WASHINGTON -- Congress plans to extend government funding through Dec. 20, averting the risk of a shutdown next week but setting up a potential spending fight amid likely impeachment votes before the end of the year, according to lawmakers and aides.

Democratic House Appropriations Chairwoman Nita Lowey and Republican Senate Appropriations ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- Seema Verma, the Trump administration's top Medicaid official, Tuesday sharply attacked critics of her plan to force some Medicaid enrollees to work, a policy that led to thousands of people losing coverage in Arkansas.

"We cannot allow those who prefer the status quo to weaponize the legal system against state innovation," the ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- On the eve of a public hearing in the House impeachment inquiry, at least one member of President Donald Trump's new two-person messaging team has met with senior House Republican communicators on Capitol Hill.

The team of Pam Bondi and Tony Sayegh, political allies of the president hired last week to coordinate Republican ...Read more

BALTIMORE -- Less than a month ago, Rep. Elijah Cummings' wife, friend and staffer took the stage during his funeral at New Psalmist Baptist Church to eulogize the venerated congressman they each loved and respected.

Former NAACP President Kweisi Mfume said his friend "defied the limits of others' expectations." Harry Spikes said his boss ...Read more

FORT WORTH, Texas -- President Donald Trump's recent North Texas visit required hundreds of law enforcers to team with Secret Service to control crowds, redirect traffic, provide security and more.

But unlike in some other communities where officials billed the president's campaign for security costs, police and sheriff officials in Johnson ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Supreme Court's rejection Tuesday of an appeal from Remington Arms to overturn a groundbreaking ruling that could pierce the federal law preventing most lawsuits against gun manufacturers paves the way for a survivor and relatives of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting to pursue their lawsuit in state ...Read more

NEW YORK -- Despite warning signs of an economic slowdown, President Donald Trump on Tuesday told an audience of wealthy and influential New York players that the U.S. economy is booming -- almost exclusively because of his stewardship.

"Today, I am proud to stand before you as president to report that we have delivered on our promises -- and ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Supreme Court dealt a blow to the gun industry, refusing to block a lawsuit against Remington Arms Co. by family members of nine people killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.

The lawsuit blames the gunmaker's marketing practices for inspiring the killer, Adam Lanza, who used a Remington-made Bushmaster ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court justices sounded closely split Tuesday during arguments over whether President Donald Trump properly revoked the Obama-era policy that has allowed 700,000 young immigrants to live and work in the United States.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., whose vote is likely to be the deciding one, asked tough questions ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- The Trump administration may punt on a decision on whether to slap tariffs on European automobiles as efforts of German automakers to highlight their new investments have helped in the talks, people familiar with the White House deliberations said.

In May, President Donald Trump gave himself a deadline of mid-November to decide ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- Shortly after a judge granted Rep. Duncan Hunter permission on Friday to travel abroad ahead of his criminal trial in January, the lawmaker canceled plans to leave the country.

U.S. Magistrate Judge William V. Gallo signed off on Hunter's request to accept an invitation to travel to Belgium from Dec. 13 through Dec. 16, according ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Chanting "humanity first," dozens of people protested outside the UCLA hall on Sunday where Donald Trump Jr. was speaking as part of a promotional tour for his new book.

Trump, who is promoting his book "Triggered: How the Left Thrives on Hate and Wants to Silence Us," spoke at Moore Hall on the Westwood campus as part of an ...Read more

Four historic "hidden figures" from NASA Langley Research Center will receive Congressional Gold Medals for their pioneering work during the space race and beyond.

A bipartisan bill recognizing Katherine Johnson, Christine Darden, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson for their groundbreaking exploits as among the first black mathematicians and ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly tried to undermine Donald Trump's decisions because they said the president didn't know what he was doing, former U.S. ambassador Nikki Haley said in excerpts of a new book.

"Kelly and Tillerson confided in me that when they resisted the ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump said he's prepared to release the transcript sought by House Democrats of his first phone call with Ukraine's president, in April, as soon as Tuesday.

"We'll probably give it to you on Tuesday, Monday being a holiday," Trump told reporters Saturday as he prepared to board Air Force One. "We have another ...Read more