Two U.S. lawmakers are calling for a permanent solution to Cuba’s crises after witnessing the effects of a U.S. energy blockade during an official visit to the island.

Congressman Christian Menefee is calling on Republican leaders to end the ongoing federal government shutdown, citing major disruptions at airports and growing strain on federal workers.

An immigration judge has denied the asylum claim of the family of Liam Conejo Ramos, the 5-year-old boy photographed in a bunny hat and Spider-Man backpack as he was detained with his father during the immigration crackdown that shook Minneapolis earlier this year, a family lawyer said.

Catch up on the latest news updates from Houston and around the world.

Democratic state Rep. Angie Nixon has announced her candidacy for the Florida U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Ashley Moody in the 2026 election.

In a story published Dec. 15, 2025, about aviation safety, The Associated Press erroneously reported that Sen. Ted Cruz was threatening another federal government shutdown if new restrictions on military flights are not approved by the end of January.

John Fetterman says he’s back home with his family in Pennsylvania after being hospitalized.

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.

A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers has pushed for more military dialogue in a meeting with China's Premier Li Qiang.

Allen, known for her focus on public education issues, announced her retirement after 20 years in the House. She endorsed her son, Lawrence Allen Jr., to succeed her.

The San Antonio Democrat was first elected to the Legislature in 2019.

In a dramatic escalation of opposition to redistricting efforts led by Republicans in Texas, the Texas Senate Democratic Caucus have expressed strong support for their House counterparts, who have denied quorum in protest of a proposed congressional map they call “rigged” and disenfranchising.

A similar proposal stalled out earlier this year over disagreements between the House and Senate. This time, lawmakers might clash over whether to approve the new bill along with a constitutional amendment.

Republicans have hit a roadblock in an effort that could deter nonprofits, individuals and others from filing lawsuits to block President Donald Trump’s executive actions.

House and Senate members agreed that judges needed a pay raise. But they spent the final hours of the legislative session debating whether Texas lawmakers should also benefit from the boost.

Tensions flared and the debate turned personal as Republicans said their bill empowered parents and denied predictions that the ban will endanger children.

Much of the debate focused on the tense relationship between cities and the Texas Legislature. The bill is head to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk.

House Bill 3006 would require the installation of climate control in state prison facilities by 2032.

Harris County will dedicate a downtown building in honor of the late Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. The ceremony, scheduled for Thursday at 1111 Fannin, will unveil the new name of the 17-story office building, which recently underwent upgrades.

Three politicians from the northeast United States have introduced an act to protect families relying on SNAP benefits if their funds are stolen.

Another piece of legislation has been filed in Washington, D.C. to replace stolen SNAP benefits.

Senate Republicans have narrowly voted down a Democratic resolution that would have blocked global tariffs announced by Donald Trump earlier this month, giving the president a modest win Wednesday as lawmakers in both parties have remained skeptical of his trade agenda.

Juneteenth Houston, formerly known as The Juneteenth Houston Citywide Committee, announced its 160th commemorative series of celebrations and community initiatives for 2025.

The Texas Democrat made fun of the governor during a speech over the weekend in Los Angeles to an LGBTQ rights group.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has issued a controversial opinion, declaring it unlawful for transgender individuals to change the sex on their driver's licenses and birth certificates.

Alabama this weekend is marking the 60th anniversary of a key event in the civil rights movement, when voting rights marchers were attacked in Selma on March 7, 1965.

Democratic lawmakers are demanding answers from Elon Musk about whether Department of Government Efficiency staffers have shared national security secrets over insecure communication channels.

House Speaker Mike Johnson is removing the GOP chairman of the powerful House Intelligence Committee, who was a vocal supporter of assistance for Ukraine and held other views that put him at odds with President-elect Donald Trump.

Six Democratic members of Congress from Connecticut have been targeted by bomb threats on their homes.

Despite their growing popularity and effectiveness, there are still several myths and misconceptions about Dual Special Needs Plans.

The race for Harris County Sheriff is heating up as a new Texas law complicates candidacy qualifications.

Democrats backing Rep. Colin Allred’s bid to defeat Texas Sen. Ted Cruz are investing $5 million in an ad campaign focused on abortion.

Democrats backing Rep. Colin Allred’s bid to defeat Texas Sen. Ted Cruz are investing $5 million in an ad campaign focused on abortion.

Allred will be interviewed by The Bulwark’s Tim Miller about his race against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. The conversation starts at 9 a.m. Saturday.

The U.S. senator from Pennsylvania will speak at 11 a.m. Saturday from Austin.

The fourth and final night of the Democratic National Convention is underway, culminating with Vice President Kamala Harris accepting her party’s nomination for president.

This week, the state-installed superintendent of HISD sat down with KPRC 2 Investigates to call attention to the district’s successes during his first year at the helm.

Governor Greg Abbott announced the special election date for the 18th Congressional District

A group that works to protect and expand voting rights is asking the South Carolina Supreme Court to order lawmakers to redraw the state’s U.S. House districts because they lean too far Republican.

Allred, who is running for U.S. Senate against Ted Cruz, is one of only a few House Democrats from Texas who has yet to say whether they support the president’s reelection bid.

Many Americans are celebrating Juneteenth, marking the day in 1865 when the last enslaved people in the U.S. learned they were free.

Senators criticized top federal officials over the rise of illegal electronic cigarettes in the U.S., a multibillion-dollar business that has flourished in recent years.

A federal appeals court has upheld California’s ban on gun shows at county fairs and other public properties, deciding the laws do not violate the rights of firearm sellers or buyers.

Lee, a Houston Democrat, said she plans to continue serving but could have some occasional absences from Congress.

The hearing was derailed when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., responded to a question from Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, by saying, “I think your fake eyelashes are messing up what you’re reading.”

Millions of families will face bigger internet bills starting in May because a federal broadband subsidy program is set to expire.

U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva has announced that he has been diagnosed with cancer, but he says he is continuing to work as he undergoes treatment.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and Republican David McCormick will be the only names on ballots for the office in Pennsylvania’s April primary after a ruling by the state’s highest court.

A federal judge on Friday rejected a challenge to a Washington state law that cleared the way for lawsuits against the gun industry in certain cases.

California's Legislative Black Caucus is pushing for lawmakers to pass a package of more than a dozen reparations proposals.

A Michigan man has been charged under the state’s new law requiring safe storage of guns after his 2-year-old daughter shot herself in the head with his revolver the day after the law took effect.

United States Rep. Al Green (D-Houston) is having a press conference on Saturday to address the House’s recent vote to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and funding for Gaza.

New gun laws take effect Tuesday in Michigan on the one-year anniversary of a shooting at Michigan State University that claimed the lives of three students and left five in critical condition.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ lawsuit against the Republican-controlled Legislature arguing that it is obstructing basic government functions.

Houston Life’s Derrick Shore and Tessa Barrera learn all about the latest advancements in laser skin treatments with the team from the Institute of Anti-Aging Medicine and Skin Spa.

An effort to modernize state oversight of a thriving petroleum industry in the nation’s No. 2 state for oil production has advanced past its first committee vetting at the New Mexico Legislature.

United States Rep. Al Green (D-Houston) wrote a letter to USPS to ask them to establish a customer service team to help those who have experienced their packages being delayed at the Missouri City mail facility.

The U.S. Department of Defense plans to install more groundwater treatment systems at a former Michigan military base to control contamination from so-called forever chemicals.

As casinos start to pop up on Virginia’s southern border, some lawmakers are ready to explore whether wealthy northern Virginia should get in on the action.

Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont have introduced legislation that would guarantee the right to vote in federal elections for all citizens convicted of a felony.

Officials in a suburban Chicago community have issued municipal citations to a local news reporter for what they say were persistent contacts with city officials seeking comment on treacherous fall flooding.

Zac Gallen hasn’t been the ace pitcher the Arizona Diamondbacks hoped for this postseason.

State Senator John Whitmire says his run for Houston Mayor is personal because it's his opportunity to guide the city he loves to better prosperity. On this week's Houston Newsmakers with Khambrel Marshall, Senator Whitmire talks about the city's fiscal challenges ahead, his plans for correcting them answers critics about his campaign fund and accusations that his campaign was responsible for a leaked audio tape of Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.

Gerald Womack, the chair for Sheila Jackson Lee’s campaign, was assaulted near his office Monday morning by a political operative, an employee with Jackson Lee’s campaign said.

The Supreme Court seems likely to preserve the work of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau against a conservative-led challenge.

Cuellar was unharmed in the incident, and law enforcement eventually retrieved the car.

U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas is back at work after being carjacked by three armed attackers less than a mile from the Capitol.

Feinstein, elected in 1992, was a vocal gun-control advocate who often sought common ground with Republicans, sometimes frustrating her more liberal colleagues.

State Rep. John Bryant said Democrats will need to work together to block the “school choice” bill in October.

Texas Democrats decry Republican infighting that has halted attempts to approve annual spending bills and avoid a federal government shutdown.

Both suspects have been charged with capital murder.

A suspect has been arrested and charged for fatally shooting a teen in southeast Houston in June.

There are no federal or state requirements that people who work outside receive paid water breaks. Casar, an Austin Democrat, wants to change that.

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee says it's time for Supreme Court justices to bring their conduct in line with the standards of other branches of government.

King was first elected to the House in 1994.

Allred also transferred $2.4 million from his House campaign account, giving him $8.6 million in total receipts through the end of June.

A proposal to expand access to abortions narrowly passed in the Maine House, clearing the first legislative hurdle after an emotional floor debate.

Delaware Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester says she is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by fellow Democrat Tom Carper.

Illinois is more protective of abortion access than most any state.

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee is holding a news conference on Tuesday to announce the Stop Human Trafficking In School Zones Act that she has created.

A federal grand jury in Los Angeles has indicted a Houston man for allegedly calling the office of California U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters several times last year and leaving voice mails threatening to harm the Democratic congresswoman.

A proposed change to next year’s Montana U.S. Senate primary that could have hurt Democratic Sen. Jon Tester’s reelection chances is likely dead.

A 60-year-old Houston man has been arrested and charged after court documents show he threatened to assault and kill Congresswoman Maxine Waters last year.

Republican legislators in Tennessee voted Thursday to expel two Black Democrats from the state House over their protests on the chamber floor against gun violence last week, while a vote to expel a third white Democratic representative fell short.

In a story published March 29, 2023, about the Mississippi Senate voting not to confirm a new state superintendent of education, The Associated Press erroneously reported that the previous superintendent, Carey Wright, had served 13 years.

Jackson Lee enters a mayoral contest that is already well underway. The early frontrunner is state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, and his competitors include Chris Hollins, the former Harris County clerk, and Amanda Edwards, a former City Council member.

Leaders of the Senate’s banking committee are telling former chief executive officers at the failed Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank they “must answer” for their banks' "downfall.”.

The Michigan Republican Party's social media posts are being called “hateful” and “ignorant” for comparing gun reform to the Holocaust.

Following the announcement of the Texas Education Agency’s planned state takeover of Houston Independent School District, host Khambrel Marshall sits down with Congressman Al Green to discuss the takeover, banking stability, and calling to embrace what he calls the “Conscience Agenda” to honor those who were formerly enslaved.

China has accused the U.S. of “outright bullying and double standards" in leveling what it called “illegal" sanctions on Chinese companies as part of U.S. actions against Russia’s Wagner Group and related companies and individuals.

The spectrum of ideas on immigration could throw cold water on hope that there will be a breakthrough in Congress.

The House Ways and Means Committee voted last week to make six years of the former president's tax returns public.

The House Financial Services Committee plans to hold a hearing into the collapse of crypto exchange FTX on Tuesday, but its star witness will be missing.

Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock defeated Republican football star Herschel Walker on Tuesday in Georgia’s Senate runoff election, NBC News projects, handing President Joe Biden and his party a key win.

The Biden administration has put a well-known Russian paramilitary organization on a list of religious freedom violators alongside a number of notorious terrorist organizations.

Democrats who control the Illinois General Assembly have approved followup clarifications to their watershed criminal justice overhaul.

A man ran onto the field with what appeared to be a Palestinian flag midway through the second half of the World Cup match between Tunisia and France.

A federal trial to determine whether South Carolina’s congressional maps are legal is closing with arguments over whether the state Legislature diluted Black voting power.

Kylian Mbappe scored two goals and put defending champion France into the knockout stage of the World Cup with a 2-1 win over Denmark.

Democrats won all three of the most competitive congressional races in Pennsylvania this election cycle.