WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday deleted from his social media account a video clip depicting former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes, following fierce backlash from Democrats and some Republicans who called it racist and urged the president to take it down.

The White House initially defended ...Read more

NEW YORK — Progressive Ana Mejia held a slim lead Friday in the crowded Democratic primary race for New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s old seat.

Mejia, a former staffer for Sen. Bernie Sanders, led with about 28% of the vote compared to about 27% for ex-Rep. Tom Malinowski, an early favorite who previously represented a neighboring North ...Read more

LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan House has voted overwhelmingly in favor of a measure that would block foreign contributions to Michigan ballot campaigns and election administration.

The bills, which passed the Republican-led House 97-6 and 99-4 on Thursday, aim to close a loophole in the overlap of state and federal laws, which already ...Read more

Iran said it agreed with the U.S. to continue indirect talks to de-escalate tensions and avert a military confrontation, with Tehran describing the first day as positive.

Negotiations, mediated by Oman in its capital Muscat, had a “good start,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told state TV after the talks concluded for the day. He ...Read more

Iran and the U.S. held indirect talks on Friday to reduce tensions that have threatened to spiral into war, with Tehran saying the meetings will be the first stage of a longer diplomatic process.

“The consultations focused on creating the appropriate conditions for the resumption of diplomatic and technical negotiations,” Oman’s Foreign ...Read more

After a Trump administration push last year to kill off the existing architecture of NASA’s Artemis program, Congress made moves to save it injecting billions toward funding the pricey, oft-delayed Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft.

In the same week NASA had to delay the launch of Artemis II, Congress may now be changing its ...Read more

Many Americans report frustration with the two-party system, in which the Democratic and Republican candidates are seen as the only viable options for elective office.

But an alarming trend in many state legislative elections is lowering the bar even further, to something more like a one-party system. In dozens of states, an ...Read more

Few ideas are as central to the nation’s identity as that of the American Dream.

With the 250th birthday of the United States coming up in July 2026, it’s worth stepping back to examine a concept essential to the nation’s self-image.

The term “American Dream” was actually coined in the 1930s by historian James ...Read more

Donald Trump is proposing to violate the U.S. Constitution by calling for Republicans to “nationalize the voting” in upcoming elections. That doesn’t bother the president, who is constantly repeating his debunked claims that the 2020 presidential election results were doctored and he really won.

In truth, he lost. But he doesn’t care ...Read more

America just passed the 50th anniversary of one of its truly terrible days — one that future historians can track as the beginning of the end of our democracy.

On Jan. 30, 1976, the U.S. Supreme Court, in the case of Buckley v. Valeo, overturned three of the major federal campaign finance reforms Congress enacted after the Watergate scandal. ...Read more

January 20 marked the first anniversary of President Donald Trump’s second inauguration. Like previous presidents, the Trump White House will be measured by how well the president has fulfilled his campaign promises. We’ve already seen headlines that so far the president has failed to cut our grocery bills, one of candidate Trump’s ...Read more

On Dec. 26, 1926, 16,000 hockey fans packed Madison Square Garden to witness the birth of a rivalry between the New York Americans and the brand-new New York Rangers. The game would later be remembered for establishing a foundation of popularity for the sport in New York City.

The only American playing for the Rangers that night also ...Read more

In separate encounters, federal immigration agents in Minneapolis killed Renée Good and Alex Pretti in January 2026.

Shortly after Pretti’s killing, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said he committed an “act of domestic terrorism.” Noem made the same accusation against Good.

But the label “domestic terrorism”...Read more

LOS ANGELES — With the Trump administration reportedly in talks to create an anti-fraud task force for California, state Attorney General Rob Bonta on Thursday vehemently denounced what he described as the administration’s “reckless” and “false” rhetoric about fraud plaguing the state.

At a news conference at the Ronald Reagan State...Read more

MIAMI — Defense attorneys for former Miami-Dade Congressman David Rivera and a political consultant have made their first move to subpoena former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro as a witness at their trial on charges of operating as unregistered foreign agents for his government, according to paperwork filed Thursday in Miami federal ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump launched a new website to help Americans directly buy select medicines at a discount, seeking to counter cost-of-living concerns that pose a threat to his party in November’s congressional elections.

“Starting tonight, dozens of the most commonly used prescription drugs will be available at dramatic ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick has more cash on hand than any other GOP incumbent in a swing district nationwide as the party prepares for a tough election.

The Bucks County lawmaker raised about $4.3 million in the most recent cycle, more than any other House candidate in the state and the 21st most of all the candidates running ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Democrats and Republicans have hardly begun negotiations for a deal to overhaul federal immigration enforcement, but they’re already accusing each other of negotiating in “bad faith.”

Before leaving Washington for the weekend, lawmakers checked some business off their list, passing a package to reopen the government after a...Read more

BALTIMORE — A measure that would require special elections be held at the same time as the regular statewide primary and general elections to fill Maryland General Assembly vacancies could finally get passed after 18 years since its first introduction, state lawmakers told The Baltimore Sun.

Senate Bill 5, sponsored by Montgomery County ...Read more

WASHINGTON — As some defense hawks eye a massive influx of defense dollars in a possible forthcoming reconciliation measure, initial reactions from defense appropriators and authorizers have been mixed, foreshadowing what could be a rocky road to achieving President Donald Trump’s stated goal of a $1.5 trillion defense budget in 2027.

In ...Read more