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Tag: National Politics

  • US officials say Washington has agreed to give Ukraine security guarantees in peace talks

    BERLIN — The U.S. has agreed to provide unspecified security guarantees to Ukraine as part of a peace deal to end Russia’s nearly four-year war, and more talks are likely this weekend, U.S. officials said Monday following the latest discussions with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Berlin.

    The officials said talks with President Donald Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, led to narrowing differences on security guarantees that Kyiv said must be provided, as well as on Moscow’s demand that Ukraine concede land in the Donbas region in the country’s east.

    Trump dialed into a dinner Monday evening with negotiators and European leaders, and more talks are expected this weekend in Miami or elsewhere in the United States, according to the U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly by the White House.

    “I think we’re closer now than we have been, ever,” Trump told reporters at an unrelated White House event. He added, “We’re having tremendous support from European leaders. They want to get it ended, also.”

    The U.S. officials said the offer of security guarantees won’t be on the table “forever.” They said the Trump administration plans to put forward the agreement on guarantees for Senate approval, although they didn’t specify whether it would be ratified like a treaty, which needs the chamber’s two-thirds approval.

    In a statement, European leaders in Berlin said they and the U.S. committed to work together to provide “robust security guarantees,” including a European-led ”multinational force Ukraine” supported by the U.S.

    They said the force’s work would include “operating inside Ukraine” as well as assisting in rebuilding Ukraine’s forces, securing its skies and supporting safer seas. They said Ukrainian forces should remain at a peacetime level of 800,000.

    Witkoff and Kushner were accompanied by U.S. Air Force Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, who heads NATO’s military operations and the U.S. European Command, as talks honed in on the particulars of what the U.S. officials described as an “Article 5-like” security agreement. Article Five in the NATO treaty is the collective defense clause stating that an attack on one member is an attack on all.

    The U.S. side presented the Ukrainians a document that spelled out in greater specificity aspects of the proposed U.S. security guarantees — something that Ukrainian officials said was missing from earlier iterations of the U.S. peace proposal, according to U.S. officials.

    German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called it a “truly far-reaching, substantial agreement that we did not have before, namely that both Europe and the U.S. are jointly prepared to do this.”

    Questions over Ukraine’s postwar security and the fate of occupied territories have been the main obstacles in talks. Zelenskyy has emphasized that any Western security assurances would need to be legally binding and supported by the U.S. Congress. Meanwhile, Russia has said it will not accept any troops from NATO countries being based on Ukrainian soil.

    Zelenskyy on Monday called the talks “substantial” and noted that differences remain on the issue of territory.

    Zelenskyy has expressed readiness to drop Ukraine’s bid to join NATO if the U.S. and other Western nations give Kyiv security guarantees similar to those offered to NATO members. But Ukraine’s preference remains NATO membership as the best security guarantee to prevent further Russian aggression.

    Ukraine has continued to reject the U.S. push for ceding territory to Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin wants Ukraine to withdraw its forces from the part of the Donetsk region still under its control as a key condition for peace.

    The U.S. officials on Monday said there is consensus on about 90% of the U.S.-authored peace plan, and that Russia has indicated it is open to Ukraine joining the European Union, something it previously said it did not object to.

    The Russian president has cast Ukraine’s bid to join NATO, however, as a major threat to Moscow’s security and a reason for launching the full-scale invasion in February 2022. The Kremlin has demanded that Ukraine renounce the bid for alliance membership as part of any prospective peace settlement.

    Asked whether the negotiations could be over by Christmas, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said trying to predict a potential time frame for a peace deal was a “thankless task.”

    “I can only speak for the Russian side, for President Putin,” Peskov said. “He is open to peace, to a serious peace and serious decisions. He is absolutely not open to any tricks aimed at stalling for time.”

    Putin has denied plans to attack any European allies.

    Drone strikes continue

    Russia fired 153 drones of various types at Ukraine overnight Sunday into Monday, according to Ukraine’s Air Force, which said 133 drones were neutralized, while 17 more hit their targets.

    In Russia, the Defense Ministry on Monday said forces destroyed 130 Ukrainian drones overnight. An additional 16 drones were destroyed between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. local time.

    Eighteen drones were shot down over Moscow itself, the defense ministry said. Flights were temporarily halted at the city’s Domodedovo and Zhukovsky airports as part of safety measures, officials said.

    Damage details and casualty figures were not immediately available.

    Madhani reported from Washington. Seung Min Kim and Darlene Superville in Washington; Pietro De Cristofaro in Berlin; Illia Novikov in Kyiv, Ukraine; and Katie Marie Davies in Manchester, England, contributed to this report.

    Stefanie Dazio, Aamer Madhani

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  • New coins will commemorate 250th anniversary of American independence. Here’s how they’ll look.

    The U.S. Mint unveiled the designs for coins commemorating the 250th anniversary of American independence next year. They depict the founding documents and the Revolutionary War, but so far, not President Donald Trump, despite a push among some of his allies to get his face on a coin.

    The Mint abandoned designs developed during Joe Biden’s presidency that highlighted women’s suffrage and civil rights advancements, favoring classical depictions of America over progress toward a more inclusive society.

    A series of celebrations are planned next year under the banner America 250, marking the anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. All U.S. coins show the year they were minted, but those made next year will also display 1776.

    Trump, at least for now, isn’t getting a coin

    No design was released for a $1 coin, though U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach, whose duties include oversight of the U.S. Mint, serving as a liaison with the Federal Reserve and overseeing Treasury’s Office of Consumer Policy, confirmed in October that one showcasing Trump was in the works. A draft design showed Trump’s profile on the “heads” side, known as the obverse, and on the reverse, a depiction of Trump raising his fist after his attempted assassination, The words “FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT” appear along the top.

    By law, presidents typically can’t appear on coins until two years after their death, but some advocates for a Trump coin think there may be a loophole in the law authorizing the treasury to mint special coins for the nation’s 250th birthday.

    Neither the Mint nor the Treasury Department responded when asked whether a Trump coin is still planned.

    The new designs depict classical Americana

    New designs will appear only on coins minted in 2026, with the current images returning the following year.

    The nickel, dime and five versions of the quarter will circulate, while a penny and half dollar will be sold as collectibles.

    Five versions of the quarter are planned depicting the Mayflower Compact, Revolutionary War, Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution and Gettysburg Address.

    The dime will show a depiction of Liberty, a symbolic woman facing down the tyranny of the British monarchy, and an eagle carrying arrows in its talons representing America’s fight for independence.

    The commemorative nickel is essentially the same as the most recent nickel redesign, in 2006, but it includes two dates on the head’s side instead of one, 1776 and 2026.

    Two collectible coins are planned

    A half dollar coin shows the face of the Statue of Liberty on one side. The other shows her passing her torch to what appears to be the hand of a child, symbolizing a handoff to the next generation.

    The penny is essentially the same as the one in circulation, which was discontinued earlier this year and will be produced only as a collectible with two dates.

    Prices for collectible coins were not released. The Mint sells a variety of noncirculating coins on its website, with a vast range of prices reflecting their rarity.

    In honor of the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Marine Corps founding, for example, a commemorative half dollar coin is available for $61, while a commemorative $5 gold coin goes for $1,262. Up to 750,000 copies of the former will be minted, but no more than 50,000 of the latter.

    The abandoned designs

    Congress authorized commemorative coins in 2021. During the Biden administration, the Mint worked with a citizens advisory committee to propose designs depicting the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, abolitionism, suffrage and civil rights.

    Those designs included depictions of abolitionist Frederick Douglass and Ruby Bridges, who was escorted to school by the National Guard at age 6 years amid opposition to racial integration at public schools.

    Those designs represented “continued progress toward ‘a more perfect union,’” said Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nevada, quoting a phrase from the preamble to the Constitution.

    “The American story didn’t stop at the pilgrims and founding fathers, and ignoring anything that has happened in this country in the last 162 years is just another attempt by President Trump to rewrite our history,” Cortez Masto said in a statement.

    Jonathan J. Cooper

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  • Big changes to the agency charged with securing elections lead to midterm worries

    MINNEAPOLIS — Since it was created in 2018, the federal government’s cybersecurity agency has helped warn state and local election officials about potential threats from foreign governments, showed officials how to protect polling places from attacks and gamed out how to respond to the unexpected, such as an Election Day bomb threat or sudden disinformation campaign

    The agency was largely absent from that space for elections this month in several states, a potential preview for the 2026 midterms. Shifting priorities of the Trump administration, staffing reductions and budget cuts have many election officials concerned about how engaged the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency will be next year, when control of Congress will be at stake in those elections.

    Some officials say they have begun scrambling to fill the anticipated gaps.

    “We do not have a sense of whether we can rely on CISA for these services as we approach a big election year in 2026,” said Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, a Democrat who until recently led the bipartisan National Association of Secretaries of State.

    The association’s leaders sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in February asking her to preserve the cybersecurity agency’s core election functions. Noem, whose department oversees the agency, replied the following month that it was reviewing its “funding, products, services, and positions” related to election security and that its services would remain available to election officials.

    Simon said secretaries of state are still waiting to hear about the agency’s plans.

    “I regret to say that months later, the letter remains very timely and relevant,” he said.

    An agency in transition

    CISA, as the agency is known, was formed under the first Trump administration to help safeguard the nation’s critical infrastructure, from dams and power plants to election systems. It has been undergoing a major transformation since President Donald Trump’s second term began in January.

    Public records suggest that roughly 1,000 CISA employees have lost their jobs over the past years. The Republican administration in March cut $10 million from two cybersecurity initiatives, including one dedicated to helping state and local election officials.

    That was a few weeks after CISA announced it was conducting a review of its election-related work, and more than a dozen staffers who have worked on elections were placed on administrative leave. The FBI also disbanded a task force on foreign influence operations, including those that target U.S. elections.

    CISA is still without an official director. Trump’s nomination of Sean Plankey, a cybersecurity expert in the first Trump administration, has stalled in the Senate.

    CISA officials did not answer questions seeking specifics about the agency’s role in the recently completed elections, its plans for the 2026 election cycle or staffing levels. They said the agency remains ready to help protect election infrastructure.

    “Under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Noem, CISA is laser-focused on securing America’s critical infrastructure and strengthening cyber resilience across the government and industry,” said Marci McCarthy, CISA’s director of public affairs.

    She said CISA would announce its future organizational plans “at the appropriate time.”

    Christine Serrano Glassner, CISA’s chief external affairs officer, said the agency’s experts are ready to provide election guidance if asked.

    “In the event of disruptions or threats to critical infrastructure, whether Election Day-related or not, CISA swiftly coordinates with the Office of Emergency Management and the appropriate federal, state and local authorities,” she said in a statement.

    States left on their own

    California’s top election security agencies said CISA has played a “critical role” since 2018 but provided little, if any, help for the state’s Nov. 4 special election, when voters approved a redrawn congressional redistricting map.

    “Over the past year, CISA’s capacity to support elections has been significantly diminished,” the California secretary of state’s office said in a statement to The Associated Press. “The agency has experienced major reductions in staffing, funding, and mission focus — including the elimination of personnel dedicated specifically to election security and foreign influence mitigation.”

    “This shift has left election officials nationwide without the critical federal partnership they have relied on for several election cycles,” according to the office.

    CISA alerted California officials in September that it would no longer participate in a task force that brought together federal, state and local agencies to support county election offices. California election officials and the governor’s Office of Emergency Services did what they could to fill the gaps and plan for various security scenarios.

    In Orange County, California, the registrar of voters, Bob Page, said in an email that the state offices and other county departments “stepped up” to support his office “to fill the void left by CISA’s absence.”

    Neighboring Los Angeles County had a different experience. The registrar’s office, which oversees elections, said it continues to get a range of cybersecurity services from CISA, including threat intelligence, network monitoring and security testing of its equipment, although local jurisdictions now have to cover the costs of some services that had been federally funded.

    Some other states that held elections this month also said they did not have coordination with CISA.

    Mississippi’s secretary of state, who heads the national association that sent the letter to Noem, did not directly respond to a request for comment, but his office confirmed that CISA was not involved in the state’s recent elections.

    In Pennsylvania, which held a nationally watched retention election for three state Supreme Court justices, the Department of State said it is also relied more on its own partners to ensure the elections were secure.

    In an email, the department said it was “relying much less on CISA than it had in recent years.” Instead, it has begun collaborating with the state police, the state’s own homeland security department, local cybersecurity experts and other agencies.

    Looking for alternatives

    Simon, the former head of the secretary of state’s association, said state and local election officials need answers about CISA’s plans because officials will have to seek alternatives if the services it had been providing will not be available next year.

    In some cases, such as classified intelligence briefings, there are no alternatives to the federal government, he said. But there might be ways to get other services, such as testing of election equipment to see if it can be penetrated from outside.

    In past election years, CISA also would conduct tabletop exercises with local agencies and election offices to game out various scenarios that might affecting voting or ballot counting, and how they would react. Simon said that is something CISA was very good at.

    “We are starting to assume that some of those services are not going to be available to us, and we are looking elsewhere to fill that void,” Simon said.

    Smyth reported from Columbus, Ohio.

    Steve Karnowski, Julie Carr Smyth

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  • President Trump’s breakup with Marjorie Taylor Greene is not the same as others. But like always, there may be second chances.

    ATLANTA — President Donald Trump’s chaotic political universe has at least one consistent law that rises above any other: The president has no permanent friends and no permanent enemies.

    Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Georgia lawmaker who announced plans to leave Congress in January, is the latest figure to test that Trumpian rule. Throughout his political career, the president has sparred with Republicans who, recognizing his grip on the party, eventually came into or returned to the fold, often in senior administration positions.

    And already on Saturday, Trump referred to Greene as “a nice person,” hours after calling her a “traitor.”

    Yet Greene, who originated as a leading face of the “Make America Great Again” movement, supported Trump’s false claims that his 2020 election defeat was fraudulent and shares his pugilistic style. So she offers a notable contrast to the typical Trump roller coaster faced by other Republicans. Those mostly mainstream conservatives begrudgingly endured the president before finally citing some breaking point or tagged Trump as a threat to democracy only to join his ranks as he remade the GOP in his own image.

    In the end, Greene and Trump fell out not over ideological differences or fundamental fissures over his character but rather disagreements over the Jeffrey Epstein files and health care. With her planned departure, Greene becomes the most prominent MAGA figure to break with Trump, and what that means for both of them is an open question.

    “I have fought harder than almost any other elected Republican to elect Donald Trump and Republicans to power,” Greene said in her Friday video announcing her plans.

    “It’s all sort of out of left field,” said Kevin Bishop, a former longtime aide to Sen. Lindsey Graham, a stark example of a Trump critic-turned-ally. What’s clear, Bishop said, is that Trump, even with lagging approval ratings overall, retains “great sway over the activists and, frankly, all corners of the Republican Party.”

    A ‘transactional’ president has long subdued internal GOP critics

    Trump was not always the undisputed center of Republican power and identity. Even as he took control of a crowded GOP presidential field in 2016, his rivals pummeled him.

    Graham, the South Carolina senator, called him a “kook” and a “race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot.” Within a few years, he was among Trump’s biggest fans in the Senate, calling him “my president.”

    Marco Rubio, then a Florida senator and now Trump’s secretary of state, called him a “con artist” and “the most vulgar person to ever aspire to the presidency.” He and Trump exchanged veiled insults about each other’s male anatomy.

    During that same campaign, a young author and future Vice President JD Vance wrote a New York Times op-ed titled: “Mr. Trump Is Unfit For Our Nation’s Highest Office.” Vance’s former roommate disclosed a text message in which Vance compared Trump to Adolf Hitler, Nazi Germany’s authoritarian author of the Holocaust. By 2021, Vance was a first-time Senate candidate from Ohio who sang Trump’s praises on immigration, trade and other matters.

    For Republicans who did not make that about-face, their political careers nearly always faced dead ends. Those recognizing the cost of their decisions course corrected.

    Sen. Bill Cassidy was among the few Republicans who voted to convict Trump after he left office in 2021. Yet eying reelection in 2026, the Louisiana physician provided Trump the deciding committee vote to confirm the controversial Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary.

    Greene noted the trends.

    “Most of the establishment Republicans who secretly hate him and who stabbed him in the back and never defended him against anything have all been welcomed in right after the election,” she said.

    Personalities, golf and his own definition of loyalty explain Trump’s approach

    Bishop said those flips aren’t simply about politicians being politicians but about Trump bringing the vibes of real estate and marketing to politics.

    “He views the presidency as slightly more transactional than maybe the way people in politics view the world,” Bishop said. “A businessman says, ‘Well, we fought over this deal. But in a couple of years maybe we can work together and put together another deal.’”

    Bishop, who worked in Graham’s Senate office throughout Trump’s first presidency, said Trump “came out of the hospitality industry” and, despite his harshest policies and rhetoric, is less inclined to judge political opponents and allies in ideological or philosophical terms.

    It’s a trait Trump put on display in the Oval Office on Friday in a friendly meeting with New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist the president has previously mislabeled as a communist.

    Mamdani broke through, perhaps, by doing something Trump appreciates most: winning. Bishop said Graham did it with “a great sense of humor” that Trump appreciated and because they bonded on the golf course. “You spend three or four hours on a golf course,” he said. “That’s a lot of time to get to know someone.”

    Graham once offered a simpler explanation, telling The New York Times that his evolution on Trump was a way “to try to be relevant.”

    Trump has implicitly opened the door for making up with Greene

    It’s notable that one of Greene’s fights –- releasing the Epstein files -– went her way, not Trump’s. The president framed his retreat as something he was fine with all along. Even on health care, Greene can claim some measure of victory. The White House and GOP Hill leaders have countered expiring health insurance tax credits by offering a different potential subsidy: direct payments to consumers as they shop for polices.

    Greene certainly has options. She has personal financial security, with her ethics disclosures suggesting a net worth in the many millions of dollars. She has 1.6 million followers on X. She has long been a feature on the conservative media circuit — notably dating Brian Glenn, a right-wing White House correspondent for Real America’s Voice. And her recent break with Trump came with appearances on mainstream media, including ABC’s “The View.”

    She could still run for Georgia governor, which will be an open seat, or for the U.S. Senate seat held by Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. But Greene acknowledged Trump’s potential power in her heavily Republican House district, saying she wanted to spare her constituents an ugly primary fight.

    “Once I left her, she was gone because she would never have survived the primary,” Trump told reporters. He added in a separate NBC interview that the congresswoman has “got to take a little rest.”

    Still, the president rebuffed any suggestion that there is any need for “forgiveness” in their relationship, and he told NBC, “I can patch up differences with anyone.”

    Associated Press writer Will Weissert in Washington contributed to this report.

    Bill Barrow

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  • President Trump signs bill to release Jeffrey Epstein case files after fighting it for months

    WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed legislation Wednesday that compels his administration to release files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, bowing to political pressure from his own party after initially resisting those efforts.

    Trump could have chosen to release many of the files on his own months ago.

    “Democrats have used the ‘Epstein’ issue, which affects them far more than the Republican Party, in order to try and distract from our AMAZING Victories,” Trump said in a social media post as he announced he had signed the bill.

    Now, the bill requires the Justice Department to release all files and communications related to Epstein, as well as any information about the investigation into his death in a federal prison in 2019, within 30 days. It allows for redactions about Epstein’s victims for ongoing federal investigations, but DOJ cannot withhold information due to “embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity.”

    It was a remarkable turn of events for what was once a farfetched effort to force the disclosure of case files from an odd congressional coalition of Democrats, one GOP antagonist of the president, and a handful of erstwhile Trump loyalists. As recently as last week, the Trump administration even summoned one Republican proponent of releasing the files, Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, to the Situation Room to discuss the matter, although she did not change her mind.

    What’s next once President Trump signs bill releasing the Epstein files

    But over the weekend, Trump did a sharp U-turn on the files once it became clear that congressional action was inevitable. He insisted the Epstein matter had become a distraction to the GOP agenda and indicated he wanted to move on.

    “I just don’t want Republicans to take their eyes off all of the Victories that we’ve had,” Trump said in a social media post Tuesday afternoon, explaining the rationale for his abrupt about-face.

    The House passed the legislation on a 427-1 vote, with Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., being the sole dissenter. He argued that the bill’s language could lead to the release of information on innocent people mentioned in the federal investigation. The Senate later approved it unanimously, skipping a formal vote.

    It’s long been established that Trump had been friends with Epstein, the disgraced financier who was close to the world’s elite. But the president has consistently said he did not know of Epstein’s crimes and had cut ties with him long ago.

    Before Trump returned to the White House for a second term, some of his closest political allies helped fuel conspiracy theories about the government’s handling of the Epstein case, asserting a cover-up of potentially incriminating information in those files.

    Seung Min Kim

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  • FAA lifts order slashing flights, allowing commercial airlines to resume their regular schedules

    The Federal Aviation Administration said Sunday it is lifting all restrictions on commercial flights that were imposed at 40 major airports during the country’s longest government shutdown.

    Airlines can resume their regular flight schedules beginning Monday at 6 a.m. EST, the agency said.

    The announcement was made in a joint statement by Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford.

    Citing safety concerns as staffing shortages grew at air traffic control facilities during the shutdown, the FAA issued an unprecedented order to limit traffic in the skies. It had been in place since Nov. 7, affecting thousands of flights across the country.

    Impacted airports included large hubs in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Atlanta.

    The flight cuts started at 4% and later grew to 6% before the FAA on Friday rolled the restrictions back to 3%, citing continued improvements in air traffic controller staffing since the record 43-day shutdown ended.

    The FAA statement said an FAA safety team recommended the order be rescinded after “detailed reviews of safety trends and the steady decline of staffing-trigger events in air traffic control facilities.”

    The statement said the FAA “is aware of reports of non-compliance by carriers over the course of the emergency order. The agency is reviewing and assessing enforcement options.” It did not elaborate.

    Cancellations hit their highest point Nov. 9, when airlines cut more than 2,900 flights because of the FAA order, ongoing controller shortages and severe weather in parts of the country. But conditions began to improve throughout the week as more controllers returned to work amid news that Congress was close to a deal to end the shutdown. That progress also prompted the FAA to pause plans for further rate increases.

    The agency had initially aimed for a 10% reduction in flights. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has said worrisome safety data showed the move was necessary to ease pressure on the aviation system and help manage worsening staffing shortages at air traffic control facilities as the shutdown entered its second month and flight disruptions began to pile up.

    Air traffic controllers were among the federal employees who had to continue working without pay throughout the shutdown. They missed two paychecks during the impasse.

    Duffy hasn’t shared the specific safety data that prompted the cuts, but he cited reports during the shutdown of planes getting too close in the air, more runway incursions and pilot concerns about controllers’ responses.

    Airline leaders have expressed optimism that operations would rebound in time for the Thanksgiving travel period after the FAA lifted its order.

    Rio Yamat, Josh Funk

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  • Homeland Security agents surge into North Carolina’s largest city. Here’s what to know.

    U.S. immigration agents are targeting Charlotte, North Carolina, despite objections from local leaders, prompting activists, elected officials and community groups to monitor any sweeps and support vulnerable residents.

    President Donald Trump’s administration confirmed Saturday that a surge of immigration enforcement in North Carolina’s largest city had begun. Agents were seen making arrests in multiple locations.

    It is the latest step in the Trump administration’s strategy of putting immigration agents or the military on the streets of several large, Democratic-run cities. The push has caused fear and anxiety, especially among people who lack legal status to be in the country, and sparked a number of lawsuits.

    Here’s what to know:

    Why send agents to Charlotte?

    Charlotte is a racially diverse city of more than 900,000 residents, including more than 150,000 who are foreign-born, according to local officials. It is run by a Democratic mayor, though North Carolina’s two U.S. senators are Republican and Trump won the state in the last three presidential elections.

    Crime was down this year through August, compared with the same eight-month period in 2024, with homicides, rapes, robberies and motor vehicle thefts decreasing by more than 20%, according to AH Datalytics, which tracks crime across the country using local data for its Real-Time Crime Index.

    But the Trump administration has seized upon the August fatal stabbing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutskaha on a Charlotte light-rail train to argue that Democratic-led cities fail to protect residents. A man with a lengthy criminal record has been charged with that murder.

    There is no indication, however, that border agents could or would have a role in enforcing local or state laws.

    How have locals reacted?

    Critics have characterized the arrival of border agents as an invasion. Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles said the agents “are causing unnecessary fear and uncertainty.”

    Local groups are training volunteers to protest and to safely document any immigration sweeps. They are also informing immigrants of their rights.

    “We’ve seen what has taken place in other cities across this country when the federal government gets involved,” state Rep. Jordan Lopez said.

    Mecklenburg County Commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell urged the public to “meet the moment peacefully” and “reduce panic.”

    The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has said it has no authority to enforce federal immigration laws and is not involved in such operations.

    Is the National Guard involved?

    There is no sign that the guard will go to Charlotte, though three Republican members of North Carolina’s congressional delegation have urged Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, to request it.

    The governor’s office said local police are a better choice to keep neighborhoods safe.

    The Trump administration has deployed the guard to the District of Columbia and the Los Angeles area, citing crime and a need to protect immigration agents, and Memphis, Tennessee. Courts have blocked the guard from operating so far in the Chicago area and in Portland, Oregon.

    Associated Press writer Christopher L. Keller in Albuquerque, New Mexico, contributed..

    Ed White

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  • Indiana officials, experts share mixed feelings about end to government shutdown

    The end of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history exposed partisan divides in Washington and left Democrats hoping, again, that Republicans will keep their word of addressing expiring healthcare subsidies in the coming months, political science experts said.

    President Donald Trump signed a government funding bill Wednesday night, ending a record 43-day shutdown that caused financial stress for federal workers who went without paychecks, stranded scores of travelers at airports, and generated long lines at some food banks as Trump officials cut off SNAP benefits.

    Noe Luna, a student in the East Chicago Central job skills program, packs juice into boxes to be distributed by the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (Kyle Telechan/for the Post-Tribune)

    The House passed the measure on a mostly party-line vote of 222-209 on Wednesday afternoon, while the Senate had already passed the measure on Monday.

    U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, said in a statement he voted against the continuing resolution because while the bill will ensure that emergency food assistance will be funded, “it is wrong to do so at the expense of affordable health care benefits.”

    “I have spent my career as a public official working on behalf of individuals and families facing economic hardship, often through no fault of their own, who have been in need of access to food, housing, and health care. Too many times have I witnessed the difficult choice that families often make between choosing between a meal or health care services,” Mrvan said.

    “I remain deeply disappointed that the Republican Majority refused to extend the health care tax credits as part of this negotiation that so many small business owners and working families rely on, even as they allow the Trump Administration to direct $40 billion in federal funds to support Argentina’s economy,” Mrvan said.

    Mrvan said he also didn’t support the continuing resolution because it doesn’t fund the Toxic Exposures Fund, which supports veterans.

    “As we move forward, the fight for access to affordable health care continues, and I remain committed to working with my colleagues to find a bipartisan agreement that restores the health care tax credits as soon as possible,” Mrvan said.

    Senator Todd Young said in a statement that he voted in favor of the continuing resolution because it will reopen the government through Jan. 30, 2026 and include full-year appropriations for military construction, veterans affairs, agriculture and the legislative branch.

    Young noted that he voted 15 times to reopen the government, but Democrats voted 14 times to against the effort.

    “I am frustrated that the shutdown dragged on as long as it did and negatively affected our country in so many ways. I am grateful for all the dedicated federal workers, such as our service members and air traffic controllers, who continued to work throughout the shutdown,” Young said.

    Senator Jim Banks blamed the Democrats for “holding American hostage” by continuing the shutdown.

    The shutdown magnified partisan divisions in Washington as Trump took unprecedented unilateral actions — including canceling projects and trying to fire federal workers — to pressure Democrats into relenting on their demands.

    Democrats wanted to extend an enhanced tax credit expiring at the end of the year that lowers the cost of health coverage obtained through Affordable Care Act marketplaces. They refused to go along with a short-term spending bill that did not include that priority. But Republicans said that was a separate fight to be held at another time.

    The compromise funds three annual spending bills and extends the rest of government funding through Jan. 30. Republicans promised to hold a vote by mid-December to extend the health care subsidies, but there is no guarantee of success.

    The bill includes a reversal of the Trump administration policy of firing of federal workers since the shutdown began. It also protects federal workers against further layoffs through January and guarantees they are paid once the shutdown is over.

    A bill for the Agriculture Department, which funds the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, means people who rely on key food assistance programs will see those benefits funded without threat of interruption through the rest of the budget year.

    Food Bank of Northwest Indiana CEO Victor Garcia said the organization is pleased the government shutdown has ended, but it’s unclear how soon SNAP benefits will be distributed.

    “There is still some uncertainty in how and when SNAP benefits will be distributed to our neighbors in Northwest Indiana. The Food Bank will continue to provide additional nutrition support as we navigate the fallout of the shutdown together,” Garcia said.

    It’s unclear whether the parties will find any common ground on health care before a potential December vote in the Senate. House Speaker Mike Johnson has said he will not commit to bringing it up in his chamber. Without the enhanced tax credit, premiums on average will more than double for millions of Americans.

    Some Republicans have said they are open to extending the COVID-19 pandemic-era tax credits, but they also want new limits on who can receive the subsidies.

    Aaron Dusso, associate professor of political science at Indiana University Indianapolis, said he was surprised the shutdown ended when it did, but he thought it was likely because of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.

    Eight Democratic Senators voted to end the shutdown with the promise from Republican Senate leadership of holding a vote on healthcare subsidies in December, Dusso said. But, earlier this year, a shutdown was avoided when Republicans told Democrats that they would discuss healthcare subsidies outside of the Trump administration’s tax bill, and that never happened, he said.

    “The classic cartoon is Lucy holding that football and Charlie Brown believing he’s going to finally be able to kick that football. We’ll see if that actually happens,” Dusso said.

    With the government reopening, funding for programs like SNAP should move fairly quickly because the apparatus for funding is already there, Dusso said. But departments that rely on people, like air traffic controllers, could take a little longer to start back up as people return to work, he said.

    It’s likely that the government shutdown won’t be top of mind for voters in 2026 as many more things will occur at the federal level between now and then, Dusso said.

    “I don’t think there’s going to be much, as far as outside of Washington, much memory of it. Inside Washington, some of the memories are going to come down to internal to the Democratic Party. There will certainly be hurt feelings and distrust,” Dusso said.

    The Associated Press contributed. 

    akukulka@post-trib.com

    Alexandra Kukulka

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  • White House Historical Association reclaims Rockwell sketches for $7.25 million at auction

    WASHINGTON — The White House Historical Association has reclaimed a series of sketches by American painter and illustrator Norman Rockwell, spending a whopping $7.25 million at auction on Friday.

    The four 1940s-era sketches titled “So You Want to See the President!” were displayed in the West Wing for years, but were removed in 2022 after a family dispute over who owned them.

    The sketches show a variety of people — journalists, military officers and even a Miss America Pageant winner and her publicist — seated on plush-looking red chairs as they waited to meet President Franklin D. Roosevelt. They were put up for sale by a grandson of the White House official who had received them as a gift from Rockwell.

    “I can’t tell you how personally thrilled I am that the White House Historical Association preserved this piece of White House history,” said Anita McBride, who sits on the association’s board of directors.

    The White House Historical Association’s winning bid was $5.8 million. It’s total cost to reclaim the art, including the buyer’s premium paid to the auction house, was $7.25 million.

    The price tag is by far the most ever paid by the association, which holds a vast collection of art, furniture and other items as part of its mission to help the White House collect and display artifacts that represent American history and culture.

    Before Friday, the most the association had paid for an artifact was $1.5 million for “The Builders,” by African American artist Jacob Lawrence, in 2007, McBride said. That work depicts hard-working men in orange, red and brown tones, and hangs in the White House Green Room.

    The sketches sold Friday are Rockwell’s only known collection of four interrelated paintings that he conceived to tell a story, according to Heritage Auctions, the Dallas-based auction house that sold them. The series was created in 1943 and published in the Saturday Evening Post.

    The association will share more “about the future of this significant and historic work,” its president, Stewart McLaurin, said in a statement.

    “We look forward to utilizing this acquisition to teach White House history for generations to come,” he said.

    Matthew Costello, the association’s chief education officer, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview this week that officials had discussed putting the sketches on display at The People’s House: A White House Experience. The association opened the interactive White House education center in September 2024.

    The White House Historical Association was created in 1961 by first lady Jacqueline Kennedy to help preserve the museum quality of the interior of the White House and educate the public. It is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that receives no government funding.

    Jonathan J. Cooper, Darlene Superville

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  • Federal judge orders Trump administration to fully fund SNAP benefits in November

    A federal judge in Rhode Island ordered the Trump administration to find the money by Friday to fully fund SNAP benefits for November.

    The ruling by U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr. on Thursday was in response to a challenge from cities and nonprofits complaining that the administration was only offering to cover 65% of the maximum benefit.

    “The defendants failed to consider the practical consequences associated with this decision to only partially fund SNAP,” McConnell said. “They knew that there would be a long delay in paying partial Snap payments and failed to consider the harms individual who rely on those benefits would suffer.”

    ‘Everybody’s hungry’: Food distribution event sees hundreds of people amid SNAP uncertainty

    The Trump administration said last month that it would not pay benefits at all for November because of the federal shutdown. Last week, two judges ordered the government to pay at least partial benefits using an emergency fund. It initially said it would cover half, but it now says it will cover 65%.

    The plaintiffs want the benefits to be fully funded.

    The USDA said last month that benefits for November wouldn’t be paid because of the federal government shutdown. That set off a scramble by food banks, state governments and the nearly 42 million Americans who receive the aid to find ways to ensure access to groceries.

    The program serves about 1 in 8 Americans and is a major piece of the nation’s social safety net. It costs more than $8 billion per month nationally.

    Geoff Mulvihill, Michael Casey

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  • Nancy Pelosi expected to announce she won’t run for reelection in 2026

    Sources close to Nancy Pelosi expect the 85-year-old Democratic party stalwart to retire from politics next year.

    Pelosi will make a speech addressing her future after Californians vote on whether to redraw the state’s electoral map to create more Democrat-held seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, according to NBC News.

    RELATED: Election 2025: Everything Bay Area voters need to know before Nov. 4 election

    The state’s ballot measure Proposition 50 seeks to offset mid-decade redistricting efforts in red states including Texas intended to maintain a Republican majority in Congress.

    Pelosi has represented the majority of San Francisco since 1987. Multiple Democratic insiders reportedly said they don’t expect her to seek reelection in 2026.

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President Joe Biden presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House on May 3, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)

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“She’s going to go out with Prop 50 overwhelmingly passing, and what a crowning achievement for her to do that,” one of those sources told NBC News.

Pelosi hasn’t addressed primary challenges from younger Democrats bidding for her seat in the midterm election, though she appears to have the resources to go on the offensive. Her team hasn’t addressed speculation about her plans for 2026 and beyond. She filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Elections Commission in November 2024.

The former Speaker of the House has long been among the most powerful figures in Democratic politics. Pressure from Pelosi is believed to have led to former President Joe Biden abandoning his 2024 reelection bid.

Months earlier, Biden awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

She’s also been an effective antagonist against President Trump, who won that election to serve a second term in office.

Trump has also had tough words for his Democratic rival whom he called “crazy” during a 2023 speech. In the same speech, Trump made fun of her husband, Paul Pelosi, who’d recently been attacked and seriously wounded by a hammer-wielding man who broke into the couple’s San Francisco home.

Brian Niemietz

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  • Barack Obama blasts Donald Trump ahead of Election Day in Virginia and New Jersey: ‘The stakes are now clear’

    NORFOLK, Va. — Former President Barack Obama is encouraging voters to elect Democratic governors in Virginia and New Jersey in races this Tuesday to rebuke Donald Trump 10 months into his second presidency and a year ahead of midterm elections that could reshape it.

    Obama’s appearances Saturday for Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill contrast with Trump spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, leaving Republicans Winsome Earle-Sears in Virginia and Jack Ciattarelli in New Jersey to campaign for themselves.

    At the same time, California advocates made a final push ahead of a statewide referendum over whether to redraw the state’s congressional map in Democrats’ favor. The effort, backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, is part of a national redistricting battle that began when Trump urged GOP-run states to help him maintain a friendly House majority in 2026.

    Obama praised Spanberger and Sherrill, center-left Democrats who helped their party win a U.S. House majority halfway through Trump’s first presidency, as experienced figures who would improve voters’ financial circumstances. Yet Obama, who remains Democrats’ most popular figure nearly nine years removed from the White House, spent much of his time during separate rallies lambasting Trump for “lawlessness and recklessness” and “shambolic” economic policy. Obama urged voters to “set a glorious example for the nation” by rejecting nominees loyal to a president with “autocratic impulses.”

    “The stakes are now clear,” Obama said in Virginia. “We don’t need to speculate about the dangers to our democracy. We don’t need to ask ourselves how much more coarse and mean our culture can become. Elections matter, and they matter to you.”

    Obama took care not to blame voters who backed Trump in 2024 because of inflation and a roiled economy. But, he asked in New Jersey, “Has any of that gotten better for you?”

    In some ways, it was standard partisan fare in the closing stretch of a campaign. Yet it stood out as an unusually intense rebuke of a sitting president by a predecessor and because Republicans offered little defense of Trump in their own campaign stops Saturday, instead trying to localize the off-year elections as much as possible.

    On a bus tour across New Jersey, Ciattarelli referenced the president mostly to chide Sherrill for mentioning him so much, along with her experience as a Navy helicopter pilot.

    “Her disdain for the president. And she can fly a helicopter. Is any of that going to fix New Jersey?” Ciattarelli said in suburban Westfield.

    Earle-Sears did not mention Trump at all as she campaigned with term-limited Gov. Glenn Youngkin. “We are not going back,” she said, arguing for conservative continuity in Purcellville. “There’s only darkness back there. Abigail Spanberger represents the darkness.”

    Trump isn’t on site, but he’s been in the conversation

    Trump endorsed Ciattarelli and has said — without naming Earle-Sears — that he backs her Virginia bid. He conducted a phone rally for Ciattarelli but has not campaigned in person for either nominee.

    Olivia Diaz, Mike Catalini, Bill Barrow

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  • Secretary of State Marco Rubio says mediators of Gaza ceasefire shared information to uncover a recent threat

    WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday that Israel, the U.S. and the other mediators of the Gaza ceasefire deal are sharing information to disrupt any threats and that allowed them to identify a possible impending attack last weekend.

    The State Department said a week ago that it had “credible reports” Hamas could violate the ceasefire with an attack on Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

    “We put out a message through State Department, sent it to our mediators as well, about an impending attack, and it didn’t happen,” he told reporters en route from Israel to Qatar, where he met up with President Donald Trump for a multistop tour in Asia. “So that’s the goal here, is ultimately to identify a threat before it happens.”

    Rubio said multiple countries are interested in joining an international stabilization force that aims to deploy to Gaza but that they need more details about the mission and rules of engagement.

    The U.S. could call for a U.N. resolution supporting the force so more nations can take part, he said, adding that the U.S. has been talking with Qatar, Egypt and Turkey and noting interest from Indonesia and Azerbaijan.

    “Many of the countries who want to be a part of it can’t do it without that,” he said of an international mandate.

    He also noted that next week the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, is expected to be the latest in a parade of U.S. officials to travel to Israel.

    Vice President JD Vance joined special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner earlier in the week in Israel in an effort to shore up the fragile ceasefire deal. Rubio arrived just after Vance departed, meeting with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and touring a U.S.-led coordination center monitoring the ceasefire.

    Rubio touched on several other key foreign policy priorities in his remarks to reporters. Here’s a look:

    Sanctions on Colombia’s president

    A day after the Trump administration imposed sanctions on Colombian President Gustavo Petro, his family and a member of his government over accusations of involvement in the global drug trade, Rubio said it was not about targeting country itself, which is one of the closest American allies in the region.

    “This is not a U.S. vs. Colombia thing,” he said. “This is us reacting to the actions of what’s turned into a hostile foreign leader.”

    He said the U.S. has excellent relations with Colombia’s people and institutions and that the Trump administration didn’t want to hurt the country’s economy, so it held off on tariffs. Trump last weekend had threatened to unleash them.

    Asked if he would rule out tariffs, Rubio said Trump makes those decisions but “obviously the president was aware of the options available to him and chose these instead.”

    The sanctions ramped up tensions with Colombia’s first leftist leader, who has hit back at the Trump administration.

    “I believe the current U.S. government violated its rule of law by sanctioning me as if I were a mobster, when I dedicated my life to fighting the mafia,” Petro wrote on X. “Their desperation will lead them to set traps for me. I’m ready to fight. For myself and for my people.”

    Stance toward Venezuela

    Reporters asked Rubio whether other leaders in the region may help urge Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to step down, with speculation swirling about whether recent U.S. military actions in Latin America are aimed at ousting Maduro. Rubio responded that when the U.S. deploys assets in its own hemisphere, “everyone sort of freaks out.”

    The Trump administration has launched a series of strikes against alleged drug-running boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific and is deploying an aircraft carrier to South America.

    Rubio said the U.S. is taking part in a counterdrug operation. And he again accused Maduro’s government of allowing and participating in the shipment of narcotics.

    “This is a very serious problem for the hemisphere, and a very destabilizing one,” Rubio said. “And that has to be addressed.”

    He says other countries in the region, including Ecuador, Mexico, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, cooperate in combating drug trafficking.

    Taiwan and China

    Rubio said it was important for the U.S. to remain engaged with China but that Taiwan would not become a bargaining chip for the world’s largest economies to reach a larger trade agreement.

    Trump says he expects to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea in the coming days during his Asia trip. Beijing claims sovereignty over the self-governed island and vows to seize it by force if necessary. The United States is obligated by its own laws to give military support to Taiwan.

    “If what people are worried about is we’re going to get some trade deal or we’re going to get favorable treatment on trade in exchange for walking away from Taiwan — no one is contemplating that,” Rubio said.

    Originally Published:

    Lindsay Whitehurst, Courtney Bonnell

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  • States worry about how to fill the gap in food aid ahead of a federal benefits halt

    Officials in Louisiana, Vermont and Virginia pledged Thursday to keep food aid flowing to recipients in their states, even if the federal program is stalled next month because of the government shutdown.

    The fate of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which helps about 1 in 8 Americans buy groceries, is becoming a deep concern as it gets closer to Nov. 1, when the benefits could dry up without either a resolution of the federal government shutdown or other action.

    Other states have explored using their own funds to prop up the program but have run into technical roadblocks, and it wasn’t clear whether the three newly announced plans have answers for those. Legislative officials in Vermont said they’re waiting word from the state administration on how the benefit would be delivered.

    Here’s what to know.

    Nearly 2 million Illinois residents will lose SNAP benefits next month if federal shutdown continues, officials warn

    Some states are announcing plans, but details have been scarce

    Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, said he was declaring a state of emergency to provide food benefits to SNAP beneficiaries. A spokesperson said details on how it would work are coming later.

    Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, another Republican, said he was making it a top priority to make sure “seniors, individuals with disabilities, and children who rely on food stamps do not go hungry in Louisiana,” but he has also not detailed how.

    New Hampshire officials announced a plan to increase access to food through food banks and mobile pantries. It would require approval of a legislative committee in the GOP-controlled state.

    Vermont lawmakers also said Thursday they intend to have the state cover both the food aid and heating fuel assistance that’s at risk.

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said this week that he would deploy the National Guard to help food banks. “This is serious, this is urgent – and requires immediate action,” he said.

    States have limited ability to help

    Officials from Alaska, New Mexico and North Dakota have said that they’ve considered using state money to keep the food aid flowing but fear a federal government directive may make that impossible.

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees SNAP, told states earlier this month not to send information to the vendors who provide the debit cards because of uncertainty about whether the program would be funded in November.

    Officials in the states say that federal control of the system appears to stand in the way of their attempts to fund the program on their own.

    “Without action from USDA, I think it is highly unlikely that any states would issue November SNAP benefits,” Carolyn Vega, a policy analyst at the advocacy group Share Our Strength, said in an email. “On top of the technical challenges, states can’t shoulder that cost, especially with the risk it wouldn’t be refunded.”

    It’s not certain the program will be paused, but it’s looking likely

    Lower-income families who qualify for SNAP receive debit cards loaded each month by the federal government that work only for groceries at participating stores and farmers markets.

    The average monthly benefit is $187 per person. Most beneficiaries have incomes at or below the poverty level.

    Time is running short to keep benefits flowing in November.

    Congress and President Donald Trump could strike a deal to end the federal shutdown that started Oct. 1.

    It’s also possible that the Trump administration would allocate money for the program even if the shutdown continues. The liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that about $5 billion is available in a contingency fund and is calling on the administration to use that for partial benefits in November, but it’s not clear if that’s being seriously discussed.

    Forty-six of the 47 Democrats in the U.S. Senate sent a letter Thursday to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins calling on her to release the contingency money.

    The USDA has not answered questions from The Associated Press about whether those funds might be tapped.

    States have also indicated that there could be a delay in benefits even if a deal is struck to fund SNAP for November.

    Losing SNAP could mean tough choices for beneficiaries

    Sylvia Serrano gets $100 every month to help buy groceries for herself and the four grandchildren she’s raising in Camden, New Jersey.

    Two of her grandkids have autism, and because of their aversions to certain textures they eat only certain foods that are unlikely to be available at food banks.

    The act of getting food could also be harder for her without SNAP. She now does her shopping while the kids are at school, using a grocery store that’s close to home due to her not-so-reliable car.

    She says that with SNAP, she can mostly stay up on her other expenses. Without it? “I would have to send less payment into a bill or something in order to cover the needs and then the bills are going to get behind,” Serrano said.

    Some states are encouraging stocking up and seeking other help

    Some states are telling SNAP recipients to be ready for the benefits to stop.

    Arkansas is advising recipients to identify food pantries and other groups that might be able to help, and to ask friends and family for aid.

    It’s unclear whether any benefits left on recipients EBT cards on Nov. 1 will be available to use. Arkansas officials suggest people who have balances on their cards to use it this month on shelf-stable foods.

    Missouri and Pennsylvania officials, on the other hand, expect previous benefits will remain accessible and are telling beneficiaries to save for November if they can.

    Oklahoma is encouraging people who receive benefits to visit a state website that connects people with nonprofits, faith-based groups, Native American tribes and others that may be able to help with food.

    Food banks could be the fallback for many beneficiaries

    Separate federal program cuts this year have already put food banks that supply food pantries in a tough spot, said George Matysik, the executive director of Share Food Program in Philadelphia.

    So dealing with an anticipated surge in demand could be tough.

    Matysik said it’s especially acute for his organization and others in Pennsylvania, where a state government budget impasse has meant at least a pause in another funding stream. He said the group has had to cut about 20% of its budget, or $8.5 million, this year.

    “Any time we have a crisis, it’s always the working class that feels the pain first,” he said.

    Associated Press reporters Sophie Austin in Sacramento, California; Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin; Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska; Jack Brook in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota; Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut; John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas; Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Morgan Lee in Santa Fe, New Mexico; Michael Casey in Boston; and Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City contributed to this article.

    Originally Published:

    Geoff Mulvihill

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  • What to know about redistricting efforts across the US

    President Donald Trump’s desire to secure the Republican majority in Congress has prompted an unusual burst of mid-decade redistricting in multiple states.

    North Carolina is the latest to take action. The Republican-led General Assembly approved changes Wednesday to U.S. House district designed to help the party unseat a Democratic incumbent.

    Texas was the first to answer Trump’s call to redraw its congressional districts for the GOP’s advantage ahead of next year’s elections. Democrats in California countered with their own redistricting effort, followed by Republicans in Missouri. Other states are considering joining the redistricting battle.

    U.S. House districts typically are redrawn once a decade, immediately after a census. But some states have no rules against redistricting more frequently than that. And the U.S. Supreme Court has said there is no federal prohibition on political gerrymandering, in which districts are intentionally drawn to favor one party.

    The stakes are high, because Democrats need to gain just three seats in the 2026 elections to take control of the House, which would allow them to impede Trump’s agenda. Historically, the president’s party has lost seats in midterm elections, a fate Trump is trying to avoid.

    Why Republicans are targeting a North Carolina seat

    The new congressional map reshapes the state’s only current swing district, held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Don Davis, by adding more Republican-leaning voters along the coast and shifting some inland voters into an adjacent Republican-held district. The GOP already controls 10 of the 14 House districts in North Carolina, a state Trump won by 51% last year. Davis won last year by less than 2 percentage points.

    The revised districts cannot be vetoed by Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, though Democrats or civil rights groups are likely to bring a legal challenge.

    How a Louisiana court case could affect other states

    Louisiana lawmakers are to convene Wednesday in a special session called by Republican Gov. Jeff Landry to consider changes to next year’s election schedule. Republicans are trying to position the state for redistricting, in case the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the state’s current congressional map.

    During arguments last week, the court’s six conservative justices seemed inclined to effectively strike down a Black-majority district in Louisiana because the districts relied too heavily on race. Such a ruling could upend a central provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, opening the door for lawmakers in Louisiana and other states to eliminate majority Black and Latino districts that tend to favor Democrats.

    Supreme Court case could lead to loss of Black representation in Congress, but the scope is unknown

    Where Republicans are still pressing for redistricting

    Some Republicans in Indiana, Kansas and Nebraska are trying to rally support for redistricting.

    Trump and Vice President JD Vance have pressed Indiana lawmakers to redraw the state’s congressional districts to try to expand Republicans’ current 7-2 edge over Democrats. Republican Gov. Mike Braun has said a legislative session on redistricting probably will happen, but legislators have yet to round up enough votes.

    In Kansas, Republican lawmakers are trying to collect enough signatures from colleagues to call themselves into a special session on redistricting. The petition drive is necessary because Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly isn’t likely to call a session to redraw the current map that has sent three Republicans and one Democrat to the House.

    Republican Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen has expressed support for redistricting, though it remains tough to ensure enough Republican votes in the officially nonpartisan Legislature. Republicans already hold all three of the state’s U.S. House seats but are looking to shore up a competitive district that includes Omaha.

    Why two states have to redraw their maps

    Though the details remain to be worked out, Ohio will have new congressional districts for the 2026 elections. The state constitution requires new districts because the ones adopted by Republican officials after the 2020 census didn’t have sufficient bipartisan support. Republicans could use this as an opportunity to try to expand their current 10-5 seat advantage over Democrats.

    Utah’s Republican-led Legislature passed a revised U.S. House map Oct. 6 in response to a court ruling striking down the districts they originally adopted after the 2020 census because the Legislature had unlawfully circumvented an independent redistricting commission. The same judge is now weighing whether to sign off on the new map. Republicans currently hold all four districts, though some could become more competitive for Democrats under the revisions.

    What challenges persist in Texas, California and Missouri

    The revised Texas congressional map could improve Republicans’ chances of winning five additional seats. The GOP currently holds 25 of the state’s 38 seats. But the map faces a legal challenge from civil rights groups and Black and Latino voters who have said it intentionally reduces the influence of their votes in violation of the Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution.

    Missouri’s revised map could help Republicans pick up one additional seat. They currently hold six of the state’s eight U.S. House seats. But opponents are pursuing a referendum petition that, if successful, would force a statewide vote on the new map. Several lawsuits also assert that mid-decade redistricting isn’t allowed under the state constitution.

    California’s revised congressional map could help Democrats win five additional seats. They already hold 43 of the 52 seats. But the new map can take effect only if approved by voters in a Nov. 4 election. The vote is necessary to override a map adopted by an independent citizens commission after the 2020 census.

    How other states might act

    Officials in Florida, Illinois, Maryland and New York all have raised the possibility of redrawing U.S. House districts.

    Republican Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez has created a special committee to look into redistricting. Republicans currently hold 20 of the state’s 28 seats.

    In Maryland, where Democrats already hold seven of the eight U.S. House seats, some Democratic state lawmakers have said they will file redistricting legislation for the 2026 session.

    Democrats already hold 14 of the 17 U.S. House seats in Illinois, but Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker has said it’s possible to draw even more districts favoring Democrats.

    New York has an independent commission that redraws districts after every census. State Democrats have introduced legislation to allow mid-decade redistricting, but the soonest that new maps could be in place is the 2028 election. That is because the proposal would require an amendment to the state constitution, a change that would have to pass the Legislature twice and be approved by voters.

    Originally Published:

    David A. Lieb

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  • Phillips 66, Kinder plan first-ever California-bound fuel pipeline

    By Nathan Risser, Bloomberg

    Phillips 66 and Kinder Morgan Inc. plan to build a new pipeline system and reverse the flow on some existing conduits to haul gasoline and other fuels to California, Arizona and Nevada.

    As California’s in-state refining capacity dwindles, the regional market is becoming increasingly reliant on imported fuels, especially gasoline. The pipeline project hatched by Phillips 66 and Kinder will carry fuels from as far away as the Midwest to augment supplies sent by refiners in Washington State and Asia.

    RELATED: California Legislature passes a swath of last-minute energy bills

    The project, slated for completion around 2029, would be the first pipeline system to deliver motor fuels into California, a state long considered an island disconnected from the major refining hubs of the Gulf Coast and Midwest.

    Bloomberg

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  • After meeting with Ukrainian president, Donald Trump calls on Ukraine and Russia to ‘stop where they are’ and end the war

    WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday called on Kyiv and Moscow to “stop where they are” and end their brutal war following a lengthy White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

    Trump’s frustration with the conflict has surfaced repeatedly in the nine months since he returned to office, but with his latest comments he edged back in the direction of pressing Ukraine to give up on retaking land it has lost to Russia.

    “Enough blood has been shed, with property lines being defined by War and Guts,” Trump said in a Truth Social post not long after hosting Zelenskyy and his team for more than two hours of talks. “They should stop where they are. Let both claim Victory, let History decide!”

    Later, soon after arriving in Florida, where he’s spending the weekend, Trump urged both sides to “stop the war immediately” and implied that Moscow keep territory it’s taken from Kyiv.

    “You go by the battle line wherever it is — otherwise it’s too complicated,” Trump told reporters. “You stop at the battle line and both sides should go home, go to their families, stop the killing, and that should be it.”

    The comments amounted to another shift in position on the war by Trump. In recent weeks, he had shown growing impatience with Russian President Vladimir Putin and expressed greater openness to helping Ukraine win the war.

    After meeting with Zelenskyy in New York on the sidelines of the annual U.N. General Assembly last month, Trump even said he believed the Ukrainians could win back all the the territory they had lost to Russia since Putin launched the February 2022 invasion. That was a dramatic shift for Trump, who had previously insisted that Kyiv would have to concede land lost to Russia to end the war.

    Zelenskyy after Friday’s meeting said it was time for a ceasefire and negotiations. He sidestepped directly answering a question about Trump nudging Ukraine to give up land.

    “The president is right we have to stop where we are, and then to speak,” Zelenskyy said when asked by reporters about Trump’s social media post, which he hadn’t seen.

    Trump tone on the war shifted after he held a lengthy phone call with Putin on Thursday and announced that he planned to meet with the Russian leader in Budapest, Hungary, in the coming weeks.

    The president also signaled to Zelenskyy on Friday that he’s leaning against selling him long-range Tomahawk missiles, weaponry that the Ukrainians believe could be a game changer in helping prod Putin to the negotiating table.

    Zelenskyy at the start of the White House talks said he had a “proposition” in which Ukraine could provide the United States with its advanced drones, while Washington would sell Kyiv the Tomahawk cruise missiles.

    But Trump said he was hesitant to tap into the U.S. supply, a turnabout after days of suggesting he was seriously weighing sending the missiles to help Ukraine beat back Russia’s invasion.

    “I have an obligation also to make sure that we’re completely stocked up as a country, because you never know what’s going to happen in war and peace,” Trump said. “We’d much rather have them not need Tomahawks. We’d much rather have the war be over to be honest.”

    In an interview with Kirsten Welker of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Zelenskyy suggested the door was not closed.

    “It’s good that President Trump didn’t say ‘no,’ but for today, didn’t say ‘yes,’” he said.

    Zelenskyy also said “we need Tomahawks” because “it’s very difficult just to operate only with Ukrainian drones.”

    Trump’s latest rhetoric on Tomahawks was certainly disappointing to the Ukrainians. In recent days, Trump had shown an openness to selling Ukraine the Tomahawks, even as Putin warned that such a move would further strain the U.S.-Russian relationship.

    But following Thursday’s call with Putin, Trump began downplaying the prospects of Ukraine getting the missiles, which have a range of about 995 miles.

    Zelenskyy had been seeking the Tomahawks, which would allow Ukrainian forces to strike deep into Russian territory and target key military sites, energy facilities and critical infrastructure. Zelenskyy has argued that the potential for such strikes would help compel Putin to take Trump’s calls for direct negotiations to end the war more seriously.

    Putin warned Trump during the call that supplying Kyiv with the Tomahawks “won’t change the situation on the battlefield, but would cause substantial damage to the relationship between our countries,” according to Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign policy adviser.

    It was the fifth face-to-face meeting for Trump and Zelenskyy since the Republican returned to office in January,

    The president said Friday it was “to be determined” if Zelenskyy would be involved in the upcoming talks in Hungary — suggesting a “double meeting” with the warring countries’ leaders was likely the most workable option for productive negotiations.

    “These two leaders do not like each other, and we want to make it comfortable for everybody,” Trump added.

    But Zelenskyy told reporters that the animus toward Putin “is not about feelings.”

    “They attacked us, so they are an enemy for us. They don’t intend to stop,” Zelenskyy added. “So they are an enemy. It is not about someone just hating someone else. Although, undoubtedly, we hate the enemy. Undoubtedly.”

    Trump, going back to his 2024 campaign, insisted he would quickly end the war, but his peace efforts appeared to stall following a diplomatic blitz in August, when he held a summit with Putin in Alaska and a White House meeting with Zelenskyy and European allies.

    Trump emerged from those meetings certain he was on track to arranging direct talks between Zelenskyy and Putin. But the Russian leader hasn’t shown any interest in meeting with Zelenskyy and Moscow has only intensified its bombardment of Ukraine.

    Asked Friday if he was concerned that Putin was stringing him along, Trump acknowledged it was a possibility but said he was confident he could handle the Russian leader.

    “I’ve been played all my life by the best of them, and I came out really well,” Trump said. He added, “I think I’m pretty good at this stuff.”

    Megerian reported from West Palm Beach, Fla. AP writer Susie Blann in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed reporting.

    Originally Published:

    Aamer Madhani, Seung Min Kim, Michelle L. Price, Chris Megerian

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  • President Trump threatens Hamas with force if bloodshed persists in Gaza: ‘We will have no choice but to go in and kill them’

    WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday warned Hamas “we will have no choice but to go in and kill them” if internal bloodshed persists in Gaza.

    The grim warning from Trump came after he previously downplayed the internal violence in the territory since a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect last week in the two-year war.

    Trump later clarified he won’t send U.S. troops into Gaza after launching the threat against Hamas.

    “It’s not going to be us,” Trump said in an exchange with reporters. “We won’t have to. There are people very close, very nearby that will go in and they’ll do the trick very easily, but under our auspices.”

    The president did not specify if he was speaking of Israel, but action by Israeli forces could risk violating terms of the ceasefire agreement.

    The president’s shift in tone with Hamas was notable.

    Trump said Tuesday that Hamas had taken out “a couple of gangs that were very bad” and had killed a number of gang members. “That didn’t bother me much, to be honest with you,” he said.

    The Republican president did not say how he would follow through on his threat posted on his Truth Social platform, and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment seeking clarity.

    But Trump also made clear he had limited patience for the killings that Hamas was carrying out against rival factions inside the devastated territory.

    “They will disarm, and if they don’t do so, we will disarm them, and it’ll happen quickly and perhaps violently,” Trump said.

    The Hamas-run police maintained a high degree of public security after the group seized power in Gaza 18 years ago, while also cracking down on dissent. They largely melted away in recent months as Israeli forces seized large areas of Gaza and targeted Hamas security forces with airstrikes.

    Powerful local families and armed gangs, including some anti-Hamas factions backed by Israel, stepped into the void. Many are accused of hijacking humanitarian aid and selling it for profit, contributing to Gaza’s starvation crisis.

    The ceasefire plan introduced by Trump had called for all hostages — living and dead — to be handed over by a deadline that expired Monday. But under the deal, if that didn’t happen, Hamas was to share information about deceased hostages and try to hand them over as soon as possible.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel “will not compromise” and demanded that Hamas fulfill the requirements laid out in the ceasefire deal about the return of hostages’ bodies.

    Hamas’ armed wing said in a statement Wednesday that the group honored the ceasefire’s terms and handed over the remains of the hostages it had access to.

    The United States announced last week that it is sending about 200 troops to Israel to help support and monitor the ceasefire deal in Gaza as part of a team that includes partner nations and nongovernmental organizations. But U.S. officials have stressed that U.S. forces would not set foot in Gaza.

    Israeli officials have also been angered by the pace of the return of the remains of dead hostages the group had been holding in captivity. Hamas had agreed to return 28 bodies as part of the ceasefire deal in addition to 20 living hostages, who were released earlier this week.

    Hamas has assured the U.S. through intermediaries that it is working to return dead hostages, according to two senior U.S. advisers. The advisers, who were not authorized to comment publicly and briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity, said they do not believe Hamas has violated the deal.

    Originally Published:

    Aamer Madhani

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  • Trump floats San Francisco as next target for crime crackdown

    Lauren Dezenski

    (Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump said his administration would look to San Francisco as the next target of his federal crime crackdown, which has been mostly directed at Democrat-run cities.

    “I’m going to be strongly recommending at the request of government officials, which is always nice, that you start looking at San Francisco,” Trump said during a White House event on Wednesday, joined by FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi. “I think we can make San Francisco — there’s one of our great cities 10 years ago, 15 years ago. Now it’s a mess, and we have great support in San Francisco.”

    Trump has moved to deploy US troops and federal law enforcement officials to major cities to target crime and counter demonstrations against his deportations of undocumented migrants even in the face of legal challenges. Trump has deployed National Guard personnel to Los Angeles, Washington, DC, Memphis, Chicago and Portland, claiming that Democratic state and local officials have failed to protect citizens and allowed violence to spiral out of control.

    Critics have accused Trump of exaggerating the threat and in Washington cast the deployments as a public relations exercise in a city where violent crime has fallen from post-pandemic highs. The Portland and Chicago deployments are currently facing legal challenges, but Trump has repeatedly floated expanding his efforts. The Los Angeles deployment was ruled unconstitutional earlier this year by a judge.

    Trump on Wednesday at the White House also announced the results of Operation Summer Heat, an effort he said was carried out in major cities to arrest violent criminals.

    “Over the past few months, FBI officers in all 50 states made crushing violent crime a top enforcement priority. That’s what they did, rounding up and arresting thousands of the most violent and dangerous criminals,” Trump said.

    The president said that the effort was carried out “in many cities that people didn’t know about. We kept it a little quiet, and it had a big impact.”

    According to Trump, the FBI arrested over 8,000 violent criminals during the operation in major cities, including 725 individuals wanted for violent crimes against children and murderers.

    –With assistance from Jennifer A. Dlouhy.

    More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

    ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.

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    Bloomberg

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  • JD Vance warns ‘deeper’ cuts ahead for federal workers as shutdown enters 12th day

    Vice President JD Vance on Sunday said there will be deeper cuts to the federal workforce the longer the government shutdown goes on, adding to the uncertainty facing hundreds of thousands who are already furloughed without pay amid the stubborn stalemate in Congress.

    Vance warned that as the federal shutdown entered its 12th day, the new cuts would be “painful,” even as he said the Trump administration worked to ensure that the military is paid this week and some services would be preserved for low-income Americans, including food assistance.

    Still, hundreds of thousands of government workers have been furloughed in recent days and, in a court filing on Friday, the Office of Management and Budget said well over 4,000 federal employees would soon be fired in conjunction with the shutdown.

    “The longer this goes on, the deeper the cuts are going to be,” Vance said on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.” “To be clear, some of these cuts are going to be painful. This is not a situation that we relish. This is not something that we’re looking forward to, but the Democrats have dealt us a pretty difficult set of cards.”

    Labor unions have already filed a lawsuit to stop the aggressive move by President Donald Trump’s budget office, which goes far beyond what usually happens in a government shutdown, further inflaming tensions between the Republicans who control Congress and the Democratic minority.

    The shutdown began on Oct. 1 after Democrats rejected a short-term funding fix and demanded that the bill include an extension of federal subsidies for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. The expiration of those subsidies at the end of the year will result in monthly cost increases for millions.

    Trump and Republican leaders have said they are open to negotiations on the health subsidies, but insist the government must reopen first.

    For now, negotiations are virtually nonexistent. Dug in as ever, House leaders from both parties pointed fingers at each other in rival Sunday appearances on “Fox News Sunday.”

    “We have repeatedly made clear that we will sit down with anyone, anytime, anyplace,” said House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York. “Republicans control the House, the Senate and the presidency. It’s unfortunate they’ve taken a my-way-or-the-highway approach.”

    House Speaker Mike Johnson blamed Democrats and said they “seem not to care” about the pain the shutdown is inflicting.

    “They’re trying their best to distract the American people from the simple fact that they’ve chosen a partisan fight so that they can prove to their Marxist rising base in the Democratic Party that they’re willing to fight Trump and Republicans,” he said.

    Progressive activists, meanwhile, expressed new support for the Democratic Party’s position in the shutdown fight.

    Ezra Levin, co-founder of the leading progressive protest group Indivisible, said he is “feeling good about the strength of Dem position.” He pointed to fractures in the GOP, noting that Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene publicly warned last week that health care insurance premiums would skyrocket for average Americans — including her own adult children — if nothing is done.

    “Trump and GOP are rightfully taking the blame for the shutdown and for looming premium increases,” Levin said. “Their chickens are coming home to roost.”

    And yet the Republican administration and its congressional allies are showing no signs of caving to Democratic demands or backing away from threats to use the opportunity to pursue deeper cuts to the federal workforce.

    Thousands of employees at the departments of Education, Treasury, Homeland Security and Health and Human Services, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, are set to receive layoff notices, according to spokespeople for the agencies and union representatives for federal workers.

    “You hear a lot of Senate Democrats say, well, how can Donald Trump possibly lay off all of these federal workers?” Vance said. “Well, the Democrats have given us a choice between giving low-income women their food benefits and paying our troops on the one hand, and, on the other hand, paying federal bureaucrats.”

    Democrats say the firings are illegal and unnecessary.

    “They do not have to do this,” said Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “They do not have to punish people that shouldn’t find themselves in this position.”

    Originally Published:

    Steve Peoples

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