LOS ANGELES -- The Trump administration's decision to cancel a $927 million grant to California's troubled high speed rail project and claw back $2.5 billion in funds already spent has thrust the federal government into uncharted legal territory and posed an existential threat to the state's largest investment ever.

Never before, experts say, ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- During a Wednesday meeting with his Austrian counterpart, President Donald J. Trump said the release of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's report would be "totally" up to Attorney General William Barr.

The president was asked after CNN reported Wednesday that Mueller's report could be finalized next week. Trump said releasing...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The son of Republican congressional candidate Mark Harris testified Wednesday that he had concerns about a Bladen County operative hired by his father before the 2018 campaign.

"I've heard about this McCrae (Dowless) guy. Seems to me he might be kind of a shady character," John Harris said he told Harris campaign consultant ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, the self-described democratic socialist, received $5.9 million from about 223,000 donors in the 24 hours after he announced his repeat bid for the U.S. presidency.

In total, the Vermont independent has raised $6 million, with small-dollar pledges mirroring the average donation of $27 from his 2016 run, ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- "Stay tuned" is a common refrain from White House aides when asked about the many cliffhangers created by President Donald Trump. But remarkably, even after three topsy-turvy months that culminated Friday in a wild Rose Garden appearance, that West Wing mantra will apply doubly over the next few weeks.

Trump's decision to declare ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- In a unanimous ruling, the Supreme Court said Wednesday that the 8th Amendment's ban of "excessive fines" applies to states and local agencies, not just the federal government.

The decision will limit the power of the police and state law enforcement agents to seize cars, boats and other property.

The ruling is a victory for ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO -- When a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's plan to build a border wall goes before a federal judge in San Francisco, California and 15 other states will argue that the administration's decision to bypass Congress violates the U.S. Constitution.

But legal analysts generally agreed Tuesday that the lawsuit is most likely...Read more

WASHINGTON -- Rep. David Joyce's campaign believes his former treasurer embezzled more than $80,000 from its committee coffers from 2015 to 2018, the campaign wrote in a letter to the Federal Elections Commission last week.

Cleveland.com first reported on the letter.

The Ohio Republican's campaign told the FEC in the letter that an ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- The U.S. Transportation Department announced Tuesday it would attempt to cancel $929 million in federal grant funds for California's troubled high-speed rail project.

The move marks an escalation in the war of words between President Donald Trump and California in the days since Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a rethinking of the ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- Justice Clarence Thomas filed a solo opinion Tuesday that should appeal to President Donald Trump. He said the Supreme Court should make it easier for public figures to sue for libel.

Thomas said the court made a mistake in 1964 when it set a high barrier for public officials to sue the media for defaming them with a false story. ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- Donald Trump is at war with Andrew McCabe, accusing the former acting FBI director of "Treason!" and saying he told a "lie" by claiming the president once called his wife a "loser."

Even during and after a long weekend at his South Florida resort following a chaotic mid-December to mid-February stretch, Trump was unable to ignore ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to hear an important case on the Clean Water Act and decide whether environmentalists can sue to block Hawaii's disposal of waste water that flows underground into the Pacific Ocean.

At issue is a dispute over the limits of the federal government's anti-pollution authority.

For more than a decade,...Read more