President Donald Trump defended his decision to wield tariffs during a campaign rally in Georgia, saying they’ve made the U.S. richer as he announced that Volkswagen AG agreed to build a new $4.2 billion Audi plant in the state.

“Think of that. 200,000 cars a year. That’s incredible,” Trump told a crowd in the city of Perry. “This ...Read more

Flávio Bolsonaro and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva were statistically tied in a poll released on the eve of Brazil’s runoff election.

Bolsonaro had 50.5% support to Lula’s 49.5%, according to the BTG Pactual/Nexus poll, a gap within the 2 percentage-point margin of error and little changed from Monday when the right-wing challenger ...Read more

NEW YORK — Mayor Zohran Mamdani cast his ballot for the midterm elections at the Metropolitan Museum of Art early Saturday — the first day of early voting in the city.

With several boxes of Dunkin' in hand, the mayor walked into the polling site at the Ruth and Harold D. Uris Center for Education on the ground floor of the 5th Avenue museum...Read more

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Top Democratic and Republican leaders are sweeping through California as the Nov. 3 election approaches, evidence of the state’s pivotal role in deciding which party will control the U.S. House of Representatives and the fate of President Donald Trump’s final two years in office.

Seizing on their party’s momentum ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Buying a home in California requires a colossal amount of money — and coming up with a 20% cash down payment of $180,000 for a median price home is a staggering hurdle for many would-be buyers.

That down payment amount is based on the statewide median $900,000 price tag for a house, according to recent data from the California...Read more

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s effect on the nation’s capital will last far longer than the results of any election — or his presidency — if he has his way.

Lawsuits over a growing number of projects are reaching critical moments as President Donald Trump seeks to start construction on a local golf course and a triumphal arch in ...Read more

HIGHLAND TOWNSHIP, Minn. — Early in-person voting opened Saturday morning across the state amid intense campaigning for Michigan’s Nov. 3 midterm elections.

Michigan law requires municipalities to begin offering early, in-person voting to registered voters on Oct. 24 and continue for nine days through Sunday, Nov. 1.

The first day ...Read more

CHICAGO — A Trump administration proposal to eliminate questions about race, ethnicity and sexual orientation from the U.S. census could hurt efforts to address inequities in Chicago and across the nation, health and civil rights advocates warn.

The proposal is part of the administration’s broader effort to eliminate diversity, equity and ...Read more

President Donald Trump cast his ballot for the midterm elections in Palm Beach on Saturday, opting to vote early in his adopted home state of Florida.

At rallies ahead of Election Day on Nov. 3, Trump has been urging Republicans to cast their ballots early, reversing course on a practice he’s long decried in a bid to mobilize the party’s ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — With less than two weeks before the Nov. 3 midterms, Democrats across the nation have plenty of reasons to feel optimistic.

President Donald Trump’s approval rating is the lowest of any president in 80 years. Pollsters, pundits and prediction markets say Democrats are likely to regain control of the U.S. House of ...Read more

NEW YORK — Democrats are banking on scoring at least some modest gains in the New York City metro area in the looming midterm congressional elections for the House of Representatives amid President Donald Trump’s deep unpopularity.

But what if the expected blue wave turns into an even bigger anti-Trump political tsunami?

As early in-...Read more

DENVER — As U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans stood inside a heated tent in Lochbuie earlier this month, he spoke about the need to protect “the economic engine” in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District as he marked the opening of Scotts Miracle-Gro’s brand new $50 million, 66,000-square-foot production facility.

Gray, leaden clouds dominated the ...Read more

DENVER — Manny Rutinel‘s campaign for a northern Colorado congressional seat can be distilled into two sentences: Gabe Evans is Donald Trump. And Rutinel is not Gabe Evans.

In the Democratic former state lawmaker’s recent hourlong debate with Evans, the Republican congressman he is seeking to unseat, Rutinel mentioned Evans and President ...Read more

CHICAGO — In a deep-blue congressional district where the Democratic nominee faces accusations of heavy-handed political maneuvering, Lyons Mayor Chris Getty has pitched himself as a middle-ground alternative.

Not a Republican. Not a Democrat, this time. Getty says he jumped into Illinois’ 4th Congressional District race to forge ...Read more

The U.S. has ordered the departure of diplomatic personnel and adjusted staffing at embassies across the Middle East as a result of Iranian efforts to target Americans, as well as threats from Houthi militants in Yemen, according to an American official.

The State Department had previously said the U.S. was ordering some diplomatic staff to ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — Written on the back of Kathy Fallon’s shirt was a vision of the future. Of a future, anyway.

Trump 2024, Trump 2028, Trump 2032.

For now, it’s still 2026, with a midterm election in just over a week. And on Friday, Fallon drove from Amelia Island for a rally with President Donald Trump on the campus of Florida Gulf Coast ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Gov. Andy Beshear has asked federal officials to reconsider a denied request of financial aid for victims of a deadly weather outbreak in Kentucky last June.

In September, President Donald Trump approved $9.1 million in public assistance to Kentucky through the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help the state recover ...Read more

LONG BEACH, Wash. — Tourist dollars are drying up in this small town at the edge of the Pacific Ocean. Foot traffic is down. Visitors have less to spend on souvenirs.

And beachgoers now bring packed lunches instead of stopping at Captain Bob's Chowder Sisters, said Melissa Huddleston, waiting for customers at her sister-in-law's shop on ...Read more

CHICAGO — President Donald Trump took to social media Thursday night with an Illinois-focused post that was notable for what it didn’t include: invective-laced attacks on Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.

Instead, the post was a get-out-the-vote message encouraging Republican turnout. It even urged supporters to...Read more