AP US Politics News

By SEUNG MIN KIM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said early Thursday that he plans to designate antifa as a “major terrorist organization.” Antifa, short for “anti-fascists,” is an umbrella term for far-left-leaning militant groups and is not a singular entity. They consist of groups that resist fascists and neo-Nazis, especially at

By KIM CHANDLER Associated Press A federal judge on Tuesday ordered Alabama’s largest county to redraw county commission lines after ruling that the districts were unconstitutional because of racial gerrymandering. U.S. District Judge Madeline H. Haikala ruled the county map was unconstitutional because race was the predominant factor when the Jefferson County Commission drew districts.

By MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — It’s another blow to Rudy Giuliani’s withered wallet: A judge has ordered the former New York City mayor to pay $1.36 million in legal fees he racked up during investigations into his efforts to overturn President Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss. Judge Arthur Engoron made

By LISA MASCARO AP Congressional Correspondent The House declined late Wednesday to punish one of its own over commentary in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, but the effort showed the reach of President Donald Trump’s push for political retribution and set the stage for more to come. The 214-213 roll call shelved a resolution

By GENE JOHNSON Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Four Democratic-led Western states announced joint recommendations Wednesday about who should be vaccinated for seasonal respiratory viruses, including the flu and COVID-19, saying the Trump administration has jeopardized public health by politicizing the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. California, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii early this

By ERIC TUCKER and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Director Kash Patel defended the Trump administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files Wednesday as he returned to Capitol Hill for a second day to face intense questioning from Democrats over his promises of transparency surrounding the wealthy financier’s criminal case. The

By MARY CLARE JALONICK and JOEY CAPPELLETTI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican leaders in the House and Senate said Wednesday that they will reject Democratic demands for an immediate extension of health care subsidies, challenging Democrats to vote against a stopgap spending bill that doesn’t include them but will keep the government open at

By JANIE HAR Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A San Francisco supervisor was recalled Tuesday after he successfully pushed to turn a stretch of coastal highway used heavily by neighborhood motorists into a car-free park despite strong objections by his constituents. Supervisor Joel Engardio became the fifth elected official to be ousted in a

By STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota House will soon return to full strength under an unusual power-sharing agreement that forces both parties to work together, following a special election to fill the seat left vacant when the chamber’s top Democrat was assassinated. Democrat Xp Lee won Tuesday’s special election with 61%

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH, BILL BARROW and NICK INGRAM Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Rev. Emanuel Cleaver III wants a second Civil Rights Movement in response to President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans who are redrawing congressional district boundaries to increase their power in Washington. In Missouri, the GOP’s effort comes at

By DAVID A. LIEB, MICHAEL R. BLOOD and JIM VERTUNO Associated Press First came Texas, then California, then Missouri. President Donald Trump’s call to redraw U.S. House districts ahead of the 2026 elections has led to a wave of political maneuvering among state-level Republicans and Democrats that continues to unfold across the country. Politicians are

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Democratic state lawmaker who is promising to be a “wild card” joined Wisconsin’s open race for governor on Wednesday, saying she will focus on a progressive agenda to benefit the working class. State Rep. Francesca Hong, who lives in the liberal capital city of Madison,

By JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s Brad Raffensperger, the Republican secretary of state who rejected Donald Trump’s call to help overturn the state’s 2020 election results, said Wednesday that he’s running for governor in 2026. The wealthy engineering entrepreneur might appeal most to business-oriented Republicans who once dominated GOP primaries in Georgia,

ATLANTA (AP) — Republican Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to run for governor after tangling with Trump over 2020 voting.

By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Joel Willett, a military veteran and former CIA officer, launched his Democratic campaign for the U.S. Senate from Kentucky on Wednesday, saying the recent fallout from having his security clearance revoked by the Trump administration gave him added incentive to run. “I’ve seen firsthand how the

By SEJAL GOVINDARAO Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — President Donald Trump has vowed to do away with voting by mail, but some of his Republican allies in two Western battleground states are taking a more cautious approach. U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, one of two candidates with Trump’s endorsement in the Arizona governor’s race, does not

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 50 people have faced federal charges in Washington, D.C., since President Donald Trump’s emergency law-and-order surge began last month. Already, prosecutors have dropped at least 11 of those cases, an unusually high collapse rate that judges say is wasting court resources. The dismissals highlight the

By DAVID KLEPPER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia moved to amplify online conspiracy theories about Charlie Kirk’s killing just hours after it happened, seeding social media with the frightening claim that America is slipping into civil war. Chinese and pro-Iranian groups also spread disinformation about the shooting, with those loyal to Iran’s interests backing

By CHRIS MEGERIAN, LISA MASCARO and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is escalating threats to crack down on what he describes as the “radical left” following Charlie Kirk’s assassination, stirring fears that his administration is trying to harness outrage over the killing to suppress political opposition. Without establishing any

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Democrat Xp Lee wins Minnesota House special election to fill assassinated legislator’s seat and preserve tie in chamber.

By GARY FIELDS and MATT BROWN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The House passed legislation Tuesday that would overhaul how youth who commit crimes are prosecuted in the District of Columbia as congressional Republicans mobilized behind President Donald Trump’s efforts to crack down on crime in the nation’s capital. One of the bills, called the

By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Trump administration is using civil rights laws to wage a campaign against the University of California in an attempt to curtail academic freedom and undermine free speech, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday by faculty, staff, student organizations and every labor union representing UC

By CLAIRE RUSH and ALI SWENSON Associated Press PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Justice Department said Tuesday that it has sued Oregon and Maine for failing to turn over their voter registration lists, marking the first lawsuits the department has brought against states in its wide-ranging effort to get detailed voter data. The department said

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The identities of two women once listed as potential co-conspirators of Jeffrey Epstein will remain sealed for their safety and privacy, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. In a written decision, Judge Richard M. Berman rejected an NBC News request to make their identities public after lawyers

By THOMAS BEAUMONT and JOEY CAPPELLETTI The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Maine Gov. Janet Mills is taking steps toward running for the U.S. Senate in 2026, sources tell The Associated Press, adding another big-name Democrat to the list of candidates expected to vie for key Republican-held seats next year. Mills, who is term-limited next

By ED WHITE Associated Press From Utah to New York, political violence has rocked the U.S. multiple times over the past several months, culminating with the open-air killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated last week while talking to college students. The confluence on Tuesday of five different developments tied to recent acts

PROVO, Utah (AP) — Man charged with capital murder in the assassination of Charlie Kirk appears briefly before judge by video from jail.

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, questioning whether Americans understand the difference between a king and a president, told a New York Law School crowd Tuesday that improved civic education across the country would help people make better decisions. Sotomayor, speaking at a panel discussion during a

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A retired four-star U.S. Navy admiral was sentenced on Tuesday to six years in prison for his conviction on corruption charges that he agreed to exchange a military contract for a lucrative postretirement job. Retired Adm. Robert P. Burke — once the second-highest uniformed officer in the

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer Charlie Kirk’s mastery of social media was key to his rise as an influence in conservative politics. So the extent to which his death and its aftermath have played out on those forums shouldn’t come as a surprise. In a microcosm of life today, social media is where Americans