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US Politics

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

1026 articles · page 11 of 22

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US Politics

Trump blames Democrats and Ukraine for high US fuel prices as data shows Strait of Hormuz exports down 97%

With US midterm elections approaching, President Donald Trump has blamed Democrats and Ukraine's attacks on Russian refineries for soaring petrol prices, despite data showing that exports through the Strait of Hormuz have plunged 97 percent since the US-Israel war with Iran began. The average US petrol price has risen to $4.36 per gallon, up from $2.98 before the conflict started in late February, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).

·2 min
US Politics

Hundreds protest at Cornell over gang rape case, call for president's resignation

Hundreds of Cornell University students, staff and members of the public gathered on campus Monday to demand the resignation of the university's president and an overhaul of how sexual assault allegations are handled, as fresh outrage erupted over a civil lawsuit alleging a 2024 gang rape at a fraternity house. The protest followed an overnight vandalism attack on the university's main administrative building, Day Hall, where activists smashed a glass door and spray-painted messages including 'Smash the patriarchy' and 'At Cornell rapists are protected protesters are expelled.'

·3 min·3 sources
US Politics

US public school book bans reach record annual high of nearly 12,000, PEN America reports

US public schools saw nearly 12,000 book bans during the 2025-2026 school year, the highest single-year total since the free-expression nonprofit PEN America began tracking in 2021. The surge was driven by new state-level censorship laws and the use of artificial intelligence tools that remove large numbers of titles, with Texas accounting for more than 8,100 bans alone, according to a report released Monday.

·2 min
US Politics

Justice Alito says he considered retirement but decided to stay, brushes off speculation tied to Senate control

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said he has “thought about” retiring after the high court’s last term but decided against it, believing he could still make a valuable contribution, according to an interview with CBS News. The 76-year-old justice also dismissed retirement speculation linked to November’s midterm elections as “bemusing,” telling Fox News Sunday that calculating when to step down would be “foolhardy.”

·2 min
US Politics

Trump decries communism while expanding state ownership of economy, analysis shows

An analysis of data from the V-Dem project and government policy actions reveals that Donald Trump's administration has significantly expanded state ownership of the US economy through equity stakes in critical industries, even as the former president campaigns against communism. According to the V-Dem index of state control over the economy, the United States dropped from being the second-least state-controlled economy in 2024 to 16th place in 2025, the first year of Trump's second term.

·2 min·2 sources
US Politics

Trump predicts 'big surprise' for Republicans at Ohio rally, defends data centres amid economic headwinds

US President Donald Trump told a rally in Vandalia, Ohio, that Republicans would outperform expectations in the November midterm elections, even as polls indicate Democrats may gain ground. Trump campaigned for Senator Jon Husted and other Republicans while defending his administration's data centre policy and acknowledging economic pressures from high petrol prices and Canadian tariffs.

·2 min
US Politics

Jamie Dimon Turns on Trump as Billionaire Support Falters Ahead of US Midterms

JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon has broken publicly with President Donald Trump, criticising his repudiation of the multilateral, rules-based order just one month before congressional midterm elections in which Republicans are expected to lose ground. The intervention marks a significant shift by one of the most powerful figures in global finance, whose relationship with Trump has soured sharply over the past year.

·2 min·4 sources
US Politics

Cornell president promises reform as accuser's lawyer says she is 'under siege' online

Cornell University's president says the school 'must do better' after a student alleged she was drugged and gang-raped by seven men at a fraternity house, as the accuser's lawyer reports that she is being harassed online by people trying to identify her. New York Governor Kathy Hochul has appointed the state's attorney general, Letitia James, to take over the investigation, saying she has 'lost faith' in the county prosecutor's handling of the case.

·3 min·4 sources
US Politics

Connie Chan, Pelosi-backed candidate, calls for full arms embargo on Israel in California House race

Connie Chan, the Democratic candidate endorsed by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to succeed her in California's 11th congressional district, called for a full arms embargo on Israel during a televised debate on Thursday night, days before mail-in ballots are sent to voters. Chan said she would vote on day one to 'end a genocide in Gaza and to end an apartheid state' and oppose funding for Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system.

·2 min
US Politics

DoJ declines to reopen criminal investigation into former Fed chair Jerome Powell

The US Justice Department will not reopen a criminal investigation into former Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell over cost overruns tied to the central bank's renovation project, a department spokesperson said on Friday. Attorney General Todd Blanche said he had not ruled out continuing to examine the project's oversight and could act if evidence of wrongdoing emerged, Bloomberg News reported.

·1 min·2 sources
US Politics

Trump officially names intelligence chief Jay Clayton as AI czar, task force gets 120 days to report

President Donald Trump has officially appointed Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton as the White House AI czar, tasking him with leading a new Super Intelligence Force (SIF) that will have 120 days to research and report on the risks and opportunities of artificial intelligence, according to The Wall Street Journal and confirmed by Trump in a Truth Social post on Sunday.

·2 min·9 sources
US Politics

Trump says Cornell rape probe won't be fair under James, as Hochul vows reform

President Donald Trump has criticised the appointment of New York Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor in the Cornell University gang-rape investigation, arguing the accused students 'won't get a fair shake' with her in charge. Governor Kathy Hochul meanwhile vowed to close a legal 'loophole' that makes it difficult to prosecute rape cases when the victim voluntarily consumed drugs or alcohol.

·3 min·8 sources