WASHINGTON — Lawmakers are signaling they’ll reject a Trump administration request to eliminate funding for a program that provides heating and cooling assistance to low-income Americans, one of the few on-topic issues repeatedly raised during hearings on the Health and Human Services Department budget.

The administration’s fiscal 2027 ...Read more

The top Republican on the U.S. House Oversight Committee said that some of his party colleagues are open to convicted child sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell receiving a presidential pardon.

Chair Rep. James Comer told Politico that while he did not support it, a “lot of people” believed that a pardon in exchange for Maxwell’s testimony ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Supporters of year-round sales of gasoline containing a higher proportion of ethanol are optimistic after the introduction of a bipartisan amendment to the farm bill with support from both agriculture and fossil fuel state representatives.

The amendment would allow the year-round sale of E15, gasoline containing up to 15% ethanol...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley faced a barrage of attacks from his Democratic opponents Thursday night during a candidate forum for California’s 6th Congressional District.

The event was the second forum in the two days. It underscored the difficulty Kiley faces while running in a left-leaning district and against a crowded ...Read more

The Justice Department has identified 384 foreign-born Americans whose citizenship it wants to revoke as “the first wave” of such measures, according to recent reporting by The New York Times. These cases are being assigned to prosecutors in 39 U.S. attorney’s offices across the country.

The administration has ordered Department...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Prosecutors are still presenting civil and criminal cases in Fayette Circuit Judge Julie Muth Goodman’s court, continuing with business as usual, despite Lexington’s top prosecutor serving as a key witness in state lawmakers’ unprecedented effort last month to remove the judge from office.

Fayette County prosecutor ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Commerce Department says it needs additional funds in fiscal 2027 to enforce export controls and prevent the diversion of semiconductors to China and other foreign adversaries.

Testifying Thursday before the House Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations Subcommittee, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said investment in new ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Voters in Nebraska’s open 2nd District have twice rejected Donald Trump, but the presumptive Republican nominee for the seat is “humbled” to have the president’s backing.

Trump has been “doing great things,’’ said Brinker Harding, an Omaha City Council member seeking to succeed retiring GOP Rep. Don Bacon. “We’...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump indicated his commitment to working with Los Angeles officials who want to secure federal wildfire recovery funding for victims of the 2025 fires during a private White House meeting with local leaders, County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said Thursday.

Trump spoke for about an hour and a half Wednesday with ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Congress got one step closer this week to funding immigration enforcement for the rest of President Donald Trump’s term, while House lawmakers dealt with more ethics fallout and wrangled behind closed doors over a key surveillance authority.

But the path forward once again depends on whether Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., can ...Read more

WASHINGTON — House Republicans on Thursday released a new proposal that would extend a powerful surveillance authority for three years, but it was not immediately clear if it would garner enough support to clear the chamber.

The updated text would reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a statute that’s raised ...Read more

The prospect of Iran agreeing to more in-person peace talks with the U.S. is being hindered by President Donald Trump’s threats and brash social media posts, according to several officials with knowledge of the diplomatic efforts to end their war.

Trump’s Truth Social posts — as well as his decision to continue with a naval blockade of ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Detroit U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib introduced legislation Thursday in Congress aiming to bar federal officials from using or renovating warehouses or similar structures to detain immigrants as the Trump administration plans to do at a site in Romulus, Michigan.

Tlaib's bill is in response to the Department of Homeland Security's $38...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he would investigate federal employees placing bets on event-betting platforms, indicating concerns with prediction markets amid worries that individuals are using confidential government information to profit.

Trump was asked Thursday about reports that federal authorities had arrested a special ...Read more

NEW YORK — In the oil market, volatility recently spiked to levels not seen since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Commodities and stocks globally have whipsawed in response to every twist and turn in the Iran war: A strike, a pause, a threat to wipe out a civilization, a ceasefire; then a deal, no deal, and the prospect of one again.

One ...Read more

The recent publication of confidential Supreme Court memoranda by The New York Times has brought to light a pivotal moment in the court’s history. “The birth of the Supreme Court’s shadow docket has long been a mystery,” wrote reporters Jodi Kantor and Adam Liptak. “Until now.”

Originally coined by legal scholar William ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Republican chair of the House Oversight Committee said some of its members would support a presidential pardon for convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell in exchange for her assistance in the committee’s investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.

But good luck getting any of them to admit it.

Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) told ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — A major national Democratic super PAC said Thursday it will spend $20 million on ads across four Pennsylvania congressional districts that could help determine whether the party wins control of the U.S. House later this year.

The House Majority PAC's investment — about $6 million more than the PAC poured into Pennsylvania ...Read more

MIAMI — A political action committee supporting congressional Democrats called the House Majority PAC is spending $20 million on ads to help Democrats win in Florida — the first investment the super PAC has made in the state since 2020.

The move comes as Democrats vow to expand their map of target seats to flip during the midterms in ...Read more

The zingers were flying in prime time Wednesday night as six of the leading candidates for California governor duked it out in the first televised debate since Eric Swalwell’s exit over sexual misconduct allegations upended the race this month.

Former Fox News Host Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco — both Republicans —...Read more