AP US Politics News

By GEOFF MULVIHILL and HANNAH SCHOENBAUM Associated Press A federal judge ruled Friday that President Donald Trump’s administration cannot block federal money for child care subsidies and other programs aimed at supporting low-income families with children from flowing to five Democratic-led states for now. The states of California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York argued

By GENE JOHNSON Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — A federal judge on Friday blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from enforcing most of his executive order on elections against the vote-by-mail states Washington and Oregon, in the latest blow to Trump’s efforts to require documentary proof of citizenship to vote and to require that all ballots

By WILL WEISSERT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump insists he’s never happy. But now he has a lapel pin that is. The president sported a tiny version of himself on his suit’s lapel Friday, under the miniature American flag pin he and other presidents have traditionally worn. “Somebody gave me this. Do

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Days after Nicolás Maduro’s arraignment on drug trafficking charges, a squabble has erupted over who gets to represent the former Venezuelan president in the high-stakes case. Defense attorney Barry Pollack, who sat with Maduro in court, accused lawyer Bruce Fein of trying

By MEG KINNARD Associated Press The Heritage Foundation think tank is urging the federal government “to save and restore the American family,” kicking off the midterm election year with a call for conservatives to focus on domestic issues. Among its recommendations? A “marriage bootcamp,” designed to prepare cohabitating couples for marriage; a “universal day of

By MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — A federal judge said Friday that she expects to temporarily block efforts by the Trump administration to end a program that offered temporary legal protections for more than 10,000 family members of citizens and green card holders. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani said at a hearing that

By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A trial began Friday for five current and former Stanford University students who occupied the university president’s offices during a pro-Palestinian protest in 2024 — in a rare instance of demonstrators facing trial for actions from the wave of campus protests that year. Authorities initially

By STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — For House Republicans, the political year started with a pep rally of sorts as President Donald Trump gathered them at Washington’s Kennedy Center for a stemwinder of a speech. But by the time lawmakers had completed their first week of work this midterm election year, fractures in

By JULIE CARR SMYTH Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Republican Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has expressed alarm that a man who worked as his family’s bodyguard is facing federal drug trafficking charges. Justin Salsburey, 43, of Bellefontaine, and his wife, Ruthann Rankin, were each charged late last month with conspiracy and possession with

By The Associated Press U.S. forces have boarded another oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea. The announcement was made Friday by the U.S. military. The Trump administration has been targeting sanctioned tankers traveling to and from Venezuela. The pre-dawn action was carried out by U.S. Marines and Navy, taking part in the monthslong buildup of

By MORIAH BALINGIT AP Education Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorneys general in five Democratic-led states filed a lawsuit Thursday against President Donald Trump’s administration after it said it would freeze money for several public benefit programs, citing concerns about fraud in the programs designed to help low-income families. The states — California, Colorado, Minnesota, Illinois

By CLAUDIA LAUER The Associated Press A day after a federal immigration officer fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis, the case escalated sharply Thursday when federal authorities blocked state investigators from accessing evidence and declared that Minnesota has no jurisdiction to investigate the killing. Legal experts said the dispute highlights a central question raised repeatedly

By MELISSA GOLDIN Associated Press Misrepresented and fabricated images spread widely on social media in the aftermath of the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman, Renee Good, by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer on Wednesday. Soon after the shooting, photos emerged erroneously identified as showing the victim, a 37-year-old mother of three. Others were

By FARNOUSH AMIRI Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The top United Nations official on Thursday said the United States has a “legal obligation” to keep paying its dues that fund U.N. agencies after the White House announced that it is withdrawing support from more than 30 initiatives operated by the world body. Secretary-General Antonio

By LISA MASCARO and KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — In a remarkable rebuke of Republican leadership, the House passed legislation Thursday that would extend expired health care subsidies for those who get coverage through the Affordable Care Act as 17 renegade GOP lawmakers joined every Democrat in support. The tally, 230-196, signified growing

By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Federal and state officials withheld evidence that the Department of Homeland Security had agreed to reimburse Florida for some of the costs of constructing an immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” according to environmental groups suing to shut down the facility.

By KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The House passed a bipartisan package of three spending bills on Thursday that would fund parts of the federal government through September, demonstrating the eagerness of lawmakers to avoid another government shutdown near the end of the month. Congress has so far passed only three of the

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Jan. 26 marks the official start date of the 2026 tax filing season, when the IRS will begin accepting and processing 2025 tax returns. April 15 is the filing deadline. Tax experts, including the IRS’ independent watchdog, have warned that this year’s filing season could be hampered

By COLLIN BINKLEY AP Education Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration and Louisiana officials have lifted another decades-old school desegregation order, part of a campaign to end court mandates they describe as outdated. A federal judge on Monday approved a joint motion from Louisiana and the U.S. Justice Department to dismiss a 1967 lawsuit

By The Associated Press In a remarkable rebuke of Republican leadership, the House passed legislation Thursday, 230-196, that would extend expired health care subsidies for those who get coverage through the Affordable Care Act as renegade GOP lawmakers joined essentially all Democrats in voting for the measure. Forcing the issue to a vote came about

By STEPHEN GROVES and JOEY CAPPELLETTI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate advanced a resolution Thursday that would limit President Donald Trump’s ability to conduct further attacks against Venezuela, sounding a note of disapproval for his expanding ambitions in the Western Hemisphere. Democrats and five Republicans voted to advance the war powers resolution on

ATLANTA (AP) — An elected leader in Georgia’s Fulton County, which drew national attention after the 2020 election when President Donald Trump claimed without proof that voter fraud there cost him victory in Georgia, announced that she is running to be the state’s top election official. Fulton County Commissioner Dana Barrett planned to hold a

By LISA MASCARO and BRIAN WITTE AP Congressional Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the longest-serving Democrat in Congress and once a rival to become House speaker, announced Thursday that he will retire at the end of his term. Hoyer, who served for years in party leadership and helped steer Democrats through

By KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans will consider a rare rebuke of President Donald Trump with House votes Thursday to override his vetoes of two low-profile bills that were considered noncontroversial when they passed Congress. One bill was designed to help local communities finance the construction of a pipeline to provide water

By MARC LEVY Associated Press HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is running for a second term in the pivotal battleground state after a first term that put him on the Democratic Party’s radar as a potential presidential contender in 2028. He made the formal announcement Thursday at an event at a carpenters’

By CLAUDIA LAUER Associated Press The fatal shooting of a woman by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis on Wednesday has thrust a long-running and deeply contested question back into the national spotlight: When is a law enforcement officer justified in using lethal force against someone in a moving vehicle? The killing, captured on cellphone