AP US Politics News

By CLAIRE SAVAGE The Associated Press A federal judge in Texas struck down guidance from a government agency establishing protections against workplace harassment based on gender identity and sexual orientation. Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas on Thursday determined that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

By MATT BROWN and MATT O’BRIEN WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans surprised tech industry watchers and outraged state governments when they added a clause to Republicans’ signature “ big, beautiful ” tax bill that would ban states and localities from regulating artificial intelligence for a decade. The brief but consequential provision, tucked into the House

By JONATHAN MATTISE and TRAVIS LOLLER Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A federal jury on Friday convicted a former Tennessee House speaker and his onetime chief of staff in a scheme to win taxpayer-funded mail business from state lawmakers even after scandals drove the two out of political power. Former Republican Rep. Glen Casada

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Jury convicts former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada and his aide in a scheme to win taxpayer-funded mail business.

By DEVNA BOSE AP Health Writer President Donald Trump’s administration must put the brakes on slashing billions in federal money for public health departments, a federal judge said Friday. U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy in Rhode Island granted the preliminary injunction request in the lawsuit brought last month by a coalition of Democrat-led states, allowing

By JOHN HANNA Associated Press Missouri’s governor said Friday that he will call the Legislature into a special session to consider incentives aimed at keeping the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals from moving to Kansas after lawmakers failed to pass a plan during their regular, annual session. Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe wants his state to

By ROBERT YOON Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Pennsylvania’s two largest cities will hold primaries Tuesday for high-profile municipal offices, while voters across the commonwealth will choose nominees for statewide appellate court judgeships. The election is a prelude to November, when voters could scramble partisan control of the state Supreme Court. The primaries in Philadelphia

By The Associated Press President Donald Trump wrapped up a Mideast tour in the United Arab Emirates on Friday with a breakfast for business leaders and a visit to an interfaith place of worship named for the Abraham Accords he negotiated. As part of the accords, the UAE and some other countries in the Middle

By TIM SULLIVAN Associated Press They arrive at the U.S. border from around the world: Eritrea, Guatemala, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Ghana, Uzbekistan and so many other countries. They come for asylum, insisting they face persecution for their religion, or sexuality or for supporting the wrong politicians. For generations, they had been given the chance to make

By DAVID A. LIEB Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Republican-led states are accelerating efforts to stamp out diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, expanding from higher education to other government functions since President Donald Trump fully embraced the movement. Governors and lawmakers this year have about doubled last year’s actions targeting DEI initiatives, which

By GENE JOHNSON Associated Press CENTRALIA, Wash. (AP) — Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez gave Democrats a rare win last fall when she defeated a MAGA diehard in a Republican district in southwestern Washington state. Hailed by some as a model for winning back blue-collar voters who abandoned the Democratic Party in last year’s elections, the

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Amber Ruffin looked out upon hundreds of writers, publishers and editors gathered for PEN America’s annual gala and shared her experience of being on the receiving end of censorship. “I’m officially a banned book,” the comic-writer joked, referring to her being dropped as a speaker

By JONATHAN J. COOPER Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Joe Biden’s time in public office is now behind him, but his age and mental acuity have become a litmus test for the next leaders in his party. Audio was published Friday from portions of interviews Biden gave to federal prosecutors in 2023, the latest in

WASHINGTON (AP) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Thursday that federal law enforcement is investigating a social media post made by former FBI Director James Comey that she and other Republicans suggest is a call for violence against President Donald Trump. In an Instagram post, Comey wrote “cool shell formation on my beach walk”

By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Military commanders will be told to identify troops in their units who are transgender or have gender dysphoria, then send them to get medical checks in order to force them out of the service, officials said Thursday. A senior defense official laid out what could be

WASHINGTON (AP) — Military leaders will be told to send transgender troops to health checks to force them from service under Trump’s ban.

By STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz and leaders of the Minnesota Legislature announced a hard-fought budget deal Thursday, contrasting the bipartisan cooperation that produced the agreement with the deep divisions that have tied Washington in knots. The Democratic governor and former vice presidential candidate noted that he was

By GENE JOHNSON Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — A judge on Thursday rescinded an order that would have required the Trump administration to admit some 12,000 refugees into the United States. U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead in Seattle issued the order earlier this month, following instructions from a federal appeals court that said the government

By JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Challengers on Thursday told a federal appeals court that Georgia lawmakers are still violating Black voters’ rights after redrawing the state’s congressional and legislative maps. If judges uphold the challenges, they could order different district lines to be used in Georgia for the rest of the decade,

By TARA COPP Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the U.S. Space Force is moving ahead with plans to pull talent from Air National Guard units to help build up the still new military service — but several governors remain opposed and argue it tramples on their rights to retain control over their

By MELISSA GOLDIN Associated Press As the Supreme Court prepared to hear arguments Thursday on whether to allow President Donald Trump’s restrictions on birthright citizenship to take effect, he falsely claimed on Truth Social that the United States is the only country that offers such a right. Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 20,

By KEVIN FREKING and LISA MASCARO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans are advancing President Donald Trump’s big bill of tax breaks, spending cuts and beefed-up border security as Speaker Mike Johnson attempts to pass the package over unified Democratic opposition by Memorial Day. House committees have labored on the legislation, which runs a

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer The Library of Congress, a 225-year-old Washington institution, has never had a moment like this. A week ago, the Trump administration fired the longtime librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden. The man appointed by President Donald Trump to be interim librarian, Todd Blanche, may not actually be the interim librarian.

By STEVE PEOPLES AP National Politics Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Gavin Newsom hosts President Donald Trump’s allies on his podcast. He’s pushing city officials to crack down on homeless encampments. And this week, he proposed limiting health care coverage for immigrants in the country illegally. Make no mistake: California’s Democratic governor is appealing to

By The Associated Press Podcaster Theo Von performed a set for U.S. troops in Qatar on Thursday where he joked about snorting drugs off a mixed-race baby and the sexuality of men in the U.S. Navy, and compared the Qatari hosts’ attire to Klansman robes. His appearance preceded President Donald Trump’s visit to the Al-Udeid

By The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has heard its first set of Trump-related arguments in the second Trump presidency. The case stems from the executive order President Donald Trump issued on his first day in office that would deny citizenship to children born on U.S. soil to parents who are in

By SAFIYAH RIDDLE and DAVID A. LIEB Associated Press/Report For America MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama lawmakers have passed legislation that would make it a felony to knowingly bring someone into the state who is in the U.S. illegally, echoing similar bills nationwide that could restrict domestic travel for some immigrants. The legislation given final

By SARAH PARVINI AP Technology Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Before “America First” became the Trump administration’s mandate for foreign policy and trade, one sector was already working to bring business back to the United States: the semiconductor industry. Aided by government incentives, American and foreign tech companies alike have invested hundreds of billions of

By MATT SEDENSKY AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Christine Farro has cut back on the presents she sends her grandchildren on their birthdays, and she’s put off taking two cats and a dog for their shots. All her clothes come from thrift stores and most of her vegetables come from her garden. At

By The Associated Press President Donald Trump arrived in the United Arab Emirates Thursday for the last leg of his first major foreign trip. Air Force One was given a fighter jet escort into the country’s airspace, just as Saudi Arabia and Qatar offered on the first stops of his Mideast trip. Trump was greeted