Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton meet Wednesday night in the first and so far only scheduled debate of the California governor’s race.

Recent polls show Becerra with a commanding lead, buoyed in part by President Donald Trump’s deep unpopularity in the state. The debate, hosted by CNN at 6 p.m. Pacific time, offers Hilton...Read more

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan bill aimed at pressuring state utility regulators to reduce data center-related costs stalled in the Senate again Wednesday after a procedural vote to take up the bill fell short of the 60 supporters needed to move forward.

The cloture vote on the motion to proceed was 57-43, keeping the measure bottled up for the ...Read more

WASHINGTON — A bill to rein in stock trading by members of Congress did not clear a first procedural hurdle to advance in the Senate on Wednesday, after passing the House on a mostly party-line vote in July.

Democrats tanked a motion to invoke cloture on proceeding to the bill in a 53-47 vote, which fell seven votes shy of the 60 required to ...Read more

BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill and the attorneys general in Arkansas and Alabama filed a lawsuit Tuesday in the U.S. Supreme Court, suing California, Massachusetts and New York to invalidate the so-called “shield laws” that have allowed providers in those states to send abortion medication to people in states ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The National Urban League and several local housing nonprofits nationwide challenged part of the Trump administration’s last-minute cancellation of congressionally appropriated funds.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday night in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, focuses on one portion of the $810 million cancellation...Read more

Embattled Rep. Tom Kean Jr., R-New Jersey, has reportedly made a list of “almost cooked” Republican incumbents as an expected Democratic blue wave looms in the upcoming congressional midterm elections.

Kean, who represents the leafy suburban 7th District of New Jersey, is seeing his chances of winning a third term start to slip away as GOP ...Read more

Embattled Texas Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton is reportedly blaming President Donald Trump’s controversial midterms political convention for hurting his already troubled campaign.

Paxton, who portrays himself as a diehard right-wing MAGA loyalist, was caught on a leaked tape admitting Trump’s high-profile appearance at the two-day ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — With gas prices topping $6 a gallon and an unpopular war continuing in Iran, President Donald Trump's approval has slipped with California Republicans — a falloff that could diminish the party's chances in the state's few competitive congressional races.

A new poll by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, co-...Read more

LOS ANGELES — House Speaker Mike Johnson plans to visit California on Wednesday to stump and fundraise for Republican candidates in a state that could determine control of the U.S. House of Representatives during President Donald Trump's final two years in office.

Johnson, R-La., plans to visit the Central Valley and the Inland Empire, a sign...Read more

Pennsylvania lawmakers returned to Harrisburg on Sept. 28, 2026, after a 10-week recess with little time to determine the future of the state’s skill games. On June 15, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the devices are slot machines governed by the state’s gambling and criminal laws. The court stayed its order for 120 days to give...Read more

Imagine watching a political campaign video in which a candidate admits to taking a bribe. You recognize the face and voice. But the confession is entirely fabricated, thanks to artificial intelligence.

Now imagine that your state has passed a law against these AI-generated election deepfakes. Would that mean the video has to be ...Read more

MIAMI — Dozens of friends, relatives and former political colleagues are asking a federal judge to show leniency to former U.S. Rep. David Rivera when he is sentenced later this week, while prosecutors are urging the court to impose a significant prison term on the former Miami congressman for secretly acting as an agent of Nicolás Maduro’s...Read more

The confusion surrounding a proposed civil nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia hasn’t exactly disappeared: The White House is still claiming it depends on the country normalizing relations with Israel, even if that’s not part of the written agreement. At least Congress now has the text for review. Having seen its flaws, legislators should demand ...Read more

MAPLEWOOD, Mo. — After Missouri voters added abortion protections to the state constitution in 2024, Kelly McCoomb decided to keep her yard sign supporting the measure in the basement of her suburban St. Louis home.

Abortion access is important to McCoomb. She wants her daughter to grow up in a state where the option is available if needed, ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — U.S. Rep. David Valadao, a Hanford Republican, and progressive Democrat Randy Villegas are battling in California’s most closely watched House race, a contest that could help determine control of Congress.

Valadao has repeatedly defied the odds by winning the Central Valley swing district, where Democratic voters ...Read more

Two of the biggest names in politics are headed to the Central Valley this week to rally support for their preferred candidates in California’s crucial 22nd District race.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., will join a campaign event Wednesday in Bakersfield for Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., will ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Senate passed legislation that would amend the Clean Air Act to ensure states would not be penalized for conducting prescribed burns intended to prevent larger, uncontrolled wildfires by unanimous consent on Tuesday.

Under current law, states are required to meet air quality standards for particulate matter pollution. ...Read more

WASHINGTON — A U.S. appeals court has refused to halt a Florida federal judge’s decision to penalize President Donald Trump and his lawyers for “bad faith” conduct in his $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service while he appeals.

The order on Tuesday leaves in place a July ruling that barred Trump and certain U.S. ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Government Accountability Office reaffirmed its opinion Tuesday that “pocket rescissions” are illegal, dealing a modest blow to President Donald Trump’s announcement last week of plans to cancel $810 million in spending without the approval of Congress.

In a letter to congressional leaders, the GAO —the investigative ...Read more