The U.S. military launched airstrikes and Iran retaliated following the crash of an Army helicopter, blamed on a collision with an Iranian drone near the Strait of Hormuz. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Iran is taking “too long to negotiate a deal” and that “now they will have to pay the price.” A top Cuban diplomat meanwhile tells The Associated Press that Trump is waging “a war without bombs” as a pretext for military intervention, even though Cubans pose no threat. And Trump is expected to sign a bill providing $70 billion to support deporting a million people a year through the rest of his term.
Rising gas prices pushed inflation to its highest level in three years last month, a headache for the Federal Reserve and a potential political challenge for the Trump administration as midterm elections near. Consumer prices rose 4.2% in May from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Wednesday, up from 3.8% in April and the third straight increase. On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.5% last month, after big gains of 0.6% in April and 0.9% in March.
Bill Gates has arrived at the Capitol to speak before a congressional panel investigating the Jeffrey Epstein files, becoming the latest powerful figure linked to the disgraced financier to testify. Gates said Wednesday he hoped his testimony would be helpful to the work of the House Oversight Committee to find justice for Epstein's victims. Committee members are slated to interview the billionaire Microsoft co-founder behind closed doors, as they've done with other witnesses. Republican committee chairman congressman James Comer requested Gates testify after he appeared multiple times in a trove of documents released by the Justice Department as part of its Epstein investigation. Gates has denied any knowledge of Epstein’s abuse of girls.
Maine Sen. Susan Collins often boosts her popularity by keeping her distance from President Donald Trump. Collins has managed to stay close enough to benefit politically while maintaining an independent streak. This strategy has helped Collins survive Trump's frequent personal attacks and his primary endorsements that cost two of her Republican incumbent Senate colleagues their reelection. Collins also has kept winning reelection despite her seat remaining a key target for Democrats over the years. Collins' opponent, Graham Platner, faces several allegations that have complicated the race. But despite Trump's past criticisms, the president hasn't recently slammed Collins, recognizing the importance of maintaining GOP control in Congress.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican, will face Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford in a battle to hold onto his seat in November, setting up what is considered one of the most competitive governor's races in the country.
Nevada, South Carolina and North Dakota hosted primary elections, but much of the political world was focused on Maine’s high-stakes U.S. Senate contest. The results were never in question. Neither Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins nor Democratic challenger Graham Platner faced serious opposition for their party’s nomination. And yet Tuesday marked an especially significant moment for Platner, the embattled veteran and oyster farmer, who is fighting to rebuild his credibility in a campaign rocked by controversy. Elsewhere, President Donald Trump’s clout within his party was tested anew in states like South Carolina and Nevada. Democrats hoped to build momentum in Nevada in their broader push to reclaim key governor’s seats.
Graham Platner has won the Maine Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, setting up a high-stakes race against Republican Sen. Susan Collins. Platner is an oyster farmer and former chair of the planning board in the small town of Sullivan, has little political experience. But he has drawn hundreds of people to rallies around the state. He also has faced a series of controversies that have been the focus of GOP attacks. Democrats see Maine as a top opportunity to flip a GOP-held seat. It is the only state with a competitive Senate race where voters supported Democrat Kamala Harris over Donald Trump in 2024. Collins is the only Republican senator from New England.
California’s most prominent congressional elections for this fall’s midterms are now set, with two districts in particular ready to test Democrats’ redrawn U.S. House map. In the Central Valley, the state’s agricultural center, Democrat Randy Villegas will challenge Republican Rep. David Valadao, who is considered one of the most endangered Republicans this fall. In a Sacramento-area seat, former Democratic state lawmaker Richard Pan will face Rep. Kevin Kiley, who left the GOP and became an independent to run in a newly drawn district. In other races set Tuesday, two Democrats will face off for a seat representing Sacramento while two Republicans will challenge each other in a Southern California district.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is telling European nations that they need to step up their travel restrictions for people coming to the continent from Ebola-hit countries in Africa, hinting that failure to do so may result in increased U.S. regulations on travel from Europe, incl…
The U.S. military says it has carried out strikes against Iran following the crash of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter off the coast of Oman that U.S. President Donald Trump blamed on the Islamic Republic. A U.S. official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation said Tuesday that the helicopter went down after colliding with an Iranian drone. It wasn’t clear whether the collision was intentional. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran “will leave no attack or threat unanswered.”
