Louisiana’s prison system routinely holds people weeks and months after they have completed their sentences.

Bluesky has seen its user base soar since the U.S. presidential election, boosted by people seeking refuge from Elon Musk’s X, or wanting an alternative to Meta’s Threads and its algorithms.

The Chinese government is protesting the latest American announcements of military sales and assistance to Taiwan, warning the United States that it is “playing with fire.”.

Decades after a former Chicago mayor pledged to extend transit to the city’s far South Side, the federal government is committing to the massive project just before President Joe Biden leaves office.

Lara Trump, the daughter-in-law of President-elect Donald Trump, says she’s removing herself from consideration to be a Florida senator.

Mark Burnett, the power producer who helped reintroduce Donald Trump to a national television audience with “The Apprentice,” is being tapped by the president-elect as special envoy to the United Kingdom in his upcoming administration.

Amazon delivery drivers and Starbucks baristas are on strike in a handful of U.S. cities as they seek to exert pressure on the two major companies to recognize them as unionized employees or to meet demands for an inaugural labor contract.

After days of threats and demands, Donald Trump had little to show for it once lawmakers passed a budget deal.

One of the most turbulent sessions of Congress in the modern era is about to make way for the next one.

President Joe Biden has signed a bill into law that averts a government shutdown.

Congress is allocating more than $100 billion in emergency aid to address extensive damage caused by hurricane and other disasters.

The Washington Commanders' path to returning to nation's capital is clear after an on-again, off-again saga in Congress ended with a late reprieve.

A nearly two-year investigation by Democratic senators of Supreme Court ethics details more luxury travel by Justice Clarence Thomas and urges Congress to establish a way to enforce a new code of conduct.

Thirty years after Florida required schools to teach African American history, how the subject is taught remains inconsistent across Florida classrooms, a review by The Associated Press has found.

The Senate has passed legislation to boost Social Security payments for millions of people.

Johnny Zuagar says he tried to hide his worries about a potential government shutdown from his three boys as he weighs how much to spend on Christmas presents.

President Donald Trump’s billionaire ally Elon Musk used his outsize influence on X to help kill a bipartisan funding proposal that would have prevented a government shutdown, spreading multiple false claims in the process.

The man charged with gunning down United Healthcare’s CEO outside a Manhattan hotel is now in a federal jail after being returned to New York City in dramatic fashion.

President-elect Donald Trump says he’s nominating the president of the advocacy group CatholicVote to be the U.S. ambassador to the Vatican.

President-elect Donald Trump is threatening to add the 27 countries that make up the European Union to the list of trade partners he'll place tariffs on — unless the group takes steps to import more U.S. goods.

Michael Regan, who has led the Environmental Protection Agency throughout President Joe Biden’s four-year term, said Friday he will be leaving the agency Dec. 31, about three weeks before Biden’ leaves office.

The government’s highway safety agency is proposing voluntary safety guidelines for self-driving vehicles.

An Iranian officer blamed for the 2022 killing of an American in Iraq has been charged in New York with federal murder and terrorism crimes.

President Joe Biden has secured the 235th judicial confirmation of his presidency.

The Senate has rushed through final passage of a bipartisan plan to fund federal operations and prevent a government shutdown.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has dismissed an assertion by Elon Musk that only a far-right party can “save Germany.”.

For the world, 2024 was riven by conflict on two fronts.

With hours to go before a midnight government shutdown, the House has approved a new plan from House Speaker Mike Johnson that would temporarily fund federal operations and disaster aid, but dropped President-elect Donald Trump’s demands for a debt limit increase into the new year.

Donald Trump seemed poised to inherit a relatively strong economy when he begins a second term in the White House in January.

Michigan Democrats are ending their final days in control of the state government bogged down with disunity and inaction.

President Joe Biden’s administration has started to withdraw pending regulations that won’t be finalized by the time he leaves office.

Some U.S. colleges and universities are advising international students to return to campus before President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated.

A handful of prominent Democratic governors are quickly adjusting their approach to President-elect Donald Trump before he takes office in January.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says it deported more than 270,000 people over a recent 12-month period, the highest annual tally in a decade.

A provision to transfer the land that is the site of the old RFK Stadium from the federal government to the District of Columbia is no longer included in Congress’ short-term spending bill that lawmakers are racing to pass before a government shutdown.

The Pentagon is warning that Republicans’ decision to abandon a congressional spending plan will cost more than 2 million troops their paychecks over the holidays unless some agreement is reached before Friday’s deadline to prevent a government shutdown.

A debate over the debt ceiling is at the center of a dispute over funding that is pushing the possibility of a federal government shutdown to the brink in Washington.

The United States has more than doubled the number of its forces in Syria to fight the Islamic State group.

Elon Musk’s role in taking down a bipartisan budget deal shows his ascendance as a political force.

American farmers, small business owners and wildfire survivors are among those who will suffer if Congress cannot agree on a new spending bill after President-elect Donald Trump abruptly rejected a bipartisan plan that included more than $100 billion in disaster aid.

American farmers are hoping that aid to agriculture will be revived as Congress struggles to avert a looming partial government shutdown.

Washington Capitals and Wizards owner Ted Leonsis, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser and other area leaders celebrated the start of an $800 million downtown arena renovation Thursday.

Congress has until midnight Friday to come up with a way to fund the government, or federal agencies will shutter.

Veteran Fox News business anchor Neil Cavuto is leaving the network after his show on Thursday.

Immigrant advocates are preparing for President-elect Donald Trump’s second term by training community members on how to protect themselves from his promise of mass deportations.

The House has resoundingly rejected President-elect Donald Trump’s new plan to fund federal operations and suspend the debt ceiling a day before a government shutdown.

Immigration in 2024 drove U.S. population growth to its fastest rate in 23 years as the nation surpassed 340 million residents.

An Australian computer scientist who falsely claimed to be the founder of the bitcoin cryptocurrency has been found to have committed contempt of court by breaching an order of London’s High Court.

British politician Nigel Farage says talks are underway about Elon Musk making a hefty donation to Farage’s party Reform U.K. The Times of London reported it could be as much as $100 million, which would be the largest political donation in U.K. history.

A state appeals court has removed Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump and others.

Huge quantities of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, are being emitting by oil and gas operators in the 75,000-square-mile Permian Basin straddling Texas and New Mexico.

For decades, largescale engineering projects for development and agriculture drained and partitioned South Florida's Everglades, a vast wetlands landscape home to endangered and threatened species and a vital source of drinking water for millions of Floridians.

European Union leaders insist no decisions can be taken about the future of Ukraine without its consent or behind their backs.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced $200 million in humanitarian aid for conflict-torn Sudan during his likely final trip to the United Nations while in office.

President Joe Biden is pledging to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by more than 60% by 2035.

President Vladimir Putin has boasted that his military operation in Ukraine has strengthened Russia and denied that the downfall of a key ally in Syria had dented Moscow’s prestige.

An early rebound for U.S. stocks petered out by the end of the day, leaving indexes close to flat.

A Kansas official who’s an informal adviser to President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team on immigration issues doesn’t expect mass deportations to prompt arrests of migrants at sensitive locations such as schools and churches.

A New York federal judge has ordered Rudy Giuliani to appear in court in early January to face claims that he should be held in contempt for failing to turn over assets to two Georgia election poll workers who won a libel case against him.

President-elect Donald Trump has delivered a likely death blow to bipartisan congressional budget negotiations.

President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense is expected to face his first public questioning from U.S. senators on Jan. 14.

The U.S. Commerce Department’s efforts to curb China’s and Russia’s access to American-made advanced computer chips have been “inadequate” and will need more funding to stymie their ability to manufacture advanced weapons.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has been blocked from quickly advancing a bill that would allow local law enforcement agencies to track aerial drones.

The Federal Reserve’s third interest rate cut of the year will likely have consequences for debt, savings, auto loans, mortgages and other forms of borrowing by consumers and businesses.

President-elect Donald Trump has abruptly rejected a bipartisan plan to prevent a Christmastime government shutdown.

Florida authorities say they're pursuing a criminal case against a man accused of trying to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump for a car crash that occurred after his arrest.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear says Democrats should think less about partisan politics and more about meeting people’s needs.

During the transition period between President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump, there has been at least some coordination on West Wing affairs.

The Supervisor of Elections in Volusia County wants to get the word out: A special election is coming up and if you want to vote by mail, you have less than a month to request a ballot.

The federal judge who presided over the seditious conspiracy case against Oath Keepers members says it would be “frightening” if the anti-government group’s founder, Stewart Rhodes, is pardoned for orchestrating a violent plot to keep Donald Trump in the White House after he lost the 2020 presidential election.

A grand jury in Washington has returned an indictment against former Congressman David Rivera for failing to register as a foreign agent of a sanctioned Venezuelan media tycoon on whose behalf the Miami Republican allegedly lobbied the Trump administration.

The House Ethics Committee has voted in secret to release the long-awaited ethics report into former Rep. Matt Gaetz.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments next month over the constitutionality of the federal law that could ban TikTok in the U.S. if its Chinese parent company doesn’t sell it.

The British government says it still plans to hand over a contested Indian Ocean archipelago, which is home to a strategically important military base, to Mauritius.

The Senate has passed a defense bill that authorizes significant pay raises for junior enlisted service members and boosts overall military spending to $895 billion.

The Environmental Protection Agency has granted two requests from California to enforce strict standards for vehicle emissions, including a rule aimed at banning sales of new gasoline-powered cars in the state by 2035.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will hold a news conference on “a matter of law and order,” according to a release.

The past year has been both a glass half empty and half full for the world's democracies.

New polling shows Republicans hold an overwhelmingly positive view of Robert F.

The Iranian rial has fallen to its lowest level in history, losing more than 10% of value since Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election in November.

Elon Musk’s attachment to President-elect Donald Trump has created an unprecedented alliance between America’s most powerful politician and its richest businessman.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israeli troops will remain in Syrian territory indefinitely, and that blurs the border with Israel's northern neighbor.

U.S. stocks tumbled to one of their worst days of the year after the Federal Reserve hinted it may deliver fewer shots of adrenaline for the U.S. economy in 2025 than earlier thought.

The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate by a quarter-point — its third cut this year — but also signaled that it expects to reduce rates more slowly next year than it previously envisioned, mostly because of still-elevated inflation.

President-elect Donald Trump says he'll nominate former Senate candidate Herschel Walker as the U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas.

Executions have historically been carried out with at least some public scrutiny, from public hangings in the town square to lethal injections in prisons witnessed by journalists.

The Washington Commanders are another step closer to the possibility of returning to the franchise’s old home in the nation’s capital.

Wrapping up their report on the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, House Republicans have concluded it’s former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney who should be prosecuted for her work probing the riot.

Police say over a dozen people tied up and terrorized a man and woman at a crime-riddled suburban Denver apartment in what's being described as an apparent gang-related attack on two Venezuelan immigrants.

More world leaders are confirming they have been invited to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.

A senior U.S. military official says a couple hundred North Korean troops fighting alongside Russian forces against Ukraine have been killed or wounded in battle in the Kursk border region.

President-elect Donald Trump is accusing the Des Moines Register newspaper and its pollster of “brazen election interference” for publishing a poll the weekend before the election that showed Democrat Kamala Harris was leading by three percentage points in the midwestern state.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm says the incoming Trump administration should proceed cautiously as it considers proposals for new natural gas export terminals.

In a string of visits, dinners, calls, monetary pledges and social media overtures, big tech chiefs have joined a parade of business and world leaders in trying to improve their standing with President-elect Donald Trump before he takes office in January.

The U.S. is still separating some migrant children from parents while holding them after they cross the border despite broad improvements at detention centers in Texas.

President-elect Donald Trump’s lawyers are alleging that his hush money conviction was tainted by juror misconduct, opening a new front in their fight to overturn the verdict and throw out the historic case.

Pop star and fashion designer Pharrell Williams has been named UNESCO’s goodwill ambassador for artistic education and entrepreneurship on Tuesday in Paris.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won't be the top Democrat on a prominent House committee next year.

Congressional leaders have unveiled legislation that will keep the federal government funded through March 14 and provide more than $100 billion in emergency aid to help states and local communities recover from Hurricanes Helene and Milton and other natural disasters.

The Federal Trade Commission says it will soon require hotels, vacation rental platforms and live event promoters to disclose any fees up front when they list prices.