George W. Bush

FILE - In this Nov. 17, 2018, file photo, President Donald Trump talks with then California Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom, left, during a visit to a neighborhood impacted by the wildfires in Paradise, Calif. Nearly two years ago President Trump ordered the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of Interior to make federal lands less susceptible to catastrophic wildfires. But the agencies fell short of his goals in 2019, treating a combined 4.3 million acres — just over half of the 8.45 million acres the president sought. It was only slightly better than their average annual performance over nearly two decades, according to government data. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Federal agencies fall short of Trump forest protection goals

Oct. 31, 2020 11:38 AM EDT

Nearly two years ago, President Donald Trump stood amid the smoky ruins of Paradise, California, where he blamed the deadliest wildfire in the state's history on poor forest management. "You've got to take care of the floors, you know? The floors of the forest, very important," the president said. He ordered the...

Then-Associated Press Washington bureau chief Sally Buzbee, talks with Stephen Ohlemacher, who in 2020 is the decision desk editor, in the early morning hours of Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016, at the Washington bureau of The Associated Press during election night. The Associated Press, one of several news organizations whose declarations of winners drive election coverage, is pulling back the curtain in 2020 to explain how it is reaching those conclusions. “The general public has a more intense desire to understand it at a nitty-gritty level,” said Buzbee, who is now senior vice president and executive editor. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)

Show your work: AP plans to explain vote calling to public

Oct. 31, 2020 12:32 AM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — The Associated Press, one of several news organizations whose declarations of winners drive election coverage, is pulling back the curtain this year to explain how it is reaching those conclusions. The AP plans to write stories explaining how its experts make decisions or why, in tight...

Today in History

Oct. 31, 2020 12:00 AM EDT

Today in History Today is Saturday, Oct. 31, the 305th day of 2020. There are 61 days left in the year. This is Halloween. Today’s Highlight in History: On Oct. 31, 1941, work was completed on the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota, begun in 1927. On this date: In 1795, English poet John...

The Supreme Court is seen as morning fog lingers on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

If 2020 is like 2000, Trump believes he's got the votes

Oct. 30, 2020 11:54 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 86 million Americans have already voted in the presidential election, but President Donald Trump thinks he can count on one hand the votes that will determine the outcome. “I think this will end up in the Supreme Court,” Trump said last month of the election. The...

Tim McVean, 38, poses for a photo at a ballot drop-off location in Minneapolis after handing his ballot to election officials on Friday Oct. 30, 2020. McVean said he decided to drop off his ballot in-person after learning of an appeals court ruling Thursday evening that indicated mail-in ballots received after Election Day may not be counted. (AP Photo/Mohamed Ibrahim)

Minnesota Democrats ramp up push for absentee ballot turnout

Oct. 30, 2020 7:20 PM EDT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Democrats and election officials on Friday urged people with absentee ballots not yet mailed to drop them off by hand or vote in person, a day after an appellate court’s ruling raised questions about whether ballots that arrive up to seven days beyond Election Day would...

Today in History

Oct. 30, 2020 12:00 AM EDT

Today in History Today is Friday, Oct. 30, the 304th day of 2020. There are 62 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Oct. 30, 2005, the body of Rosa Parks arrived at the U.S. Capitol, where the civil rights icon became the first woman to lie in honor in the Rotunda; President George W....

FILE - In this July 29, 2020, file photo, Lisa Finander, right, checks that each ballot has the voter's name on the ballot and mailing envelope and Laurie Mattila, left, checked that it was correct at Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services in Minneapolis. A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020 that Minnesota absentee ballots that arrive after Election Day should be separated from other ballots in case they are later invalidated by a court.(Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune via AP)

Minnesota SOS: Too late to mail ballots -- but not to vote

Oct. 29, 2020 10:38 PM EDT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota's secretary of state said Thursday it's too late for voters to mail back their absentee ballots if they want to make sure their votes count, after an appeals court ruling indicated that mail-in ballots arriving after Election Day are at risk of being invalidated. A three-judge...

2020 election: Unprecedented in some way, not in others

Oct. 29, 2020 2:01 PM EDT

The election of 2020 has been called many things: extraordinary, bizarre, unprecedented. It’s all true, in some ways, though the election is still being held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November, and a Democrat or a Republican will win it. The differences start with a couple of future...

A woman and man pray outside the Supreme Court on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020, the day after the Senate confirmed Amy Coney Barrett to become a Supreme Court Justice. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Supreme Court issues flurry of last-minute election orders

Oct. 29, 2020 12:31 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — North Carolina, yes. Pennsylvania, yes. Wisconsin, no. That’s how the Supreme Court has answered questions in recent days about an extended timeline for receiving and counting ballots in those states. In each case, Democrats backed the extensions and Republicans opposed them. All...

FILE- In this Oct. 26, 2020, file photo, Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections Christina White, right, examines signatures on vote-by-mail ballots with members of the Canvassing Board Judge Raul Cuervo, left, and Judge Betsy Alvarez-Zane, center, at the Miami-Dade County Board of Elections in Doral, Fla. Florida will never experience another election meltdown exactly like the one that made the state an international laughingstock in 2000, when after a five-week recount and court battle George W. Bush edged Al Gore and won the presidency. State leaders eliminated computer punchcard ballots, implemented statewide recount laws and made it easy to cast and process ballots before Election Day. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

Florida, butt of election jokes, believes system is ready

Oct. 29, 2020 11:10 AM EDT

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Even if the presidential election hinges on a Florida recount like 20 years ago, hanging chads and butterfly ballots won't be around to trip up voters and officials — changes to ballots, equipment and laws have made the Bush-Gore circus a relic never to be revisited,...

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