citizenship if they don’t have the documents to prove it. The case was seen as the first major legal test of an election reform that has been pushed nationally by […]
3 months ago
FILE - The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is seen following a media tour intended t...

Judge says Kennedy Center board broke law putting Trump’s name on building, blocks closure

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge ruled Friday that President Donald Trump’s name was illegally added to the Kennedy Center and blocked the administration from closing the cultural and arts venue for major renovations. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper in Washington, D.C., ruled that the Kennedy Center board’s March 16 vote to close the facility […]
3 months ago
FILE - People wave Lebanese flags during a vigil, April 10, 2026, in Dearborn, Mich. (AP Photo/Juli...

Trump administration grants rare TPS reprieve, extending protections for 11,000 Lebanese

MIAMI (AP) — The Trump administration has extended protections shielding about 11,000 Lebanese from deportation, allowing them to stay and work in the United States for another six months. The decision, announced Thursday by the Department of Homeland Security, marked a rare reprieve for people protected by temporary measures which have been harshly criticized by […]
3 months ago
FILE - Beef is displayed for sale at a grocery store Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Pho...

Trump claims he’s making food more affordable but his examples ignore the big picture

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a Truth Social post on Wednesday, the president proclaimed “TRUMP’S MAKING FOOD AFFORDABLE,” and cited falling prices for a range of groceries, including avocados, fresh berries, and a variety of pantry staples. Yet just two weeks earlier the Labor Department had released inflation figures showing grocery prices up nearly 3% in […]
3 months ago
Hennepin County attorney Mary Moriarty holds up a document containing charges against ICE agent Chr...

ICE officer wanted for shooting a man during the Minneapolis crackdown is arrested in Texas

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A federal immigration officer wanted for shooting a Venezuelan man during the Trump administration’s Minnesota crackdown was arrested Friday in Texas, authorities said. Christian Castro, of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, was taken into custody 11 days after Minneapolis prosecutors charged him with assault and falsely reporting a crime in the […]
3 months ago
Louisiana Reps. Adrian Fisher, D-Dist 16, left, Chad Michael Boyer, R-Dist 46, and C. Travis Johnso...

Louisiana Republicans are poised to pass new US House districts in wider redistricting fight

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana’s Republican-controlled Senate is poised to pass a plan Friday to help the GOP maintain control of the U.S. House in November, potentially becoming the latest Southern state to eliminate a majority-Black congressional district that elected a Democrat. The state Senate is set to vote on a redistricting plan that […]
3 months ago
The Obama Presidential Center is seen in Chicago, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)Cred...

In a city with an iconic skyline, the Obama presidential museum aims to reshape Chicago architecture

CHICAGO (AP) — The granite monolith soars above a leafy stretch of Chicago’s South Side, a nearly windowless exterior more suited to a sci-fi film set than the state-of-the art presidential museum held within. Crews are putting the finishing touches on the Obama Presidential Center ahead of the official public opening on Juneteenth, more than […]
3 months ago
FILE - An American flag flies outside the Department of Justice in Washington, March 22, 2019. (AP ...

Judge temporarily blocks payouts from Trump’s $1.8B ‘anti-weaponization’ settlement fund

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (AP) — A federal judge has temporarily blocked any payouts from the Trump administration’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” settlement fund.
3 months ago
President Donald Trump departs Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Tuesday, May 26, 2026,...

The Latest: US and Iranian reach tentative deal to extend ceasefire and start new nuclear talks

U.S. and Iranian negotiators reached a tentative agreement Thursday to extend the ceasefire in the 3-month-old war by 60 days and start a new round of talks on Iran’s nuclear program, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter. Iran did not immediately confirm any deal. Vice President JD Vance on Thursday evening confirmed […]
3 months ago
The Calo Programs Residential Treatment Center is seen on Feb. 25, 2026, in Lake Ozark, Mo. (AP Pho...

Takeaways from inside a teen treatment center for adoptees, funded by taxpayers: runaways, assaults

LAKE OZARK, Mo. (AP) — An Associated Press investigation finds that private, for-profit residential treatment centers that care for adopted kids at exceptionally high rates are often funded by taxpayer dollars, but are subject to little oversight and few consequences after allegations of abuse and neglect. The investigation looks deeply at a facility in rural […]
3 months ago
The commons area of Mary Dickerson Juvenile Justice Center stands outside rows of cells, Feb. 24, 2...

Despite scrutiny, special education money flows to for-profit residential treatment centers

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Across the country, many for-profit residential facilities in the so-called troubled teen industry that claim to treat severe mental and behavioral health issues in children and teens are deftly tapping into taxpayer money meant for students with disabilities. Even in the face of increasing scrutiny over the safety of such private […]
3 months ago
Dawn breaks on the Calo Programs Residential Treatment Center in this aerial photo, Feb. 25, 2026, ...

Inside a taxpayer-funded treatment center for adoptees, tales of abuse, neglect and little oversight

LAKE OZARK, Mo. (AP) — A facility deep in rural Missouri promises relief for desperate parents whose adopted kids are struggling — a lakeside, summer camp-like academy where kids can heal by bonding with golden retrievers, and where caring employees “create joy.” The company that operates the place known as Calo Programs says it exists […]
3 months ago
FILE - Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., speaks to attendees at his World Famous Fish Fry, May 30, 2025, in...

South Carolina Democrats expected to celebrate after failure of Trump-backed redistricting push

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Democrats may be in a more celebratory mood than usual as they gather Friday in South Carolina, a state led almost entirely by Republicans. The party is holding events days after the GOP-led state Senate shot down an effort backed by President Donald Trump to redraw House district lines to help […]
3 months ago
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, rear center, attends a ceremony to lay flowers at the Tomb...

With a stalemate in Ukraine and discontent at home, Putin seems ready to escalate his war

Facing a battlefield stalemate in Ukraine and growing war fatigue among Russians, President Vladimir Putin appears ready to try to change the narrative around the conflict. He looks likely to sharply escalate the Russian aerial attacks on the Ukrainian capital in the hope it will shore up his sagging domestic approval ratings and persuade an […]
3 months ago
FILE - Attorney General Pam Bondi faces questions in the House Judiciary Committee over the Justice...

Pam Bondi to face closed-door questioning from House lawmakers over Epstein files

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Attorney General Pam Bondi is testifying before House lawmakers investigating Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse cases, a long-awaited appearance that brings fresh scrutiny of the administration’s botched release of the Epstein case files. Bondi was defiant in previous public testimony when she was confronted by lawmakers about the Epstein investigation. It’s unclear […]
3 months ago
FILE - Abraham Bonowitz, executive director of Death Penalty Action, and other death penalty oppone...

Federal judge upholds constitutionality of nitrogen gas executions

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday ruled that execution by nitrogen gas does not violate the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment, rejecting an Alabama inmate’s claim that it causes excessive suffering. The ruling came after the first bench trial in the country to examine the constitutionality of the execution method […]
3 months ago
FILE - The exterior of the U.S. Courthouse for the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stands in Atl...

Federal judge had sex in chambers with police officer and lied about it, investigation found

ATLANTA (AP) — A federal judge had an extramarital affair with a high-ranking police officer — including having sex in the judge’s chambers that was overheard by staff — and initially lied about the actions but remains on the bench after receiving a “private reprimand,” according to an investigation by the court system. The Judicial […]
3 months ago
FILE - Federal Communication Commission (FCC) chairman Brendan Carr speaks at the Conservative Poli...

ABC stations call FCC’s early call for license renewal ‘unconstitutional’

WASHINGTON (AP) — Local TV stations owned by ABC across the United States blasted the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday for launching an “unlawful, arbitrary and unconstitutional” early review of their broadcast licenses as a dispute between the network and the Trump-controlled agency intensifies. “It is an extraordinary demonstration of power and coercion directed at […]
3 months ago