Top United States government News

Another ex-State Department official alleges Israeli military gets 'special treatment' on abuses

Apr. 24, 2024 17:46 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former senior U.S. official who until recently helped oversee human-rights compliance by foreign militaries receiving American military assistance said Wednesday that he repeatedly observed Israel receiving “special treatment” from U.S. officials when it came to scrutiny...

Biden just signed a bill that could ban TikTok. His campaign plans to stay on the app anyway

Apr. 24, 2024 18:04 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — When President Joe Biden showed off his putting during a campaign stop at a public golf course in Michigan last month, the moment was captured on TikTok. Forced inside by a rainstorm, he competed with 13-year-old Hurley “HJ” Coleman IV to make putts on a...

Biden says the US is rushing weaponry to Ukraine as he signs a $95 billion war aid measure into law

Apr. 24, 2024 16:28 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he was immediately rushing badly needed weaponry to Ukraine as he signed into law a $95 billion war aid measure that also included assistance for Israel, Taiwan and other global hot spots. The announcement marked an end to...

Arizona grand jury indicts 11 Republicans who falsely declared Trump won the state in 2020

Apr. 24, 2024 20:33 PM EDT

PHOENIX (AP) — Former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows and lawyer Rudy Giuliani are among those indicted in the Arizona election interference case. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below. PHOENIX (AP) — Eleven Republicans who submitted...

Biden pardons 11 people and shortens the sentences of 5 others convicted of non-violent drug crimes

Apr. 24, 2024 17:56 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has granted clemency to 16 people who were convicted of non-violent drug crimes, issuing pardons to 11 men and women and commuting the sentences of five other people in the latest use of his clemency power to address racial disparities in the justice system. ...

No final decision on withdrawing US troops from Niger and Chad, top official tells AP

Apr. 24, 2024 20:22 PM EDT

BOSTON (AP) — There has been no final decision on whether or not all U.S. troops will leave Niger and Chad, two African countries that are integral to the military's efforts to counter violent extremist organizations across the Sahel region, a top U.S. military official told The Associated Press...

Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by US to hit Russian-held areas, officials say

Apr. 24, 2024 15:49 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday. Long...

To pass Ukraine aid, 'Reagan Republican' leaders in Congress navigated a party transformed by Trump

Apr. 24, 2024 14:57 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — For Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Mike Johnson, the necessity of providing Ukraine with weapons and other aid as it fends off Russia's invasion is rooted in their earliest and most formative political memories. McConnell, 82, tells the...

Some Nikki Haley voters are hanging on to her candidacy and, like her, refuse to endorse Trump

Apr. 24, 2024 18:09 PM EDT

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — When Nikki Haley suspended her presidential campaign, she refused to endorse Donald Trump as the last remaining major candidate for the 2024 Republican nomination — and apparently so did some of her supporters in Pennsylvania. Haley won almost 17% of...

Key moments in the Supreme Court's latest abortion case that could change how women get care

Apr. 24, 2024 18:29 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court heard its first test on Wednesday of state abortion bans that have been enacted since the court upended the Roe v. Wade constitutional right to abortion. While the current case involves an Idaho abortion ban, the court’s ruling could have implications...

Latest United States government News

No final decision on withdrawing US troops from Niger and Chad, top official tells AP

Apr. 24, 2024 20:22 PM EDT

BOSTON (AP) — There has been no final decision on whether or not all U.S. troops will leave Niger and Chad, two African countries that are integral to the military's efforts to counter violent extremist organizations across the Sahel region, a top U.S. military official told The Associated Press...

Russia vetoes a UN resolution calling for the prevention of a dangerous nuclear arms race in space

Apr. 24, 2024 20:04 PM EDT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russia on Wednesday vetoed a U.N. resolution sponsored by the United States and Japan calling on all nations to prevent a dangerous nuclear arms race in outer space, calling it “a dirty spectacle” that cherry picks weapons of mass destruction from all other weapons that...

Los Angeles marches mark Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day

Apr. 24, 2024 19:19 PM EDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The red, blue and orange of Armenia's flag flew on the streets of Los Angeles on Wednesday as marchers remembered the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians in what is regarded as the first genocide of the 20th century. A crowd rallied in LA's Little Armenia district...

Billionaire Texas oilman inks deal with Venezuela's state-run oil giant as US sanctions loom

Apr. 24, 2024 18:56 PM EDT

MIAMI (AP) — A company started by a Texas billionaire oilman announced a deal Wednesday with Venezuela's state-owned oil company to rehabilitate five aging oil fields, days after the Biden administration put a brake on sanctions relief over concerns about the fairness of the country's upcoming...

Biden meets 4-year-old Abigail Edan, an American who was held hostage by Hamas

Apr. 24, 2024 18:43 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden met Wednesday with Abigail Edan, the 4-year-old American girl who was held hostage in Gaza for several weeks at the start of the war. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the White House meeting with Abigail and her family...

How US changes to 'noncompete' agreements and overtime pay could affect workers

Apr. 24, 2024 18:13 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — For millions of American workers, the federal government took two actions this week that could bestow potentially far-reaching benefits. In one move, the Federal Trade Commission voted to ban noncompete agreements, which bar millions of workers from leaving their...

Biden just signed a bill that could ban TikTok. His campaign plans to stay on the app anyway

Apr. 24, 2024 18:04 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — When President Joe Biden showed off his putting during a campaign stop at a public golf course in Michigan last month, the moment was captured on TikTok. Forced inside by a rainstorm, he competed with 13-year-old Hurley “HJ” Coleman IV to make putts on a...

Another ex-State Department official alleges Israeli military gets 'special treatment' on abuses

Apr. 24, 2024 17:46 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former senior U.S. official who until recently helped oversee human-rights compliance by foreign militaries receiving American military assistance said Wednesday that he repeatedly observed Israel receiving “special treatment” from U.S. officials when it came to scrutiny...

Biden says the US is rushing weaponry to Ukraine as he signs a $95 billion war aid measure into law

Apr. 24, 2024 16:28 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he was immediately rushing badly needed weaponry to Ukraine as he signed into law a $95 billion war aid measure that also included assistance for Israel, Taiwan and other global hot spots. The announcement marked an end to...

Ukraine thanks the US for billions in new military aid to help stop Russia's advance

Apr. 24, 2024 16:13 PM EDT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian officials on Wednesday expressed thanks for $61 billion in new U.S. military aid that threw Kyiv’s armed forces a lifeline in their more than two-year war with Russia, even though the supplies aren’t expected to have an immediate impact on the battlefield. ...