WASHINGTON — Wondering when Supreme Court nominations became so politically contentious? Only about 222 years ago — when the Senate voted down George Washington’s choice for chief justice. This year’s brouhaha sees Senate Democrats and Republicans bracing for a showdown over President Donald Trump’s nominee, Neil Gorsuch. It’s the latest twist in the political wrangling [...]
WASHINGTON — Jared Kushner has been a power player able to avoid much of the harsh scrutiny that comes with working in the White House. But this week he’s found that even the president’s son-in-law takes his turn in the spotlight. In a matter of days, Kushner, a senior Trump adviser, drew headlines for leaving [...]
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has now laid out exactly what he wants in the “big, beautiful wall” that he’s promised to build on the U.S.-Mexico border. But his effort to build a huge barrier to those attempting to enter the U.S. illegally faces impediments of its own. It’s still not clear how Trump will [...]
WASHINGTON — For President Donald Trump, facts often follow fiction. Since the early days of his campaign, the president has developed a pattern: Make an outrageous claim. Dig in as the criticism rolls. And wait until, eventually, something emerges that can be spun as vindication of the earlier claim. It happened again last week when [...]
WASHINGTON (AP) — Middle-age white Americans with limited education are increasingly dying younger, on average, than other middle-age U.S. adults, a trend driven by their dwindling economic opportunities, research by two Princeton University economists has found. The economists, Anne Case and Angus Deaton, argue in a paper released Thursday that the loss of steady middle-income [...]
ABOARD THE USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH (AP) — The crowded skies over Islamic State-held territory have complicated U.S.-led airstrikes targeting the extremists, though military planners are working to keep fliers safe, an American pilot involved in the bombing campaign has told The Associated Press. Lt. Cmdr. William Vuillet also described the efforts American forces use [...]
WASHINGTON (AP) — A rare poll of Cuban public opinion has found that most of the island’s citizens approve of normal relations with the United States and large majorities want more tourists to visit and the expansion of private business ownership. In a poll of 840 people taken in Cuba late last year by the [...]
WASHINGTON — Reality is catching up with President Donald Trump. Hours after Trump dismissed reports that his campaign associates were being scrutinized for colluding with Russia as “fake news,” FBI Director James Comey confirmed the investigation is real. The FBI chief also repeatedly insisted there was no evidence to back up Trump’s explosive claim that [...]
WASHINGTON (AP) — Quick, name a Supreme Court justice. OK, name three. One of the current justices, Stephen Breyer, once noted wryly that their names are less well-known than those of the Three Stooges. But from the time Americans roll out of bed in the morning until they turn in, the court’s rulings are woven [...]
WASHINGTON (AP) — When Democrats question Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch at his Senate confirmation hearing next week, they’ll probably ask a lot about something called “Chevron deference.” For the record, it is not about letting someone ahead of you in line at the gas station. But it is a legal concept Gorsuch has addressed [...]