House extends surveillance powers until April 30 after late-night revolt sinks GOP plan
WASHINGTON — The House early Friday approved a short-term renewal until April 30 of a controversial surveillance program used by U.S. spy agencies in a post-midnight vote after Republicans revolted and refused President Donald Trump’s push for a longer extension. GOP leaders rushed lawmakers back into session late Thursday with...
Trump draws Marie Antoinette comparisons as he leans into the gilded trappings of the presidency
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump had something urgent to address while flying back to Washington from his luxury Mar-a-Lago estate on a recent Sunday. It wasn’t the Iran war, nor the still-going partial government shutdown over Department of Homeland Security funding. He wanted to talk about a monumental issue of...
Trump bets his tax cuts will please Las Vegas voters on his swing West
LAS VEGAS — President Donald Trump is betting that the tax cuts he signed into law last year will resonate with voters in Las Vegas, where he highlighted his tax breaks for tipped workers in an appeal targeted at this year’s midterm elections. Workers who earn tips and overtime are...
Wanna bet? Washington steps up scrutiny of prediction markets
WASHINGTON — As the United States was preparing a daring mission to rescue an airman whose fighter jet was shot down by Iran, there was money to be made. Users on Polymarket, the world’s largest prediction market, could place bets on when the airman would be rescued. When Rep. Seth...
Progressive Analilia Mejia takes New Jersey U.S. House special election, giving Democrats another win
DENVILLE, N.J. — Democrat Analilia Mejia won a New Jersey special election for the U.S. House on Thursday, defeating Republican Joe Hathaway on a message of standing up to President Donald Trump. Mejia, a former head of the Working Families Alliance who had support from Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders,...
TSA looks to privatize amid continued funding lapse woes
WASHINGTON — The acting administrator of the Transportation Security Administration gave a strong endorsement of President Donald Trump’s budget request for fiscal 2027 before a House Appropriations subcommittee Thursday, saying proposed privatization and modernization efforts would help ensure the agency has the funds it needs amid congressional funding struggles. “As...
Diocese of Greensburg bishop joins clergy nationwide weighing in on Trump, Pope Leo XIV discourseVideo
Diocese of Greensburg Bishop Larry Kulick said Thursday that Pope Leo XIV is “speaking from his rightful position” in criticism of President Donald Trump and the Iran war. The polarizing debate between the president and the pope has pushed onlookers to opposing sides. But Kulick views Leo’s continued calls for...
Senate Republicans send Trump resolution to lift mining ban near Boundary Waters Canoe Area
Congressional Republicans have sent President Donald Trump a resolution that would lift a federal ban on mining near Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, hoping to clear the way for a South American company to extract precious metals from the region’s pristine forests, lakes and bogs. House Republicans approved the...
House passes a bill to protect Haitian immigrants, in slap back to the Trump administration
WASHINGTON — In a rare bipartisan moment, the House passed legislation Thursday that would extend temporary protections for Haitian immigrants, a long-shot effort fighting back against President Donald Trump’s attempts to end the program. The bill, pushed forward by House Democrats with a group of Republicans over the objections of...
Western Pa. congressional incumbents have upper hand over challengers in campaign cash
Congressional incumbents seeking reelection in Western Pennsylvania have significantly more cash to fuel their campaigns than their challengers, new filings show. U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Fox Chapel, has the biggest money advantage, according to the latest filings with the Federal Election Commission, which were due Wednesday. His campaign raised $2.1...
House rejects effort to withdraw U.S. forces from the Iran war as Republicans stick with Trump
WASHINGTON — The House rejected a resolution Thursday requiring President Donald Trump to withdraw U.S. forces from the war with Iran unless Congress authorizes military action. It was the latest such vote that fell short of passage as Republicans largely continue to support Trump’s operation. Democrats voiced concern that the...
Did Pete Hegseth cite Scripture or a line from ‘Pulp Fiction’?
After Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said a prayer during a Pentagon worship service Wednesday, viewers questioned whether the lines came from the Bible — or from the Quentin Tarantino movie “Pulp Fiction.” Hegseth’s prayer has drawn scrutiny and attention on social media. Christopher Hale, editor of the popular Letters from...
Redistricting battle narrows for U.S. House as states seek partisan edge in November elections
The battlefield is narrowing and the timeline is tightening in a congressional redistricting contest among states seeking a partisan advantage ahead of the November midterm elections. The end of Maryland’s legislative session this week marked the demise of Democratic efforts to reshape the state’s U.S. House districts. But Virginia voters...
Justice Jackson chides Supreme Court conservatives over ‘oblivious’ pro-Trump emergency orders
WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has delivered a sustained attack on her conservative colleagues’ use of emergency orders to benefit the Trump administration, calling the orders “scratch-paper musings” that can “seem oblivious and thus ring hollow.” The court’s newest justice, Jackson delivered a lengthy assessment of roughly...
U.S. probes suspicious oil trades made before Trump pivots
The top U.S. derivatives regulator is investigating a series of suspiciously well-timed trades in the oil futures market ahead of recent policy pivots by President Donald Trump related to the war in Iran, according to people familiar with the matter. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is leading the probe into...
Trump stokes controversy by posting new AI Jesus image
President Donald Trump on Wednesday posted a controversial AI-generated image of himself and Jesus Christ just a day after he yanked a meme that appeared to depict him as the holy man amid widespread criticism. Trump re-posted an image depicting Jesus blessing him, which was first posted by a right-wing...
Pa. House sends budget proposal to Senate earlier than it has in nearly a decade
The state House sent a proposed $53.3 billion budget for the coming fiscal year to the Senate on Tuesday — the earliest it has initially passed a spending plan in nearly a decade. The plan passed this week by the Democratic-controlled House has virtually no chance of making it through...
What is the ‘just war theory’ that U.S. Speaker Mike Johnson invoked to defend Trump from Pope Leo?
Following recent social media disagreements between President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV surrounding the Iran war, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday used the “just war theory” to defend the president’s criticism of the pontiff. But what exactly is the “just war theory”? Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, insisted...
Data center boom meets resistance in Maine as lawmakers pass yearlong freeze
PORTLAND, Maine — Maine is set to impose the nation’s first statewide moratorium on energy-hungry data centers in a sign of growing political opposition to tech giants’ massive structures that have stoked fears about blackouts, rising electricity bills and voracious water needs. The legislation arose in a state that isn’t...
Senate Republicans reject effort to halt Iran war, but some eye future war powers votesVideo
WASHINGTON — The Republican-led Senate on Wednesday rejected the latest Democratic attempt to halt President Donald Trump’s war in Iran, turning aside a resolution that would require the U.S. to withdraw forces from the conflict until Congress authorizes further action. The 47-52 vote was the fourth time this year that...
Sexual abuse allegations are spurring calls for a broader reckoning in Congress
WASHINGTON — Resignations came quickly this week from two congressmen accused of sexual misconduct toward staff members. Yet for many of the women of Capitol Hill, the moment of accountability was years in the making — and far from enough. Reps. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, and Tony Gonzales, a...
Prosecutors seek access to Federal Reserve building as Trump threatens to fire Powell
WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors made an unannounced visit this week to a construction site at Federal Reserve headquarters that is the focus of an investigation into a $2.5 billion renovation project, according to two people familiar with the visit. Two prosecutors and an investigator from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office...
As Vance rallies with Turning Point, some supporters bristle at Trump’s war, memes and feuds
ATHENS, Georgia — Fresh from a marathon trip to Pakistan that failed to reach a deal for ending the war with Iran, Vice President JD Vance jetted to this Georgia college town for a campus tour organized by the conservative powerhouse Turning Point USA. But instead of showcasing the youthful...
California woman says she was raped by Rep. Eric Swalwell in 2018Video
LOS ANGELES — A California woman on Tuesday said she was raped by Rep. Eric Swalwell in 2018 and now plans to make a report to law enforcement. Lonna Drewes said during a news conference that the assault occurred at a hotel in Southern California. She said she had one...
Appeals court orders judge to end contempt investigation of Trump administration deportation flights
WASHINGTON — A federal judge must end his “intrusive” contempt investigation of the Trump administration for failing to comply with an order over flights carrying Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador last year, a divided appeals court panel ruled Tuesday. Chief Judge James Boasberg abused his discretion in forging ahead with...
