AP US Politics News

By MORGAN LEE Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico has its first Republican contender for governor ahead of the 2026 elections, as the three-term city mayor of fast-growing Rio Rancho launched his campaign. Gregg Hull on Friday outlined priorities, including greater state investments in the health care workforce and roadways, in pursuing

By The Associated Press George Santos, the Republican who won a congressional seat by fabricating details of his life story, then went to prison for fraud, was given clemency by President Donald Trump on Friday. “George Santos was somewhat of a ‘rogue,’ but there are many rogues throughout our Country that aren’t forced to serve

By SEUNG MIN KIM The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump talks plainly, bluntly, often even coarsely. But it’s rare he drops an actual F-bomb as cameras are rolling. But that’s what he did on Friday, when a journalist asked him about reports that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro had offered significant concessions to

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer Two days after dozens of journalists left their desks at the Pentagon behind rather than agree to government-imposed rules on how they report about the U.S. military, it’s apparent they haven’t stopped working. Reporters have relied on sources to break and add nuance to stories about U.S. attacks in

By GABRIELA AOUN ANGUEIRA Associated Press Current and former staff of the Federal Emergency Management Agency demonstrated against workforce and program cuts during a “FEMA Solidarity Rally” on Friday, a potentially risky act of protest because some of the same staffers were placed on leave after signing a public dissent letter in August. Several dozen

By THOMAS BEAUMONT Associated Press Senate Republican campaign leaders are using artificial intelligence-generated video to falsely depict Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer appearing to say on camera comments he made in a print publication interview about the political impacts of the partial government shutdown. The 30-second digital ad from the National Republican Senate Committee features

By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE Associated Press New York City’s mayoral candidates duked it out in their first general election debate Thursday night, with contenders Zohran Mamdani, Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa sparring over everything from the Israel-Hamas war to the city’s education system. In addition to policy issues, the candidates also made revealing statements as they

By COLLIN BINKLEY and JONATHAN MATTISE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The five universities that were still weighing President Donald Trump’s higher-education compact were asked to join a White House call Friday to discuss the proposed deal. By late Friday afternoon, one of the schools — the University of Virginia — had already declined to

By KEN SWEET AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is concerned about the health of the nation’s regional banks, after a few of them wrote off bad loans to commercial customers in the last two weeks and caused investors to wonder if there might be more bad news to come. Zions Bank,

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York’s Republican State Committee on Friday suspended a Young Republican organization following the release of a group chat that included jokes about rape and flippant commentary on gas chambers. In a statement, New York’s Republican committee said its leaders had voted unanimously to suspend the authorization of the New York

Former national security adviser John Bolton turned himself in to federal authorities Friday morning in Maryland and pleaded not guilty after being indicted on charges of keeping top secret documents at his home and sharing classified information with family members. Bolton was ordered released from custody after making his court appearance. His criminal case is

By MIKE CATALINI and OLIVIA DIAZ Associated Press TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Barack Obama has endorsed the Democratic candidates for governor in New Jersey and Virginia, seeking to boost Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger ahead of high-stakes elections next month. The two-term Democratic former president appears in digital ads for the candidates, who are running

By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Making his pitch to connect with a Republican crowd that instantly recognized him, Kentucky Senate candidate Daniel Cameron likened the gathering to a family reunion — a feel-good reminder of his status as a party stalwart in the Bluegrass State. Cameron — a former state attorney

By The Associated Press President Donald Trump said Friday that he commuted the sentence of former U.S. Rep. George Santos, who is serving more than seven years in federal prison after pleading guilty to fraud and identity theft charges. The New York Republican was sentenced in April after admitting last year to deceiving donors and

By STEVE PEOPLES and LINLEY SANDERS Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — More U.S. adults support President Donald Trump’s handling of the conflict in Israel after he brokered a ceasefire deal in Gaza, a new AP-NORC poll finds — but his approval ratings on domestic issues remain weak. The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for

By SAFIYAH RIDDLE Associated Press/Report For America Big crowds of protesters are expected Saturday in thousands of places around the U.S. in opposition to what some are characterizing as increasingly authoritarian practices by President Donald Trump. It’s the second “No Kings” protest and third mass movement against the administration this year, and it comes amid

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI and SEUNG MIN KIM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is showing little urgency to broker a compromise that would end the government shutdown, even as Democrats insist no breakthrough is possible without his direct involvement. Three weeks in, Congress is at a standstill. The House hasn’t been in session

By ANGELINA KATSANIS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — New York mayoral candidates faced off in their first debate as voters prepare to choose the next person to lead America’s biggest city. ___ This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Republican legislators offered a redrawn U.S. House district map for North Carolina on Thursday, seeking to help President Donald Trump retain GOP control of Congress by attempting to thwart the reelection of the Democrat now in the state’s only swing seat. State House and Senate

By MARGERY A. BECK Associated Press OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — As states consider redrawing their congressional district lines to favor one political party, some politicians warn that attempts to gerrymander can devolve into “dummymandering,” when partisan goals end up helping the opposing party in neighboring districts. Pushed initially by President Donald Trump, state legislators across

By OLIVIA DIAZ Associated Press/Report for America RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares and Democratic challenger Jay Jones squabbled over a host of lawyerly issues on Thursday in their first and only debate: criminal prosecutions, consumer protection and unlawful discrimination. But one matter overshadowed it all: Jones’ leaked text messages endorsing

By MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — U.S. officials rejected a mining company’s bid for more than 6 million tons of coal beneath a national forest in Utah, marking the third proposed coal sale from public lands in the West to fall through this month, the Interior Department disclosed Thursday. The failed sales

By JOSHUA GOODMAN MIAMI (AP) — Federal prosecutors have charged voting technology firm Smartmatic with money laundering and other crimes arising from more than $1 million in bribes that several executives allegedly paid to election officials in the Philippines. The payments, between 2015 and 2018, were made to obtain a contract with the Philippines government