Politics

Mississippi Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Scott Colom speaks with Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md.,...

Will Mississippi send a Black Democrat to the US Senate? Scott Colom says don’t count him out

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Scott Colom is a gregarious prosecutor who grew up in Mississippi with a Republican father who campaigned for Ronald Reagan and counted political titan Thad Cochran as a friend. That background sounds ideal for a U.S. Senate hopeful in a Deep South state run for generations by white conservatives. Except Colom […]
3 months ago
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaksa, talks with Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., at the U.S. Capitol, Tuesday,...

Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski says she will oppose Todd Blanche’s nomination as attorney general

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski says she will oppose Todd Blanche’s nomination as attorney general. The Alaska senator said in a statement that she is concerned President Donald Trump’s administration could proceed with its proposed fund to compensate Jan. 6 rioters even though Blanche has pledged to shelve the idea. Murkowski said Friday […]
3 months ago
FILE - An ICE Special Response Team member stands guard outside the Metropolitan Detention Center, ...

ICE will release body camera video only when seen in the agency’s ‘best interests,’ policy says

Immigration and Customs Enforcement is moving to equip officers with body cameras in the next two months but the agency’s policy gives it broad control over what footage will be made public by specifying any releases must be in its “best interests.” After years of delays, ICE said its field officers nationwide will have body-worn […]
3 months ago
FILE - President Donald Trump, right, and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum tour the East Potomac Park...

‘I’m very good at grass.’ Why Trump goes into the weeds on one of his favorite topics

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will tell you: The grass is always greener on his side of the fence. And tell you. And tell you. Trump has spoken repeatedly of his prowess with green lawns since returning to the White House — at some events even spending more time talking about it than the […]
3 months ago
President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, in Was...

A deal with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz may require a compromise from Trump

WASHINGTON (AP) — To reach a deal with Iran that reopens the economically vital Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump may need to do something out of character — compromise. Any concession would be tough for the Republican president, who has insisted there is no truth to his sagging poll numbers, the sluggish economy and […]
3 months ago

Trump celebrates US Winter Olympians and Paralympians at the White House

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump hosted on Thursday dozens of Winter Olympians and Paralympians for a reception honoring their accomplishments in the Milano Cortina games earlier this year. Nearly half of the Team USA athletes who competed in Italy came to the East Room reception, according to the White House, along with coaches, staff, […]
3 months ago
FILE - The U.S. Department of Justice logo is seen on a podium before a news conference, May 4, 202...

Justice Department says Duke Law School illegally considered race in admissions

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — The Justice Department on Thursday accused Duke University’s law school of unlawfully considering race in admissions in the latest Trump administration action against higher education institutions. In a findings letter to the school, the department said that while administrators paid lip service to being race-neutral in admissions, they used other factors […]
3 months ago
FILE - Elon Musk attends the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Jan....

DOGE overstated savings on federal ‘receipts’ website, auditors find

WASHINGTON (AP) — Some of the savings touted by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency are incorrect or lack supporting evidence, according to federal auditors. DOGE began posting its estimated savings on a web page known as the Wall of Receipts. Lawmakers asked the Government Accountability Office to evaluate the accuracy of the estimates, and […]
3 months ago

China rebukes US over Huawei dispute as Argentina’s Milei balances ties with Washington and Beijing

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — China and the United States are clashing diplomatically in Argentina as President Javier Milei seeks to preserve his close alliance with Washington while pursuing deeper economic ties with Beijing. China’s embassy in Buenos Aires accused the United States of hypocrisy on Thursday after an electricity cooperative in Argentina’s Neuquén province […]
3 months ago
FILE - Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill speaks with attendees during an election night watch ...

Louisiana school board and federal government end 61 years of segregation monitoring

BOSSIER CITY, La. (AP) — A Louisiana school board and the federal government have agreed to end more than 60 years of oversight meant to end segregation. The agreement was announced Thursday on the first day of classes for Bossier Parish Schools near Shreveport. “Dismissal of the case allows us the freedom to make our […]
3 months ago
The drained Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is photographed from the Washington Monument, Wednesda...

FACT FOCUS: A look at Trump’s false and misleading claims about the Reflecting Pool

In April, President Donald Trump announced that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was being renovated to address long-standing cosmetic and structural issues. He initially promised a gleaming blue pool that would be fixed in a week at a cost of $1.5 million, much less than what previous administrations had paid for work on the national […]
3 months ago
President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, in Was...

Trump signs 2 immigration actions to limit birthright citizenship and curb ‘birth tourism’

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he is once more trying to limit the number of people who are born in the country who can become American citizens, in a sign that even after his first attempt at limiting birthright citizenship was rejected by the Supreme Court, he’s ready to try again. […]
3 months ago
FILE - Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., listens during a Senate Committee on Appropriations subcommitte...

McConnell says he’s leaving rehabilitation center to continue recovery at home

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky says he’s been discharged from a rehabilitation center and will continue his recovery from home. The former Senate leader was first admitted to the hospital on June 14. He disclosed weeks later that his hospitalization was the result of a fall and said he was undergoing […]
3 months ago
President Donald Trump dances after speaking at an event at the Red Rock Casino Resort and Spa in L...

FACT FOCUS: Trump boasts about the economy but there’s more to the story

President Donald Trump has been extolling his economic accomplishments on social media and at events like a rally at a Las Vegas resort Wednesday. He touts recent record stock market highs and claims a boom in hiring, manufacturing and investment. Some of the claims are clearly true, some exaggerated, some unclear. Ahead of Nov. 3 […]
3 months ago
Dr. Anthony Fauci departs after appearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affa...

Fauci contempt vote reflects the enduring politics of COVID

NEW YORK (AP) — Dr. Anthony Fauci is sitting before Congress, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is on TV debating COVID lockdowns and Americans can’t agree on what science to trust. If you squint, you might think it’s 2020 again. Six years after COVID-19 thrust the world into the fear and uncertainty of a global pandemic, […]
3 months ago
mayor wilson bite of seattle shooting...
Luke Duecy

The Spin: Why Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson’s ‘different window’ answer raised more questions than it answered

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson repeatedly relied on the same phrase while defending her decision to seek former Police Chief Shon Barnes' resignation.
3 months ago
FILE - Children play during aftercare for the Head Start program at Easterseals South Florida, in M...

Trump administration moves forward with Head Start overhaul, proposing to eliminate regulations

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration said it plans to overhaul Head Start, tossing out many of the regulations that are the hallmark of the early education program for the nation’s poorest children. Officials from the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the federally funded preschool program, said the proposed changes would […]
3 months ago
FILE - Mickelina Papotto, of Salem, Ore., left, and Lorie Odegaard, of Gaithersburg, Md., fan thems...

Where extreme heat is having the biggest impact on Americans’ lives, according to a new AP-NORC poll

Elisa Bracamonte has lived in Arizona her whole life, so she’s used to adjusting her schedule and outdoor activities around high temperatures, especially during the summer months. But the 74-year-old retired nurse from Tucson said she feels the heat has been impacting more of her day-to-day: summer plans with family members across the region, meetups […]
3 months ago
Dr. Anthony Fauci appears before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee at...

Senate panel to vote on holding Fauci in contempt for refusing to answer questions

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Senate committee is set to vote Thursday on whether to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress and refer him to the Justice Department for potential prosecution over his refusal to answer questions at a hearing last week focused on his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fauci invoked his Fifth […]
3 months ago
Democratic congressional candidate State Rep. Justin J. Pearson, D-Memphis, speaks during a campaig...

A new Tennessee congressional map that splits Memphis is making its debut in the state’s primary

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A new Tennessee congressional map that carved up a majority Black district in Memphis is making its electoral debut Tuesday in a primary election that will determine the nominees for a Republican attempt at a clean sweep of the state’s U.S. House districts in the midterms. The primaries were upended just […]
3 months ago
IndyCar Series driver David Malukas drives a race car down West Executive Drive during an event wit...

Trump’s IndyCar race: Doing 200 in a 25 mph zone with manhole cover-displacing torque

WASHINGTON (AP) — The speed limit along Pennsylvania Avenue is 25 mph. But the open-wheel race cars roaring through the longest straightaway of the upcoming Washington IndyCar race organized by President Donald Trump could be going nearly eight times that fast. “If we did that during the regular day, I think people would be put […]
3 months ago
FILE - Crates of avocados wait to be processed at a packing plant in Uruapan, Mexico, Feb. 16, 2022...

US suspends avocado inspections in Mexican state on Michoacan due to threat

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The United States announced on Wednesday that it had suspended all government operations in the Mexican state of Michoacan because of a “threat to U.S. interests,” including a halt to the inspections of avocados required for their export. While the U.S. Embassy did not specify the nature of the threat in […]
3 months ago
FILE - Firearms and suppressors are displayed at SHOT Show, the annual trade show for the gun indus...

Texas judge rules that law regulating firearm suppressors and some guns can’t be enforced

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A federal judge in Texas on Wednesday struck down a 1930s law that imposed regulations on firearm suppressors and guns that are considered the most dangerous, more than a year after President Donald Trump signed a bill eliminating taxes on those items. The ruling could allow firearm owners to purchase firearm […]
3 months ago
FILE - A sign marks the entrance to a series of hardened tents at the Camp East Montana immigrant d...

Legal aid groups alarmed as Trump administration awards $150M migrant child contract to Texas firm

CHICAGO (AP) — The Trump administration has awarded a $150 million contract to give legal representation to migrant children traveling alone to the U.S. to a small Texas law firm with ties to the administration but little experience in immigration law, prompting legal aid groups who’ve long represented those children to warn that the move […]
3 months ago