Michael Avenatti charged with defrauding Stormy Daniels

NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Avenatti, the attorney who rocketed to fame through his representation of porn star Stormy Daniels in her battles with President Donald Trump, was charged Wednesday with ripping her off. Federal prosecutors in New York City say Avenatti used a doctored document to divert about...

Friess considering run for Wyoming US Senate seat

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A wealthy Republican political donor from Wyoming says he's thinking about running for U.S. Senate in 2020. Republican Sen. Mike Enzi recently announced he will retire at the end of his current term. Foster Friess told The Associated Press in a statement Wednesday he will be weighing...

Michigan AG: Lame-duck ballot drive law is unconstitutional

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan's attorney general said Wednesday that a Republican-enacted law making it harder to put proposals on the statewide ballot is unconstitutional, declaring that lawmakers had no authority to impose a geographic limit a circulating petitions. Democrat Dana Nessel's opinion binds...

US officials say foreign election hacking is inevitable

WASHINGTON (AP) — The hacking of U.S. election systems, including by foreign adversaries, is inevitable, and the real challenge is ensuring the country is resilient enough to withstand catastrophic problems from cyber breaches, government officials said Wednesday. The comments by representatives from the...

Assembly Republicans propose $500 million more for schools

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Assembly Republicans on Wednesday said they support increasing funding for K-12 schools by $500 million over the next two years, putting them at odds with Democrats and Gov. Tony Evers who proposed spending nearly three times as much. The Republican plan would increase special...

Search warrants tied to former Trump lawyer Cohen released

WASHINGTON (AP) — It was Michael Cohen's numerous contacts with a Russia-linked company and a sudden flow of foreign money into a bank account he controlled that led federal investigators to look into whether the money might be part of a plan to lift U.S. sanctions on Russia, according to court filings...

Florida governor orders election systems' security review

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida's governor is ordering election officials to review the cybersecurity of the state's election systems. The request comes more than a week after he was briefed that Russia hackers gained access to voter databases in two Florida counties ahead of the 2016 presidential...

VP Pence: Congress should pass trade deals, not investigate

MONROE, N.C. (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence says Democrats in Congress need to focus on passing trade agreements that help North Carolina workers, rather than extend unfounded investigations of President Donald Trump. Pence made the comments at a Union County textile plant on Wednesday during his trip to...

Michigan attorney general: Republican-backed lame-duck law making it harder for ballot drives is unconstitutional

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan attorney general: Republican-backed lame-duck law making it harder for ballot drives is unconstitutional.

Wealthy DeVos family won't back Michigan's Amash in primary

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The politically powerful DeVos family said Wednesday that it is no longer financially backing a Michigan congressman who is the first Republican on Capitol Hill to accuse President Donald Trump of impeachable conduct. Nick Wasmiller, a spokesman for the family's RDV Corp., said family...