OAKLAND — A U.S. judge in California on Sunday blocked Trump administration rules, which would allow more employers to opt out of providing women with no-cost birth control, from taking effect in 13 states and Washington, D.C. Judge Haywood Gilliam granted a request for a preliminary injunction by California, 12...
Pompeo Starts Middle East Visit to Ramp Up Pressure on Iran
AMMAN, Jordan — The Trump administration is doubling down on commercial and diplomatic efforts in the coming weeks to "put real pressure on Iran," U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said at the start of a Mideast tour Tuesday. Pompeo is meeting with U.S. allies in the region, including stops...
Trump Official Says 2018 Tax Refunds Will Go out on Time
WASHINGTON — A Trump administration official says that tax refunds will go out on time during the partial government shutdown. With the shutdown in its third week there had been mounting concerns over an IRS delay in sending refunds. But Russell Vought, acting director of the White House budget office,...
Park Service to Tap into Entrance Fees to Keep Operating
WASHINGTON — The National Park Service says it is taking the extraordinary step of dipping into entrance fees to pay for staffing at its highly visited parks in the wake of the partial government shutdown. P. Daniel Smith, deputy director of the service, said in a statement Sunday that the...
USDA Moves to Tighten Restrictions on Food Stamps
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is setting out to do what this year's farm bill didn't: tighten work requirements for millions of Americans who receive federal food assistance. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday is proposing a rule that would restrict the ability of states to exempt work-eligible adults...
Trump Administration Moves to Ban Bump Stocks
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration moved Tuesday to officially ban bump stocks, which allow semi-automatic weapons to fire rapidly like automatic firearms, and has made them illegal to possess beginning in late March. The devices will be banned under a federal law that prohibits machine guns, according to a senior...
Will Everyone Be Counted In 2020 Census? California Hopes So.
Counting every person in the United States is the goal of the census. Why? For one, the population totals from the decennial census determine the number of seats each state has in the House of Representatives. Members of the House make and pass federal laws that impact the lives of...
US to Ease Oil Drilling Protections for Imperiled Bird
BILLINGS, Mont. — The Trump administration moved forward Thursday with plans to ease restrictions on oil and natural gas drilling and other activities across millions of acres in the American West that were put in place to protect an imperiled bird species. Land management documents released by the U.S. Interior Department...
In a Twist, Trump Fights to Keep Some Palestinian Aid Alive
WASHINGTON — For two years, the Trump administration has unabashedly slashed U.S. aid to the Palestinians. Now, amid signs it may finally roll out its long-awaited Middle East peace plan, the administration is scrambling to save what little remaining Palestinian assistance it provides. The striking turnabout is the result of...
US Urged to Send Ebola Experts in as Congo Outbreak Worsens
JOHANNESBURG — Global health experts are urging the Trump administration to allow U.S. government disease specialists — "some of the world's most experienced" — to return to northeastern Congo to help fight the second-largest Ebola outbreak in history. The U.S. experts have been sidelined for weeks, ordered away from the...