Politics

Work continues on the construction of the ballroom at the White House, Saturday, May 16, 2026, in W...

Senate parliamentarian deals blow to $1 billion security proposal for White House

WASHINGTON (AP) — A proposal to fund $1 billion in security additions for the White House campus and the president’s new ballroom fails to meet procedural rules, according to the Senate parliamentarian, dealing a blow to Republican plans to include it as part of a bill to fund immigration enforcement agencies for the next three […]
3 months ago

Venezuela says it deported close ally of Maduro to face judicial proceedings in US

MIAMI (AP) — Venezuela’s government said it had deported a close ally of Nicolás Maduro to face judicial proceedings in the U.S. less than three years after the businessman was pardoned by President Joe Biden as part of a prisoner swap. The Venezuelan government in a statement did not explicitly say where it had deported […]
3 months ago
The USS Gerald R. Ford heads toward port at Naval Station Norfolk, as seen from Fort Monroe, Va., o...

USS Ford returns home after 11-month deployment supporting the Iran war and Maduro’s capture

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — The USS Gerald R. Ford, the world largest aircraft carrier, returned home to Virginia on Saturday after an 11-month deployment, the longest since the Vietnam War, that saw it support the U.S. war with Iran and the capture of Nicolás Maduro when he was Venezuela’s president. The most advanced U.S. warship […]
3 months ago
This image released by the Maldives President's Media Division, shows divers preparing to search fo...

A Maldivian military diver has died while searching for the bodies of four Italian divers

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — A Maldivian military diver died Saturday while searching for the bodies of four Italian divers believed to be deep inside an underwater cave. The group of five Italian divers is believed to have died while exploring a cave at a depth of about 50 meters (160 feet) in Vaavu Atoll […]
3 months ago
Voters cast their ballots at the Dryades YMCA polling location in New Orleans, Saturday, May 16, 20...

Trump blasts ‘disloyal’ Sen. Cassidy while pushing challenger in Louisiana Republican primary

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy is fighting for his political life in Louisiana’s Republican primary on Saturday as he faces a challenge backed by President Donald Trump, the latest attempt by the president to purge the party of politicians he views as disloyal. Trump endorsed U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow over Cassidy, in […]
3 months ago
Travis Jackson, of Montgomery, stands during a press conference outside the Alabama state house dur...

In the birthplace of Civil Rights Movement, groups rally to defend Black political representation

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Thousands of people are rallying Saturday in the cradle of the modern Civil Rights Movement to mobilize a new voting rights era as conservative states dismantle congressional districts that helped secure Black political representation. “The bottom line is we are seeing a full-fledged, coordinated attack on Black political power that can […]
3 months ago

The US turns to Guyana’s bauxite in its latest push for Latin America’s resources

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — The U.S. announced Friday it is turning its attention toward Guyana’s abundant bauxite and other resources for business opportunities at a time when the Trump administration is increasingly eyeing Latin American energy and minerals. U.S. Under Secretary for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg held talks this week with top Guyanese officials, including […]
3 months ago
A statue titled the "Authority of Law" sits in front of the Supreme Court on Friday, May 15, 2026, ...

Supreme Court rejects Virginia’s bid to restore congressional map favoring Democrats

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Friday rejected Virginia’s bid to restore a congressional map that would have given Democrats a chance to pick up four seats in the closely divided House of Representatives. The court’s order is the latest twist in the nation’s mid-decade redistricting competition. It was kicked off last year by […]
3 months ago

Colorado governor commutes sentence of former Colorado elections clerk after pressure from Trump

DENVER (AP) — Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Friday commuted the sentence of election conspiracy theorist Tina Peters following pressure from President Donald Trump, the latest instance of the president using his powers to reward those who echoed his baseless claims of mass fraud as the cause of his 2020 loss. Trump has championed the […]
3 months ago
Sergio Alcubilla stands with a balikbayan box he sealed in Honolulu, on Monday, May 11, 2026. (AP P...

The balikbayan box: The way Filipino Americans have sent love all the way back home

PHOENIX (AP) — Beginning in the 1970s, just about every Filipino household in America was either hauling balikbayan boxes in person or mailing them to relatives back in the Philippines. These care packages that held goodies from the U.S. were seen as an expression of support during hard economic times — as well as one […]
3 months ago

The largest US children’s hospital settles with Texas and the Trump administration over gender care

The nation’s largest children’s hospital has agreed to a legal settlement with Texas and the Trump administration over gender-affirming care for transgender youth that includes a $10 million payment to the state, the administration and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Friday. Texas Children’s Hospital, based in Houston, said in a statement that it had […]
3 months ago
The U.S. Department of Justice logo is seen on a podium before a news conference, Monday, May 4, 20...

U.S. eyes indictment against Raul Castro amid pressure by Trump administration, sources tell AP

MIAMI (AP) — The Justice Department is preparing to seek an indictment against former Cuban President Raúl Castro, three people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Friday, as President Donald Trump threatens possible military action against the communist-run island. One of the people told the AP that the potential indictment is connected […]
3 months ago

Wife of US Army sergeant released from federal immigration custody

The wife of a U.S. Army sergeant has been released from federal immigration custody after spending a month in detention, according to the office of U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth. Sgt. Jose Serrano, an active duty soldier stationed in Texas who served three tours in Afghanistan, previously told The Associated Press that immigration agents arrested his […]
3 months ago
FILE - Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, arrives to testify before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on ...

Tech CEOs summoned to Congress for another hearing on social media’s risks for children

Social media CEOs once again are being called to testify before the Senate in light of mounting legal and public pressure to protect young users on their platforms. The leaders of Meta, Alphabet, TikTok and Snap were invited to testify next month before the Senate Judiciary Committee, a committee spokesperson confirmed Friday. The hearing comes […]
3 months ago
FILE - Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger delivers the Democratic response to President Donald Trump'...

New Virginia law banning `assault firearms’ prompts quick lawsuits from gun-rights groups

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger has signed legislation banning the sale and manufacture of certain semi-automatic firearms, prompting immediate lawsuits from gun-rights groups. The limits on “ assault firearms,” as they are described by the legislation, are among two dozen new restrictions and regulations on guns enacted by the Democratic governor in her first few months […]
3 months ago
Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., of Memphis, testifies before a Senate Judiciary committee during a speci...

Rep. Steve Cohen ending campaign in Tennessee after redraw of his Memphis district

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Rep. Steven Cohen of Tennessee on Friday announced that he is ending his bid for reelection, his career upended by the redistricting battles that are sweeping the country after last month’s Supreme Court decision. Earlier this month, Republicans in Tennessee enacted a new U.S. House map that carves up a Cohen’s […]
3 months ago
FILE - Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Dall...

Texas high court rejects removal of Democratic lawmakers who led quorum break over redistricting

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas Supreme Court on Friday refused to declare that Democratic lawmakers who briefly fled the state in 2025 to block a vote on new congressional voting maps pushed by President Donald Trump had vacated their office. The all-Republican court dealt a blow to Gov. Greg Abbott and state Republicans in […]
3 months ago
In this photo released by Belarusian presidential press service, Belarusian President Alexander Luk...

Belarus authoritarian leader welcomes US evangelist Franklin Graham to hold massive gathering

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarus’ authoritarian leader on Friday greeted U.S. Rev. Franklin Graham, who arrived in the tightly controlled country to hold the largest evangelical Christian gathering in its history. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko asked Graham to convey warm greetings to President Donald Trump and tell him that he has “reliable friends and supporters […]
3 months ago
FILE - Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri speaks during an interview at the Zion Church in Beijing, China, Wedn...

Trump says Xi is considering a detained pastor’s case, but freeing activist Jimmy Lai is ‘tough’

HONG KONG (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday he raised the issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping of releasing a prominent detained pastor and imprisoned Hong Kong activist Jimmy Lai, and quoted Xi as saying he’d consider the pastor but that Lai’s case is a “tough one.” Speaking to reporters as he flew […]
3 months ago
President Donald Trump speaks as he visits the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to see the new blue...

Trump says sculpture garden honoring prominent Americans is planned for park along Potomac River

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump plans to build an exhibit of statues featuring prominent Americans in a tightly regulated park along the Potomac River, potentially opening a new legal fight over whether his administration is ignoring the approvals process that typically governs Washington’s monumental core as he muscles through a dramatic overhaul of the […]
3 months ago

Iran’s top diplomat says a lack of trust is impeding talks to end war with the US

NEW DELHI (AP) — Iran ’s foreign minister said a lack of trust is the biggest obstacle in negotiations to end the war with the U.S., saying Friday that Tehran would be open to diplomatic help, particularly from China, to help ease tensions. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said contradictory messages have “made us reluctant […]
3 months ago
FILE - Voting machines are seen at the Bartow County Election office, Jan. 25, 2024, in Cartersvill...

Election denial is a fault line in Republican primary for Georgia secretary of state

ATLANTA (AP) — The specter of the 2020 election — when President Donald Trump refused to accept his loss to Democrat Joe Biden — continues to haunt Georgia and casts a long shadow over the Republican primary for candidates vying to be the state’s top election official. Georgia’s current secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, became […]
3 months ago

Takeaways from AP’s interview with Colombian woman deported to Congo by US

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The Trump administration has deported 15 Latin Americans to the Democratic Republic of Congo, sending them to an unfamiliar country thousands of miles from home — many despite U.S. court orders protecting them from deportation to their homelands. The Associated Press spoke on the phone with one of them, a 29-year-old […]
3 months ago
A chair is seen outside a hotel room where a Colombian woman was deported to from the United States...

Latin American nationals deported by the US to Congo face an uncertain future

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — It’s an existence that Congo’s president has described as “living the Congolese dream.” For the 15 Latin Americans deported to the African nation under the Trump administration’s widely criticized crackdown on migrants, it feels more like a nightmare. The Associated Press spoke with one, a 29-year old Colombian woman who confirmed […]
3 months ago