Politics

FILE - Then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump holds up his book "The Art of the Deal,"...

Analysis: For Trump, results have often revealed the art of no deal

WASHINGTON (AP) — Trump Tower had just opened and “The Art of the Deal” three years from publication when 38-year-old Donald Trump suggested he could negotiate Russian arms control better than Ronald Reagan. “It would take an hour-and-a-half to learn everything there is to learn about missiles,” Trump told The Washington Post in 1984. It […]
10 days ago
Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to reporters before a meeting with 2015 Venezuelan National A...

Rubio heads to Central Asia as some wonder if he’s keeping the most pressing matters at a distance

WASHINGTON (AP) — For the 31st time as secretary of state, Marco Rubio has left on a trip abroad, flying to Uzbekistan and later India amid rumblings that America’s top diplomat is ignoring pressing matters in favor of politically safer visits and meetings. This tour is intended to promote U.S. economic and security ties with […]
10 days ago
President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally at Truist Arena at Northern Kentucky Un...

Trump’s new pitch for Republican candidates — they’re really good looking

President Donald Trump has a new pitch for Republican candidates: they’re easy on the eyes. “Look at this beautiful guy,” Trump said at a Saturday rally in Kentucky, referring to U.S. House candidate Ed Gallrein, a former U.S. Navy SEAL with an angular face who stood nearby the stage. “Central casting.” That’s a common refrain […]
10 days ago
Vice President JD Vance speaks at a midterm campaign rally at the LevelUp Training Complex in Monro...

Vance faces tough questions on Iran war, immigration and more in CBS town hall

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Vice President JD Vance faced tough questions from voters about the Trump administration’s policies on data centers, high costs, immigration and his own rhetoric in a town hall on CBS News that aired Saturday night. The string of sharp queries, some from voters who said they had supported him […]
10 days ago
President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Truist Arena, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, in ...

Trump touts his power at Kentucky rally to energize voters ahead of midterm elections

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. (AP) — President Donald Trump touted his power in his second go around in the White House Saturday while rallying in Kentucky to bolster Republican turnout as his party struggles in the midterms, saying, “I can do stuff that is unbelievable.” Trump, who spoke in the city of Highland Heights to boost […]
11 days ago
Demonstrators rally at the Lincoln Memorial during a "No Kings" protest in Washington, Saturday Oct...

No Kings rallies across U.S. urge voters to cast ballots early ahead of midterms

Rallies organized by the No Kings network opposed to President Donald Trump were being held Saturday in cities and communities across the U.S., with an aim of getting people out to vote early in the midterm elections. The hundreds of planned events were being billed as nonpartisan, though they sought to build on nearly two […]
11 days ago

US senator accuses Turkey of ‘thuggish behavior’ toward Greece and Cyprus

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott on Saturday accused Turkey of “thuggish behavior” toward Greece and Cyprus, delivering unusually blunt criticism of a NATO ally during visits to both countries. The Florida senator told The Associated Press that Turkey was “not acting like a NATO ally,” citing its airspace and maritime disputes […]
11 days ago
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, Oct. 16, 2...

Trump’s decision to waive Russian sanctions outrages Congress, but no quick counter seen

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s abrupt decision to waive sanctions on Russia days before they were to take effect drew outrage Saturday from members of Congress, which had overwhelmingly passed the legislation in a bipartisan display of American support for Ukraine in the war with Russia. Lawmakers from both parties blasted the latest in […]
11 days ago

A bitter Michigan Senate race rattles Jewish and Muslim voters already on edge over the war in Gaza

WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. (AP) — For many voters in Michigan, the U.S. Senate race has become about far more than which party controls Washington. In the Detroit suburbs, some Jewish Democrats are confronting deeply personal questions about faith and identity as they weigh whether they can support their party’s nominee. Just miles away in Dearborn, […]
11 days ago
FILE - Marty O'Donnell, candidate for the U.S. House in Nevada, speaks at the Republican convention...

Online forum controlled by Nevada GOP House candidate contains slurs and Nazi talk, AP review finds

WASHINGTON (AP) — Long before running for Congress, Marty O’Donnell was an award-winning music composer for the popular “Halo” video game franchise. His work drew legions of fans to an online forum, which the Nevada Republican has tried to turn into a galvanizing force as he tries to unseat a Democrat in a Las Vegas […]
11 days ago
In this photo taken with a smart phone, House Speaker Mike Johnson sits for an AP interview during ...

House Speaker Mike Johnson draws on faith as he fights to hold the Republican majority

BANGOR, Maine (AP) — Ever the optimist, Speaker Mike Johnson said he believes Republicans will hold on to their U.S. House majority, defying a surge of Democratic momentum in the final stretch of the midterm elections that will determine control of Congress. It’s the crowds he says he’s seeing as he crosses the country campaigning […]
11 days ago
Gas prices are seen at a gas station in Chicago, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)Cre...

Retail price impacts from the Iran war are uneven but add up for US households before midterms

NEW YORK (AP) — More than seven months into the U.S. war with Iran, sharply higher fuel prices are making it more expensive to drive and fly and adding to the cost of some goods, prolonging the strain on American households as the midterm elections approach. Motorists and airline passengers have borne the clearest consequences […]
11 days ago
President Donald Trump listens as Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., speaks at a campaign rally at the Pinnac...

Iran war votes in Congress become a focal point for campaign ad attacks

WASHINGTON (AP) — In Wisconsin, a narrator complains that “groceries, utilities, everything’s getting more expensive and Congressman (Derrick) Van Orden is adding to the list. He voted for the costly Iran war and spiking gas prices.” In Nebraska, Democratic candidate Chris Backemeyer says families are drowning. “And Mike Flood opened the gates. Flood voted six […]
11 days ago
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during the 81st session of the United Nati...

Latest vote shows no candidate for UN chief has the required support of all five key powers

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The latest straw poll in the selection of the next U.N. secretary-general on Friday showed that none of the seven candidates has the support of all five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, all of whom have veto power. This leaves the door open for new candidates if none of […]
11 days ago
President Donald Trump walks from Marine One to board Air Force One, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, at Dobb...

Trump puts new Russia sanctions passed by Congress on hold, saying waiver is in US national interest

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order that puts on hold a sweeping new sanctions package targeting the Russian economy, telling Congress the pause was in the national interest. Named after late South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, the measure had sought to clamp down more quickly on the flow of […]
11 days ago
Homeland Security officers leave the Washington residence of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., after a sear...

Rep. Ilhan Omar’s attorneys demand return of property seized in federal search of her home

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorneys for Rep. Ilhan Omar asked the Justice Department on Friday to immediately return property that federal agents seized from her home this week, arguing that the search stemming from an immigration fraud investigation was “neither justified nor lawful.” In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, lawyers for the Democrat from […]
11 days ago
A statue of Christopher Columbus is seen in front of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on th...

Painting Eisenhower Building would diminish historic character of White House complex, report says

President Donald Trump’s plan to paint a 19th-century historic landmark building next to the White House would diminish the historic character of the White House complex, the Trump administration concluded in a draft environmental assessment published Friday. Trump has suggested the massive Eisenhower Executive Office Building be painted as part of his push to remake […]
11 days ago
FILE - Ballots are sorted the day after California's primary election at the LA County Ballot Proce...

California officials who process ballots from suspected noncitizens risk prosecution, US warns

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is escalating its fight with California ahead of next month’s midterm election, warning that local officials who process and tabulate ballots submitted by suspected noncitizen voters are putting themselves at risk of criminal investigation and potential prosecution. The letter Friday from senior Justice Department officials and obtained first by […]
11 days ago
FILE - A Lexington, Miss., police cruiser is parked outside their facility near the town square, Mo...

DOJ reaches settlement with Mississippi police department it found routinely violated civil rights

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday it reached a settlement forcing reforms in a Mississippi city and its police department, which the DOJ found discriminated against Black people, used excessive force and retaliated against critics. The settlement comes after a scathing 2024 DOJ report said the Lexington Police Department routinely […]
11 days ago
President Donald Trump speaks to the reporters as he walks to board Marine One on the South Lawn of...

Trump casts doubt on press secretary Zacharia’s future

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump suggested on Friday that his new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, might not stay on the job much longer. “I told her, ‘I think you’re better off being happy,’” Trump said. He also noted that Zacharia had been treated “very unfairly” by the press and said that he’d told her […]
12 days ago
President Donald Trump speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House during an event for first respo...

The Latest: Trump will rally Georgia Republicans despite party divisions in the battleground state

President Donald Trump’s midterm campaign blitz arrives in Georgia on Friday for a rally with top Republican candidates in a state that has long been the epicenter of the president’s false claims about election fraud. New White House press secretary Katie Zacharia defended her legal background and justified her truncated inaugural briefing on Thursday as […]
12 days ago
FILE - Oceanic manta rays swim at the Manta Ridge dive site in Raja Ampat, Indonesia, March 7, 2026...

Fundraising to protect oceans, forests and other key nature sites falling short ahead of UN summit

Efforts to raise hundreds of billions of dollars to preserve the world’s oceans, forests, rivers, lakes and other parts of the natural world have fallen short ahead of a key U.N. summit on biodiversity. The yawning gap between the stated ambition of nations to protect biodiversity and what money has been raised will be a […]
12 days ago
President Donald Trump speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House during an event for first respo...

Trump increased investments in drugmakers that benefited from Medicare exemptions, Democrats say

WASHINGTON (AP) — Investments in pharmaceutical companies made on behalf of President Donald Trump increased significantly after he returned to the White House last year, with his portfolio adding millions of dollars in stock in firms that benefited from a Republican-backed law that shields certain medications from Medicare price negotiations, according to a report from […]
12 days ago
President Donald Trump speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House during an event for first respo...

Trump will rally Georgia Republicans despite party divisions in battleground state

ATLANTA (AP) — Donald Trump’s midterm campaign blitz arrives in Georgia on Friday for a rally with top Republican candidates in a state that has long been the epicenter of the president’s false claims about election fraud. In Dalton, the population center of conservative northwest Georgia, Trump will appear with Senate candidate Mike Collins and […]
12 days ago