Nation
Presidential museum showcases political and personal sides of Obama with sprawling community campus
CHICAGO | Former President Barack Obama’s influence in his presidential museum runs deep, from the location on Chicago’s South Side to textured stone adorning its dramatic tower to striped reading chairs that resemble ones in his own home. The Obama Presidential Center opens to the general public on Juneteenth after a celebratory dedication in Chicago […]
Hezbollah rejects latest ceasefire agreement as Israeli strikes kill 4 in Lebanon
BEIRUT | Hezbollah on Thursday rejected the latest ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and the Lebanese government, and the militant group demanded a complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon as continued fighting there hampered moves to end the Iran war. The Hezbollah announcement came as Israeli strikes killed at least four people, according to local authorities, […]
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent refuses to say whether Trump remains exempt from IRS audits
WASHINGTON | Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent refused to say Wednesday whether President Donald Trump and his family would still get immunity from IRS audits after the administration abandoned plans for a $1.776 billion compensation fund that would have benefited the president’s allies. “There’s continuing litigation, and I’m unable to comment on ongoing litigation,” Bessent told […]
Trump administration has separated dozens of children from their parents for a second time, AP finds
Eleven-year-old Ederson Galicia Alva had just stepped off the plane and into the Miami airport’s dim hallways when federal agents pulled his mother aside for questioning. Again. Panic welled up. His excitement at soon being back at recess with his Florida classmates fell away. Would the government take her away again? This was not his […]
Trump’s Education Department is backing away from addressing civil rights for Black students
WASHINGTON | For generations, the federal government enforced civil rights laws with an eye toward remedying historic, systemic discrimination against Black people and other people of color. The Justice Department pressed schools to desegregate. The Education Department worked to promote equal opportunity and held schools accountable for racial bias. But under the Trump administration, efforts […]
Trump fumes after judge throws out Kennedy Center renovation plan, name change
WASHINGTON | President Donald Trump on Saturday branded the federal judge who blocked his renovation of the Kennedy Center as “an anti Trump Hater” and predicted that the nation’s premier performing arts center he wanted to shutter for a two-year overhaul will “soon be closed, probably never to open again.” In a lengthy post on […]
Capitol rioters clamor for payouts from Trump’s new ‘anti-weaponization’ fund despite backlash
WASHINGTON | David Johnston was a licensed attorney when he illegally entered the Capitol with a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters on Jan. 6, 2021. More than five years later, the South Carolina man is offering to help fellow “J6ers” apply for payouts from the Trump administration’s nearly $1.8 billion new fund for people […]
Judge says Kennedy Center board broke law putting Trump’s name on building, blocks closure
WASHINGTON | A federal judge ruled Friday that President Donald Trump’s name was illegally added to the Kennedy Center and blocked the administration from closing the cultural and arts venue for major renovations — the latest legal setback for Trump’s efforts to leave his personal mark on the landscape of the nation’s capital. Trump said […]
Bondi refuses to answer lawmakers’ questions about Trump’s involvement in Epstein files release
WASHINGTON | Former Attorney General Pam Bondi refused to answer questions Friday on President Donald Trump’s involvement in the release of the Jeffrey Epstein case files as she defended the Trump administration’s actions before House lawmakers scrutinizing the process. Bondi, who spent roughly four hours on Capitol Hill for her closed-door interview, was again defiant […]
Zelenskyy says he’s pressing US for more Patriot missiles for Ukraine to counter Russian strikes
KYIV, Ukraine | Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that he’s being “very persistent” in pressing the United States to provide his country with more Patriot air defense missiles that can counter devastating Russian ballistic missile attacks. Zelenskyy said he hasn’t yet received a reply to a letter he sent earlier this week to U.S. […]