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US politics: the White House, Congress, the courts and the elections.
1026 articles · page 4 of 22
The U.S. Treasury Department proposed a rule Thursday expanding restrictions on American investments in hypersonic systems, supercomputing, biotechnology and artificial intelligence in China, Russia and other countries of concern, introducing a $50,000 reporting threshold and using President Donald Trump's preferred term 'superintelligence' for AI.
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.
· 4 sources
The Trump administration on Friday released its seventh tranche of documents related to Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, including a recent report of a silent matte black triangle observed near a sensitive US facility and a declassified 2010 file on Utah's Skinwalker Ranch.
· 2 sourcesJames Blair and Chris LaCivita, who jointly managed Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, have donated their consulting fees from a controversial contract in Bosnia and Herzegovina to the president's library fund, a move announced Thursday as they sought to repair damage from Trump's public criticism earlier this month.
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.
California's cap-and-invest program faces a turbulent handover to the state's next governor, after a year of regulatory changes that critics say put the state's climate targets out of reach and a gubernatorial race in which neither leading candidate has made the program a priority.
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.
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.
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.
US President Donald Trump has again suggested he could run for a third term in 2028, telling a rally in Iowa that the 2020 election was stolen from him and that he should therefore be allowed another run. He acknowledged the Constitution leaves little room for interpretation, but insisted his fraud allegations justified an exception.
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.
· 4 sourcesControl of the United States Senate may be decided by candidates whom neither party leader wanted, according to an Axios analysis. Majority Leader John Thune and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are both stuck with nominees who defeated their preferred primary candidates, forcing expensive and uncertain general election battles in at least five states.
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.
The US Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into Corey Lewandowski, the former top aide at the Department of Homeland Security and a longtime ally of President Donald Trump, over allegations that he profited from his government role, following a criminal referral from the agency's internal watchdog.
· 6 sourcesAn Anchorage Superior Court judge ruled Thursday that Alaska Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom and the Division of Elections acted incorrectly when they placed disqualified Republican candidate Jose Tagle on the general election ballot for state House District 22, and that his election may not be certified if he wins.
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.
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.
The Supreme Court has cleared the way for New Hampshire to prohibit the use of student identification cards for voting, granting a Republican-backed emergency appeal less than two weeks before the midterm elections. The decision reverses a federal judge’s block on guidance issued by the secretary of state that barred student IDs as a backup method of identification.
· 4 sourcesThe Department of Justice on Thursday announced that a federal grand jury has indicted 22-year-old Skyler AJ Rose of Ogden, Utah, on charges including attempted hate crime after he allegedly threatened to blow up a synagogue. Authorities said they found six improvised explosive pipe bombs at his home, along with child sexual abuse material on his smartphone.
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.
California investigators have filed felony charges against 103 In-Home Supportive Services providers across 17 counties for allegedly defrauding Medi-Cal of more than $4.5 million, Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Thursday in Los Angeles.
U.S. Representative Laura Friedman, a Democrat from California, has introduced legislation that would tax asset-backed loans at 23.8% for amounts exceeding $1 million, aiming to close a loophole that allows wealthy individuals to avoid capital gains taxes by borrowing against their investments rather than selling them.
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 sourcesThe 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.
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.
· 5 sourcesThe 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 sourcesCalley 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."
· 5 sourcesMedical 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 sourcesPresident Donald Trump has thrown his weight behind Ohio Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy in a widening dispute over a campaign ad featuring the estranged mother of his Democratic rival Amy Acton, calling Governor Mike DeWine "disloyal to the Republican party" for urging Ramaswamy to pull it.
· 10 sourcesThe FBI has arrested and charged a 17-year-old McKinney resident with allegedly planning to assassinate U.S. Rep. Keith Self of Texas' 3rd District and carry out a terrorist attack on behalf of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), federal authorities said. The arrest occurred on Oct. 5 after the teenager acquired a firearm, according to authorities.
· 2 sourcesA 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.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has signed a memo authorizing the Department of Homeland Security to test the Active Denial System, a non-lethal weapon that projects an energy beam causing an intense burning sensation, for potential use at the southern border, according to a memo obtained by CNN.
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 sourcesRising prices are outstripping wage growth across the United States, and with midterm elections approaching, cost of living is now the dominant concern for voters, according to new polls. Workers describe cutbacks ranging from dining out and cable to groceries and needed surgery, even as a broader measure of underemployment remains elevated at 7.6 percent.
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.
OpenAI, Anthropic, and Nvidia each spent more on federal lobbying in the third quarter of 2026 than in any previous quarter, according to newly filed disclosure reports.
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on November 3 in St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, a Colorado case testing whether a state may bar religious preschools from its universal preschool program when their religious practices conflict with the program's anti-discrimination requirements.
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.
The Department of War and Lockheed Martin announced Thursday that they have agreed to a framework deal for the production of 850 F-35 fighter aircraft over the next 10 years, a commitment the two sides say will strengthen the Joint Strike Fighter fleet, though it still needs congressional approval and funding.
· 2 sourcesA teacher seriously wounded in the mass shooting at an Oregon elementary school has spoken publicly for the first time, saying she was shot at close range before she had any chance to protect the children in her classroom and pretended to be dead to avoid being shot again. Police have confirmed the shotgun used in the attack was legally purchased.
· 5 sourcesA 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.
· 2 sourcesFederal agents are hunting for alleged noncitizen voters in the final weeks before the November 3 midterms, a push championed by President Donald Trump that critics describe as voter intimidation and that researchers say targets a problem that is extremely rare.
More than 16 million Americans have already cast ballots in the US midterm elections as early voting sets records in multiple states, less than two weeks before Election Day on November 3.
The Trump administration deported 980,000 people in the first 18 months of its second term, falling short of its stated goal of one million per year, according to a report published Thursday by the Migration Policy Institute.
· 2 sourcesIn 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.
An audit by Delaware Auditor of Accounts Lydia York has revealed that children in foster care are frequently sleeping in state offices, sometimes for weeks, due to a shortage of suitable placements. The report details millions spent on out-of-state care and overnight staff supervision.
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.
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.