Got to Category

Politics Election category, Page 21

Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
Senate confirms Noem as Trump’s homeland security secretary
WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmed Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary on Saturday, putting the South Dakota governor in charge of a sprawling agency that is essential to national security and President Donald Trump’s plans to clamp down on illegal immigration. Republicans kept the Senate working Saturday to install the...
He’s emboldened, he’s organized and he’s still Trump: Takeaways from the president’s opening days
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s first week in office isn’t over yet, but already it offers signals about how his next four years in the White House may unfold. Some takeaways from the earliest days of his second term: He’s emboldened like never before Within hours of being sworn in,...
Federal agencies begin removing DEI guidance from websites in Trump crackdown
WASHINGTON — Federal agencies have begun removing resources for underrepresented Americans from their webpages following President Donald Trump’s executive order cracking down on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Agencies also have been cancelling staff trainings and shuttering diversity offices to comply with the order from Trump, who has called for...
Who is Mariann Budde, the Episcopal bishop who upset Trump during an inaugural prayer service?
WASHINGTON — The Right Rev. Mariann Budde made headlines this week after she angered President Donald Trump with her sermon during an inaugural prayer service. It was not the first time the cleric has publicly disagreed with Trump, but it became a striking moment in what is usually a staid...
The legal weed debate is starting up again in Pa.
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — No one in the Pennsylvania Capitol is prepared to say if this is the year the state will legalize marijuana. But that hasn’t...
Pete Hegseth told senator he paid $50,000 to woman who accused him of 2017 sex assault
WASHINGTON — Pete Hegseth, President Donald Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, paid $50,000 to the woman who accused him of sexual assault in 2017, according to answers he provided to a senator during his confirmation process that The Associated Press has obtained. The written answers were provided to Massachusetts Democratic...
Head of West Virginia gun lobby appointed to replace lawmaker-elect arrested for making threats
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The president of West Virginia’s largest gun-lobbying group has been appointed to fill the seat of a lawmaker-elect who was ousted while confined to his house on charges related to terroristic threats against his colleagues. Ian Masters, a Gerrardstown lawyer and president of the West Virginia Citizens...
FEMA faces shakeup under Trump while it wrestles with disasters on both coasts
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is preparing to reshape the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has been on the frontlines of responding to recent wildfires in California and last year’s hurricane in North Carolina. He spoke at length about the issue with congressional Republican leaders on Tuesday, discussing whether the...
Trump orders release of JFK, RFK and MLK assassination records
DALLAS — President Donald Trump has ordered the release of thousands of classified governmental documents about the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, which has fueled conspiracy theories for decades. The executive order Trump signed Thursday also aims to declassify the remaining federal records relating to the assassinations of...
Trump revokes protections for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and top Iran aide
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has revoked government security protection for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his top aide, Brian Hook, who have faced threats from Iran since they took hard-line stances on the Islamic Republic during Trump’s first administration. A congressional staffer and a person familiar with...
Senate confirms John Ratcliffe to lead CIA, giving Trump his 2nd Cabinet member 
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday confirmed John Ratcliffe as CIA director, giving President Donald Trump the second member of his new Cabinet. Ratcliffe was director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term and is the first person to have held that position and the top post at the CIA,...
Louisiana law requiring Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms is back in court
As Louisiana public schools remain in limbo over a new law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms — caught between the state releasing guidelines for districts to comply with the mandate that took effect this year and opponents threatening to sue if any such posters are hung...
Costco successfully defends its diversity policies as other U.S. companies scale theirs back
NEW YORK — Costco shareholders rejected a proposal urging the wholesale club operator to evaluate any risks posed by its diversity, equity and inclusion practices. According to preliminary results shared by Costco executives at its annual meeting Thursday, more than 98% of shares voted against the proposal. The National Center...
Federal judge temporarily blocks Trump’s executive order redefining birthright citizenship
SEATTLE — A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order redefining birthright citizenship, calling it “blatantly unconstitutional” during the first hearing in a multi-state effort challenging the order. U.S. District Judge John Coughenour repeatedly interrupted a Justice Department lawyer to ask how he could consider the...
Trump says he may withhold federal aid for Los Angeles if California doesn’t change water policies
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to withhold federal disaster aid for wildfire-ravaged Los Angeles unless California leaders change the state’s approach on its management of water. In a Fox News interview, Trump repeated false claims that the state’s fish conservation efforts in the northern part of the...
Rep. Barry Loudermilk to lead select subcommittee to continue Jan. 6 probe
WASHINGTON — Rep. Barry Loudermilk, who has led the charge for House Republicans to reexamine the events of Jan. 6, 2021, is slated to continue his probe this Congress under the auspices of Jim Jordan and the House Judiciary Committee, according to Speaker Mike Johnson. Johnson announced Wednesday his intent...
Law enforcement groups criticize Trump pardons for Jan. 6
WASHINGTON — The Capitol Police union and other law enforcement groups sharply criticized President Donald Trump’s pardons for his supporters who attacked the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, a move that cut against years of pro-police messaging from Republican members of Congress. The union wrote in a statement Tuesday...
Elon Musk clashes with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman over Trump-supported Stargate AI data center project
Elon Musk is clashing with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman over the Stargate artificial intelligence infrastructure project touted by President Donald Trump, the latest in a feud between the two tech billionaires that started on OpenAI’s board and is now testing Musk’s influence with the new president. Trump on Tuesday had...
House passes immigrant detention bill that would be Trump’s 1st law to sign
WASHINGTON — The House on Wednesday gave final approval to a bill that requires the detainment of unauthorized migrants accused of theft and violent crimes, marking the first legislation that President Donald Trump can sign as Congress, with some bipartisan support, swiftly moved in line with his plans to crackdown...
Pentagon sending 1,500 active duty troops to help secure the U.S.-Mexico border
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon said Wednesday it has begun deploying 1,500 active duty troops to help secure the southern border, putting in motion plans President Donald Trump laid out in executive orders shortly after he took office to crack down on immigration. Acting Defense Secretary Robert Salesses said the troops...
Trump administration freezes many health agency reports and online posts
The Trump administration has put a freeze on many federal health agency communications with the public through at least the end of the month. In a memo obtained by The Associated Press, acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Dorothy Fink told agency staff leaders Tuesday...
U.S. adults want border security action but mostly oppose arrests in schools, churches, poll shows
WASHINGTON — Many U.S. adults are on board with the idea of beefing up security at the southern border and undertaking some targeted deportations, according to a poll. But as President Donald Trump begins his second term with a series of sweeping executive orders on immigration, the findings suggest his...
Trump administration shuts down White House Spanish-language page and social media
Within hours of President Donald Trump’s inauguration, the new administration took down the Spanish-language version of the official White House website. The website now gives users an “Error 404” message. It also included a “Go Home” button that directed viewers to a page featuring a video montage of Trump in...
Trump administration directs all federal DEI staff be put on paid leave
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump ‘s administration is directing that all federal diversity, equity and inclusion staff be put on paid leave, and that agencies develop plans to lay them off, according to a memo Tuesday from the Office of Personnel Management. The memo follows an executive order Trump signed...
Pete Hegseth’s former sister-in-law alleges abuse against 2nd wife in affidavit to Senate
WASHINGTON — Senators vetting the nomination of Pete Hegseth for defense secretary received an affidavit Tuesday from a former sister-in-law alleging that the onetime Fox News host was abusive to his second wife, to the point where she feared for her safety. Hegseth denies the allegations. The sister-in-law, Danielle Hegseth,...


Editor's Picks

Front Porch Theatricals’ musical ‘Baby’ is a labor of love

Washington townhouse on the market for $1,225,000
Folk legend Bruce Cockburn gives uplifting performance at City Winery
‘Champagne & Chapeaux’: Westmoreland Symphony’s annual soiree for a good cause
Jimmy Stewart’s P-51 Mustang stops in hometown for museum anniversary
More Editor's Picks >