— WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Monday ruled that a recently revamped version of a federal tool central to the Trump administration’s efforts to nationalize elections can no longer be used. U.S. District Court Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan sided with advocacy groups that argued the recent upgrades to the program, called Systematic Alien […]

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Jim Mustian reported and co-wrote an Associated Press story that revealed the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration permitted hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills to be distributed in New Mexico as part of an effort to build bigger federal prosecutions. Mustian, along with AP journalist Joshua Goodman, reviewed hundreds of internal DEA […]

Lawyers for an Ontario man accused of stealing and leaking Texan Republican Party data in 2021 say he has pleaded guilty before a Canadian court. In a statement released this afternoon, Arash Ghiassi and Riaz Sayani say Aubrey Cottle has “formally accepted his role” in the hacking of the party’s website five years ago.  Ghiassi […]

A bill winding its way through Sacramento right now would make some of the biggest changes in decades to the California Public Records Act — the 58-year-old state law that guarantees everyone has access to government documents and data. Proponents argue AB 1821 is necessary to help local governments weather a deluge of burdensome requests […]

MOMBASA, Kenya (AP) — Fifteen countries from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Caribbean, and the Pacific adopted a declaration on Wednesday to step up efforts to combat illegal fishing, a practice that experts say costs the world economy up to $50 billion annually. The Mombasa Declaration, named after the Kenyan city hosting the 11th Our Ocean […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration is further dismantling the Education Department, moving oversight of special education and civil rights to other agencies. The Department of Justice will take on enforcement of civil rights in education, while the Department of Health and Human Services will oversee special education. The Trump administration made the announcement […]

SACRAMENTO, Calif (AP) — Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday accused the Justice Department of launching a politically motivated investigation into him and his wife, saying the Trump administration was targeting him as he weighs a presidential bid. Newsom, a longtime political rival of the Republican president, said in a video posted on X […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — A key surveillance tool seen as vital in preventing terror attacks and catching foreign spies is set to expire Friday after congressional efforts to temporarily extend it failed in bipartisan fashion. It’s a significant lapse for the program known as Section 702, and even as President Donald Trump nominates a new national […]

The international aid group Doctors Without Borders found a pattern of abuse and sexual exploitation by some local and foreign staff working in Chad along the Sudanese border, in some cases targeting underage girls or trading food or jobs for sex with refugees, according to a confidential internal memo obtained by The Associated Press. The […]

Ohioans soon will be required to provide a photo ID when voting by mail – a major change to a voting method that previously had been exempted from the strict voter ID requirement Republican lawmakers passed following the 2020 presidential election. Republican lawmakers unveiled the new photo ID requirement for mail voting on Tuesday, before […]

— MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A Somali soccer referee who was due to become the first from his country to officiate the World Cup but was denied entry to the United States was named Africa’s best referee and is considered a hero to many in his country. Omar Artan, 34, was due to be the […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President JD Vance is pressing federal prosecutors to investigate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison over allegations they failed to stop widespread social services fraud, amplifying concerns the White House will use a new Justice Department division to target political rivals. Vance, who has been tapped to […]