AP US Politics News

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday it was replacing its longstanding lottery system for H-1B work visas with a new approach that prioritizes skilled, higher-paid foreign workers. The change follows a series of actions by the Trump administration aimed at reshaping a visa program that critics

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST and SEUNG MIN KIM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department has released tens of thousands more documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, a tranche that included multiple mentions of President Donald Trump but added little new revelatory information to the long-anticipated public file on the late financier and convicted sex

By DAVID A. LIEB Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The question of whether Missouri’s new congressional districts are in effect for the 2026 elections will be up to a court to decide. A lawsuit filed Tuesday on behalf of voters contends the redrawn map backed by President Donald Trump should have been automatically

By The Associated Press Former Nebraska U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse, a conservative who rebuked political tribalism and stood out as a longtime critic of President Donald Trump, announced Tuesday he was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer. Sasse, 53, made the announcement on social media, saying he learned of the disease last week and is “now

By MEAD GRUVER Associated Press Wyoming’s lone U.S. representative is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Cynthia Lummis, who isn’t seeking reelection. Rep. Harriet Hageman, a Republican, on Tuesday became first to announce for Senate in Wyoming after Lummis, also a Republican, said Friday she isn’t seeking a second term. “I will

By JULIE CARR SMYTH Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The number of states that will accept late-arriving mail-in ballots during next year’s critical midterm elections continues to dwindle, as Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine “reluctantly” signed new restrictions into law Friday, citing the uncertainty of pending litigation to ban the counting of such ballots in

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — George Conway, a former conservative lawyer who has become one of President Donald Trump’s most outspoken critics, is taking steps toward a run for Congress in an open New York City seat. Conway filed paperwork Monday to run as a Democrat in New York’s 12th Congressional District,

By MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — EDITOR’S NOTE — This is an exclusive excerpt adapted from “Storm at the Capitol: An Oral History of January 6th” by Associated Press reporter Mary Clare Jalonick. The book, which will be published on Jan. 6, 2026, draws on personal interviews by the author, testimony, court

By MATT SEDENSKY AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — After a half-century immersed in the world of trade, customs broker Amy Magnus thought she’d seen it all, navigating mountains of regulations and all sorts of logistical hurdles to import everything from lumber and bananas to circus animals and Egyptian mummies. Then came 2025. Tariffs

By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawyers for former CIA Director John Brennan want the Justice Department to be prevented from steering an investigation of him and other former government officials to a “favored” judge in Florida who dismissed the classified documents case against President Donald Trump. The request Monday is addressed to

By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Attorneys for detainees at an immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades known as “Alligator Alcatraz” want a federal judge to make an unscheduled, in-person visit to the facility to see firsthand if they are getting sufficient access to their lawyers. Attorneys asked U.S. District Judge

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer An internal CBS News battle over a “60 Minutes” story critical of the Trump administration has exploded publicly, with a correspondent charging it was kept off the air for political reasons and news chief Bari Weiss saying Monday the story did not “advance the ball.” Two hours before airtime

By BILL BARROW Associated Press A transgender employee of the National Security Agency is suing the Trump administration and trying to block enforcement of a presidential executive order and other policies the employee says violate federal civil rights law. Sarah O’Neill, an NSA data scientist who is transgender, disputes the legality of President Donald Trump’s

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A judge on Monday scolded Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime confidant Ghislaine Maxwell for including confidential victim names in court papers seeking to set aside her 2021 sex trafficking conviction and free her from a 20-year prison sentence. Judge Paul A. Engelmayer said exhibits

By JAKE OFFENHARTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Four years ago, New York City Mayor Eric Adams swept into office with swaggering confidence, pledging to lead a government unlike any other in history and declaring himself the “future of the Democratic Party.” On the first promise, the mayor more than delivered. But as his

By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON Associated Press Rapper Nicki Minaj on Sunday made a surprise appearance at a gathering of conservatives in Arizona that was memorializing late activist Charlie Kirk, and used her time on stage to praise President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, calling them “role models” for young men. The rap star

By JONATHAN J. COOPER and SEJAL GOVINDARAO Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Vice President JD Vance said Sunday the conservative movement should be open to everyone as long as they “love America,” declining to condemn a streak of antisemitism that has divided the Republican Party and roiled the opening days of Turning Point USA’s annual

By JONATHAN J. COOPER and SEJAL GOVINDARAO Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — When Turning Point USA’s annual AmericaFest convention reached its halfway point, Erika Kirk tried to put a smiling face on things. “Say what you want about AmFest, but it’s definitely not boring,” said Kirk, who has led the influential conservative organization since her

By AAMER MADHANI Associated Press WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Saturday announced he’s endorsing Nassau County’s Republican executive for governor in next fall’s New York race, just a day after the president’s longtime ally Rep. Elise Stefanik announced she was suspending her candidacy. The endorsement, while not unexpected, could help

By STEVEN SLOAN Associated Press ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — When Idalia Bisbal moved to this Pennsylvania city synonymous with America’s working class, she hoped for a cheaper, easier life than the one she was leaving behind in her hometown of New York City. About three years later, she is deeply disappointed. “It’s worse than ever,”

By STEVEN SLOAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton featured prominently in the first batch of files released Friday by the Justice Department stemming from its investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as the White House seized the chance to shift the focus of the highly anticipated documents from President Donald

By ALI SWENSON Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday published thousands of files related to Jeffrey Epstein, a release long anticipated for its potential to reveal new details about the late sex offender and his connections to powerful people. But it was clear soon after the release that

By DAVID A. LIEB Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — To tax tips or not? That is a question that will confront lawmakers in states across the U.S. as they convene for work next year. President Donald Trump’s administration is urging states to follow its lead by enacting a slew of new tax breaks

By JOSH FUNK AP Transportation Writer OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A number of Mexican train crews who had just hauled trains over the border to American rail yards in Texas had trouble understanding important safety information in English during recent focused inspections the Trump administration ordered. Railroads Union Pacific and CPKC routinely rely on foreign

By JOHN O’CONNOR Associated Press SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Transit Authority bolstered security on the public transport system Friday, a day after President Donald Trump’s administration repeated its threat to withhold $50 million in federal funding if it didn’t deliver a more aggressive crime-cutting plan. The Chicago Police Department increased its daily presence

By SOPHIE BATES Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A judge on Friday ordered special elections for the Mississippi Supreme Court after earlier finding that the electoral map used to select justices violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock in August ordered Mississippi to redraw the map, which was

By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE Associated Press ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Rep. Elise Stefanik suspended her campaign for New York governor on Friday and said she will not seek reelection to Congress, bowing out of what was expected to be a bruising Republican primary and ending a once-promising tenure in the House. Stefanik, an ally of President

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — First-term U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming announced Friday that she won’t seek reelection in 2026, but she said she’s committed to retaining Republic control of the Senate. Lummis said her stamina “doesn’t match up” with the energy required for another term. “In the difficult, exhausting session weeks this fall I’ve

By MIKE STOBBE AP Medical Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The Trump administration has awarded a $1.6 million, no-bid contract to a Danish university to study hepatitis B vaccinations on newborns in Africa that is raising ethical concerns. The unusual contract was awarded to scientists who have been cited by anti-vaccine activists and whose work

By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE Associated Press ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Rep. Elise Stefanik announced Friday that she is suspending her campaign for New York governor and will not seek reelection to Congress. In a post on X, Stefanik, a Republican ally of President Donald Trump, said “it is not an effective use of our time or