Political
Need information regarding current political news? Here we'll keep you updated on the latest political news, locally and nationally.
Grant County primary turnout slips from 2022 levels as officials look ahead to November election
EPHRATA — Grant County's voter turnout in the 2026 primary election finished at nearly 34%, a figure county electi…
Whitmer: Get flu vaccine to ease hospitals' load in pandemic
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Tuesday urged Michigan residents to get the flu vaccine to ease the load on the health system if there is a surge of coronavirus cases during the fall and winter influ…
Tennessee faces lawsuit for letting counties require masks
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee is facing a lawsuit over Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s decision to let counties issue certain orders to curb the
Hawaii's most populous island ramps up virus testing
HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii's most populous island is returning to a stay-at-home order while officials strive to conduct 70,000 COVID-19 tests in two weeks amid a surge in cases.
Montana halts transfers from 3 jails with COVID-19 outbreaks
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Montana officials said Tuesday they have suspended the transfer of state inmates out of three county jails because of COVID-19 outbreaks at the facilities that combined have infected more tha…
Rapper West qualifies for presidential ballot in Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Rapper Kanye West has qualified to appear on Minnesota's presidential ballot this November as an independent candidate, the state Secretary of State’s office said Tuesday.
US House hopefuls in New Mexico race unload dueling gun ads
RIO RANCHO, N.M. (AP) — Democratic U.S. Rep. Xochitl Torres Small and Republican challenger Yvette Herrell this week released dueling ads — with guns —aimed at appealing to rural voters in their swing, southern New…
Trump's convention blurs official business and politics
WASHINGTON (AP) — Plenty of presidents have walked right up to the line separating official business from politics — or even stepped over it. President Donald Trump has blown past it with a bulldozer, and
Trump: Acting homeland security secretary will lead agency
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday he will nominate acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf for the top spot in the agency, rewarding a forceful advocate for administration policy whose l…
'Fighting for you': First lady makes her case for Trump vote
WASHINGTON (AP) — First lady Melania Trump portrayed her husband as an authentic, uncompromising leader in a Rose Garden address as President Donald Trump turned to family, farmers and the trappings of the presiden…
US high court denies bid to restore Greens on Montana ballot
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday denied an attempt by the Montana secretary of state to restore Green Party candidates to the November ballot — striking a blow to a Republican-bankrolled effor…
Trump's convention gives platform to some with fringe views
WASHINGTON (AP) — An advocate of “household voting” in which husbands get the final say. A woman who has argued that school sex ed programs are “grooming” children to be sexualized by predators like
Day 2 at GOP convention: a first lady, a pardon, Pompeo
WASHINGTON (AP) — A diverse collection of Donald Trump’s allies — his family, swing-state farmers and even a convicted bank robber — cast the president as the best hope for America's future Tuesday night as Republi…
US citizenship agency drops plan to furlough 70% of workers
CHICAGO (AP) — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services canceled more than 13,000 employee furloughs Tuesday, averting a catastrophe for the cash-strapped agency that oversees the nation's legal immigration system…
State Supreme Court hears challenge on indoor dining ban
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The state Supreme Court is weighing a challenge to New Mexico's pandemic-related ban on indoor dining, in the latest legal showdown between restive business owners and Democratic Gov. Michelle…
Abuse complaints decline sharply without school oversight
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A sharp decline in reports of child abuse and neglect in New Mexico at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic is prompting concerns that problems are going unnoticed while children stay home f…