AP US Politics News

WASHINGTON (AP) — A fire broke out Wednesday on the USS New Orleans warship off the coast of Okinawa, Japan, leaving two sailors with minor injuries. The fire on the amphibious transport dock ship has been extinguished and its cause is under investigation, the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet said in a statement. The fire on

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas House gives initial approval to new maps that would create up to 5 more winnable congressional seats for the GOP.

By JEFF AMY Associated Press JACKSON, Ga. (AP) — Second-term Georgia Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Collins is seeking to solidify support as he seeks the GOP nomination to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff in 2026. Collins, who’d declared his intent to run in July, officially launched his candidacy Tuesday in his hometown of Jackson

By AAMER MADHANI, ERIC TUCKER and ALI SWENSON Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Office of the Director of National Intelligence will dramatically reduce its workforce and cut its budget by more than $700 million annually, the Trump administration announced Wednesday. The move amounts to a major downsizing of the office responsible for coordinating the

NEW YORK (AP) — “South Park” continued its cartoon assault on the Trump administration Wednesday, with an episode that addressed the federal takeover of Washington, D.C.’s police department. The latest installment on Comedy Central depicted the recurring character “Towelie” — a walking, talking towel — riding in a bus past landmarks like the Supreme Court

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tulsi Gabbard announces she’s reorganizing key intelligence coordination office, slashing workforce.

By ERIC OLSON AP Sports Writer Ten Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives have asked the NCAA if and how college sports’ major governing body plans to protect the interests of female athletes as the largest portion of NIL and revenue-sharing payments continue to be directed to male athletes. The lawmakers, in a

By MEG KINNARD Associated Press Former President Barack Obama has waded into states’ efforts at rare mid-decade redistricting efforts, saying he agrees with California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s response to alter his state’s congressional maps, in the way of Texas redistricting efforts promoted by President Donald Trump aimed at shoring up Republicans’ position in next year’s

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Democratic Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski, who passed up a chance to run for the open governor’s seat, announced Wednesday that she instead will go for the No. 2 slot in 2026. Godlewski is the first candidate from either party to announce for lieutenant governor,

BY LIAM BOWMAN, TAYLOR NICHOLS and MARY BURKE / Howard Center for Investigative Journalism Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at the University of Maryland A train derails and spills at least 1,000 gallons of hazardous materials in the U.S. about once every two months. Nearly half of those derailments resulted in evacuations; more than a

By The Associated Press The Republican-controlled Texas House of Representatives passed Wednesday a redrawn congressional map that creates up to five new winnable GOP seats in Congress, further deepening a national redistricting battle between states. Republicans want to make it easier for the GOP to hold on to its slim U.S. House majority in the

By ERIC GAY and STEPHEN SPILLMAN Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas House of Representatives, led by Republicans, approved a redrawn congressional map that could give the GOP up to five new seats in Congress ahead of the 2026 midterms. After a two-week walkout that stalled the vote on a new political map,

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — President Donald Trump wants the U.S. government to own a piece of Intel, less than two weeks after demanding the Silicon Valley pioneer dump the CEO that was hired to turn around the slumping chipmaker. If the goal is realized, the investment would deepen the

By JIM VERTUNO and NICHOLAS RICCARDI Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas House on Wednesday approved redrawn congressional maps that would give Republicans a bigger edge in 2026, muscling through a partisan gerrymander that launched weeks of protests by Democrats and a widening national battle over redistricting. The approval came at the urging

By MATTHEW BROWN and HANNAH SCHOENBAUM Associated Press A Yosemite National Park ranger was fired after hanging a pride flag from El Capitan while some park visitors could face prosecution under protest restrictions that have been tightened under President Donald Trump. Shannon “SJ” Joslin, a ranger and biologist who studies bats, said they hung a

By REBECCA SANTANA Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Tuesday that the entire border wall along the southern border with Mexico is going to be painted black to make it hotter and deter illegal immigration — and she credited President Trump with the idea. Noem spoke during a visit to

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI Associated Press President Donald Trump has made clear in recent weeks that he’s willing to use the vast powers of his office to prevent his party from losing control of Congress in next year’s midterm elections. Some of the steps Trump has taken to intervene in the election are typical, but controversial,

By JACQUELYN MARTIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington’s Columbia Heights, usually lively with vendors, has been abnormally quiet, reflecting the impact of President Donald Trump’s federal law enforcement surge. While troop deployments and foot patrols in downtown areas and around the National Mall have gotten the most attention, life in historically diverse neighborhoods like

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI and MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said Tuesday that he believes President Donald Trump is prepared to “crush” Russia’s economy with a new wave of sanctions if Russian President Vladimir Putin refuses to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the coming weeks. Graham, who

By CHINEDU ASADU and MELISSA GOLDIN Associated Press President Donald Trump has projected himself as a peacemaker since returning to the White House in January, touting his efforts to end global conflicts. In meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders Monday, Trump repeated that he has been instrumental in stopping multiple wars

By ERIC TUCKER, AAMER MADHANI and MATTHEW LEE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration said Tuesday that it was revoking the security clearances of 37 current and former national security officials in the latest act of retribution targeting public servants from the federal government’s intelligence community. A memo from Director of National Intelligence

By MARK THIESSEN Associated Press ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska man might have walked away as the biggest winner of last week’s high stakes summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage. He rode off with a new motorcycle, courtesy of the Russian government. Putin’s delegation gifted Mark Warren,

By JOHN HANNA, SARA CLINE and JIM VERTUNO Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Democratic state Rep. Nicole Collier refused to come to the Texas state Capitol for two weeks. Now she won’t leave, and fellow Democrats are joining her protest. Collier was among dozens of Democrats who left the state for the Democratic havens

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has opened an investigation into whether police officials in Washington, D.C., have falsified data to make crime rates appear lower than they are, according to two people familiar with the probe who weren’t authorized to publicly discuss an open investigation.

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Washington, D.C., was the highest in the nation for the third straight month, according to new data released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. D.C.’s jobless rate reached 6% in July, a reflection of the mass layoffs of federal workers,

By DAVID A. LIEB Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Former U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway was appointed Tuesday as Missouri’s next attorney general, vowing a tough-on-crime approach as her predecessor leaves for a job with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe announced Hanaway’s appointment just a day after Attorney General Andrew

By The Associated Press President Donald Trump on Tuesday offered his assurances that U.S. troops would not be sent to Ukraine to defend against Russia, after seeming to leave open the possibility the day before. Trump also said in a morning TV interview that Ukraine’s hopes of joining NATO and regaining the Crimean Peninsula are

By TRÂN NGUYỄN and JIM VERTUNO Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A California legislative hearing turned into a shouting match Tuesday as a Republican lawmaker clashed with Democrats over a partisan plan to rewrite U.S. House maps to win Democrats more seats. A committee voted along party lines to advance a new congressional map

By DAVID A. LIEB Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, a Republican who has been an ardent backer of President Donald Trump, said Monday that he is resigning to take a leadership position at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The move is the latest in a series of changes

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH and JAMIE STENGLE Associated Press Oklahoma will require applicants for teacher jobs coming from California and New York to pass an exam that the Republican-dominated state’s top education official says is designed to safeguard against “radical leftist ideology,” but which opponents decry as a “MAGA loyalty test.” Ryan Walters, Oklahoma’s public schools