Stories by Associated Press

Republicans returning to Washington on Monday are facing questions about a $1 billion Senate security proposal that could help pay for President Donald Trump’s ballroom as Democrats say they will try to defeat it.

The stalled diplomacy and recent exchanges of fire could tip the Middle East back into open warfare and prolong the worldwide energy crisis sparked by the conflict, with Iran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz and America’s blockade of Iranian ports still in place.

A man with multiple aliases used the name of the famed Astor family to dupe a Mexican billionaire out of around $450 million in a bogus stock-backed loan scheme, according to a newly unsealed U.S. indictment and other court records.

Three passengers have died and at least four people are sick in what health officials say is an outbreak of hantavirus, which usually spreads by inhaling contaminated rodent droppings.

The legislation says the money would support enhancements to the ballroom project, “including above-ground and below-ground security features,” but also specifies that the money may not be used for non-security elements.

The U.S. Postal Service on Tuesday is releasing eight stamps marking significant parts of the road in each of the states it traverses, passing by vintage diners, gas stations and motels — many since preserved or restored — along with breathtaking vistas and wide horizons of the open road.

President Donald Trump ignited the conflict over redistricting last year by urging Republicans to redraw congressional maps to reduce the likelihood that his party loses the U.S. House in the November midterm elections.

Republican governors in Alabama and Tennessee have called lawmakers into special sessions this week to draw new congressional districts after the U.S. Supreme Court weakened a key provision of the Voting Rights Act.

There are usually 80,000 to 100,000 troops on the continent, with more than 36,000 in Germany. The Pentagon announced that it would remove 5,000 troops, and Trump said the next day that he would go “a lot further” than that.

The Trump administration appears to be recalibrating its approach to a centerpiece policy that helped bring the president back to the White House, moving in many ways away from aggressive, public-facing tactics toward a quieter approach.

President Donald Trump swiftly signed bipartisan legislation Thursday funding much of the Department of Homeland Security, but not its immigration enforcement operations.

The rapid growth of prediction markets has sparked a high-stakes debate that is playing out in courts and legislatures all over the country.

Four weeks into the ceasefire that has largely halted fighting in Iran, the U.S. and Iran remain locked in a standoff over the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil and gas passes in peacetime.

In a 6-3 ruling, the court’s conservative majority found that the district, represented by Democrat Cleo Fields, relied too heavily on race.

The hearing before the House Armed Services Committee was focused on the administration’s 2027 military budget proposal, which would boost defense spending to a historic $1.5 trillion.

Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted on Tuesday in an investigation over a social media photo of seashells arranged on a beach that officials said constituted a threat against President Donald Trump.

At least 34 people in 13 states — including Illinois — have been sickened with salmonella poisoning traced to contact with backyard poultry, federal health officials said. Backyard poultry include birds like chicken, ducks, geese, guinea fowl and turkeys.

Cole Tomas Allen appeared in court Monday to face federal charges in a chaotic encounter that resulted in shots being fired, Trump being rushed off the stage and guests ducking for cover underneath their tables.

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby on Monday outlined why he thinks a merger between his airline and rival American would benefit travelers, despite American’s refusal to engage in negotiations.

Isle Royale in far western Lake Superior between Grand Marais, Minnesota, and Thunder Bay, Canada offers scientists a rare opportunity to observe wolves and moose largely free from human influence.

A police officer died and another was critically injured after a man in police custody and receiving treatment at a Chicago hospital opened fire on them Saturday, according to officials.

The Justice Department is also reauthorizing the use of single-drug lethal injections with pentobarbital that were used to carry out 13 executions during the first Trump administration — more than under any president in modern history.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order last weekend directing the FDA and other federal agencies to speed research and loosen restrictions on psychedelics, a class of hallucinogenic drugs which remain illegal under federal law.

President Donald Trump’s acting attorney general on Thursday signed an order reclassifying state-licensed medical marijuana as a less-dangerous drug, a major policy shift long sought by advocates.

Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan has resigned after six seasons, opting to step aside rather than work with a new front office, the team announced Tuesday.

Eight months after President Donald Trump declared a crime emergency in the nation’s capital and called up the National Guard, more than 2,500 troops remain, in a deployment that has grown increasingly routine, with no clear end in sight.