Minnesota's high court will weigh intervening in a partisan struggle roiling the state Legislature

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Supreme Court will hear arguments Thursday on whether it should wade into a partisan power struggle that has roiled the state House for over a week, with Democratic lawmakers boycotting the state Capitol to try to prevent their Republican colleagues from...

Republicans renew efforts to limit people in US illegally from census count

Republican efforts to exclude people in the U.S. illegally from numbers used to divvy up congressional seats among states have begun anew, with four Republican state attorneys general suing to alter the once-a-decade head count even before President Donald Trump’s second term in office began...

Migrants stranded when thousands of appointments to enter the US are canceled as Trump takes office

TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) — They came from Haiti, Venezuela and around the world, pulling small rolling suitcases crammed with clothing and stuffed animals to occupy their children. They clutched cellphones showing that after months of waiting they had appointments — finally — to legally enter the...

Senate confirms Marco Rubio as secretary of state, giving Trump the first member of his Cabinet

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate quickly confirmed Marco Rubio as secretary of state Monday, voting unanimously to give President Donald Trump the first member of his new Cabinet on Inauguration Day. Rubio, the Republican senator from Florida, is among the least controversial of...

Trump names acting defense secretary with Hegseth not yet confirmed

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has named an acting defense secretary because his choice to lead the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, has not yet been confirmed by the Senate. Robert Salesses, deputy director of the Pentagon’s Washington Headquarters Service, will fill in as...

Trump ends CBP One, a Biden-era border app that gave legal entry to nearly 1 million migrants with online appointments

Walz urges lawmakers to end a power struggle upending the Minnesota Legislature

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz urged lawmakers Thursday to end a power struggle that has disrupted the first week of Minnesota's 2025 legislative session, but expressed support for House Democrats' boycott of the chamber to block Republicans from wielding power. House...

Speaker Johnson appoints new Intelligence chairman after surprise shakeup

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson appointed Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark., as the new chairman of the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday after asserting that the panel needed a fresh start. “He has earned the respect of his colleagues through his years of faithful...

A South Dakota tribe lifts its ban on Gov. Kristi Noem ahead of her hearing to join Trump's cabinet

FLANDREAU, S.D. (AP) — One tribe in South Dakota lifted its order banning Gov. Kristi Noem from its territories just days before the Republican was set to appear before a U.S. Senate committee on her nomination to head one of the federal government's largest agencies. Noem was cut...

Trump's outsider Cabinet picks are rapidly gaining support for confirmation

WASHINGTON (AP) — One by one, all the president-elect’ s men, and women, are falling into place in his Cabinet. While Defense Secretary pick Pete Hegseth's nomination was teetering toward collapse just weeks ago, he now appears on track for confirmation after a fiery Senate...