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US Politics

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

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US Politics

Former FBI officials surrender, charged with lying to Congress about Hunter Biden probe

Two former senior FBI officials surrendered on arrest warrants and made their initial court appearance Friday after being charged with lying to Congress about their involvement in investigations into Hunter Biden's laptop, the Justice Department said. The charges come less than two weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, breaking with longstanding department guidance discouraging actions that could affect political races.

·2 min·4 sources
US Politics

Safety Warning Issued for Michigan Nuclear Plant Key to Trump's Revival Plans

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a safety warning to Holtec International, the company racing to reopen the Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan, after a contractor fell into a reactor cavity and a bundle of fuel rods nearly tipped over during refuelling. The warning highlights concerns that political and financial pressures to revive nuclear power for AI-driven energy demand may be compromising safety.

·1 min
US Politics

Texas SNAP enrollment hits 17-year low amid federal eligibility tightening and state processing delays

The number of Texans receiving food stamps has fallen to a 17-year low, with enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program dropping to 2.8 million in September, according to data from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. The decline follows the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed by Congress last year, which tightened work requirements and eligibility rules, while the state faces a growing backlog of applications and risks losing federal funding for failing to process them on time.

·3 min
US Politics

Democratic socialist Janeese Lewis George set to become D.C. mayor, facing federal pushback from Trump and GOP

Janeese Lewis George, a Democratic Socialists of America member and D.C. council member, is poised to become the next mayor of Washington, D.C., after defeating moderate Democrat Kenyan McDuffie in the June primary. She will face independent and Green Party candidates in the general election in the overwhelmingly Democratic city. Lewis George's platform includes universal childcare, affordable housing, utility cost reduction, and a new business activity tax. However, her tenure may be constrained by President Donald Trump's federal takeover of the city's police department and ongoing National Guard deployment, as well as a Republican bill in Congress that would allow lawmakers to block D.C. tax increases.

·4 min
US Politics

Trump Rallies Support for Longtime Golf Buddy Jay Feely in Pivotal Arizona House Race

President Donald Trump and his allies have mounted a multimillion-dollar, last-minute campaign blitz for his personal friend and golf partner Jay Feely, a former NFL kicker running for a competitive House seat in Arizona. The race, which pits Feely against Democrat Amish Shah in a wealthy Phoenix suburban district, is seen by both parties as a potential tipping point for control of the House and a rare instance of personal friendship directly shaping national political strategy.

·3 min
US Politics

Zelensky says US is 'not supportive' as tensions boil over ahead of Ukraine peace talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has broken his characteristic restraint, telling ABC News that the Trump administration's recent actions toward Kyiv are 'not supportive' as relations between the two countries hit a new low. The remarks, published on Oct. 23, come just weeks before trilateral peace talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States are set to resume in Abu Dhabi in November. Zelensky wryly acknowledged he was 'maybe not such a big humanitarian as Putin,' a pointed reference to U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff's recent description of the Russian leader.

·3 min·4 sources
US Politics

ICE presence looms over US midterm elections as rights groups warn of voter intimidation

With the November 3 US midterm elections days away, civil rights groups are urging the Trump administration to keep Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents away from polling stations, citing the agency's record of shootings, deaths in custody and recent door-to-door voter eligibility probes. Administration officials have refused to rule out an election-day ICE role, saying agents would only appear in response to threats or to serve warrants.

·3 min
US Politics

Arizona officials sue Maricopa County recorder to reinstate 25 wrongly flagged noncitizen voters

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes have filed a lawsuit against Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap, seeking to force him to reinstate the voting rights of 25 Arizona voters who were falsely flagged as noncitizens by a federal database. The lawsuit, filed on October 22, comes one day before the deadline for voters to request an early ballot for the November 3 general election.

·3 min
US Politics

Federal judge rules OPM violated Privacy Act by sharing data with Elon Musk’s DOGE

A federal judge has ruled that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) broke the law by sharing sensitive government data with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a special advisory group created early in President Donald Trump’s second term. In a 39-page ruling released Tuesday, Judge Denise Cote said OPM violated the Privacy Act of 1974 and failed to follow its own cybersecurity practices when it gave DOGE access to personally identifiable information (PII) of tens of millions of federal employees, applicants, and retirees.

·3 min
US Politics

Boston City Council votes to subpoena MBTA general manager over Blue Hill Avenue project

The Boston City Council voted on Wednesday to subpoena MBTA general manager Phil Eng to testify about the $163 million Blue Hill Avenue redevelopment, after he did not appear at an Oct. 14 council hearing on the project's civil rights implications. Eight of the 13 councilors supported the measure, which targets a redesign that would add center bus lanes along the corridor between Mattapan and Dorchester.

·3 min
US Politics

Trump invokes Defense Production Act for oil capacity, citing national security

President Donald Trump on October 22 invoked the Cold War-era Defense Production Act, formally determining that domestic petroleum production, refining and logistics capacity are essential to national defense. The move allows the federal government to provide financial support for fossil fuel projects, including loans, purchase commitments and direct investment, to address what the administration calls a threat to economic and national security. The determination comes as global energy prices surge following joint U.S.-Israeli military action against Iran and ongoing Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries, and with President Trump facing low approval ratings on the economy just days before the November 3 elections.

·3 min·3 sources
US Politics

Trump administration drops appeal of ruling that struck down Public Service Loan Forgiveness overhaul

The Trump administration has dropped its appeal of a federal court ruling that struck down its overhaul of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, ending an effort that would have barred some public servants from loan forgiveness. In a filing on Wednesday, the administration withdrew its appeal of the June 30 ruling that found the overhaul unlawful, without providing an explanation.

·2 min
US Politics

Federal judge blocks DHS from sending armed agents to question voters in nine states ahead of midterms

A federal judge on Wednesday night blocked the Department of Homeland Security from conducting election-related field operations and interviews in nine states, ruling that the administration's tactics risk intimidating eligible voters and likely violate the Voting Rights Act. The preliminary injunction, issued by U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín in Oakland, bars operations in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin until polls close on November 3. The order is paused until Friday to give the Trump administration time to appeal.

·3 min·5 sources
US Politics

Family of toddler killed by Mississippi police views unredacted footage, demands answers

The family of 1-year-old Kohen Wiley, fatally shot by a Senatobia police officer in June, viewed unredacted body and surveillance camera footage on Thursday in a private screening arranged by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, two days after leaked clips circulated publicly. The viewing came after Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch announced on Monday that her office would not seek criminal charges against Officer Hunter Foster, who fired four shots at a car carrying the toddler and two women accused of shoplifting diapers and baby clothes from a Walmart.

·3 min·3 sources
US Politics

Top MAHA adviser Calley Means quits White House, citing 'dark forces' in Washington

Calley Means, a founding figure of the Make America Healthy Again movement and senior adviser to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., resigned from the Trump administration on Thursday, two weeks before the midterm elections. In a post on X, Means said he was stepping down "with tremendous respect for President Trump and Bobby Kennedy" while citing "entrenched, dark forces in DC."

·2 min·5 sources
US Politics

Medical experts decry Tennessee execution team's 'malpractice' in Christa Pike case

Medical experts have strongly condemned the actions of Tennessee's execution team during the failed lethal injection of Christa Pike, describing the attempt as bearing the hallmarks of medical malpractice. A detailed, minute-by-minute chronology of the September 30 procedure, released in a court filing by Pike's attorney Randy Spivey, has drawn sharp criticism from clinicians who say the team's execution of the state's protocol was dangerously incompetent.

·3 min·3 sources
US Politics

Lawsuit accuses Trump of illegally profiting from foreign crypto deals

A federal lawsuit filed Thursday accuses President Donald Trump and his family's crypto company, World Liberty Financial, of illegally profiting from more than $2 billion in digital currency deals with foreign entities, in violation of the Constitution's Foreign Emoluments Clause. The complaint, brought by a shareholder of rival crypto firm Circle Internet Group, centers on transactions with an Abu Dhabi investment fund chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the United Arab Emirates' national security advisor.

·3 min
US Politics

Trump says Google CEO rejected Atlantic Ocean rename request

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Google CEO Sundar Pichai turned down his request to rename the Atlantic Ocean on Google Maps, a rejection that stands in contrast to the company's compliance with previous geographic name changes. Speaking at a rally in Pendleton, South Carolina, Trump recounted calling Pichai to propose renaming the Atlantic the 'Trump Ocean' or 'American Ocean,' only to be told oceans span too many countries for the company to accommodate the change.

·3 min·3 sources
US Politics

Feds seek suspect in attempted firebomb attack on Atlanta ICE facility

Federal authorities have released a photo and are searching for a suspect who threw an improvised incendiary device at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Atlanta on Tuesday night, the Department of Homeland Security has confirmed. The device was caught on a fence and did not enter the building, but the attack is the fourth such incident targeting current or proposed immigration facilities this year against a backdrop of political outrage over President Donald Trump's mass deportation policies.

·2 min
US Politics

Virginia state Sen. L. Louise Lucas charged in marijuana racketeering case

Virginia state Sen. L. Louise Lucas, a prominent Democrat and critic of President Donald Trump, has been charged in a federal indictment with leading a marijuana racketeering conspiracy that included her two daughters and grandson, the Department of Justice announced Thursday. The charges, unsealed less than two weeks before the midterm elections, have drawn accusations of political motivation from Lucas, while Attorney General Todd Blanche insisted the investigation predated the current administration.

·3 min
US Politics

Fake polling firm admits fabricating data, prompting questions about midterm fallout

A company that posted fabricated polling data during the 2026 midterm campaign has admitted the numbers were fake, triggering a reckoning among campaign operatives, donors and aggregators about how easily misinformation can sway elections. Wedgewood Polls, which had been included in respected aggregators and cited by outlets including Politico, said on Tuesday it was an 'experimental project' meant to show how an entirely fabricated firm could influence public opinion. But candidates who saw their campaigns damaged by the bogus polls have condemned the experiment, with one Democrat saying the false data dried up donations and devastated volunteers.

·3 min·2 sources
US Politics

Texas Latinos turning on Trump, but not necessarily embracing Democrats, Texas Tribune reports

In a pivotal shift ahead of the 2026 election, Latino voters in Texas are moving away from President Donald Trump, driven by frustration over the economy and the administration's mass deportation campaign, according to a report from the Texas Tribune. But strategists and voters interviewed by the Tribune caution that the swing does not represent a wholesale return to the Democratic Party, leaving the outcome of the state's tossup Senate race uncertain.

·3 min
US Politics

Tariffs deepen economic pain in Maine, shaping tight Senate race between Collins and Jackson

The U.S.-Canada trade war is hammering Maine's economy, driving up costs for lobster fishermen and small manufacturers, and making tariffs the defining issue in the state's closely contested Senate race between Republican incumbent Susan Collins and Democrat Troy Jackson. With polls showing Jackson leading by an average of two percentage points, the candidates are battling over who can better shield Maine from the fallout of President Trump's trade policies.

·3 min
US Politics

Alaska Senate race tightens as Peltola challenges Sullivan on cost-of-living and war

Mary Peltola, a Democrat and former US House member, is mounting a strong challenge to Republican Senator Dan Sullivan in Alaska, a race that has become a top target in the 3 November midterms. Peltola has centred her campaign on the cost-of-living crisis, blaming President Trump's tariffs and the Iran war for driving up prices in the state's remote communities, where paper towels can cost $40 and power bills have climbed to $1,500 a month. Sullivan, a two-term incumbent, has emphasised his support for Alaska's oil and gas industries and military installations, but has trailed in some recent polls.

·3 min
US Politics

Trump administration divided over housing affordability executive order

The Trump administration is at odds over an executive order targeting housing affordability, with Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte pushing for President Trump to sign it as soon as this week while other officials are pumping the brakes, according to people familiar with the talks. The divide comes less than two weeks before the midterm elections, as the White House grapples with cost-of-living concerns.

·2 min