Politics

FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally March 9, 2024, in Rome Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)

Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in New York hush-money criminal case

Donald Trump has lashed out at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.

FILE - President Barack Obama, flanked by Vice President Joe Biden, left, and former President Bill Clinton, right, pose for a photo with the U.S. World Cup soccer team under the North Portico of the White House in Washington, May 27, 2010. President Joe Biden will share a stage with Barack Obama and Bill Clinton on Thursday in New York as he raises money for his reelection campaign. It's a one-of-a-kind political extravaganza that will showcase decades of Democratic leadership. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Biden leans on his Democratic predecessors as Trump remains isolated from other Republican leaders

Hunter Biden, left, son of President Joe Biden, arrives with attorney Abbe Lowell at the O'Neill House Office Building for a closed-door deposition in a Republican-led investigation into the Biden family, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. Lawmakers from the House Oversight and Accountability Committee and the House Judiciary Committee are conducting the inquiry. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Hunter Biden’s tax case heads to a California courtroom as his defense seeks to have it tossed out

FILE - This combo image shows Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump, left, March 9, 2024 and President Joe Biden, right, Jan. 27, 2024. Many Americans are unenthusiastic about a November rematch of the 2020 presidential election. But presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump appears to stoke more fear and anger among voters from his opposing party than President Joe Biden does from his. That's according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. (AP Photo, File)

Trump evokes more anger and fear from Democrats than Biden does from Republicans, AP-NORC poll shows

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen testifies during a Senate Finance hearing to examine President Joe Biden's proposed budget request for fiscal year 2025 on Capitol Hill Thursday, March 21, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

Yellen says China’s rapid buildout of its green energy industry ‘distorts global prices’

Biden directs federal government to ‘move heaven and earth’ to rebuild collapsed Baltimore bridge

President Joe Biden says he plans to travel to Baltimore “as quickly as I can” and that he intends for the federal government to pick up the entire cost of rebuilding the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge.

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Supreme Court seems likely to preserve access to the abortion medication mifepristone, AP Explains

Biden and Harris argue that Democrats will preserve health care and Republicans would take it away

President Joe Biden waves to members of the media as he walks across the South Lawn of the White House after exiting the Marine One helicopter, Sunday, March 24, 2024, on return to Washington from Delaware. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

President Joe Biden waves to members of the media as he walks across the South Lawn of the White House after exiting the Marine One helicopter, Sunday, March 24, 2024, on return to Washington from Delaware. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

President Joe Biden wins Missouri Democratic primary

President Joe Biden has won Missouri’s primary. The state Democratic Party announced Biden’s win several days after polls closed Saturday. Biden’s win was not in doubt.

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Hurry up and wait: Trump’s classified documents case is mired in delays that may run past election

Trump is selling ‘God Bless the USA’ Bibles for $59.99 as he faces mounting legal bills

Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. right, waves on stage with Nicole Shanahan, after announcing her as his running mate, during a campaign event, Tuesday, March 26, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. picks Nicole Shanahan as his running mate for his independent White House bid

White House

President Joe Biden delivers remarks during a campaign event with Vice President Kamala Harris in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, March 26, 2024. Voting ends Saturday in North Dakota’s Democratic presidential primary, with President Joe Biden looking to add the state’s handful of delegates to his insurmountable lead for the party’s nomination. The party-run contest rounds out the busiest month of voting on the presidential primary calendar, with 30 states, plus the District of Columbia and several U.S. territories all holding primaries and caucuses in the last 30 days. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

AP Decision Notes: What to expect in North Dakota’s Democratic presidential primary

Congress

President Joe Biden waves to members of the media as he walks toward Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Friday, March 22, 2024, to travel to Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Biden signs $1.2 trillion funding package after Senate’s early-morning passage ended shutdown threat

Supreme Court

Anti-abortion and abortion rights activists, rally outside the Supreme Court, Tuesday, March 26, 2024, in Washington. The Supreme Court is hearing arguments in its first abortion case since conservative justices overturned the constitutional right to an abortion two years ago. At stake in Tuesday's arguments is the ease of access to a medication used last year in nearly two-thirds of U.S. abortions. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Supreme Court seems likely to preserve access to the abortion medication mifepristone

More politics news

FILE- This June 6, 2019, file photo shows the U.S. Treasury Department building at dusk in Washington. The U.S. on Wednesday imposed sanctions on an online media site called Gaza Now and its founder Mustafa Ayash, for allegedly supporting Hamas. U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control says that after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas against Israel — the online entity began a fundraising effort in support of the militant organization. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

US sanctions online site ‘Gaza Now’ and its founder for allegedly supporting Hamas

The U.S. has imposed sanctions on an online media site called Gaza Now and its founder Mustafa Ayash, for allegedly supporting Hamas. On Wednesday, U.S.

Lands, a Democrat who ran on reproductive rights, flips seat in Alabama House

A Democrat who made reproductive rights a centerpiece of her campaign in deeply conservative Alabama has won a special election to the Alabama Legislature.

FILE - The TikTok Inc. building is seen in Culver City, Calif., on March 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

TikTok is under investigation by the FTC over data practices and could face a lawsuit

A person familiar with the matter says the Federal Trade Commission is investigating TikTok over its data and security practices.

Biden administration will lend $1.5B to restart Michigan nuclear power plant, a first in the US

The federal government will provide a $1.5 billion loan to restart a nuclear power plant in southwestern Michigan.

FILE - Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., speaks at the Hyatt Regency, in Washington, Nov. 13, 2022. Balint announced Wednesday, March 27, 2024 that she's running for a second term. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades, file)

Balint, Vermont’s 1st congresswoman, to run again

U.S. Rep. Becca Balint says she’s running for a second term. Vermont’s first woman and first openly gay person to represent the state in Congress made the announcement Wednesday.

FILE - U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster, D-N.H., listens during a hearing, March 14, 2022, in Manchester, N.H. Kuster said Wednesday, March 27, 2024 she will not seek reelection to Congress for a seventh term in November, leaving the state's sprawling 2nd District open to a possible GOP successor. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, file)

US Rep. Annie Kuster of New Hampshire won’t seek reelection for a seventh term in November

Democratic U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster of New Hampshire says she will not seek reelection to Congress for a seventh term in November, leaving the state’s sprawling 2nd District open to a possible GOP successor.

North Carolina GOP executive director elected as next state chairman

North Carolina Republican activists have chosen the person running the state party’s day-to-day operations to become its next chairman and succeed Michael Whatley, who is now the Republican National Committee chairman.

FILE - The Cinderella Castle is seen at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, July 14, 2023, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Allies of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Disney reached a settlement agreement Wednesday, March 27, 2024, in a lawsuit over who controls Walt Disney World’s governing district.(AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

Settlement reached in lawsuit between Disney and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ allies

Allies of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Disney have reached a settlement agreement in a state court fight over how Walt Disney World is developed in the future following the takeover of the theme park resort’s government by the Florida governor.

FILE - Migrants wait to be processed by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol after they crossed the Rio Grande and entered the U.S. from Mexico, Oct. 19, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. A Texas law that allows the state to arrest and deport migrants suspected of illegally entering the U.S. will remain on hold for now, a federal appeals court ruled. The order late Tuesday, March 26, 2024, from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals followed a March 20 hearing by a three-judge panel of the court. It’s just the latest move in a seesaw legal case that is not yet over. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

Texas’ migrant arrest law will remain on hold under new court ruling

Texas’ plans to arrest migrants suspected of illegally entering the U.S. will remain on hold under a federal appeals court order.

Hillary Amofa listens to others member of the Lincoln Park High School step team after school Friday, March 8, 2024, in Chicago. When she started writing her college essay, Amofa told the story she thought admissions offices wanted to hear. She wrote about being the daughter of immigrants from Ghana, about growing up in a small apartment in Chicago. She described hardship and struggle. Then she deleted it all. "I would just find myself kind of trauma-dumping," said the 18 year-old senior, "And I'm just like, this doesn't really say anything about me as a person." (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Students agonize over addressing race in college essays since affirmative action was struck down

When the Supreme Court ended affirmative action, it left the college essay as one of few places where race can play a role in admissions decisions.

FILE - The Federal Correctional Institution stands in Dublin, Calif., Dec. 5, 2022. The federal government is asking a court to halt California's enforcement of a rule requiring prison guards be clean-shaven, saying it amounts to religious discrimination for Sikhs, Muslims and others who wear beards as an expression of their faith. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

Feds say California’s facial hair ban for prison guards amounts to religious discrimination

The federal government is asking a court to halt California’s enforcement of a rule requiring prison guards be clean-shaven, saying it amounts to religious discrimination for Sikhs, Muslims and others who wear beards as an expression of their faith.

FILE - Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel speaks before a Republican presidential primary debate hosted by NBC News, Nov. 8, 2023, at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County in Miami. Former NBC News “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd criticized his network Sunday, March 24, 2024, for hiring former Republican National Committee head McDaniel as a paid contributor, saying on the air that many NBC journalists are uncomfortable with the decision. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

NBC has cut ties with former RNC head Ronna McDaniel after employee objections, some on the air

NBC News will cut ties with former Republican National Committee chief Ronna McDaniel, hired last week as an on-air political contributor.

FILE - North Dakota Sen. Tom Campbell poses at an event, Nov. 29, 2017, in Bismarck, N.D. Campbell, one of several Republican candidates jostling for North Dakota's only U.S. House seat, announced on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, that he is withdrawing from the race. (AP Photo/James McPherson, File)

Former state senator Tom Campbell drops bid for North Dakota’s single U.S. House seat

A former North Dakota Republican state senator has ended his campaign for the state’s only U.S. House seat.

FILE - Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin speaks at an event in Alexandria, Va, on Dec. 13, 2023. Youngkin announced Tuesday, March 26, 2024, that he had vetoed 30 pieces of gun-related legislation, including measures that would have halted the sale of certain semi-automatic firearms. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Youngkin acts on gun bills, vetoing dozens as expected, amending six and signing two pairs

Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin says he has vetoed 30 pieces of gun-related legislation, including measures that would have halted the sale of certain semi-automatic firearms.

FILE - Jeffrey Clark, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division, speaks during a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington, on Sept. 14, 2020. Former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark could face sanctions, including disbarment in Washington, D.C., if a three-person panel thinks he violated ethics rules in his role in trying to help former President Donald Trump overturn the 2020 presidential election. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, Pool, File)

Trump ally Jeffrey Clark disciplinary hearing begins over role trying to overturn 2020 election

Former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark could face sanctions, including disbarment in Washington, D.C., if a three-person panel thinks he violated ethics rules in his role in trying to help former President Donald Trump overturn the 2020 presidential election.

FILE - A sign markss he Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, March 6, 2014, near Carlsbad, N.M. Top officials gathered Tuesday, March 26, 2024, in southern New Mexico to mark the 25th anniversary of the nation’s only underground repository for radioactive waste resulting from decades of nuclear research and bomb making. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan, File)

New Mexico regulators worry about US plans to ship radioactive waste back from Texas

Top officials were gathering Tuesday in southern New Mexico to mark the 25th anniversary of the nation’s only underground repository for radioactive waste.

Kentucky Sen. Damon Thayer speaks to his fellow Senators during their session at the Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort, Ky., Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

Kentucky House passes bill to have more teens tried in adult courts for gun offenses

Legislation intended to prosecute more Kentucky teenagers on gun-related felony charges in adult courts has moved closer to clearing the legislature.

Sparks paying ex-police officer $525,000 to settle a free speech lawsuit over social media posts

The city of Sparks has agreed to a $525,000 settlement with an ex-police officer who filed a lawsuit in 2021 accusing the city of violating his free speech rights by suspending him for contentious comments he posted on his private social media account.

Court tosses Republican Pennsylvania lawmakers’ challenge of state, federal voter access actions

A federal court has dismissed an attempt by conservative Pennsylvania lawmakers to overturn automatic voter registration, along with lawmakers’ other challenges to actions designed to boost voter access.

FILE - The Pentagon is seen from Air Force One as it flies over Washington, March 2, 2022. A new Pentagon study that examined reported sightings of UFOs over nearly the last century has found no evidence of aliens or extraterrestrial intelligence. That conclusion is consistent with past U.S. government efforts to assess the accuracy of claims that have captivated public attention for decades. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Controversial military reproductive health care travel policy was used just 12 times in 7 months

The Pentagon says a controversial policy that allows service members to be reimbursed for travel if they or a family member have to go out of state for reproductive health care — including abortions — was only used 12 times from June to December of last year.

This image provided by Murrieta, Calif., Police Dept. shows an altered photo of a suspect used by the The Murrieta Police Department. The Southern California police department has been handcuffed by Lego after the Danish toy company asked the agency on March 19, 2024, to stop editing Lego heads over suspects' photos on social media. (Murrieta Police Dept. via AP)

Lego head mugshots add to California’s debate on policing and privacy

A Southern California police department has been handcuffed by Lego. The Danish toy company asked the agency to stop adding Lego heads to cover the faces of suspects in the photos it publishes on social media.

2 pilots taken to hospital after Army helicopter crashes during training in Washington state

An Army helicopter crashed at a military base in Washington state during a routine training exercise, sending the two pilots to a hospital.

Abortion rights demonstrators rally outside the Supreme Court, Tuesday, March 26, 2024, in Washington. The Supreme Court is hearing arguments in its first abortion case since conservative justices overturned the constitutional right to an abortion two years ago. At stake in Tuesday's arguments is the ease of access to a medication used last year in nearly two-thirds of U.S. abortions. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades)

5 takeaways from the abortion pill case before the U.S. Supreme Court

U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday did not appear ready to limit Americans’ access to the abortion pill mifepristone, in a case that could have sweeping implications for how the federal government approves scores of medications.

FILE - Members of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, including, from left, Kevin Bourgeois, John Gianoli, Richard Windmann and John Anderson, hold signs during a conference in front of the New Orleans Saints training facility, Jan. 29, 2020, in Metairie, La. Advocates for adult victims of childhood sexual abuse say they will ask Louisiana's Supreme Court to reconsider a ruling that wiped out 2021 legislation giving them a renewed opportunity to file civil damage lawsuits over their molestation. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton, File)

Louisiana Legislature opened window for sex abuse survivors to sue, but state’s high court shut it

Advocates for adult victims of childhood sexual abuse say they will ask Louisiana’s Supreme Court to reconsider a ruling that wiped out 2021 legislation giving them a renewed opportunity to file damage lawsuits.

FILE - Nathan Chasing Horse sits in court, Feb. 8, 2023, in North Las Vegas. The full seven-member Nevada Supreme Court will reconsider Chasing Horse's request to dismiss a sprawling indictment accusing him of leading a cult, taking underage wives and sexually abusing Indigenous women and girls. (AP Photo/Ty O'Neil, File)

Nevada Supreme Court will take another look at Chasing Horse’s request to dismiss sex abuse charges

The full seven-member Nevada Supreme Court will reconsider Nathan Chasing Horse’s request to dismiss a sprawling indictment against him.

Nicole Shanahan waves from the podium during a campaign event for Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Tuesday, March 26, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. Shanahan has been picked as Kennedy Jr.'s running mate. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Who is Nicole Shanahan, the philanthropist picked by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his running mate?

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has picked a California lawyer and philanthropist who’s never held elected office to be his running mate in his independent bid for president.

Kansas legislators pass a bill to require providers to ask patients why they want abortions

Republican legislators have approved a bill that would require Kansas abortion providers to ask their patients why they want to terminate their pregnancies and then report the answers to the state.

Former President Donald Trump arrives for a press conference at 40 Wall Street after a pre-trial hearing at Manhattan criminal court, Monday, March 25, 2024, in New York. A New York judge has scheduled an April 15 trial date in former President Donald Trump's hush money case. Judge Juan M. Merchan made the ruling Monday. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Judge issues gag order barring Donald Trump from commenting on witnesses, others in hush money case

A New York judge has issued a gag order barring Donald Trump from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.

FILE - The first operating South Fork Wind farm turbine, Dec. 7, 2023, stands east of Montauk Point, N.Y. The Biden administration approved the seventh large offshore wind project in the United States on Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, File)

Biden administration approves the nation’s seventh large offshore wind project

The Biden administration greenlit the seventh large offshore wind project in the United States Tuesday.

South Carolina Treasurer Curtis Loftis smiles during a meeting of the State Fiscal Accountability Authority on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)

South Carolina has $1.8 billion but doesn’t know where the money came from or where it should go

South Carolina has collected about $1.8 billion in a bank account over the past decade and accountants are trying to figure out where the cash came from and where it was supposed to go.

FILE - Former President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at 40 Wall Street after a pre-trial hearing at Manhattan criminal court, March 25, 2024, in New York. Trump got a break this week when an appeals court cut down the amount of money he needs to put up in order to pause collection of a huge judgment his New York civil fraud case. Monday's decision gives him 10 days to post a $175 million appeals bond or otherwise cover the sum. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)

When will Trump pay his $175 million appeals bond? Here’s what’s next in his civil fraud case

Former President Donald Trump got a break this week when an appeals court cut down the amount of money he needs to put up in order to pause collection of a huge judgment in his New York civil fraud case.

FILE - A Super Tuesday voter walks past a sign requiring a photo ID at a polling location, March 5, 2024, in Mount Holly, N.C. The North Carolina Board of Elections voted unanimously on Tuesday, March 26, to certify counts for scores of ballot items from March 5, including contested party races for president, governor and other Council of State members, the congressional delegation, seats in the legislature and judgeships. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File)

North Carolina elections board finalizes results from primary marked by new voter ID rules

North Carolina’s primary election results from earlier this month have been made official, with a handful of key incumbents losing and a few U.S.