WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration has informed Congress that it intends to close five smaller U.S. embassies, consulates and other diplomatic missions in Africa, Asia and the Western Hemisphere, even as it steams ahead with plans to reopen shuttered posts in Libya and Syria and has reopened the long-closed embassy in Venezuela. In […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — An association of thousands of FBI agents and other groups are backing a lawsuit filed by three bureau employees who were fired last year for their roles in an investigation into President Donald Trump’s efforts to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election. A legal brief by the FBI Agents Association […]
In negotiations with Republican senators whose support he needs to be confirmed as attorney general, Todd Blanche formally rescinded a $1.8 billion fund meant to compensate President Donald Trump’s political allies. But a sweeping audit immunity plan conferred on the president, his sons and the Trump Organization remains in place — given new parameters to […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is making a rare visit to California and Nevada this week to try to draw contrasts with Democrats on the economy, border security and crime, seeking to shore up support for Republicans in November elections that will determine whether his party keeps control of Congress. The Republican president has […]
DETROIT (AP) — Michigan Democrats vote Tuesday in a closely watched Senate primary between moderate U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens and progressive favorite Abdul El-Sayed, with the winner heading to a November contest critical to the party’s hopes of reclaiming the Senate majority. The nominee will face former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, who is running unopposed […]
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. Cori Bush is attempting a political comeback Tuesday in a Missouri Democratic primary that tests evolving views on American-Israeli relations, just two years after the progressive “Squad” member was ousted by voters in favor of Wesley Bell. The rematch in a heavily Democratic St. Louis district is […]
A man from El Salvador has died at an immigration jail in New Jersey that has been the target of months of protests over living conditions for people detained there, federal officials said Monday. Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, 41, had been held at Delaney Hall in Newark after being arrested June 18, according to U.S. Immigration and […]
FNIDEQ, Morocco (AP) — It started with Instagram posts that suggested Spain’s border with Morocco was opening up. Then came Facebook users tracking coast guard patrols and TikTok videos showing where to swim. After many shares and comments, thousands of Moroccans became convinced that Europe was suddenly within reach. Within hours, young people began heading […]
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia voters will pick their nominees Tuesday for this year’s congressional midterm elections, capping a primary season marked by upheaval thanks to Democrats’ failed redistricting initiative. The commonwealth typically holds its primaries in June but this year moved them to August to accommodate a push approved by voters — but squashed […]
Michigan will offer the country its clearest gauge yet on the direction of the Democratic Party, as primary voters in the battleground state choose between a progressive standard-bearer and an establishment-backed candidate. Although there have been similar contests around the country, this one will hold extra weight because Michigan is a key state in presidential […]
NEW YORK (AP) — New York can’t ban federal agents from wearing face coverings or require that they wear visible identification, a federal judge ruled Monday. The ruling comes after a federal judge earlier this year blocked a similar law in California that was enacted after the Trump administration aggressively worked to increase immigration arrests. […]
PHOENIX (AP) — The Trump administration has ordered construction crews on a border wall to stop drilling wells in drought-stricken New Mexico after ranchers said pumping groundwater needed to make concrete could threaten their livestock. The order comes as crews across the southern border race to complete one of President Donald Trump’s highest domestic priorities […]
Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad: ___ July 31 The Washington Post says democracy doesn’t require truth police It became fashionable a few years ago for people to blame “misinformation” for others holding views they find wrongheaded. Social media platforms, sometimes jawboned by the federal government, invoked this supposed crisis to […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor refused Monday to halt a $656 million judgment against Palestinian authorities in a long-running lawsuit filed by Americans killed or wounded in attacks in Israel. The order signed by Sotomayor comes after the high court ruled last year in favor of the victims and their families. The […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — Twenty-five states sued the Trump administration Monday over its latest tariffs, calling them a pretext for replacing import taxes the Supreme Court struck down in February. The United States last month imposed double-digit tariffs on 59 countries and the European Union, charging that they had not done enough to crack down on […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Ethics Committee recommended Monday that the House censure Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., after finding that he engaged in persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct toward two young female aides in his congressional office. A censure registers the House’s deep disapproval of a lawmaker’s conduct that does not meet the threshold for […]
A left-leaning group is planning to spend $6 million organizing Latino voters in Texas, a group that has trended away from Democrats but is pivotal to their hopes of picking up seats in Congress. Somos Votantes has started a $2 million statewide voter education push centered on door-to-door conversations and voter registration. Its affiliated political […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge is allowing the Department of Homeland Security to go ahead for now with plans to build a border wall through a levee system protecting a small Texas town on the border with Mexico, rejecting arguments by the town that the wall could lead to flooding. The decision late Sunday […]
Opposition politician Boris Nadezhdin, who criticized Russia’s war in Ukraine and tried to challenge President Vladimir Putin in the 2024 election, said Monday he has left Russia, a move that follows a crackdown that barred him from a race for parliament this year. Nadezhdin, 63, shared a video on Telegram, showing him standing in front […]
President Donald Trump said Monday that newly planned talks with Tehran are the “last chance” for Iran to forge a deal and avoid an escalation of U.S. strikes on the country. Trump, speaking at the Oval Office, said he expects negotiations that will reopen the Strait of Hormuz and create a pathway for Iran to […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration is planning a dramatic overhaul of Head Start that would gut its quality standards, upending the hallmarks of the early education program for impoverished children, two people familiar with the deliberations said. Head Start, established in the 1960s to help fight poverty, has long been considered by experts […]
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — The head of U.S. Pacific Command said Monday that coercive actions by China and other actors are challenging regional stability, warning the United States will not allow any nation to dominate the Indo-Pacific. Admiral Samuel Paparo said some actors were using “false claims of legitimacy” to justify intimidation and coercion. […]
Maryland lawmakers will kick off a special session Monday to consider a first step in a partisan redistricting initiative that could help Democrats pick up an additional U.S. House seat by 2028. The General Assembly will begin debate on a proposed constitutional amendment intended to give Democrats greater latitude to draw congressional maps favoring their […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has played this hand before during the 5-month-old Iran war. It starts with a grim warning to Tehran that he’s on the cusp of ordering U.S. forces to “obliterate” its power plants or seize key parts of its oil industry if its leaders don’t quickly agree to U.S. terms […]