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Politics

FILE - Former President Donald Trump sits in Manhattan criminal court with his legal team in New York, April 15, 2024. A new AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found that only about one-third of U.S. adults think Trump did something illegal in the hush money case for which jury selection began Monday, while close to half think he did something illegal in the other three criminal cases pending against him. Still, about half of Americans would consider Trump unfit to serve as president if he is convicted. (Jabin Botsford/Pool Photo via AP)

Only 1 in 3 US adults think Trump acted illegally in New York hush money case, AP-NORC poll shows

The first criminal trial facing former President Donald Trump is also the one in which Americans are least convinced he committed a crime, a new AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll finds.

FILE - Former President Donald Trump is pictured in a Manhattan criminal court ahead of the start of jury selection in New York on April 15, 2024. The first day of Trump's history-making trial in Manhattan ended Monday with no one yet chosen to be among the panel of 12 jurors and six alternates. Dozens of people were dismissed after saying they didn't believe they could be fair, though dozens of other prospective jurors have yet to be questioned. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/Washington Post via AP, Pool, File)

Trump will return to court after first day of hush money criminal trial ends with no jurors picked

In this courtroom sketch, former President Donald Trump turns to face the audience at the beginning of his trial over charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, in Manhattan state court in New York, Monday, April 15, 2024. (Jane Rosenberg/Pool Photo via AP)

Trump trial: Why can’t Americans see or hear what is going on inside the courtroom?

FILE - Joe Biden, former Vice President, makes a visit to his childhood home in Scranton Pa., Oct. 23, 2019. President Joe Biden will return to his childhood hometown of Scranton on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, to kick off three straight days of campaigning in Pennsylvania, capitalizing on the opportunity to crisscross the battleground state while Donald Trump spends the week in a New York City courtroom for his first criminal trial. (Jason Farmer/The Times-Tribune via AP, File)

Biden returns to his Scranton roots to pitch tax plan

FILE - Supporters of Donald Trump participate in a rally in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021. The Supreme Court is hearing arguments Tuesday, April 16, 2024, over the charge of obstruction of an official proceeding that has been brought against 330 people, according to the Justice Department. The charge refers to the disruption of Congress' certification of Joe Biden's 2020 presidential election victory over former President Trump. Trump faces two obstruction charges. Next week, the justices will weigh whether Trump can be prosecuted at all for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

Charges against Trump and Jan. 6 rioters at stake as Supreme Court hears debate over obstruction law

US works to prevent an escalation across the Mideast as Biden pushes Israel to show restraint

The United States is highlighting its role in helping Israel thwart Iran’s aerial attack, and President Joe Biden on Sunday convened leaders of the Group of Seven countries in an effort to prevent a wider regional escalation and coordinate a global rebuke of Tehran.

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White House: Reports that Iran ‘meant to fail’ in its attack on Israel are ‘malarkey’

Blinken says US doesn’t seek escalation but will defend Israel against Iran

FILE - President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport, Oct. 17, 2020, in Janesville, Wis. Andrew Iverson, the director of Trump's 2020 presidential campaign in Wisconsin, who pushed allegations of widespread fraud that were ultimately debunked, has been hired to run the Republican Party of Wisconsin heading into the November 2024 election. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

FILE - President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport, Oct. 17, 2020, in Janesville, Wis. Andrew Iverson, the director of Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign in Wisconsin, who pushed allegations of widespread fraud that were ultimately debunked, has been hired to run the Republican Party of Wisconsin heading into the November 2024 election. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Former Trump staffer who said to ‘fan the flame’ after 2020 loss hired to lead Wisconsin GOP

The director of Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign in Wisconsin who pushed allegations of widespread fraud that were ultimately debunked has been hired to run the Republican Party of Wisconsin heading into the November election.

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Donald Trump and Lindsey Graham are again at odds, now over abortion. The strife could help both men

Tax Day reveals a major split in how Joe Biden and Donald Trump would govern

FILE - Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden, right, answers a question as President Donald Trump listens during the second and final presidential debate Oct. 22, 2020, in Nashville, Tenn. Twelve news organizations issued a joint statement calling on the presumptive presidential nominees President Biden and former President Trump to agree to debates during the 2024 campaign. ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox, PBS, NBC, NPR and The Associated Press all signed on to the letter. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, Pool, File)

News organizations urge Biden and Trump to commit to presidential debates during the 2024 campaign

White House

FILE - House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 28, 2024. The House Oversight Committee holds a hearing on the business dealings of President Biden's family as Republicans have hit a near-standstill in their impeachment inquiry. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

White House rejects long-shot House Republican effort to get President Joe Biden to testify

Congress

FILE - Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas appears before the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Capitol Hill, April 10, 2024, in Washington. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-la., says he is sending impeachment charges against Mayorkas to the Senate on Tuesday, April 16, forcing senators to convene a trial on the allegations that Mayorkas has "willfully and systematically" refused to enforce existing immigration laws. While the Senate is obligated to convene a trial under the rules of impeachment, Democrats are expected to dismiss or table the charges before any of the arguments are even underway. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

House to send Mayorkas impeachment articles to the Senate, forcing a trial

Supreme Court

Attorney Lisa Blatt, of Williams & Connolly LLP, poses for a photograph in front of the Supreme Court, Monday, April 8, 2024, in Washington. Blatt will argue her 50th case before the Supreme Court later this month. She will have argued more cases before the Supreme Court than any other woman. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Nearing 50 Supreme Court arguments in, lawyer Lisa Blatt keeps winning

More politics news

FILE - Airman 1st Class D'elbrah Assamoi, from Cote D'Ivoire, signs her U.S. certificate of citizenship after the Basic Military Training Coin Ceremony at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, in San Antonio, April 26, 2023. The Army and Air Force say they are on track to meet their recruiting goals in 2024, reversing previous shortfalls using a swath of new programs and policy changes. But the Navy, while improving, expects once again to fall short. (Vanessa R. Adame/U.S. Air Force via AP, File)

New recruiting programs put Army, Air Force on track to meet enlistment goals. Navy will fall short

The Army and Air Force say they are on track to meet their recruiting goals this year, reversing previous shortfalls using a swath of new programs and policy changes.

FILE - Abortion-rights protestors march between the Indiana Statehouse and the Indiana State Library where Vice President Kamala Harris was meeting with Indiana legislators to discuss reproductive rights, July 25, 2022, in Indianapolis. After a near-total ban on abortions went into effect in August 2023, some Indiana Republicans want access to reports detailing each abortion still performed in the state. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)

Indiana limits abortion data for privacy under near-total ban, but some GOP candidates push back

Some Indiana Republicans in key campaigns for office are fighting for access to detailed abortion reports that the health department stopped releasing to protect patient privacy under a near-total ban on the procedure.

Former President Donald Trump speaks to the press in Manhattan state court in New York, Monday, April 15, 2024, after the first day of his trial over charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016. (Angela Weiss/Pool Photo via AP)

Donald Trump brings his campaign to the courthouse as his criminal hush money trial begins

Former President Donald Trump spent his first day on trial as a criminal defendant lashing out at the judge and prosecutors, casting himself as a victim and angrily posting on social media.

In this image provided by the Figures for Congress campaign, Shomari Figures poses for a photo. Voters in a new Alabama congressional district at the center of an ongoing legal and political dispute will return to the polls Tuesday, April 16, 2024, to select the nominees in a U.S. House contest. Figures and Anthony Daniels, the state House Minority Leader, will compete for the Democratic nomination in Alabama's 2nd Congressional District after neither candidate received the vote majority needed in the March 5 primary to avoid Tuesday's runoff. (Terri Baskin/Figures for Congress via AP, File)

Voters to decide primary runoffs in Alabama’s new 2nd Congressional District

Alabama voters are set to decide party nominees for the state’s 2nd Congressional District. The outcome of the runoffs will set the match for the closely watched November race.

FILE - The Michigan Capitol is seen, May 24, 2023, in Lansing, Mich. Democrats are hoping to win back a majority in the deadlocked Michigan House and regain full control of state government in two special elections on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

Democrats seek to seize control of deadlocked Michigan House in special elections

Democrats are hoping to win back a majority in the deadlocked Michigan House and regain control of the state government in two special elections.

FILE - The New York Capitol is seen, Dec. 14, 2020, in Albany, N.Y. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, on Monday, April 15, 2024, announced the framework of a $237 billion budget that includes broad plans to to drive new housing construction, address the influx of migrants and crack down on illegal marijuana shops. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink, File)

Hochul announces budget outline as lawmakers continue to hash out details

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has announced the framework of a $237 billion budget that includes broad plans to drive new housing construction, address the influx of migrants and crack down on illegal marijuana shops.

Rep. Aftyn Behn, D-Nashville, talks a bill brought to the House floor by Rep. Mary Littleton, R-Dickson, that would require parents are notified of a student's gender identity or intention to transition to a gender different from the person's sex at birth Monday, April 15, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)

Tennessee schools would have to out transgender students to parents under bill heading to governor

Tennessee would join the ranks of states where public school employees have to out transgender students to their parents under a bill advancing in the Republican-supermajority Legislature.

FILE - The lectern purchased by the Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders administration in June 2023 sits in a corner in the Governor's Conference Room at the state Capitol, Sept. 26, 2023, in Little Rock, Ark. Sanders' office potentially violated state laws on purchasing state property and government records when it purchased a $19,000 lectern for the Republican governor that's prompted nationwide scrutiny, an audit requested by lawmakers said Monday, April 15, 2024. (Thomas Metthe/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette via AP, File)

Audit says Arkansas governor’s office potentially violated laws with $19,000 lectern purchase

A long-awaited audit on a $19,000 lectern bought for Republican Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee cites multiples potential violations of state law in the item’s purchase.

Matt Ludwig, left, Jessica Ludwig holding a a photo of their daughter Jillian, sons, Trevor and Shane, right, react after a bill passed in the House that would allow a judge to send a person facing criminal charges, but not competent for trial, to a mental health facility and the person would not be able to processes or purchase a handgun Monday, April 15, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. The bill is named for Jillian Ludwig, a Belmont University student killed last year by a stray bullet shot allegedly by a man the court had previously declared mentally incompetent. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)

Tennessee lawmakers pass bill to involuntarily commit some defendants judged incompetent for trial

Tennessee’s Republican-led Legislature has unanimously passed a bill that would involuntarily commit certain criminal defendants for inpatient treatment.

Robbie Fletcher, left, chats with Kentucky state Sen. Gerald Neal after Fletcher spoke to a Senate committee on Friday, April 12, 2024, in Frankfort, Ky. Fletcher won state Senate confirmation on Monday, April 15, 2024, to become Kentucky's next education commissioner. (AP Photo/Bruce Schreiner)

Kentucky Senate confirms Robbie Fletcher as next state education commissioner

Veteran school administrator Robbie Fletcher has won state Senate confirmation to become Kentucky’s next education commissioner.

Revised budget adjustment removes obstacle as Maine lawmakers try to wrap up work

The Maine Legislature’s spending committee has revised its supplemental budget proposal in response to complaints from both Republicans and the governor, removing a late obstacle as lawmakers try to wrap up their work this week.

Lloyd Omdahl speaks at a press conference in April 1987, shortly after being appointed lieutenant governor in the George Sinner administration, in Bismarck, N.D. Former North Dakota lieutenant governor and newspaper columnist Lloyd Omdahl has died Sunday, April 14, 2024, at age 93. Omdahl was the last Democrat to serve as lieutenant governor in North Dakota, the Bismarck Tribune reported. (Douglas Van Tassel/The Bismarck Tribune via AP)

Lloyd Omdahl, a former North Dakota lieutenant governor and newspaper columnist, dies at 93

Former North Dakota lieutenant governor and newspaper columnist Lloyd Omdahl has died at 93. The Bismarck Tribune reports that Omdahl was the last Democrat to serve as lieutenant governor in North Dakota.

FILE - The Supreme Court of the United States is seen in Washington, March 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades, File)

Supreme Court allows Idaho to enforce its ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth

The Supreme Court is allowing Idaho to enforce its ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth while lawsuits over the law proceed, reversing lower courts.

FILE - Maine's Democratic Gov. Janet Mills delivers her State of the State address, Jan. 30, 2024, at the State House in Augusta, Maine. Maine will become the latest to join a multistate effort to elect the president by popular vote with the Democratic governor's announcement Monday, April 15, that she's letting the proposal become law without her signature. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

Maine joins compact to elect the president by popular vote but it won’t come into play this November

Maine is joining a multistate effort to elect the president by popular vote with the governor’s announcement that she’ll let the proposal become law without her signature.

Randal Gaines defeats Katie Bernhardt to become new chair of Louisiana Democratic Party

The Louisiana Democratic Party has new leadership. Randal Gaines, a former state representative, was selected Saturday as the political group’s new chair after a set of procedural moves ended with him being the only candidate nominated for the position.

FILE - The Kentucky Capitol is seen, Jan. 14, 2020, in Frankfort, Ky. Legislation aimed at improving the math skills of Kentucky students won final passage Monday, April 15, 2024, as lawmakers considered the final stacks of bills before concluding this year's legislative session. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, File)

Bill meant to improve math skills passes as Kentucky lawmakers reach end of legislative session

Legislation aimed at improving the math skills of Kentucky students has won final passage as state lawmakers considered the final stacks of bills before concluding this year’s session.

FILE - Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers speaks prior to President Joe Biden's appearance at an event about canceling student debt, Monday, April 8, 2024, at the Madison Area Technical College Truax campus in Madison, Wis. Attorneys with Wisconsin's largest business lobbying group asked the state Supreme Court on Monday, April 15, to strike down Evers' use of a partial veto to lock in a school funding increase for the next 400 years. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf, File)

Lawsuit asks Wisconsin Supreme Court to strike down governor’s 400-year veto

Attorneys with Wisconsin’s largest business lobbying group have asked the state Supreme Court =to strike down Democratic Gov.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, left, Secretary of State Shirley Weber takes questions after announcing a lawsuit to protect voter rights at a news conference at the California Department of Justice in Los Angeles Monday, April. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

California officials sue Huntington Beach over voter ID law passed at polls

California has filed a lawsuit challenging a voter identification law passed at the polls this year in the city of Huntington Beach.

Appalachian State chancellor stepping down this week, citing “significant health challenges”

The Appalachian State University chancellor will step down later this week, citing health issues. Sheri Everts has been chancellor since 2014.

Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small speaks at an event in Atlantic City, N.J., on Feb. 2, 2024. On April 15, Small and his wife LaQuetta, the city's superintendent of schools, were charged with child endangerment and assault regarding their teenage daughter. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

Atlantic City mayor and wife charged with abusing and assaulting teenage daughter

Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small and his wife LaQuetta have been charged with endangering and abusing their teenage daughter.

FILE - A hearse and debris can be seen at the rear of the Return to Nature Funeral Home, Oct. 5, 2023, in Penrose, Colo. The couple who owned the Colorado funeral home — where 190 decaying bodies were discovered last year — have been indicted on federal charges for fraudulently obtaining nearly $900,000 in pandemic relief funds from the U.S. government, according to court documents unsealed Monday, April 15, 2024. (Jerilee Bennett/The Gazette via AP, File)

Owners of a Colorado funeral home where 190 decaying bodies were found are charged with COVID fraud

Federal authorities have indicted the owners of a Colorado funeral home on criminal charges for fraudulently obtaining pandemic relief funds from the U.S. government.

FILE - An exam room is seen inside Planned Parenthood on March 10, 2023, in Fairview Heights, Ill. Workers are entitled to workplace accommodations for abortions and some pregnancy-related conditions under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, according to federal regulations published Monday, April 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

New rules for Pregnant Workers Fairness Act include divisive accommodations for abortion

Workers are entitled to time off and other job accommodations for abortions under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, according to finalized federal regulations published Monday.

US Reps. Green and Kustoff avoid Tennessee primaries after GOP removes opponents from ballot

Tennessee U.S. Reps. Mark Green and David Kustoff will no longer face opponents in the August primary after state Republican Party officials disqualified their opponents due to challenges over their status as “bona fide” party members.

Man killed, 9 others injured in shooting during Arkansas block party

Authorities are investigating a shooting that left one man dead and at least nine others injured at a block party in Arkansas.

Former President Donald Trump arrives at court for the start of jury selection in his historic hush money trial, Monday, April 15, 2024 in New York. (Angela Weiss/Pool via AP)

Trump Media stock slides again to bring it more than 66% below its peak as euphoria fades

The stock price for Donald Trump’s social media company is sliding again. Trump Media & Technology Group closed Monday down 18.4% as more euphoria fades off the stock.

FILE - The Federal Correctional Institution stands in Dublin, Calif., Dec. 5, 2022. The federal Bureau of Prisons says it is planning to close a women’s prison in California known as the “rape club” despite attempts to reform the troubled facility after an Associated Press investigation exposed rampant staff-on-inmate sexual abuse. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

Bureau of Prisons to close California women’s prison where inmates have been subjected to sex abuse

The beleaguered federal Bureau of Prisons says it is planning to close a women’s prison in California known as the “rape club” despite attempts to reform the troubled facility after an Associated Press investigation exposed rampant staff-on-inmate sexual abuse.

New Orleans shooting that killed 1, injured 11 renews calls for changes to new concealed carry law

A shooting outside a New Orleans nightclub over the weekend has prompted renewed calls from city officials for changes to a pending Louisiana law allowing people to carry concealed handguns without a permit.

FILE - Associate Justice Clarence Thomas joins other members of the Supreme Court as they pose for a new group portrait, at the Supreme Court building in Washington, Oct. 7, 2022. Thomas is absent from the court Monday with no explanation. The 75-year-old Thomas also is not participating remotely in arguments, as justices sometimes do when they are ill or otherwise can’t be there in person. Chief Justice John Roberts announced Thomas’ absence, saying that his colleague would still participate in the day’s cases, based on the briefs and the transcripts of the arguments. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Justice Thomas misses Supreme Court session Monday with no explanation

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is absent from the court Monday with no explanation. The 75-year-old Thomas also is not participating remotely in arguments, as justices sometimes do when they are ill or otherwise can’t be there in person.

FILE - The Supreme Court of the United States is seen in Washington, March 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades, File)

Supreme Court rejects appeal from Black Lives Matter activist over Louisiana protest lawsuit

The Supreme Court is allowing a lawsuit to go forward against a Black Lives Matter activist who led a protest in Louisiana in which a police officer was injured.

FILE - The exterior of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) building is seen in Washington, on March 22, 2013. The IRS is promoting the improvements its made to its customer service since its received tens of billions in new funds through Democrats' Inflation Reduction Act. Agency leadership is trying to bring attention to what's been done to repair the agency's image as an outdated and maligned tax collector. Monday, April 15, 2024, is the last day to submit tax returns or to file an extension. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

It’s Tax Day. And your refund may be big this year

On this Tax Day, refunds are looking a bit bigger for taxpayers. According to the latest IRS statistics, the average refund this season has been $3,011, up $123 compared to last year.

The White House is seen as dusk falls, Sunday, April 14, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Biden administration agrees to provide $6.4 billion to Samsung for making computer chips in Texas

The Biden administration has reached an agreement to provide up to $6.4 billion in direct funding for Samsung Electronics to develop a computer chip manufacturing and research cluster in Texas.

FILE - Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego speaks to reporters at the state Capitol in Phoenix on April 9, 2024. The near-total abortion ban resurrected last week by the Arizona Supreme Court dates to 1864, a time when gold-seekers were moving in, dueling had to be regulated and the U.S. Army was forcibly removing Native Americans from their land. The law's revival is just the latest instance of long-dormant restrictions influencing current abortion policies after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. (AP Photo/Jonathan Copper)

The Civil War raged and fortune-seekers hunted for gold. This era produced Arizona’s abortion ban

The near-total abortion ban resurrected last week by the Arizona Supreme Court dates to 1864, a time when gold-seekers were moving in, dueling had to be regulated and settlers were increasingly encroaching on tribal lands.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump sits inside a Manhattan criminal court in New York, on Monday, April 15, 2024. The hush money trial of former President Trump begins Monday with jury selection. It's a singular moment for American history as the first criminal trial of a former U.S. commander in chief. (Jeenah Moon/Pool Photo via AP)

Trump’s historic hush money trial gets underway; 1st day ends without any jurors being picked

The historic hush money trial of Donald Trump got underway Monday with the arduous process of selecting a jury to hear the case charging the former president with falsifying business records in order to stifle stories about his sex life.