Politics

The Trump administration is carrying out the most intense pressure campaign on Cuba in decades. The Cuban government says its plan is simply to endure.

U.S. Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of forces in the Middle East, briefed President Trump Thursday on the state of the Iran war, with a focus on the ongoing naval blockade , according to two U.S. officials. Why it matters: As he did before Operation Midnight Hammer in June 2025 and Operation Epic Fury in February, Trump is pursuing dual tracks — trying to reach a deal to restart peace talks while also preparing for a possible resumption of major combat operations after the midterms. Behind the scenes: Trump wanted to hear directly from the CENTCOM head on whether the naval blockade is working, the U.S. officials said. Cooper also briefed Trump on the military operation for guiding oil tankers out of the Strait of Hormuz to global energy markets. And he updated Trump on the economic pressure campaign the military is conducting in concert with the Treasury Department. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, White House envoy Steve Witkoff and other senior officials also attended the meeting, the officials said. The White House and CENTCOM declined to comment. The Wall Street Journal first reported the meeting. Driving the news: A group of regional mediators led by Qatar is trying to get the U.S. and Iran to head off a resumption of war after the midterms in favor of negotiations. "The mediation is at a very sensitive stage," a regional source said. Qatari mediators recently delivered a letter from Vice President Vance to Iran's Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Gen. Mohsen Rezaei. Vance proposed restarting negotiations but stressed that any talks would have to address Iran's nuclear program. Trump and Vance met Wednesday to discuss a possible gesture of goodwill toward Iran, such as sending humanitarian goods like food and medicine, according to a source with knowledge. Later in the day, Trump publicly backed the idea. What they're saying: U.S. Amba

The Justice Department has issued grand jury subpoenas to California officials, escalating a dispute over allegations by the federal government that the state may have as many as 20,000 non-citizens registered to vote.

Democrats are favored to take the House in November, but the size of their potential majority could hinge on a handful of competitive races. Four are in Pennsylvania, where President Trump and Republicans made significant gains in 2024. Now, Democrats are betting that the president's low approval ratings and frustration over high prices will shift the political landscape. Lisa Desjardins reports.

As candidates make a final push to win over voters ahead of Election Day, Lisa Desjardins takes a deep dive into the battle for the House of Representatives.

California's Michael Alejandro Castillo Murga became the first U.S. citizen extradited to El Salvador. He faces aggravated femicide charges in a 2019 killing.

Why the GOP is targeting Abdul El-Sayed’s faith more than his ideology.

The 2026 midterms already face a messy pileup of lawsuits and ballot battles, raising fears about election confidence before voters even finish casting ballots . Why it matters: Election challenges aren't unusual, but as the Trump administration continues to make false claims about widespread voter fraud, officials are juggling fights over voter lists, mail-ballot rules and election certification challenges. What they're saying: "The types of challenges that we are seeing pre-election, this close to election day, are very unusual, and mostly because they are coming from the federal government," Jonathan Diaz of the Campaign Legal Center told Axios. "These lawsuits are frivolous," Diaz said, adding they could "create doubt in the minds of the public about the legitimacy of the election process." The other side: The White House referred Axios to comments President Trump made to the media. The Department of Justice did not respond to Axios' request for comment. Here's some of the ways chaos and uncertainty have shaped the 2026 midterms: California In the Golden State, the Trump administration asked state election officials to set aside ballots from roughly 20,000 registered voters whom the DOJ suspects are noncitizens. A federal judge rejected that push Wednesday night, warning that the administration lacked sufficient evidence to justify potentially disenfranchising eligible voters. The judge noted that the DOJ had made similar claims in neighboring Nevada, where election officials determined that 185 voters the DOJ had flagged as noncitizens were actually U.S. citizens. Diaz told Axios that, from his perspective as a voting-rights advocate, the California battle is "not a real lawsuit. It's a political press release that they just happened to submit to the court." The other side: The White House directed questions about the ruling to remarks Trump made Thursday, in which he said "California is very corrupt," and the state's elections are "extremely corrupt." He did n

A Pirro aide said they’d made a problematic mistake in their politically charged case against Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides, an FBI agent testified.

Finally home in Caracas, María Corina Machado called for elections next year, and said her return was organized by her team, not any government.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate is unlikely to act before the end of the year on a House-passed bill that would make daylight saving time permanent, defying President Donald Trump and dashing the hopes of Americans who don't like having to change their clocks twice a year. As daylight saving time ends early Sunday and much of the country turns the clocks back an hour, several senators are holding up legislation that would eliminate the...

Democrats' apparent effort to confuse Alaska voters about candidates' names is reprehensible. But politicians' routine lying and exploitation of ignorance about policy issues is much worse.

The ad roiled Ohio’s race for governor, with the Trump-endorsed Ramaswamy and Acton, the Democratic nominee, vying to lead the state.

With Social Security's main trust fund on course to be depleted in 2032, Congress will face mounting pressure to find remedies and avert benefit cuts.

Perhaps the most important issue for voters is almost getting blocked out

President Trump and first lady Melania Trump will welcome trick-or-treaters to the White House Thursday evening for the annual Halloween celebration. The event comes just hours after Trump returned from South Carolina, where he rallied support for Republicans ahead of next week’s midterm elections. The first couple is expected to hand out candy to children…

Democrats have narrow leads in two key Senate contests with just a few days until the election, new polls show. New surveys conducted by CNN/SSRS released Thursday found Democrats ahead in the Kansas and Maine Senate races, though both leads are in the margin of error. Both parties are spending millions on the two contests…

The EPA overturns a costly Biden rule on natural gas drilling.

In this Halloween special, Robby Soave and Christian Britschgi review Nathan Fielder's documentary about convicted fraudster Elizabeth Holmes.