Top United States government News

In promising to shake up Washington, Trump is in a class of his own

Dec. 09, 2024 07:52 AM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the history of American politics, there's no shortage of presidents who promised to shake up Washington once they got to the White House. But Donald Trump may prove to be in a class of his own, and he appears more interested in beating the federal government into submission...

Military pauses Osprey flights again after more metal failures are found in near crash in November

Dec. 09, 2024 13:40 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon is temporarily pausing flights again of its fleet of V-22 Ospreys after weakened metal components possibly played a role in another near crash, the latest setback for an embattled aircraft whose safety problems have grown. The pause was recommended...

Trump has flip-flopped on abortion policy. His appointees may offer clues to what happens next

Dec. 09, 2024 15:37 PM EST

CHICAGO (AP) — As Donald Trump’s Cabinet begins to take shape, those on both sides of the abortion debate are watching closely for clues about how his picks might affect reproductive rights policy in the president-elect’s second term. Trump’s cabinet picks offer a preview of...

Adam Schiff to be sworn into the Senate, where he wants to be more than a Trump antagonist

Dec. 09, 2024 00:14 AM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrat Adam Schiff stood on the Senate floor almost five years ago as a House impeachment manager and made a passionate case that Donald Trump should be removed from office for abusing the power of the presidency. “If right doesn’t matter, we’re lost,” he told the...

US hostage envoy in Beirut to seek information on missing journalist Austin Tice

Dec. 09, 2024 15:25 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government's top hostage negotiator is in Beirut in hopes of collecting information on the whereabouts of Austin Tice, an American journalist missing in Syria for 12 years, the State Department said Monday. Roger Carstens, the special presidential envoy...

Lara Trump stepping down as RNC co-chair and addressing speculation about Florida Senate seat

Dec. 09, 2024 12:51 PM EST

Lara Trump will step down as co-chair of the Republican National Committee as she considers a number of potential options with her father-in-law, President-elect Donald Trump, set to return to the White House. Among those possibilities is replacing Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, whom...

Supreme Court rejects Wisconsin parents' challenge to school guidance for transgender students

Dec. 09, 2024 10:16 AM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from Wisconsin parents who wanted to challenge a school district's guidance for supporting transgender students. The justices, acting in a case from Eau Claire, left in place an appellate ruling dismissing the...

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear picked to lead Democratic efforts to win governorships in 2026 midterms

Dec. 09, 2024 13:23 PM EST

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Looking to strengthen his foothold in national politics, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is taking on a lead role for Democratic efforts to win governorships in the 2026 midterm election — when a majority of states will be electing governors, including a crucial set of...

Assad's fall in Syria is a 'fundamental act of justice,' but also 'a moment of risk,' Biden says

Dec. 08, 2024 17:47 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Sunday that the sudden collapse of the Syrian government under Bashar Assad is a “fundamental act of justice” after decades of repression, but it was “a moment of risk and uncertainty” for the Middle East. Biden spoke at the White...

Trump calls for immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and says a US withdrawal from NATO is possible

Dec. 08, 2024 15:28 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump on Sunday pushed Russian leader Vladimir Putin to act to reach an immediate ceasefire with Ukraine, describing it as part of his active efforts as president-elect to end the war despite being weeks from taking office. “Zelenskyy and Ukraine would...

Latest United States government News

US hostage envoy in Beirut to seek information on missing journalist Austin Tice

Dec. 09, 2024 15:25 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government's top hostage negotiator is in Beirut in hopes of collecting information on the whereabouts of Austin Tice, an American journalist missing in Syria for 12 years, the State Department said Monday. Roger Carstens, the special presidential envoy...

Biden creates Native American boarding school national monument to mark era of forced assimilation

Dec. 09, 2024 15:23 PM EST

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — President Joe Biden designated a national monument at a former Native American boarding school in Pennsylvania on Monday to honor the resilience of Indigenous tribes whose children were forced to attend the school and hundreds of similar abusive institutions. ...

Middle East latest: Israeli strikes hit Gaza and also target suspected weapons sites in Syria

Dec. 09, 2024 15:15 PM EST

Israeli strikes killed at least six people in the central Gaza Strip, Palestinian medical officials said Monday, while also hitting suspected chemical and long-range weapons sites in Syria to keep them from rebels who seized Damascus. The U.N. Security Council plans to hold emergency...

Numerous drone sightings in New Jersey frustrating but don't pose safety concern, governor says

Dec. 09, 2024 14:14 PM EST

PRINCETON, N.J. (AP) — Dozens of drones have been spotted across New Jersey in recent weeks, including near sensitive sites such as a military research facility, which can be frustrating but don’t appear to pose a public safety concern, Gov. Phil Murphy stressed Monday. The FBI...

Ghana's ex-leader is declared the winner of the presidential election

Dec. 09, 2024 14:13 PM EST

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — Ghana’s former leader John Dramani Mahama was officially declared the winner of the presidential election on Monday evening, after voters vented anger at the government’s handling of the economy. Previously president between 2012 and 2017, Mahama, 65,...

Nobel Peace Prize winner urges Putin to understand the destructiveness of nuclear weapons

Dec. 09, 2024 14:00 PM EST

OSLO, Norway (AP) — Terumi Tanaka, a survivor of the U.S. atomic bombings of Japan and the representative of an organization that won this year's Nobel Peace Prize, called on Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday to stop making nuclear threats. The 92-year-old spoke at a news...

‘Polarization’ is Merriam-Webster’s 2024 word of the year

Dec. 09, 2024 13:38 PM EST

The results of the 2024 U.S. presidential election rattled the country and sent shockwaves across the world — or were cause for celebration, depending on who you ask. Is it any surprise then that the Merriam-Webster word of the year is “polarization”? “Polarization means...

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear picked to lead Democratic efforts to win governorships in 2026 midterms

Dec. 09, 2024 13:23 PM EST

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Looking to strengthen his foothold in national politics, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is taking on a lead role for Democratic efforts to win governorships in the 2026 midterm election — when a majority of states will be electing governors, including a crucial set of...

Lara Trump stepping down as RNC co-chair and addressing speculation about Florida Senate seat

Dec. 09, 2024 12:51 PM EST

Lara Trump will step down as co-chair of the Republican National Committee as she considers a number of potential options with her father-in-law, President-elect Donald Trump, set to return to the White House. Among those possibilities is replacing Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, whom...

4 women drop lawsuit accusing former Indiana attorney general Curtis Hill of groping them

Dec. 09, 2024 12:08 PM EST

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Four women who accused Curtis Hill of drunkenly groping them at a bar when he was Indiana's attorney general dropped their civil lawsuit against him hours before jury selection was set to begin on Monday. The women initially sued in federal court in 2019 before...