Politics

FILE - An official voting center sign stands outside of a polling location on May 26, 2026, in Dall...

State error in Texas creates huge backlog in voter registration applications as midterm voting nears

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — County election offices throughout Texas are scrambling to process a massive backlog of voter registration applications stemming from an error at the state level, a headache that is hitting just as they are preparing for voting to begin in the midterm elections. The problem, which officials in the Republican-controlled state have […]
8 days ago

Iowa judge dismisses Trump’s lawsuit against Des Moines Register and pollster

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A judge on Wednesday dismissed Donald Trump’s lawsuit accusing The Des Moines Register and its former pollster of misrepresenting the state of the 2024 presidential race, rejecting the president’s claim that the newspaper’s poll coverage violated Iowa’s consumer fraud law. Iowa District Judge Scott J. Beattie sided with pollster J. […]
8 days ago
FILE - People take part in a march ending in front of the US consulate, under the slogan, Greenland...

Trump’s push to acquire Greenland almost broke NATO. The winner of it all may be … Greenland

BERLIN (AP) — In the end, it was all kisses and laughter as President Donald Trump hailed his “fantastic” relationship with Denmark and Greenland after signing a new security deal that America’s European allies hope will close one of the most dangerous chapters in transatlantic relations. Trump’s territorial ambitions over Greenland almost broke the NATO […]
8 days ago
FILE - The OpenAI logo is displayed on a cellphone with an image on a computer monitor generated by...

US diplomats told to use term ‘super intelligence’ not ‘artificial intelligence’ after Trump’s call

NEW YORK (AP) — The State Department is ordering diplomats in its international organizations bureau to use the term “super intelligence” instead of “artificial intelligence” in all communications following President Donald Trump’s attempt to rebrand the technology in his address to the U.N. General Assembly this week. “Following the president’s remarks at the GA today, […]
8 days ago
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at a rally for democratic candidates Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, i...

Newsom talks climate with world leaders in New York, accuses Trump of abdicating that responsibility

Saying President Donald Trump has abdicated his responsibilities on climate change, California Gov. Gavin Newsom met with world and business leaders Wednesday to advance climate action and clean energy on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. State and local governments are leading, he said, as “Trump is trying to recreate the 19th century” by […]
8 days ago
The James Brady Press Briefing Room is seen at the White House, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, in Washin...

FACT FOCUS: No, Biden did not revoke the White House press passes of more than 400 journalists

President Donald Trump’s decision to ban CNN, MS NOW and Politico reporters from the White House grounds is leading to claims that then-President Joe Biden revoked White House access to hundreds of journalists in 2023. But the claims online misrepresent the effect that a stricter White House Press Office policy had on the number of […]
8 days ago
Work continues on the construction of the ballroom at the White House, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, in ...

Preservation group launches legal defense fund as it battles Trump over ballroom and other projects

NEW YORK (AP) — The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which has been at the forefront of efforts to halt President Donald Trump’s massive White House ballroom project, is launching a new legal defense fund to help underwrite its work. The group on Wednesday announced a campaign aimed at raising $10 million “to protect and […]
8 days ago
FILE - President Donald Trump participates in a welcome ceremony with China's President Xi Jinping ...

Xi heads into Trump visit after making China into a global force since 2015

WASHINGTON (AP) — When Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived in Washington for a state visit in 2015, he sought to calm the growing unease among the Americans about his country’s rapid ascent. Xi largely succeeded, shaking hands with then-President Barack Obama to deepen economic ties and expand cooperation. In the Rose Garden, Obama declared that […]
8 days ago
FILE - Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, arrives at the C...

Maine Dems hammer Collins over report of pay-to-play probe. The GOP senator calls it ‘totally false’

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine Democrats on Wednesday assailed U.S. Sen. Susan Collins over a news report that the FBI investigated how much she knew about illegal campaign contributions that sent one of her donors to prison. The ProPublica Navatek, a Hawaii defense contractor and donor to her campaign. The investigation, which focused on an […]
8 days ago
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives to speak during the 81st session of the United Nati...

Zelenskyy, at UN, urges leaders to keep choking Russia’s revenues and impede its war efforts

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Ukrainian President President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged the world’s leaders Wednesday to keep choking Russia’s revenues and impede its war efforts, telling the U.N. General Assembly that “Russia’s revenues must remain a target.” “When someone gives Russia more money through trade, they give this war more time. And that is exactly why […]
8 days ago
Argentina's President Javier Milei speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Ass...

Milei renews Argentina’s Falklands claim at the UN, urging a “peaceful solution”

Argentine President Javier Milei reaffirmed Argentina’s claim to sovereignty over the islands known to Britain as the Falklands and to Argentines as the Malvinas, calling it a key issue for his nation and urging the parties to find a “peaceful solution” as tensions with London over the disputed archipelago grow. “The Malvinas for us is […]
8 days ago
President Donald Trump walks from Marine One to board Air Force One at John F. Kennedy Internationa...

Trump administration will defend its ban of three prominent news outlets in court hearing

NEW YORK (AP) — The extraordinary showdown between President Donald Trump and media outlets whose coverage he dislikes moves Wednesday to a courtroom in the nation’s capital, where a judge will hear arguments on whether the president’s move banning three news organizations from White House grounds violates the Constitution. The administration plans to double down […]
8 days ago
First lady Melania Trump prepares to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday...

Melania Trump rings New York Stock Exchange opening bell to launch new women’s initiative Imperia

WASHINGTON (AP) — Melania Trump rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday to promote her new initiative to help women become leaders and achieve economic power. It’s called Imperia, and its members include CEOs, founders, innovators, entrepreneurs and others. A lot of the first lady’s attention has been on children, […]
8 days ago
ADDS NAMES - Victims of Jeffrey Epstein sit in the front row, from left, Liz Stein, Dani Bensky, Sk...

Billionaire’s political contributions make the Epstein files a focus of Ohio’s US Senate race

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Billionaire Les Wexner has long been a magnet for political campaigns seeking contributions — especially in his native Ohio, where the retail tycoon directed a generous portion of his giving to candidates from both parties. Then came the Epstein files. Jeffrey Epstein, the late convicted sex offender, was Wexner’s former financial […]
8 days ago
Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Asse...

Syrian leader lashes out at Israel in UN speech, says Golan is inseparable part of Syria

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Syria’s interim president harshly criticized Israel’s occupation of southern Syria and said the Golan Heights is an inseparable part of his country. In a speech to the U.N. General Assembly, Ahmad al-Sharaa said that Israel has carried out more than 500 air and artillery strikes on the country since he took […]
8 days ago
People operate on a destroyed vehicle following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza city, Saturday, Sept. ...

Trump’s Board of Peace proposes $2.45 billion blueprint to begin Gaza reconstruction

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S.-backed Board of Peace is proposing a six-month, $2.45 billion plan to begin reconstruction and governance in Gaza as President Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan struggles to stay afloat. At a meeting of the group’s board, the governors unveiled a 66-project blueprint to get things started while acknowledging enormous hurdles that […]
8 days ago
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Ass...

Iran’s president to speak at the United Nations in rare wartime address

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Iran’s president said Wednesday that his people have been ‘victims of terrorism’ by the United States, delivering a rare wartime speech at U.N. General Assembly a day after President Donald Trump said he could “annihilate” the Islamic republic. President Masoud Pezeshkian held up photos of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei […]
8 days ago
Former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who is running for U.S. Senate, holds hands with a woman followi...

Republicans say Democrats are extremists. These Democrats want to convince voters that’s not true

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — As Democrats try to take back control of Congress, they’re trying a familiar tactic to win over voters in conservative areas — they’re criticizing their own party. They’re complaining about former President Joe Biden, promising to work with President Donald Trump to secure the border, insisting they’ll never defund the police […]
8 days ago
President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping participate in an arrival ceremony at Joint...

The Latest: Trump welcomes China’s Xi Jinping to Washington for state visit

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Washington Wednesday evening, where he received a rare greeting from President Donald Trump, who met his counterpart at the base’s airport instead of waiting for him to drive to the White House. Trump’s decision to greet Xi shows how far the U.S. president is going to honor China’s leader […]
8 days ago
Flags fly at the United Nations Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, at the UN headquarters, as security keeps ...

New York City gridlock: Security beefed up at UN this year for General Assembly

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Opening day at the United Nations’ annual gathering of world leaders saw beefed-up security measures and a suspicious package that added to the chaotic scene around U.N. headquarters in New York. For the first time, apparently in response to escalating threats, U.N. security required all staff and lower-ranking diplomats to have […]
8 days ago
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Texas state Rep. James Talarico talks with volunteers at a food dr...

Talarico works to reach Black voters in his bid to win a US Senate seat as a Democrat in Texas

HOUSTON (AP) — Juli McShay had a few pointed questions for James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in Texas, when she stood up during a town hall in Houston. Black audiences like this one are key to Talarico’s effort to defeat Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton and become the first Democrat […]
8 days ago
President Donald Trump signs a security agreement with Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen a...

What to know about the agreement signed by President Trump and the leaders of Denmark and Greenland

U.S. President Donald Trump and the leaders of Denmark and Greenland signed an agreement about the status of the Arctic island after months of threats by Trump to seize the semiautonomous territory of a NATO ally. The deal was officially signed Tuesday in New York, after U.S., Greenlandic and Danish officials had quietly negotiated for […]
8 days ago
Asunta Washington, 38, poses for a photo in New Braunfels, Texas, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (AP Ph...

Takeaways: What a new AP-KFF survey reveals about rural American voters

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new poll from The Associated Press in partnership with KFF finds that about half of rural American voters believe the economy is worse off now than when President Donald Trump returned to office, pointing to economic frustration among a key group that has backed Trump and other Republicans in recent elections. […]
8 days ago
Ed Westrick, 59, adjusts a roof on a small building at his rural home near Commerce, Texas, Friday,...

Economic frustration tests Trump’s standing with rural voters, new AP-KFF poll finds

WASHINGTON (AP) — About half of rural American voters believe the economy is worse off now than when President Donald Trump returned to office, according to a new survey that points to economic frustration among a key group that has backed Trump and other Republicans in recent elections. The Associated Press, in partnership with KFF, […]
8 days ago