AP US Politics News

By STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats released several dozen more photos Thursday from the estate of the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, showing his associations with the rich and famous, as the Department of Justice faces a deadline to release many of its case files on the late financier by the

By MATT O’BRIEN and JENNIFER MCDERMOTT Associated Press The parent company of President Donald Trump’s Truth Social media platform is merging with a fusion power company, an unusual pairing of the Trump name with a futuristic clean energy venture that aims to power the next wave of artificial intelligence. Trump Media & Technology announced its

By The Associated Press The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday unveiled a series of regulatory actions designed to effectively ban gender-affirming care for minors, building on broader Trump administration restrictions on transgender Americans. The sweeping proposals — the most significant moves this administration has taken so far to restrict the use

By ANNIE MA AP Education Writer SHELBYVILLE, Ky. (AP) — When the funding for Shannon Johnson’s job as a school mental health counselor came to an abrupt end, two years into a five-year grant, she thought about the work left to be done. Johnson taught elementary and middle-school students in rural Kentucky how to navigate

By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer It has never been unusual for the leader of the host country to show up for one of the biggest moments of soccer’s World Cup — the gala where the team pairings are revealed. What made President Donald Trump’s appearance this month different was the “FIFA Peace Prize.” The

By JONATHAN J. COOPER Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — A simmering battle over the future of President Donald Trump’s political movement exploded on one of the right’s biggest stages Thursday, as prominent conservative influencers used Turning Point USA’s annual youth conference to attack each other and their competing visions. The feuding threatened to eclipse efforts

By CALVIN WOODWARD Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s glowing account of progress under his watch Wednesday was out of tune with the experience of price-squeezed Americans and the story told by some of his government’s own statistics. In a speech from the White House, Trump assailed the record of his Democratic predecessor

By ED WHITE Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — A federal appeals court on Wednesday blocked Michigan’s ban on conversion therapy for minors who are LGBTQ+, declaring it violates the First Amendment rights of therapists and counselors. In a 2-1 opinion, the court said the law illegally restricts speech that reflects the moral beliefs of therapists.

By JOSH FUNK AP Transportation Writer The Senate moved quickly Wednesday afternoon to close a loophole that could allow military aircraft to fly without broadcasting their locations just like an Army helicopter was doing last January before it collided with an airliner over Washington, D.C., killing 67 people. Just hours after passing a massive defense

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend and longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell asked a federal judge on Wednesday to set aside her sex trafficking conviction and free her from a 20-year prison sentence, saying “substantial new evidence” has emerged proving that constitutional violations spoiled her

By MEG KINNARD Associated Press Four moderate House Republicans — from swing districts Democrats are already eyeing for next year’s midterms — have broken ranks with Speaker Mike Johnson, signing on to Democrats’ petition to force a vote on extending health care subsidies that expire at the end of this year. From battleground districts in

By GRAHAM LEE BREWER Associated Press The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina achieved a goal more than a century in the making on Wednesday when it secured federal recognition as a tribal nation through the passage of a defense bill in Congress. The state-recognized tribe, whose historic and genealogical claims have been called into question

By SOPHIE BATES Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A 33-year-old antitrust lawyer with ties to major Democratic politicians is challenging U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson to represent Mississippi’s 2nd congressional district. Evan Turnage is the latest in a trend of young Democrats looking to oust the party’s old guard and rebrand the party after the

By STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate gave final passage Wednesday to an annual military policy bill that will authorize $901 billion in defense programs while pressuring Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to provide lawmakers with video of strikes on alleged drug boats in international water near Venezuela. The annual National Defense Authorization

By THALIA BEATY Associated Press The U.S. Treasury asked major philanthropic donors to contribute to new investment accounts for children Wednesday as part of what Secretary Scott Bessent called a “50 State Challenge” to raise funds for the Trump Accounts program. “The president is calling on our nation’s business leaders and philanthropic organizations to help

By KIM CHANDLER Associated Press MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Former University of Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron announced Wednesday that he is ending his campaign for lieutenant governor of Alabama to pursue a sports-related opportunity. McCarron did not disclose the details of the new position but said “football is calling my name once again.” The announcement

By The Associated Press President Donald Trump delivered a speech live from the White House on Wednesday night where he discussed his achievements and touched on some of his agenda for next year and beyond. The president’s predecessor, whom Trump continues to lambaste regularly, figured prominently at the start of his address. Trump pointed to

By ERIC TUCKER and LISA MASCARO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith told lawmakers in a closed-door interview Wednesday that his team of investigators “developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt” that President Donald Trumphad criminally conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election, according to portions of his

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI and MATT SEDENSKY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic senators on Wednesday hammered the Federal Communications Commission’s leader for pressuring broadcasters to take ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel off the air, suggesting that Brendan Carr was politicizing an independent agency and trampling the First Amendment. The FCC chairman refused to disown his

By JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — The showdown between Fani Willis and a Republican-led Georgia state Senate committee over her conduct while prosecuting Donald Trump had loomed for months, and when it finally arrived Wednesday, Fulton County’s Democratic district attorney was ready to fight. “You all want to intimidate people from doing the

By JOSH FUNK AP Transportation Writer OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The proposed $85 billion merger of Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern railroads has lost the support of two unions that represent more than half their workers over concerns it will jeopardize safety and jobs, raise shipping rates and consumer prices, and cause significant disruptions. The

By BILL BARROW Associated Press White House chief of staff Susie Wiles offered an unusually candid look inside President Donald Trump’s administration in a series of interviews published Tuesday by Vanity Fair magazine, delivering details and reservations that presidential aides usually save for memoirs. From criticizing Attorney General Pam Bondi as having “whiffed” on the

By BRIAN WITTE Associated Press ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland will create a commission to study potential reparations for slavery after lawmakers voted Tuesday to override a veto by Gov. Wes Moore — currently the nation’s only Black governor — that disappointed many fellow Democrats. Moore said in his veto letter in May that it

By KONSTANTIN TOROPIN and BEN FINLEY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona said Tuesday that the Pentagon’s escalating investigation into his remarks urging troops to refuse unlawful orders is part of an effort to silence dissent within the military. “This is just about sending a message to retired service members,

By JOSH FUNK AP Transportation Writer The head of the Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday he won’t forget the 67 people who died when an airliner collided with an Army helicopter over Washington, D.C., in January, insisting he won’t allow operations in the airspace over the nation’s capital to revert back to the way they

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Duke Rodriguez, one of New Mexico’s most successful cannabis entrepreneurs and a former state cabinet secretary, has officially announced he’s seeking the Republican nomination for governor. Rather than hosting a big party, Rodriguez made the announcement in newspaper advertisements over the weekend, saying he would rather engage with residents directly and

By TODD RICHMOND Associated Press MILWAUKEE (AP) — A colleague of the Milwaukee judge accused of helping a Mexican immigrant evade arrest testified Tuesday that she was shocked by her fellow judge’s behavior. “Judges shouldn’t help defendants evade arrest,” Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Kristela Cervera testified at Hannah Dugan’s trial. The testimony on the second

By MICHELLE L. PRICE, DARLENE SUPERVILLE and BILL BARROW Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Susie Wiles, President Donald Trump’s understated but influential chief of staff, criticized Attorney General Pam Bondi’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case and offered an unvarnished take on her boss and those in his orbit in interviews published Tuesday in Vanity