Politics

Tom Steyer speaks during a California gubernatorial debate hosted by CBS Bay Area and the San Franc...

Billionaire Tom Steyer’s ad spending breaks records in California governor’s race

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Win or lose, billionaire Democrat Tom Steyer will leave a mark in the history books in his bid to become California’s next governor — he’s running the most expensive political advertising campaign in the country this year. Steyer — a former hedge fund manager turned liberal activist — has spent or […]
3 months ago
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, center right, speaks alongside, from left, daughter Danley Cornyn, wife ...

Cornyn went to great lengths to avoid Trump’s wrath. The Texas senator lost his seat anyway

PLANO, Texas (AP) — As it turned out, it would never be enough. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn tried for more than a year to show Donald Trump and Texas Republicans that he and the president were on the same team. Cornyn posted a photo of himself reading Trump’s “The Art of the Deal.” He proposed […]
3 months ago
FILE - Detainees wave and spell out a rough SOS to a helicopter flying overhead, at U.S. Immigratio...

Takeaways from AP investigation that found ‘alarming’ spike in suicide deaths of ICE detainees

Detainees in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement are taking their own lives at a pace unprecedented in the agency’s two-decade history, highlighting what experts call failures in care and oversight, according to an investigation by The Associated Press. At least 10 detainees have died by suicide since President Donald Trump returned to office […]
3 months ago
State election staff get voting machines ready on Thursday, May 14, 2026 for Saturday's election in...

Millions of people have been placed in new voting districts. Here’s where the redistricting stands

A frenzied redistricting effort ahead of the November elections has reshaped congressional voting districts for millions of Americans — and it isn’t over yet. Since President Donald Trump urged Texas Republicans to redraw U.S. House districts last year, Republicans in Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Florida and Tennessee also have enacted new maps that could help […]
3 months ago
President Donald Trump departs Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Tuesday, May 26, 2026,...

Trump gathers Cabinet as he looks to seal deal to end war that some backers worry will embolden Iran

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will meet with his Cabinet on Wednesday at a precarious moment for talks aimed at ending the war with Iran, just days after insisting that his administration and Tehran had “largely negotiated” a settlement but with the negotiations still in a state of flux. As he prepares to huddle […]
3 months ago
FILE - David Miliband, president and chief executive officer of the International Rescue Committee,...

LEGO Foundation donates $97 million to bring play-based learning to children impacted by conflicts

NEW YORK (AP) — Global conflicts from South Sudan’s political crisis to the United States’ recent war with Iran are putting more children at risk of suffering. One humanitarian duo wants to ensure conflict-stricken children get funding for an often-overlooked need: education. Under an agreement announced Wednesday, the LEGO Foundation committed $97 million to expand […]
3 months ago
FILE - Acting U.S. attorney general Todd Blanche speaks during a news conference at the Justice Dep...

Southern Poverty Law Center seeks dismissal of ‘vindictive’ Justice Department indictment

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Justice Department indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center is part of a “top-down” campaign of retribution against President Donald Trump’s perceived political enemies and constitutes a vindictive prosecution that must be dismissed, lawyers for the nonprofit argued Tuesday in urging a judge to toss the case out. The Alabama-based nonprofit […]
3 months ago
Equipment being placed on the South Lawn of the White House is seen from the Washington Monument, T...

UFC fighting cage rises on White House lawn for bout celebrating America’s 250th anniversary

WASHINGTON (AP) — Yet another White House construction project is underway, though this one is meant to be only temporary. Crews are erecting an octagon-shaped cage on the South Lawn that will host next month’s UFC bout, helping mark the nation’s 250th anniversary — and President Donald Trump ‘s 80th birthday. Online renderings depict what […]
3 months ago
Victoria Li, 12, of Eastvale, Calif., spells his word during the preliminary round of the Scripps N...

Venue gets mixed reviews as National Spelling Bee returns to DC ahead of White House UFC event

WASHINGTON (AP) — After 15 years at a convention center in suburban Maryland, the Scripps National Spelling Bee moved this year to a grand stage befitting the stakes of the competition: Constitution Hall, Washington’s largest dedicated concert venue. Not everyone at this week’s competition appreciates the change. “I feel like they should not have moved […]
3 months ago
Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks at an event hosted by Sen. Bernie Sand...

Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner stands by ad slamming Red Sox over private equity

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Graham Platner, Maine’s presumptive Democratic Senate nominee, began Memorial Day weekend by releasing an ad on the cable station that airs Boston Red Sox games accusing team owners of ruining the storied franchise. He then ended it by criticizing the team’s ownership for pulling the critical message from the air. It […]
3 months ago
The Supreme Court is seen, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)Cred...

Supreme Court sides with Trump in dispute over immigration judges’ speech restrictions

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday sided with President Donald Trump’s administration in a lawsuit over speech restrictions for immigration judges that touched on the rights of federal workers. The justices overturned a lower-court ruling that had allowed the case to proceed and raised questions about whether a complaint system for federal employees […]
3 months ago
FILE - A student enters Ball State University campus in Muncie, Ind., Sept. 10, 2020. (AP Photo/Mic...

Woman fired by Indiana university over Charlie Kirk post to receive $225,000 legal settlement

A woman fired by an Indiana university over her Facebook post criticizing conservative activist Charlie Kirk after he was killed will receive $225,000 to settle a lawsuit that accused her former employer of violating her free-speech rights, the woman’s attorneys said Tuesday. The American Civil Liberties Union announced the settlement in a federal lawsuit it […]
3 months ago
President Donald Trump, left, and Kevin Warsh arrive at a swearing-in ceremony for Warsh as Chairma...

Trump administration proposes NDAs for federal employees to stop leaks

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration wants all current and future federal employees to sign non-disclosure agreements, part of a continuing crackdown on leaks to the media. The notice in the Federal Register from the Office of Personnel Management posted Tuesday asked for comment on a draft NDA to be used by federal agencies for […]
3 months ago
Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., center, joined by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., left, st...

Early voting begins in South Carolina as senators weigh scrapping primary for congressional races

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Early in-person voting began Tuesday in South Carolina’s primaries, as state senators considered whether to cancel the congressional votes and instead schedule a new primary under revised districts designed to help Republicans oust a longtime Democrat. Among the first to cast an early ballot in the small city of Orangeburg was […]
3 months ago
FILE - Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows speaks with reporters during the National Associate ...

Maine’s transgender sports initiative halted by invalid signatures

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A Maine initiative intended to limit transgender students’ ability to participate in sports has been removed from the ballot because of invalid signatures, the secretary of state ruled Tuesday. The proposal from parents’ group Protect Girls Sports in Maine was slated to go before voters in November. It would have asked […]
3 months ago
FILE - President Donald Trump greets South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, center, at the White ...

Trump administration raises US refugee cap, but only for white South Africans

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration said Tuesday that it will admit an additional 10,000 white South Africans into the U.S. as refugees this year, increasing its historically low annual cap but still blocking people from other countries from entering through the program. Trump suspended the refugee program on his first day in office and, […]
3 months ago
Candidate signs line the entrance to the Oak Lawn Branch Library polling location as voters cast ba...

The Latest: Paxton aims to defeat Cornyn in runoff for GOP Senate nomination

Texans will vote Tuesday in a U.S. Senate primary runoff where incumbent four-term Sen. John Cornyn is facing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, in an expensive, drawn-out race that has caught President Donald Trump’s attention. Trump’s endorsement of Paxton, who he called ‘a true MAGA Warrior,’ came late in the race and marked another effort […]
3 months ago
FILE - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is seen before a roundtable discussion on college sports in the Ea...

Supreme Court rejects Florida’s bid to sue Western states over truck licenses for immigrants

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected Florida’s long shot attempt to sue California and Washington state over the issuance of commercial driver licenses to truckers who don’t speak English and are not authorized to be in the United States. The case stems from a crash in Florida last year that killed three […]
3 months ago
A demonstrator holds up a sign outside the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Ala., on Thursday, May...

Federal court blocks Alabama plan for new congressional districts that could help Republicans

Federal judges on Tuesday temporarily blocked Alabama’s plan to use a new congressional map that could give Republicans an advantage in a key House race in the midterm elections. A three-judge panel in the state’s long-running redistricting case issued the preliminary injunction that prevents the state, at least for now, from switching maps. It requires […]
3 months ago
President Donald Trump, from left, Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth atten...

The Latest: Iran deal progress is murky after US military says it carried out ‘self-defense’ strikes

President Donald Trump insists a peace deal is close on this 88th day of the Iran war, but Iran on Tuesday denounced U.S. air strikes as a sign of “bad faith and unreliability” as negotiations continue. Meanwhile, state media in Lebanon reports that Israel has killed 12 more people in another strike. Iran has demanded […]
3 months ago
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and members of the Congressional Black Caucus speak ...

Congressional Black Caucus presses companies in the US to oppose Republican redistricting push

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Congressional Black Caucus on Tuesday called on major corporations across the U.S., including those that previously expressed support for voting rights and racial justice, to oppose redistricting efforts by Republican-led states that seek to eliminate majority-Black U.S. House districts. In a letter sent to more than 250 companies, members of the […]
3 months ago
President Donald Trump walks down the stairs of Air Force One upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrew...

Trump will see doctors for his annual physical. What the public finds out is up to him

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is scheduled to get a medical exam on Tuesday, putting his health under renewed public scrutiny after he has worked to dismiss concerns over his age and stamina. The 79-year-old president is scheduled to visit Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for what the White House described as annual […]
3 months ago
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, listens to State Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, during a campaign event ...

Cornyn tries to hold on to Texas Senate seat in runoff with Paxton, the latest test of Trump’s power

PLANO, Texas (AP) — Texans are choosing a Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Tuesday’s runoff election, bringing to a close the extended, bitter and expensive primary where President Donald Trump weighed in late to tip the race in another effort to rid the GOP of leaders less devoted to him. Trump’s endorsement of state […]
3 months ago
FILE - Cities Church is seen on Jan. 19, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis, File...

After a Minnesota church protest, states are toughening penalties for disrupting services

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — At least four states have adopted laws this year making it a crime to disrupt worship services, a reaction to a high-profile protest inside a Minnesota church that prompted outrage from faith leaders. The Republican lawmakers sponsoring most of the legislation say those gathering at sacred sanctuaries deserve protection beyond what […]
3 months ago