On Monday, the United States opened another chapter in its decadeslong campaign of economic pressure against Iran. The Treasury Department launched Operation Economic Outcast, describing it as an unprecedented economic campaign aimed at further isolating the Islamic Republic and those who enable it.

The objective sounds straightforward: Deprive...Read more

WASHINGTON— A federal judge temporarily blocked the U.S. Postal Service from enforcing key parts of its new restrictions on mail-in ballots, delivering the latest setback to President Donald Trump as Republicans defend their slim majority in Congress in the November midterm elections.

The order on Thursday from U.S. District Judge Indira ...Read more

The U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce is continuing its investigation into Chicago Public Schools by requesting more information on the district’s policies supporting transgender students and other diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

In a letter Thursday addressed to district CEO Macquline King, committee Chair Rep....Read more

BOISE, Idaho — The nonprofit organization behind a ballot initiative that will let Idaho voters decide this fall whether to restore access to abortion has sued Republican state officials over what it says is “confusing, biased” language set to appear on ballots.

Idahoans United for Women and Families, which formed in the wake of the U.S. ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Rep. Chuck Edwards defended himself to his House colleagues this week by telling them that he bought a gun for a male staffer — not just the two women formerly on his staff that he’s accused of sexually harassing.

And to both male and female employees, he says he gifted wine, olive oil, cookware, rum and Kennedy Center ...Read more

BOISE, Idaho — A federal judge’s recent ruling that expanded access to abortion in Idaho will now apply to just one doctor — the maternal-fetal medicine specialist who filed the lawsuit — after the Idaho Attorney General’s Office appealed the decision and filed an emergency motion to limit its scope.

Idaho District Court Judge B. Lynn...Read more

President Donald Trump on Thursday praised Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, as the onetime rival mulls a possible 2028 Republican presidential run that could see him face off with Vice President JD Vance.

Responding to a reporter’s question about Cruz “teasing” a White House campaign, Trump had nothing but compliments for the man he famously ...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — A regulatory commission gave final approval to a series of new rules targeting mail-in ballots and voter ID on Thursday, but at least some of them appear to have been blocked from taking effect in North Carolina’s elections this year.

The rules, which were passed by the Republican-majority State Board of Elections last month...Read more

WASHINGTON — Sen. Bill Cassidy is accusing abortion pill manufacturers of not meeting their legal responsibilities to ensure compliance with Food and Drug Administration safety regulations, especially when pills are sold online through third-party providers.

A report issued Thursday by Cassidy, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and...Read more

President Donald Trump’s seven-day mourning period for Dolly Parton with American flags lowered to half-staff at all government buildings is longer than the ones he ordered for Pope Francis or Charlie Kirk.

The stars-and-stripes tribute to the country music legend outstrips the four-day period Trump proclaimed for Kirk after the conservative ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump jets to Texas on Thursday to shovel more campaign cash into the Republican Party’s massive midterms war chest — even if he has been critical of some GOP lawmakers and reluctant to spend on competitive races.

Trump is slated to headline a big-dollar Republican National Committee fundraiser and stump for ...Read more

Reports from the USS Abraham Lincoln describe a crew running on almost no sleep and suffering mental strain.

The Navy’s own account acknowledged that the Lincoln spent 266 days deployed, 200 of them in a combat zone. It said that meal plans were adjusted when fresh resupply was unavailable, and that its sailors and Marines had been ...Read more

If you have seen campaign ads for the midterm elections, you have likely noticed that a major theme this year is corruption.

New Hampshire congressman and Senate candidate Chris Pappas has framed his campaign around his anti-corruption efforts in Congress, claiming that his anti-corruption record includes the fact that he “doesn’t...Read more

The U.S. Constitution is clear that the states — and the states alone — handle elections and the U.S. Supreme Court is wrong to even open up the possibility that President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting mail-in ballots can go forward. The president and the U.S. Postal Service aren’t in charge of voting practices and the lower...Read more

The Supreme Court’s ruling on Monday allowing President Donald Trump’s executive order on mail voting to go forward is stunningly insensitive to the context: Trump is trying to exercise control over elections when he has absolutely no authority to do so. In one sense, the justices decided nothing, simply saying it was too soon for federal ...Read more

In reaction to a proposal for a major overhaul to the federal Head Start program by the Trump administration, Gov. Maura Healey and three members of the Massachusetts federal delegation are calling on the president to reverse the newly proposed standards they say will “dismantle” the program in the Bay State.

The proposed changes to the ...Read more

President Donald Trump on Wednesday declared “Mission Accomplished” in Iran even as the unpopular and costly war drags on with no end in sight and no sign that the U.S. is close to achieving any of the lofty goals he set for the conflict.

Trump posted an image of himself along with Iran’s slain former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei against a...Read more

WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that New Jersey Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver is not immune from prosecution over a tense incident that unfolded outside an immigration detention center last year.

The three-judge panel declined to toss out assault charges against her, even as McIver argued her arrest interfered with her ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday offered House Republicans a window into what’s on his mind just days before they return from an August break, painting an overly rosy picture of the economy and taking a new interest in federal beef regulations.

Speaking to conservative commentator Glenn Beck, Trump repeated his message on ...Read more

Days after the top elections official in Shasta County, California, announced that he planned to hire an election denier who served prison time for tampering with voting machines, county leaders there made an extraordinary plea to state and federal authorities: Please come investigate.

A statement released by the county Tuesday afternoon said ...Read more