ATLANTA — Tuesday's midterm elections will mark the first nationwide voting since Russia targeted state election systems in the 2016 presidential race, with federal, state and local officials seeking to reassure the public their voting systems are secure. There have been no signs so far that Russia or any other...
Candidates Make Final Appeals to California’s Lopsided Electorate
LOS ANGELES — Thousands of volunteers knocked on doors and dialed phones Monday while candidates across California made their final arguments to voters in an election where Democrats look to keep their stranglehold on state offices and add to their advantage in the 53-seat congressional delegation. Polls will be open...
Fox, NBC and Facebook Turn Down Trump Ad Deemed Racist
NEW YORK — NBC, Fox News Channel and Facebook all said Monday they will stop airing President Donald Trump's campaign advertisement (shown below) that featured an immigrant convicted of killing two police officers. CNN had rejected the same ad, declaring it racist. Asked before leaving for campaign rallies if he...
Iran President Warns of ‘War Situation’ as Sanctions Resume
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran greeted the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions on Monday with air defense drills and a statement from President Hassan Rouhani that the nation faces a "war situation," raising Mideast tensions as America's maximalist approach to the Islamic Republic takes hold. The sanctions end all economic benefits America...
Nothing Certain on the Eve of First Trump-Era Elections
WASHINGTON — The day of reckoning for American politics has nearly arrived. Voters on Tuesday will decide the $5 billion debate between President Donald Trump's take-no-prisoner politics and the Democratic Party's super-charged campaign to end the GOP's monopoly in Washington and statehouses across the nation. There are indications that an oft-discussed "blue...
AP Fact Check: Trump’s Hype on Migrants, Illegal Immigration
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is spreading misleading rhetoric about the nature of Central American migrants heading to the U.S. border and grossly inflating the number of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. In a speech Thursday, he suggested without evidence that the migrant caravans are full of hardened criminals;...
US Reimposes All Iran Sanctions Lifted Under Nuclear Deal
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Friday announced the reimposition of all U.S. sanctions on Iran that had been lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal. The sanctions will take effect Monday and cover Iran's shipping, financial and energy sectors. It's the second batch of penalties that the administration has reimposed...
Trump Says Border Troops Could Hit 15K, Surprising Pentagon
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the number of military troops deployed to the U.S.-Mexican border could reach 15,000 — roughly double the number the Pentagon said it currently plans for a mission whose dimensions are shifting daily. The Pentagon said "more than 7,000" troops were being sent...
US Calls for Yemen Cease-Fire, Political Talks
WASHINGTON — At an apparent turning point in one of its hardest foreign policy challenges, the Trump administration is demanding a cease-fire and the launch of U.N.-led political talks to end the Saudi-Iran proxy war in Yemen. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis called for a halt to hostilities within 30 days....
AP Explains: How US Birthright Citizenship Emerged, Endured
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — President Donald Trump said Tuesday he wants to end a constitutional right that automatically grants citizenship to any baby born in the United States. Trump, in an interview with "Axios on HBO," said his goal is halting guaranteed citizenship for babies of noncitizens and unauthorized immigrants. U.S. citizenship through...