AP

By MORGAN LEE Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico’s governor is calling on state lawmakers to shore up safety net programs in response to federal spending cuts enacted by President Donald Trump, in an announcement Thursday that highlighted reduced federal support for Medicaid and food assistance programs. More than 40% of New

By MARK SCHIEFELBEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced pointed bipartisan questioning during a contentious three-hour Senate hearing Thursday addressing his efforts to pull back COVID-19 vaccine recommendations and the turmoil he has created at federal health agencies. ___ This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo

By JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — A former top elections official who made a name for himself defending Georgia’s 2020 presidential election tally against threats from supporters of President Donald Trump is now running to be the state’s elections chief. Republican Gabriel Sterling, 54, filed paperwork Tuesday to run for secretary of state

By KONSTANTIN TOROPIN and CHRIS MEGERIAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order Friday to rebrand the Department of Defense as the Department of War, his latest effort to project an image of toughness for America’s military. The Republican president can’t formally change the name without legislation, which

By ANNIE MA AP Education Writer Northwestern University President Michael Schill said Thursday that he will resign, ending a three-year tenure marked by the freeze of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding by the Trump administration and heated criticism from House Republicans over the university’s response to campus protests. The funding freeze and

By WILL WEISSERT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Demolition to build President Donald Trump’s new ballroom off the East Wing of the White House can begin without approval of the commission tasked with vetting construction of federal buildings, the Trump-appointed head of the panel said Thursday. Will Scharf, who is also the White House staff

By CHRIS MEGERIAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden recently underwent surgery to remove skin cancer lesions, a spokesperson said Thursday, the latest health challenge for the former president. His spokesperson Kelly Scully confirmed the surgery after Inside Edition published video of Biden leaving church in Delaware with a fresh scar on his forehead.

By DAVID A. LIEB Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri residents denounced a plan to redraw the state’s congressional districts on Thursday as Republican lawmakers pressed ahead with President Donald Trump’s strategy to bolster Republicans in next year’s congressional elections. Dozens of people turned out for the first public hearing on a plan

By MATTHEW PERRONE and ALI SWENSON Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A contentious three-hour hearing between U.S. senators and Robert Kennedy Jr. devolved into multiple screaming matches on Thursday as the nation’s health secretary fended off accusations about sweeping changes he’s made to vaccines, health care policy and leadership. The oversight hearing in the Senate

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and CURT ANDERSON Associated Press TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department is ramping up efforts to target human smuggling operations exploiting America’s northern border, officials announced Thursday, citing growing concerns about sophisticated criminal networks that transport migrants for profit expanding beyond the southern border. The expansion of Joint Task

By MARK THIESSEN Associated Press ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Ten Alaska residents pleaded not guilty Thursday to voter misconduct or other charges in cases that have renewed attention on the complex citizenship status of people born in the U.S. territory of American Samoa. Those facing charges — most of them related to one another —