Skip to main content
Cloudy icon
78º
Join Insider
WEATHER ALERT

POLITICS/GOVERNMENT

First lady of China Peng Liyuan, right, and first lady Melania Trump, pose for a photo with choir students from the Hope Chinese School at the Smithsonian's National Museum Of Asian Art, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Washington. (Finn Gomez/Pool Photo via AP)

Melania Trump takes China's first lady on a museum outing that's watched for diplomacy and style

Read full article: Melania Trump takes China's first lady on a museum outing that's watched for diplomacy and style

First ladies Melania Trump and Peng Liyuan have toured the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art, celebrating cultural ties between the United States and China during China’s diplomatic visit to Washington.

The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln arrives at the port in Laem Chabang, Chonburi, Thailand, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
28 minutes ago

8 sailors in Lincoln carrier group attempted suicide on extended deployment, Navy leader says

Read full article: 8 sailors in Lincoln carrier group attempted suicide on extended deployment, Navy leader says

The Navy's top civilian leader says eight sailors from the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group attempted suicide during an extended deployment to support the Iran war.

President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping participate in an arrival ceremony in the Grand Foyer of the White House, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
9 minutes ago

The Latest: Trump hails ‘truly great friendship’ with China’s Xi Jinping as summit begins

Read full article: The Latest: Trump hails ‘truly great friendship’ with China’s Xi Jinping as summit begins

President Donald Trump hailed the “truly great friendship” he’s forged with Xi Jinping as the Chinese leader began his highly anticipated state visit.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright speaks at a news conference at a PPL Corp. facility to announce that the Energy Department will spend almost $2 billion to try to squeeze more electricity out of the nation's aging and stressed power grid, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Allentown, Pa. (AP Photo/Marc Levy)
54 minutes ago

Energy Department will spend $2 billion to squeeze more electricity from the aging power grid

Read full article: Energy Department will spend $2 billion to squeeze more electricity from the aging power grid

The Energy Department says it will spend almost $2 billion to try to squeeze more electricity out of the nation’s aging and stressed power grid.

CNN Senior Photojournalist and contributing Producer Peter Morris, arrives on the White House grounds, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
8 minutes ago

3 US news outlets return to White House after judge orders Trump to lift ban

Read full article: 3 US news outlets return to White House after judge orders Trump to lift ban

Reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico returned to the White House hours after a federal judge temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s ban of the three news outlets.

A group of local activist from Washington DC, demonstrating during the March on Washington rally at the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

How sweeping job cuts have reshaped life and job prospects in the DC area, according to a new survey

Read full article: How sweeping job cuts have reshaped life and job prospects in the DC area, according to a new survey

Federal job cuts have deeply affected the Washington, D.C. area, according to a new survey from Gallup and the Greater Washington Community Foundation.

People visit the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

At 10 years old, Smithsonian's Black museum is undaunted amid pressure from Trump administration

Read full article: At 10 years old, Smithsonian's Black museum is undaunted amid pressure from Trump administration

The National Museum of African American History and Culture will celebrate its 10-year anniversary with packed exhibits, sold-out galas and high-profile panels.

Dr. Heidi Overton testifies during her nomination to be Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration at the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

FDA nominee voices support for vaccines at Senate hearing scrutinizing Trump administration efforts

Read full article: FDA nominee voices support for vaccines at Senate hearing scrutinizing Trump administration efforts

President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration is voicing support for the safety of vaccines.

President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping meet in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
43 minutes ago

Trump hails deep friendship with Xi as China's leader urges 'healthy' competition between 2 powers

Read full article: Trump hails deep friendship with Xi as China's leader urges 'healthy' competition between 2 powers

President Donald Trump is hailing the “truly great friendship” he's forged with Xi Jinping as the Chinese leader began his highly anticipated state visit at the White House.

FILE - An official voting center sign stands outside of a polling location on May 26, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Gabriela Passos, File)

State error in Texas creates huge backlog in voter registration applications as midterm voting nears

Read full article: State error in Texas creates huge backlog in voter registration applications as midterm voting nears

County election offices throughout Texas are scrambling to process a massive backlog of voter registration applications stemming from an error at the state level.

FILE - President Donald Trump, left, shakes hands with Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, right, as Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, center, watches at a security agreement signing ceremony during the United Nations General Assembly, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, at the UN headquarters. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

Trump’s push to acquire Greenland almost broke NATO. The winner of it all may be ... Greenland

Read full article: Trump’s push to acquire Greenland almost broke NATO. The winner of it all may be ... Greenland

In the end, it was all kisses and laughter as U.S. President Donald Trump hailed his “fantastic” relationship with Denmark and Greenland.

FILE - The OpenAI logo is displayed on a cellphone with an image on a computer monitor generated by ChatGPT's Dall-E text-to-image model, Dec. 8, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

US diplomats told to say ‘super intelligence’ — not ‘artificial intelligence' — after Trump's call

Read full article: US diplomats told to say ‘super intelligence’ — not ‘artificial intelligence' — after Trump's call

The State Department is ordering diplomats in its international organizations bureau to use the term “super intelligence” instead of “artificial intelligence” in all communications following President Donald Trump’s attempt to rebrand the technology.

Work continues on the construction of the ballroom at the White House, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
1 day ago

Preservation group launches legal defense fund as it battles Trump over ballroom and other projects

Read full article: Preservation group launches legal defense fund as it battles Trump over ballroom and other projects

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has been at the forefront of efforts to halt President Donald Trump’s massive White House ballroom project.

FILE - Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, arrives at the Capitol in Washington on June 17, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
1 day ago

Maine Dems hammer Collins over report of pay-to-play probe. GOP senator calls it 'completely false'

Read full article: Maine Dems hammer Collins over report of pay-to-play probe. GOP senator calls it 'completely false'

Maine Democrats are calling for Republican Sen. Susan Collins to account for a report that alleged she was the target of a federal investigation over campaign contributions.

The E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Federal Courthouse, is seen Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Judge hears arguments without immediately ruling in lawsuit over White House ban on 3 news outlets

Read full article: Judge hears arguments without immediately ruling in lawsuit over White House ban on 3 news outlets

A federal judge weighing President Donald Trump’s ban of three news outlets from White House grounds expressed some skepticism Wednesday in response to the government’s defense of the move.

ADDS NAMES - Victims of Jeffrey Epstein sit in the front row, from left, Liz Stein, Dani Bensky, Sky Roberts, brother of a victim, Amanda Roberts, sister-in-law of a victim and Lara Blume McGee, as Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Texas state Rep. James Talarico speaks during an event in Dallas, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
1 day ago

Billionaire's political contributions make the Epstein files a focus of Ohio's US Senate race

Read full article: Billionaire's political contributions make the Epstein files a focus of Ohio's US Senate race

Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's relationship to the rich and powerful has surfaced in congressional contests across the country.

FILE - An FBI seal is displayed on a podium before a news conference at the field office in Portland, Ore., Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)

FBI investigates hackers' claim to have stolen sensitive employee data, compromised jobs website

Read full article: FBI investigates hackers' claim to have stolen sensitive employee data, compromised jobs website

The FBI says it is investigating a criminal hacking group’s claims that it had stolen “very sensitive data” belonging to thousands of agents and applicants and that it had compromised the bureau’s jobs website.

Former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who is running for U.S. Senate, holds hands with a woman following a campaign event at St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church in Goldsboro, N.C., on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)
1 day ago

Republicans say Democrats are extremists. These Democrats want to convince voters that's not true

Read full article: Republicans say Democrats are extremists. These Democrats want to convince voters that's not true

Democrats are trying to win back Congress by criticizing their own party to appeal to voters in more conservative areas.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., walks onto the stage during a Get Out the Vote campaign event supporting Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey in Boston, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)
1 day ago

Sen. Bernie Sanders unveils bill to ban artificial superintelligence and create Department of AI

Read full article: Sen. Bernie Sanders unveils bill to ban artificial superintelligence and create Department of AI

Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Greg Casar are introducing legislation that would ban artificial superintelligence, pause development of advanced AI systems and create a new Department of Artificial Intelligence.

An individual watches a protester scale a light pole and unfurl a banner to protest the upcoming State Visit by China's President Xi Jinping, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)
1 day ago

Taiwan is watching closely as Xi and Trump meet and hopes US will keep up its arms sales

Read full article: Taiwan is watching closely as Xi and Trump meet and hopes US will keep up its arms sales

Taiwan is expressing confidence that U.S. arms sales to the island will continue despite China's pressure as China’s Xi Jinping arrives in Washington to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump.

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk with China's President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Trump welcomes China's Xi to Washington with planeside ceremony and extension of trade truce

Read full article: Trump welcomes China's Xi to Washington with planeside ceremony and extension of trade truce

Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in Washington, where he was met with a rare planeside greeting from President Donald Trump, who was there to welcome his counterpart on the tarmac instead of waiting for him to drive up to the White House.

This photo taken with a smartphone shows Steve Perry, of Kansas City, holding a sign in opposition to Missouris congressional redistricting plan on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, outside the state Capitol, in Jefferson City, Mo. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb)
1 day ago

Trump-backed Missouri congressional map returns to the Supreme Court for the third time

Read full article: Trump-backed Missouri congressional map returns to the Supreme Court for the third time

The fight over Missouri's congressional map has returned to the U.S. Supreme Court for the third time.

Voters cast their ballots on the first day of early voting in Minnesota at the Elections & Voter Services building, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)
1 day ago

Administration's focus on noncitizen voting has led to 160 arrests. Experts say that shows it's rare

Read full article: Administration's focus on noncitizen voting has led to 160 arrests. Experts say that shows it's rare

A Homeland Security official says the Trump administration’s whole-of-government effort to find and prosecute noncitizens illegally on state voter rolls has resulted in about 1,600 voter fraud cases.

A sign in support of news outlets is seen at the White House press room, Sept. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
1 day ago

‘You should not be here,' Trump tells CNN at UN as standoff with media outlets persists

Read full article: ‘You should not be here,' Trump tells CNN at UN as standoff with media outlets persists

A tense moment between President Donald Trump and CNN's Kaitlan Collins is a stark reminder of how the conflict between the administration and some news outlets has escalated in just a few days.

FILE - Delivery vans are parked during a protest staged as part of a countrywide National Day of Action Tuesday, July 28, 2026, outside the main United States Postal Service headquarters in northeast Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
1 day ago

US Justice Department charges Utah postal worker with dumping mail ballots in trash during primary

Read full article: US Justice Department charges Utah postal worker with dumping mail ballots in trash during primary

The Justice Department says a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier in Utah threw out more than 300 mail ballots that were being sent to voters for the state’s June primary.

McKenna West, center, walks in a hallway before a court hearing in Dallas, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
1 day ago

US Supreme Court won’t intervene in custody dispute between California couple and surrogate

Read full article: US Supreme Court won’t intervene in custody dispute between California couple and surrogate

The U.S. Supreme Court won't intervene in a custody dispute over a 5-week-old child who was born in Texas after a surrogate refused a California couple’s wishes to have an abortion.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks to media after his meeting with President Donald Trump, Monday, Sept. 21, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
1 day ago

Republicans want to turn Mamdani into a bogeyman for the midterms. Trump just made that harder

Read full article: Republicans want to turn Mamdani into a bogeyman for the midterms. Trump just made that harder

President Donald Trump has surprised many by showing support for New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a well-known democratic socialist.

Yufang Rong, wife of U.S. citizen Youlin Chen, who she says has been wrongfully detained in China, holds a photograph of him as seen on a website about detainees on her phone, during an interview, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
1 day ago

Wife of detained Chinese American scientist hopes Trump brings up his case in Xi summit

Read full article: Wife of detained Chinese American scientist hopes Trump brings up his case in Xi summit

The wife of a detained Chinese American seismologist hopes President Donald Trump can help bring home her husband, Youlin Chen.