POLITICS

The Texas House’s vote to block education savings accounts disappointed voucher advocates and likely spelled doom for additional public school funding. Both bands say they’ll keep pushing for their priorities during next year’s primary elections and the 2025 legislative session.

Republican presidential candidates will gather in Alabama for the fourth GOP debate of the 2024 presidential campaign.

Vice President Kamala Harris flew to the Middle East to tackle climate change and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, two challenges that have flummoxed White Houses for decades.

Louisiana lawmakers now have until the end of January to draw and pass new congressional boundaries to replace the current map that a federal judge says dilutes the power of the state’s Black voters.

George Santos is gone from the House, but his name is certain to pop up in key congressional races across New York next year.

Leftists in Chile were tortured, tossed from helicopters and forced to watch relatives be raped during the military dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet.

The decision to end work Tuesday leaves long odds for bills to boost school safety funding and make sure that election challenges don’t delay the implementation of property tax cuts, teacher pension raises and infrastructure spending.

Some members of the committee said such a ban, proposed two months after a prominent conservative activist was caught meeting with a famous white supremacist, might be a “slippery slope” or too vague.

The Biden Administration announced a crackdown on methane emissions, a major driver of climate change. Major oil and gas companies also signed on to a voluntary net-zero commitment.

Ron DeSantis has completed his campaign promise to visit each of Iowa’s 99 counties.

The House is making history this year.

A federal judge has rejected Donald Trump’s effort to throw out his 2020 election subversion case in Washington, dismissing the Republican’s claims that he's immune from prosecution.

In wide-ranging interviews with The Associated Press, six sitting Black attorneys general discussed the challenges and opportunities of serving as the top law enforcement officer in their respective states.

Senate Bill 5 would send an extra $800 million to public schools for security upgrades over the next two years. But the measure is at risk of becoming the latest casualty of the rift between the Texas House and Senate.

Senate Bill 3 would also appropriate $40 million for state troopers to patrol Colony Ridge, a housing development outside of Houston, and allow the state to send money to local jurisdictions to offset the cost of enforcing another immigration-related bill.

An attorney for former President Donald Trump says it would amount to “election interference” if his client is the Republican nominee for president while on trial in Georgia in the months running up to the general election.

The chairman of most powerful independent group supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential ambitions has resigned.

President Joe Biden will head to Los Angeles next week for a big-dollar event that will be his first since strikes by writers and actors effectively ground his fundraising to a halt in the heart of the entertainment industry.

Tax cuts were a major legislative priority for Republican leaders, including Gov. Greg Abbott. The governor cannot certify the election results until the challenges are resolved.

A federal appeals court says lawsuits against Donald Trump brought by Capitol Police officers and Democratic lawmakers over the U.S. Capitol riot can move forward.

The American legal system has never faced greater challenges or demands for reform from people of all races and across the political spectrum.

Vice President Kamala Harris will face two delicate tasks when she attends a climate summit this weekend in Dubai.

Industry experts continue to argue over whether the electricity market in Texas needs to change to make the grid more reliable in winter and summer.

The House has voted to expel Republican Rep. George Santos of New York following a blistering ethics report on his conduct that included converting campaign donations for his own use.

Experts argue other assertions made in the lawsuit filing are completely unsubstantiated, such as one claiming that vaccinated people were more likely to die from COVID-19, which Texas health data disputes.

William “Willy” Rice, the founder of Rice University, will be buried at his family plot after students called for his removal due to his slave-owning past.

Judge Alia Moses ruled in the federal government’s favor but chided the Biden administration for not allowing migrants to use international bridges to claim asylum.

The Republican National Committee’s rules for next year’s nominating contest and convention have been released, but a major question is unaddressed: Can delegates vote for a different candidate if the party’s presumptive nominee is convicted of a felony.

The Texas Republicans opposed subpoenaing conservative donor Crow over his ties to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, casting it as a partisan attack.

Donald Trump will be headlining a closed-door fundraiser in Florida next week as his Republican primary rivals return to the debate stage on Dec. 6.

In unincorporated West Odessa, residents relish their freedom. And they also go without basic services. Ector County Judge Dustin Fawcett, a young Republican with Ronald Reagan good looks and politics, wants to change that.

A New York appeals court has reinstated a gag order that barred Donald Trump from commenting about court personnel after he disparaged a law clerk in his New York civil fraud trial.

Voters cast their ballots for the Decision 2023 runoff election

In his closing arguments for remaining a member of the House, a defiant Rep. George Santos is depicting himself as a victim of a smear campaign by some of his colleagues.

Meta says it has found and disabled thousands of fake Facebook accounts linked to China that were used to spread politically partisan content in the United States before next year’s election.

Texas rates have increased 22% on average so far in 2023, twice the national rate. More billion-dollar disasters have occurred in Texas this year than any other year on record.

A new Harvard University study found an increase in the number of Texas households headed by people 65 or older spending more than 30% of their income on housing. Advocates say keeping older adults housed will require substantial public investment and reforms.

In an alternate reality, the prime-time showdown between California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis could have been a preview of a 2024 general election debate.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley are increasingly outsourcing central parts of their campaigns.

Federal prosecutors say a Texas man who was the first arrest by a Justice Department task force that investigates threats to election workers has been sentenced to two years in prison.

House Bill 900 seeks to rid school libraries of inappropriate books by requiring book vendors to rate materials. A legal challenge says the law is too vague and broad.

A Virginia man has been arrested on charges that he stormed the U.S. Capitol while wearing a Captain America backpack and stole items from senators’ desks on the Senate floor during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot.

Deutsche Bank viewed Donald Trump as a “whale” of a client, wanted to land him and eagerly cultivated a relationship that grew from $13,000 worth of revenue to $6 million in two years.

As remote and hybrid working become the new normal, major Texas cities are facing a decline in office tenants. It’s too soon to tell what that means for the vitality of downtowns.

Once a tool of journalists and concerned citizens to hold government accountable, open records requests have been increasingly used by political opponents and conspiracy theorists to slow down the pace of government.

In Colorado, President Joe Biden has said Rep_ Lauren Boebert was wrong to describe his policies as “a massive failure."

By now, Americans should be well aware that the process of electing a president isn’t like electing a senator or governor.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is expected to sign legislation in the coming days aimed at curbing deceptive uses of artificial intelligence and manipulated media.

Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers have suggested their strategy in his election interference case in Washington involves distancing him from the horde of U.S. Capitol rioters, whom he has embraced on the campaign trail.

A state lawmaker who's helping lead the effort to impeach Philadelphia’s elected prosecutor is the newest candidate for Pennsylvania attorney general.

Pennsylvania’s highest court is deliberating whether the Legislature can proceed with its impeachment trial against Philadelphia’s elected progressive prosecutor.

In August, a judge ruled that the state’s near-total abortion ban should not apply to medically complicated pregnancies. The state appealed that ruling to the Texas Supreme Court, putting it on hold.

Abbott on Tuesday backed Hillary Hickland, an activist mother who is running against Rep. Hugh Shine, R-Temple.

House lawmakers from both parties are moving to force a vote this week on the expulsion of Rep. George Santos, a Republican from New York.

A Deutsche Bank executive says the bank followed its own guidelines — which include independently verifying information — when deciding to lend Donald Trump’s company hundreds of millions of dollars.

The political arm of the powerful Koch network has endorsed Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign.

Former President Donald Trump's lawyers are arguing that he had a good faith basis to question the outcome of the 2020 election that he lost.

Inflation, stagnant federal funding for food programs and high housing costs mean that demand at food banks still hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels.

More cities across the U.S. are cracking down on homeless tent encampments that have grown more visible and become unsafe.

Nikki Haley says former President Donald Trump causes too much chaos to be successful in a second White House term.

For a year, New York’s Adult Survivors Act gave adults claiming they had been sexually assaulted a chance to file civil lawsuits, no matter how long ago the assaults occurred.

Former President Donald Trump says he wants to reopen the contentious fight over the Affordable Care Act.

The announcement comes after the university spent more than $75 million to fire former football coach Jimbo Fisher. A&M did not immediately say how much it will pay Elko.

Abbott visited the San Marcos area to go skydiving with Al Blaschke, a 106-year-old World War II veteran who has already broken records for his own aerial feats.

Department leaders say they recognize that post-traumatic stress and other mental health issues are among the biggest dangers of the job.

President Joe Biden will convene the first meeting of his supply chain resilience council.

A hearing has begun to help determine whether a Georgia railroad can legally condemn property to build a rail line.

Experts in constitutional law and the military say the Insurrection Act gives presidents tremendous power with few restraints.

The family of Rosalynn Carter has begun three days of memorials for the former first lady and global humanitarian who died Nov. 19 at the age of 96.

The 2024 presidential election is drawing a robust field of independent, third party and long shot candidates.

Rep. George Santos has said he expected to be expelled from Congress following a scathing report by the House Ethics Committee that found substantial evidence of lawbreaking by the New York Republican.

Donald Trump used college football rivalry weekend to bask among his supporters in a state and region that are key to his presidential fortunes, while trying to upstage his Republican opponent Nikki Haley on her home turf at the Clemson-South Carolina football game.

Ohio’s new constitutional protections for abortion access and other reproductive rights take effect Dec. 7, a month after voters resoundingly passed them.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson is granting pardons at a pace not seen since the World War II era.

The University of Texas at Dallas replaced three boulders — known as the Spirit Rocks — with trees, citing “extended political discourse.” Students say the quirky public square is a frequent venue for political messaging.

The motion, filed Tuesday, comes a week after a judge in Burnet County allowed the 3-year-old whistleblower lawsuit to proceed.

Vouchers were left without a clear path forward after a decisive vote Friday. Gov. Greg Abbott, who had threatened lawmakers with more special sessions to pass the proposal, seems to have turned his attention to punishing voucher opponents in next year’s primary elections.

The region that includes Amarillo, a Panhandle city of more than 200,000 people, and surrounding towns has long been a mental health care desert. Officials hope a new $159 million hospital can help reduce a massive spike in suicide attempts.

Some of the last surviving witnesses to the events surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy are among those sharing their stories as the nation marks the 60th anniversary.

The Pew Research Center analyzed unauthorized immigrant data from 2021 finding that there’s been a significant shift in migrants’ country of origin and where they choose to live in the U.S.

An influential Iowa evangelical leader is endorsing Ron DeSantis for president before the leadoff Republican caucuses.

House Republicans have issued a subpoena to a federal prosecutor involved in the criminal investigation into Hunter Biden.

President Joe Biden has ordered that U.S. flags on federal government buildings and property will be lowered to half staff in recognition of former first lady Rosalynn Carter, who died Sunday.

Donald Trump has long praised a particular type of foreign leader — men he describes as tough and strong, even if they're accused of chipping away at democracy.

Democratic Rep. Anna Eshoo is not running for reelection next year.

The runoff features two Republicans from dueling factions of the party, Jill Dutton and Brent Money, vying to finish the term of former state Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Royse City.

A New York massage therapist who joined the mob of Trump supporters attacking the U.S. Capitol has been sentenced to three months in jail.

The moderate South Texas Democrat has held meetings with union leaders and filed a labor-backed bill this month. But he still shares some disagreements with the movement.

Donald Trump’s former corporate controller has teared up while testifying that he “gave up” on his longtime job because he was worn out by the company’s legal woes.

President Joe Biden promised to visit Africa this year, but 2023 is drawing to a close with no trip in sight so far.

Former President Donald Trump is set to attend South Carolina's biggest athletic event of the year.

The expansion, which will start with a smaller pilot in four high schools between Texas and New Mexico, is being paid for by the Permian Strategic Partnership, a group funded by major energy producers.

Democrats are urging the Wisconsin Supreme Court to overturn Republican-drawn legislative maps.

The 60th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's assassination finds his family, and the country, at a moment many would not have imagined in JFK's lifetime.

Republican Celeste Maloy has won a special election in Utah to replace her former boss, U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart.

The Georgia judge overseeing the election subversion case against former President Donald Trump and others imposed stricter bond conditions for one of the defendants after prosecutors complained about his social media posts that mentioned witnesses and co-defendants.

Vivek Ramaswamy has failed to rise in the 2024 Republican presidential primary race and is increasingly risking becoming an afterthought.

After a report from Media Matters showed advertisements from major brands appeared next to antisemitic posts on X, the company sued the media watchdog group and its reporter. The Texas Attorney General’s Office plans to investigate the nonprofit for potential fraud.

A new week is already producing a new chapter of proposed questionable spending being passed onto Houstonians in the final weeks of Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Administration.

On President Joe Biden's 81st birthday, GOP front-runner Donald Trump has released a letter from his physician that reports the former president is in “excellent” physical and mental health.