Politics

Former Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., speaks with Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1177 member Terraine L...

Virginia Democrats pick nominees in 2 US House seats they hope to flip in midterms

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 […]
14 days ago
Michigan U.S. Senate candidates, Abdul El-Sayed, left, and Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., are display...

What to watch in the Aug. 4 primaries: Michigan Senate race tests Democrats’ path forward

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 […]
14 days ago

Judge rules New York can’t ban federal agents from wearing face coverings

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. […]
15 days ago
Construction crews drill wells for border wall construction in July 2026, in Luna County, N.M., alo...

Contractors building border wall ordered to stop drilling wells in drought-stricken New Mexico

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 […]
15 days ago

Editorial Roundup: United States

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 […]
15 days ago
The Supreme Court is seen Monday, July 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)Credit: AP ...

Supreme Court won’t halt $656M judgment against the PLO and Palestinian Authority

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 […]
15 days ago
Where the Trump administration is imposing new tariffs on goods. (AP Digital Embed)Credit: AP Photo...

25 states sue over Trump administration’s latest tariffs, citing Supreme Court ruling

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 […]
15 days ago
FILE - Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., listens to testimony as the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Over...

Ethics panel recommends House censure Republican Rep. Chuck Edwards for conduct with two aides

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 […]
15 days ago
FILE - A man passes an early voting poll site, Feb. 14, 2022, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, F...

In Texas, a political group bets $6 million on Latino voters coming back to Democrats

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 […]
15 days ago
FILE - The sun sets over a section of the border wall, June 18, 2025, in Mission, Texas. (AP Photo/...

A federal judge lets DHS proceed with a border wall through a small Texas town’s levee system

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 […]
15 days ago
Russian politician Boris Nadezhdin, right, accused of displaying "extremist symbols," gestures spea...

A Putin critic leaves Russia after he is barred him from running for parliament

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 […]
15 days ago

The Latest: Trump says new talks are Iran’s ‘last chance’ to make a deal

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 […]
15 days ago
FILE - Students help put away supplies at the end of a reading and writing lesson at the Head Start...

Trump overhaul could gut Head Start preschool standards, leaving states to set the rules

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 […]
15 days ago
FILE - U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Commander, Admiral Samuel Paparo, gestures during a press conferen...

Top US admiral warns against coercion, says no nation will dominate Indo-Pacific

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. […]
15 days ago
FILE - The Maryland State House in Annapolis, Md., June 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert Yoon, File)Credi...

Maryland lawmakers to consider steps toward partisan redistricting for 2028

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 […]
15 days ago
President Donald Trump carries an umbrella as he exits Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Su...

Iran déjà vu: Trump once again threatens massive escalation against Tehran only to walk back

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 […]
15 days ago
FILE - House Appropriations Committee Chair Kay Granger, R-Texas, and her panel begin work on fisca...

Kay Granger, first Republican woman from Texas to serve in the House, has died at age 83

DALLAS (AP) — Kay Granger, the first Republican woman from Texas to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and who served for nearly three decades, died Sunday at the age of 83, her son J.D. Granger said. House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a post on X that throughout her career, Granger “broke […]
15 days ago
The sun sets behind the U.S. Capitol, Tuesday, July 28, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robb...

Senate leaders reach funding deal to avoid shutdown during campaign season

WASHINGTON (AP) — Key senators unveiled a short-term spending bill on Sunday that would keep federal agencies funded past the midterm elections and into early December as they look to avoid a government shutdown during the middle of campaign season. The Senate is likely to vote on the measure before leaving Washington at week’s end […]
16 days ago
FILE - President Donald Trump holds up an image taken from his Truth Social account at an event abo...

Trump frequently announces he’s halting strikes in Iran. But they keep happening

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — President Donald Trump said late Saturday that he would halt new planned attacks on Iran pending renewed talks to wind down the war and revive stalled cargo traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. It was the latest in a pattern of announcements the U.S. president has made to first threaten […]
16 days ago
FILE - Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, is interviewed, Dec. 9, 2022, in Toledo, Ohio. (AP Photo/Carlos O...

Ohio Rep. Kaptur treated for non-life threatening injuries after a car accident in Toledo

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ohio Rep. Marcy Kaptur is being treated for non-life threatening injuries after a car accident in Toledo on Sunday morning, her office said Sunday. Kaptur, 80, was a passenger in a vehicle headed to a church service “when the car she was traveling in was struck,” the statement from her office said. […]
16 days ago
President Donald Trump, center, walks from Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morrist...

Republicans rate Trump higher on immigration than on the economy or Iran, AP-NORC poll finds

WASHINGTON (AP) — Immigration remains a stronger issue for President Donald Trump than the economy or Iran, according to a new AP-NORC poll, even after three people were killed in encounters with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the span of under a week in July. Trump is not getting a glowing endorsement on his immigration […]
16 days ago
FILE - A crowd sings, "God Bless America," as they wait to watch the removal of President Donald Tr...

Of thee I sing: A guide to US patriotic songs, from ‘The Liberty Song’ to Jay-Z and Kanye West

NEW YORK (AP) — The history of American patriotic songs offers a lesson about the different ways you can say you love your country. Composers have celebrated endurance under fire ( “The Star-Spangled Banner” ) and invoked divine approval (“God Bless America”). While Toby Keith’s “Made in America” dares anyone to question American eminence, Woody […]
16 days ago
FILE - Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin speaks during an interview with The Associate...

Ken Martin hunkers down at the Democratic National Committee as a storm gathers around party leader

NEW YORK (AP) — Ken Martin is in survival mode. Desperate to save his job as chair of the Democratic National Committee, he is avoiding media appearances, monitoring his critics’ social media posts and refusing — at least so far — to make any substantive changes at his troubled organization. A half dozen state leaders […]
16 days ago
A sign encourages voters to reject a proposal to change how Kanas Supreme Court justices are seated...

Republicans want voters to elect Kansas Supreme Court justices and move court to the right

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas voters will decide Tuesday whether to elect state Supreme Court justices rather than have the governor appoint them, a push from conservatives who have chafed for years over court decisions they disagreed with on issues such as abortion, school funding and the death penalty. If the constitutional amendment passes, supporters […]
16 days ago