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US Politics

US politics: the White House, Congress, the courts and the elections.

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US Politics

Rural voters push back on data centers in high-stakes Senate race

The rapid expansion of data centers has become one of Maine’s volatile campaign issues, as rural voters push back against resource strain and rising utility costs while tech and data center interests spend millions on the race. Republican Sen. Susan Collins and Democratic challenger Troy Jackson are campaigning amid a September poll in which 76 percent of respondents said they oppose building a data center in their community, in a contest that will help determine control of the U.S. Senate.

·3 min
US Politics

Musk and Zuckerberg echo Trump's 'super intelligence' rebrand on earnings calls, other tech CEOs stick with AI

Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg have followed President Trump's push to rebrand artificial intelligence as 'super intelligence' on their companies' earnings calls, a month after Trump ordered executive branch departments and agencies to make the switch. Other tech leaders, including Amazon's Andy Jassy, Microsoft's Satya Nadella and Alphabet's Sundar Pichai, continued to use the term AI on their calls this week.

·4 min·2 sources
US Politics

No Surprises Act prevents about 50 million surprise bills as arbitration's four-year cost is estimated at $22.4 billion

The No Surprises Act has prevented about 50 million surprise medical bills since taking effect in 2022, but the law's arbitration process for resolving payment disputes between providers and health plans has grown far beyond expectations, generating over 2 million disputes last year compared with an initial government estimate of 17,000. Murtagh says arbitration is adding to insurance costs and could lead to higher premiums for consumers.

·2 min
US Politics

GOP Braces for Brutal Evening as Once-Safe Seats Hang by a Thread

With less than a week until Election Day, Republican officials are preparing for a difficult night, anticipating potential losses in House and Senate races that were once considered safe. A senior Republican described the outlook as “quite a brutal evening,” reflecting worries that voter anger over the cost of living and the Iran war could depress turnout among key parts of the coalition, including young men who voted for President Donald Trump in 2024. Imperiled incumbents in deep-red districts have been pleading for more campaign funds, according to people involved in internal conversations.

·3 min
US Politics

Over 43 million early ballots cast as US midterms see voting surge

With less than a week until the US midterm elections, more than 43 million Americans have already cast their ballots, according to the University of Florida Election Lab. The early voting rate is much higher than in most previous elections, with Texas seeing the highest above-average turnout rate so far and Hispanic communities also voting at a much higher rate than usual. Overall turnout appears on track to outpace 2020 and possibly 2018.

·2 min
US Politics

New York state police to investigate Cornell sexual offence complaints as faculty weighs no-confidence vote

Governor Kathy Hochul announced Thursday that New York State Police will handle all future sexual offence complaints at Cornell University, following intense backlash over the university’s handling of a 2024 gang rape allegation. The move comes as the university’s faculty prepares to vote on a no-confidence resolution against the administration and President Michael Kotlikoff.

·2 min
US Politics

Ramaswamy says attack ad 'ran to completion' as Acton releases response

Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican nominee for Ohio governor, confirmed Thursday that his campaign has stopped airing an attack ad that featured his Democratic opponent Amy Acton's estranged mother calling her daughter a liar. Ramaswamy said the ad "ran to completion" as his campaign spent about $1 million on two versions. The ad prompted criticism from both parties, and Acton's campaign released a new ad accusing Ramaswamy of exploiting child sexual abuse.

·2 min·4 sources
US Politics

Chester County GOP search finds no confirmed noncitizen voters among 13 respondents

A review by Votebeat and Spotlight PA of the Republican Committee of Chester County’s effort to identify noncitizen voters by cross-referencing jury rejection lists with the state’s voter roll found no confirmed noncitizen voters among the 13 people who responded. The committee sent a letter to the county Board of Elections in August flagging more than 180 potential noncitizen voters, but a detailed review of a sample of those identified found that those who responded were either naturalized citizens who registered after gaining citizenship or, in one case, a U.S.-born citizen.

·3 min
US Politics

US Justice Department subpoenas California election officials in ballot dispute

The US Justice Department has escalated its dispute with California over election administration, with all four US attorneys in the state issuing subpoenas to employees of the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder, according to a person familiar with the matter. The Associated Press obtained copies of the documents, sent on 21 October, which order officials to appear in court on 4 November, the day after the midterm election. They demand records related to federal allegations of noncitizens on the state's voter rolls and the office's methods for screening for unlawful voting.

·3 min·3 sources
US Politics

Judge blocks Trump administration’s stricter ‘medically frail’ Medicaid rule

A federal judge on Thursday blocked the Trump administration’s narrower definition of “medically frail” for exemptions from Medicaid work requirements, ruling that the rule unlawfully limited which enrollees could qualify for an exemption. The decision by U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns in Boston gives a partial victory to 25 states and the District of Columbia, which sued in June, but leaves the underlying work requirements and two other federal verification limits in place.

·3 min·7 sources
US Politics

Democrats rally behind El-Sayed as Trump escalates anti-Muslim attacks; Arab American voters express anger

Facing a barrage of anti-Muslim attacks from President Donald Trump and his allies, the Democratic establishment has belatedly rallied behind Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan's tightly contested Senate race. Former President Barack Obama, Senator Bernie Sanders, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have campaigned with El-Sayed in recent days. But the attacks, including Trump branding El-Sayed a 'jihadist,' have angered Arab American voters who helped Trump win Michigan in 2024, raising questions about the impact of the rhetoric on a race that could decide control of the Senate.

·3 min·3 sources
US Politics

FBI says off-duty agent kills man seen firing at Pilsen crowd

An off-duty FBI agent shot and killed a man who was firing a gun at a crowd of people in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood on Monday evening, the FBI said. The agent was driving home from work in an FBI vehicle around 5:30 p.m. when he saw the man shooting at a group of innocent people near 18th Street and Union Avenue, according to the agency. The FBI said the agent intervened to stop the ongoing threat and was not injured.

·3 min
US Politics

Lawsuit says Education Department illegally denied debt relief for thousands of borrowers whose schools closed

A lawsuit filed this week by advocacy group Student Defense alleges the Department of Education has illegally denied debt relief to thousands of student-loan borrowers whose schools shut down. The class-action complaint, brought on behalf of borrower Kendrick Gaussoin, says the department has failed to process closed school discharges despite expanding eligibility under a January 2025 decision.

·2 min
US Politics

Eric Coomer loses defamation suit over 2020 election documentary

A federal judge in Florida has ruled for Patrick Byrne in a defamation lawsuit brought by former Dominion Voting Systems director of product strategy and security Eric Coomer over the 2020 election documentary The Deep Rig. Judge Tom Barber of the Middle District of Florida granted summary judgment to Byrne, ruling that Coomer failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that Byrne acted with actual malice.

·2 min
US Politics

Emails show Hennepin County officials tracked environmental justice activists, groups allege

Newly released emails obtained by environmental justice groups show that officials in Hennepin County, Minnesota, monitored activists advocating for the closure of a waste incinerator, including by sending an employee to attend an open Zoom meeting and compiling a dossier that was sent to county superiors. Information gathered by county employees was also shared with industry and used to help defeat legislation, the groups allege. The county says the allegations mischaracterize its community engagement work and staff responsibilities, and that the actions were ordinary government functions.

·3 min
US Politics

Mandatory arrest laws lead to wrongful arrests of domestic violence victims, investigation finds

A yearlong investigation by Bloomberg Law has found that mandatory arrest laws in about half of U.S. states, intended to prevent violence from escalating, have failed dozens of victims, including people wrongly arrested after calling 911; charges were dropped in at least 85% of cases examined. The investigation reported that arrests can erode survivors’ trust in law enforcement; some said false arrests cost them jobs or custody of their children, and more than a dozen said they were injured by responding officers during their arrests.

·4 min
US Politics

New Mexico megachurch endorses Republican candidates, testing federal ban

A New Mexico megachurch has openly endorsed two Republican candidates for the midterm elections, violating a federal law that bars tax-exempt nonprofits from engaging in political endorsements. Pastor Steve Smothermon of Legacy Church urged his congregation to support Greg Cunningham, who is challenging Democratic Representative Gabriel Vasquez in a competitive House race, and later endorsed Gregg Hull for governor. The endorsements come as the Trump administration pursues a legal challenge to the 1954 Johnson amendment.

·3 min
US Politics

Investigation finds pregnant migrant youth still sent to Texas despite health warnings

The Trump administration is detaining pregnant unaccompanied migrant children in a part of Texas where a lack of specialized obstetric care can be life-threatening, an investigation by The California Newsroom and The Texas Newsroom has found. The practice continues despite concern from current and former officials, and records show at least four girls have had to be transferred to other states for medical care since July 2025.

·3 min