President Donald Trump gave $45,000 cash as Christmas gifts last year to his assistant Natalie Harp, as well as two other female aides, financial disclosure documents revealed.

The president doled out the large bonus to Harp, who has raised eyebrows for her ubiquitous presence by his side, and the same amount to communications adviser Margo ...Read more

​WASHINGTON — A grim new milestone for U.S. debt and surging interest rates haven’t sparked much urgency for a new round of deficit cutting on Capitol Hill. Yet.

But with federal debt topping $40 trillion for the first time last month, lawmakers will likely have to lift the $41.1 trillion statutory debt ceiling within the next year or so....Read more

Serbia will hold a snap vote on Oct. 25, setting in motion a political playbook that may see the embattled President Aleksandar Vucic transition to the role of prime minister.

Vucic signed an official decree on the snap ballot and parliament’s dissolution on Wednesday. The vote, long demanded by opposition groups, seeks to try to resolve ...Read more

State leaders are breathing a sigh of relief that the Trump administration’s threats to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency have subsided.

But experts say there’s still confusion about President Donald Trump’s decisions to approve or deny disaster declarations, leaving states with uncertainty about whether they can expect ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — In what might have been unheard of just two years ago, the Democrat in Bucks County’s key congressional race does not mention abortion or reproductive rights by name on his campaign website.

Instead, Bob Harvie, the county commissioner challenging U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., in the crucial 1st Congressional District ...Read more

The Trump administration’s proposal to crack down on voting by mail in federal elections – articulated in a March 2026 executive order – faces its toughest legal test so far, as the Supreme Court decides whether to allow the measure to go ahead, or maintains a lower court’s block on its implementation.

Despite offering no ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Democratic U.S. House candidate Christina Hines on Tuesday, Sept. 8, launched her first video ad since winning a competitive primary for a suburban Detroit swing seat in early August.

The ad, titled "Clean-Up," promotes Hines' experience "cleaning up messes" as a former special victims prosecutor and mother of three young ...Read more

Acclaimed TV show “South Park” is preparing to return to the airwaves next week fresh off an Emmy win and sporting a new name.

Starting on Sept. 16, the animated series will go by “South America,” marking the show’s first rebrand in 29 years, according to a press statement. Creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone said they were “...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday will head to a Republican midterm convention that will offer clues about the message he intends to deliver when he hits the campaign trail for a 30-day October blitz before Election Day.

The GOP leader is set to address the party faithful Wednesday and Thursday nights, including prime-time ...Read more

Days before California voters receive their mail-in ballots, gubernatorial candidates Xavier Becerra, a Democrat, and Steve Hilton, a Republican, will debate in a nationally televised face-off.

On Sept. 30 at CNN's Burbank studio, the two candidates hoping to succeed termed-out Gov. Gavin Newson are expected to spar over sharply divergent ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The National Republican Congressional Committee is adding five new candidates to its “MAGA Majority” program for strong challengers, the group shared first Tuesday with CQ Roll Call.

The additional candidates, who bring the total number of challengers in the program to 27, hail largely from Florida, which held its primary ...Read more

Yair Golan, who heads Israel’s left-wing Democrats party, said he’ll join the government if the opposition wins next month’s election and will put tackling Jewish settler violence in the occupied West Bank on the agenda.

Ending the war with Iran, rebuilding Gaza and forging regional alliances will also be among his top priorities, the ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The U.S. is increasing diplomatic pressure on Iran by proposing that Tehran be referred to the United Nations Security Council over its stonewalling of nuclear inspectors, who have been unable to verify the location of the country’s stockpile of near-weapons-grade uranium.

The maneuver is expected to unfold at the ...Read more

ILWACO, Pacific County — Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez stood inside a brewery in this sleepy town where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean, explaining to a crowd of supporters about how Washington, D.C., is often confused about her focus on sea lions.

“They thought we were talking about sea manatees,” she said, holding a beer on a ...Read more

Democratic Representative Haley Stevens blasted the “erratic” tariff war that President Donald Trump started with Canada, saying her home state of Michigan is bearing much of the economic fallout from the trade dispute.

“They are really exhausted,” Stevens said on Bloomberg Television’s Bloomberg This Weekend, referring to ...Read more

Democratic Representative Haley Stevens blasted the “erratic” tariff war that President Donald Trump started with Canada, saying her home state of Michigan is bearing much of the economic fallout from the trade dispute.

“They are really exhausted,” Stevens said on Bloomberg Television’s Bloomberg "This Weekend," referring to ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth is facing a formidable opponent in her race for governor against U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar. But she’s also confronting the challenges raised by the leader of her own party.

President Donald Trump is a political riddle for Demuth. She is a Republican, has largely supported a president she views...Read more