Top United States government News

3rd Republican presidential debate is set for Nov. 8 in Miami, with the strictest qualifications yet

Sep. 22, 2023 16:56 PM EDT

The third Republican presidential debate will be held in Miami on Nov. 8, a day after several states hold off-year elections, and candidates will be facing the most stringent requirements yet to take part. Participating candidates must secure 4% of the vote in multiple polls and...

Gold bars, cash-stuffed envelopes: New indictment of Sen. Menendez alleges vast corruption

Sep. 22, 2023 17:28 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — Sen. Bob Menendez was charged with secretly aiding the authoritarian government of Egypt and trying to thwart the criminal prosecution of a friend in exchange for gold bars and cash, as prosecutors unsealed a corruption indictment Friday that accuses him of using his foreign...

White House preparing for government shutdown as House Republicans lack a viable endgame for funding

Sep. 22, 2023 16:09 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is preparing Friday to direct federal agencies to get ready for a shutdown after House Republicans left town for the weekend with no viable plan to keep the government funded and avert politically and economically costly disruption of federal services. ...

Gun violence is the ultimate 'superstorm,' President Biden says as he announces new federal effort

Sep. 22, 2023 17:34 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Friday he was determined to stop gun violence in the U.S. as he formally launched the first-ever federal office to be dedicated to uncovering solutions and supporting communities ravaged by shootings. “After every mass shooting, we hear...

Judge overseeing case to remove Trump from ballot agrees to order banning threats and intimidation

Sep. 22, 2023 15:21 PM EDT

DENVER (AP) — The Colorado judge overseeing the first significant lawsuit to bar former President Donald Trump from the state's 2024 presidential ballot on Friday issued a protective order prohibiting threats and intimidation in the case, saying the safety of those involved — including herself...

A 9/11 defendant is ruled unfit for trial after a medical panel finds torture left him psychotic

Sep. 22, 2023 15:53 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A military judge at Guantanamo Bay has ruled one of the 9/11 defendants unfit for trial after a military medical panel found that the man's sustained abuse in CIA custody years earlier has rendered him lastingly psychotic. The judge, Col. Matthew McCall, said the...

Capitol rioter who attacked AP photographer and police officers is sentenced to 5 years in prison

Sep. 22, 2023 11:58 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A man who attacked an Associated Press photographer and threw a flagpole and smoke grenade at police officers guarding the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was sentenced on Friday to five years in prison. Rodney Milstreed, 56, of Finksburg, Maryland, “prepared...

United States and China launch economic and financial working groups with aim of easing tensions

Sep. 22, 2023 08:52 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Treasury Department and China's Ministry of Finance launched a pair of economic working groups on Friday in an effort to ease tensions and deepen ties between the nations. Led by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Vice Premier He Lifeng, the working...

Both parties rally supporters as voting begins in Virginia's closely watched legislative elections

Sep. 22, 2023 13:26 PM EDT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Early voting started Friday in Virginia's costly, high-stakes and closely watched legislative elections after a week in which elected officials and candidates rallied their supporters across the state. All 140 General Assembly seats are on the ballot, with...

US education chief considers new ways to discourage college admissions preference for kids of alumni

Sep. 22, 2023 17:45 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s education chief said he’s open to using “whatever levers” are available — including federal money — to discourage colleges from giving admissions preference to the children of alumni and donors. In an interview with The Associated...

Latest United States government News

Gun violence is the ultimate 'superstorm,' President Biden says as he announces new federal effort

Sep. 22, 2023 17:34 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Friday he was determined to stop gun violence in the U.S. as he formally launched the first-ever federal office to be dedicated to uncovering solutions and supporting communities ravaged by shootings. “After every mass shooting, we hear...

Gold bars, cash-stuffed envelopes: New indictment of Sen. Menendez alleges vast corruption

Sep. 22, 2023 17:28 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — Sen. Bob Menendez was charged with secretly aiding the authoritarian government of Egypt and trying to thwart the criminal prosecution of a friend in exchange for gold bars and cash, as prosecutors unsealed a corruption indictment Friday that accuses him of using his foreign...

Takeaways from investigation that turned up gold bars, a luxury car and cash at a US senator's home

Sep. 22, 2023 17:02 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife are accused of taking bribes of gold bars, a luxury car and cash in exchange for using his outsized sway in foreign affairs to help the government of Egypt — and others — as well as other corrupt acts, according to an indictment...

The fight over Arizona's shipping container border wall ends with dismissal of federal lawsuits

Sep. 22, 2023 16:16 PM EDT

PHOENIX (AP) — Two federal lawsuits filed over former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey's decision last year to place thousands of shipping containers along the U.S.-Mexico border have been dismissed after the state said it would pay the U.S. Forest Service $2.1 million to repair environmental damage. ...

White House preparing for government shutdown as House Republicans lack a viable endgame for funding

Sep. 22, 2023 16:09 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is preparing Friday to direct federal agencies to get ready for a shutdown after House Republicans left town for the weekend with no viable plan to keep the government funded and avert politically and economically costly disruption of federal services. ...

Both parties rally supporters as voting begins in Virginia's closely watched legislative elections

Sep. 22, 2023 13:26 PM EDT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Early voting started Friday in Virginia's costly, high-stakes and closely watched legislative elections after a week in which elected officials and candidates rallied their supporters across the state. All 140 General Assembly seats are on the ballot, with...

Lawmakers author proposal to try to cut food waste in half by 2030

Sep. 22, 2023 11:59 AM EDT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A bipartisan coalition of U.S. lawmakers has introduced a proposal designed to cut food waste in half by 2030. The lawmakers submitted their legislation on Thursday and said it would improve collaboration between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and...

Bulgaria to purchase US Stryker combat vehicles and related equipment

Sep. 22, 2023 09:56 AM EDT

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgaria’s government has approved the purchase of U.S.-made Stryker combat vehicles to modernize the country’s land forces and bring them in line with NATO standards. The decision, announced Friday by the government’s press office, followed the...

United States and China launch economic and financial working groups with aim of easing tensions

Sep. 22, 2023 08:52 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Treasury Department and China's Ministry of Finance launched a pair of economic working groups on Friday in an effort to ease tensions and deepen ties between the nations. Led by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Vice Premier He Lifeng, the working...

US contractor originally from Ethiopia arrested on espionage charges, Justice Department says

Sep. 22, 2023 03:45 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A contractor for the U.S. government has been arrested on espionage charges, accused of providing a foreign country classified information that he downloaded and printed from his work computer system, the Justice Department said Thursday. Abraham Teklu Lemma, who...