Sorted by date Results 101 - 125 of 196
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress returns to Washington for its first full week of legislative business since control of the House reverted to Democrats, but lawmakers will be confronted with the same lingering question: When will the partial government shutdown end? One Republican senator says he's offered President Donald Trump a possible solution, though it may just be wishful thinking. Sen. Lindsey Graham is encouraging Trump to reopen government for several weeks to continue negotiating with Democrats over the border wall Trump wants to build o...
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that parts of the federal government will stay closed until Democrats agree to put up more walls along the U.S.-Mexico border to deter criminal elements. He said he's open to calling the wall something else as long as he ends up with an actual wall. In a Christmas Day appearance in the Oval Office, Trump issued a lengthy defense of his desire for a wall, saying it's the only way to stop drugs and human traffickers from entering the country. In a nod to the political stakes he's facing, T...
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday wished U.S. troops stationed around the country and the globe a merry Christmas. "I know it's a great sacrifice for you to be away from your families, but I want you to know that every American family is eternally grateful to you, and we're holding you close in our hearts, thoughts and prayers," Trump said. "We love what you do and love your work. Amazing people." Trump spoke by video conference to members of all five branches of the U.S. military. The president was spending a rare Christmas i...
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he has confidence in Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (mih-NOO'-shin), calling him a "very talented guy" and a "very smart person." Trump reiterated his view that the Federal Reserve is raising interest rates too fast, but called the independent agency's rate hikes a "form of safety" for an economy doing well. The president lashed out at the Fed on Monday after administration officials spent the weekend trying to assure financial markets that Fed chairman Jerome Powell's job was safe. Trump e...
WASHINGTON (AP) — A shutdown affecting parts of the federal government appeared no closer to resolution Wednesday, with President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats locked in a hardening standoff over border wall money that threatens to carry over into January. Trump vowed to hold the line, telling reporters as he flew to Iraq that he'll do "whatever it takes" to get money for border security. He declined to say how much he would accept in a deal to end the shutdown, stressing the need for border security. "You have to have a wall, you h...
AL-ASAD AIRBASE, Iraq (AP) — In an unannounced trip to Iraq on Wednesday, President Donald Trump staunchly defended his decision to withdraw U.S. forces from neighboring Syria despite a drumbeat of criticism from military officials and allies who don't think the job fighting Islamic State militants there is over. Trump, making his first presidential visit to troops in a troubled region, said it's because the U.S. military had all but eliminated IS-controlled territory in both Iraq and Syria that he decided to withdraw 2,000 forces from S...
WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government was expected to remain partially shut down past Christmas as the standoff deepened Saturday over President Donald Trump's demand for funds to build a border wall with Mexico. With Trump's insistence on $5 billion for the wall and negotiations with Democrats in Congress far from a breakthrough, even a temporary measure to keep the government running while talks continued seemed out of reach until the Senate returned for a full session Thursday. From coast to coast, the first day of the shutdown played o...
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President George H.W. Bush is returning to Washington as a revered political statesman, hailed by leaders across the political spectrum and around the world as a man not only of greatness but also of uncommon decency and kindness. Bush, who died late Friday at his Houston home at age 94, is to be honored with a funeral service at National Cathedral in the nation's capital on Wednesday, followed by burial Thursday on the grounds of his presidential library at Texas A&M. Following an arrival ceremony Monday, his body w...
WASHINGTON (AP) — In an extraordinary move, Melania Trump called publicly Tuesday for the deputy national security adviser to be dismissed. After reports circulated Tuesday that President Donald Trump had decided to remove Mira Ricardel from her post at the National Security Council, Stephanie Grisham, the first lady's spokeswoman, released a statement that said: "It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House." Shortly before the statement was issued, Ricardel was a...
WASHINGTON (AP) — Freed American pastor Andrew Brunson fell to one knee in the Oval Office and placed his hand on President Donald Trump's shoulder in prayer on Saturday, asking God to provide the president "supernatural wisdom to accomplish all the plans you have for this country and for him." Trump welcomed Brunson to the White House to celebrate his release from nearly two years of confinement in Turkey, which had sparked a diplomatic row with a key ally and outcry from U.S. evangelical groups. Brunson returned to the U.S. aboard a m...
WASHINGTON (AP) — Karen Pence, the vice president's wife, opened a campaign Thursday to help military spouses get the support and services they need. Mrs. Pence said one of the biggest frustrations that some spouses have told her about is getting a new professional license to continue in careers that require one every time they relocate, which can happen every few years for military families. In a speech to a gathering of military spouses, she pointed out that they are now eligible to be reimbursed by the federal government for relicensing o...
SHANKSVILLE, Pa. (AP) — Standing in the field where the last of the Sept. 11 planes crashed, President Donald Trump praised the "band of brave patriots" who helped bring down the jetliner and saved the lives of countless others in the nation's capital. Trump paid his respects Tuesday at a rural Pennsylvania field where the fourth airplane hijacked that day crashed after its 40 passengers and crew learned about attacks in New York and Washington and tried to storm the cockpit. Terrorists at the controls of Flight 93 planned to fly it into the U...
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is canceling pay raises due in January for most civilian federal employees, he informed Congress on Thursday, citing budget constraints. But the workers still could see a slightly smaller boost in their pay under a proposal lawmakers are considering. Trump said he was nixing a 2.1 percent across-the-board raise for most workers as well as separate locality pay increases averaging 25.7 percent. "We must maintain efforts to put our Nation on a fiscally sustainable course, and Federal agency budgets c...
WASHINGTON (AP) — A day after announcing the departure of his White House counsel, President Donald Trump teased Thursday that he's excited about his choice for a replacement but isn't ready to share his new lawyer's name. Trump said Wednesday on Twitter that Don McGahn will leave in the fall. He has been a consequential insider on Trump's legal team and a key figure in the administration's handling of the federal investigation into Russian election interference and possible Trump campaign collusion. "I am very excited about the person who w...
WASHINGTON (AP) — John McCain's rebellious streak didn't come out of nowhere. His mother, Roberta, had a habit of speeding behind the wheel and racking up tickets. When told during a trip to Europe that she was too old to rent a car, she went out and bought a Peugeot. Her son once answered the telephone to hear his mother say she was on a cross-country driving trip — by herself, in her 90s. Now 106, the wife and mother of Navy admirals lived a life of full of travel and adventure, punctuated by her sass and determination. She once said her son...
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday accused Google and other U.S. tech companies of rigging search results about him "so that almost all stories & news is BAD." He offered no evidence of bias, but a top adviser said the White House is "taking a look" at whether Google should face federal regulation. Google pushed back sharply, saying Trump's claim simply wasn't so: "We never rank search results to manipulate political sentiment." The president's tweets echoed his familiar attacks on the news media — and a conservative tal...
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and China are resuming trade talks, raising hopes for a way out of an intensifying dispute between the world's two largest economies. White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told reporters Thursday that the U.S. team will be led by David Malpass, U.S. Treasury under secretary for international affairs. Earlier, China said it would send a delegation led by a deputy commerce minister. This meeting would be the first between senior U.S. and Chinese officials since June 3 talks in Beijing ended with no s...
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is asking Attorney General Jeff Sessions to file a federal lawsuit against certain companies that supply and manufacture opioids. Speaking during a Cabinet meeting Thursday, Trump said he's directing Sessions to file a separate lawsuit, rather than joining existing lawsuits filed by states affected by the spread of the often-lethal, highly-addictive drugs. Trump is asking Sessions to look out for opioids coming into the U.S. from China and Mexico, saying those countries are "sending their garbage and k...
WASHINGTON (AP) — Omarosa Manigault Newman on Thursday released another secret audio recording that she says proves President Donald Trump wanted to silence her after firing her from the White House. In the recording played on MSNBC, Trump's daughter-in-law Lara Trump offers Manigault Newman a job earning $15,000 a month. The job wouldn't require her to report to any particular office or have a specific set of duties, other than to speak positively on Trump's behalf as part of his re-election campaign. Lara Trump, married to Eric Trump, can b...
NEW YORK (AP) — Former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman declared Tuesday that she "will not be silenced" by President Donald Trump, remaining defiant as her public feud with her former boss appeared to shift to a possible legal battle. In an interview with The Associated Press, Manigault Newman, who is promoting her new book about her time in Trump's orbit, said she believes the president's campaign is trying to keep her from telling her story. She commented just hours after Trump's campaign announced it was filing an arbitration a...
WASHINGTON (AP) — The publisher of The New York Times says he took President Donald Trump to task for "deeply troubling anti-press rhetoric" that is "not just divisive but increasingly dangerous" when the two met privately at the White House this month. Trump disclosed the meeting on Twitter on Sunday, saying he and A.G. Sulzberger "Spent much time talking about the vast amounts of Fake News being put out by the media & how that Fake News has morphed into phrase, 'Enemy of the People.' Sad!" "Enemy of the People" is the phrase Trump uses to b...
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump declared on Thursday the United States will impose sanctions on Turkey, a crucial NATO ally, in retaliation for the detention of an American pastor on terror and espionage charges. Turkey's response was both harsh and dismissive, calling his words "unacceptable" and a "cheap threat." Trump's promise of punishing action marks the latest deterioration in relations between Turkey and the U.S. as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's powers expand two years after a failed coup against his government. Trump a...
WASHINGTON (AP) — Pushing back against allegations of attempting to alter the historical record, the White House said Wednesday that the omission of a key question from its transcript of President Donald Trump's news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin "was by no means malicious." MSNBC host Rachel Maddow leveled the charge Tuesday night, accusing the White House of deliberately leaving out the question. Two reporters each from the U.S. and Russian press corps asked questions of Trump and Putin following their July 16 summit in H...
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says Air Force One is getting a patriotic makeover. Trump says the familiar baby blue color on the presidential aircraft will give way to a red, white and blue color scheme. Updated models could be in service before the end of a potential Trump second term. "Air Force One is going to be incredible," Trump told CBS News. "It's going to be top of the line, the top in the world, and it's going to be red, white and blue, which I think is appropriate." White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders s...
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday praised the U.S. military for keeping America "safe, strong, proud, mighty and free" and used the Independence Day holiday to thank them for being willing to put their lives on the line in defense of the nation. "Two hundred and 42 years ago on July 4, 1776, America's founders adopted the Declaration of independence and changed the course of human history," said Trump, addressing hundreds of military families attending a holiday picnic from a balcony overlooking the lawn. "But our freedom e...
