Contributing Writers

The efforts of Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, to move past his indictment and subsequent pardon by President Donald Trump are clashing with his brother’s legal troubles.Martin Cuellar, sheriff of Webb County, Texas, faces a court hearing Thursday over accusations of having misappropriated county funds.

Graham Platner, the embattled Democratic Senate nominee in Maine, suspended his campaign on Wednesday amid mounting controversies and growing calls from top Democrats in his home state, in the nation’s capital, and across the country for him to immediately quit the race.Platner, a populist Democrat backed last September by progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., was challenging longtime Republican Sen.

Maine state Rep. Valli Geiger, a Rockland Democrat, former nurse and former mayor, is drawing sudden national attention after saying now-former Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner encouraged her to consider taking his place on the ballot in the Maine Senate race.

With Graham Platner facing mounting pressure to end his Senate campaign after rape allegations surfaced Monday, longtime Maine Democrat Troy Jackson filed paperwork Tuesday positioning himself to enter the U.S. Senate race should the Democratic nomination become available.Prominent Democratic leaders, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have withdrawn their support for Platner and urged him to end his campaign.

Political heavyweight Dana White, whose endorsement of President Donald Trump was instrumental in his 2024 victory, is now hinting that he may jump back into presidential politics in 2028 because he has “become really close” with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.This comes as White’s UFC announced a rare “sports diplomacy” partnership with the State Department this week.

A lawful permanent resident from Australia was arrested after she allegedly illegally voted in federal elections in Louisiana, according to officials.Denise Nataly Migliore, 51, was charged in a four-count indictment last month with making false statements to register to vote and illegal voting in an election, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana said.In October 2022 and October 2024, she knowingly made false claims about her U.S.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered an investigation into a Texas hospital Tuesday after it confirmed to Fox News that it advertised Spanish-language “Birth Packages in South Texas” on billboards in Mexico promoting childbirth services to pregnant foreign nationals near the U.S.-Mexico border.

Embattled U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner was hit with a second explosive allegation of sexual impropriety only about 24 hours after he was accused of rape — all while a major campaign decision deadline looms.In a new report published by The Washington Post, the candidate from Maine was accused of removing condoms during sex with his ex-girlfriend Lyndsey Fifield after she explicitly directed him to wear them.”He would pull condoms off,” she told The Washington Post.

Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., who has left the door open to a 2028 presidential run, is facing new questions about his judgment after rescinding support for a second Democratic candidate accused of misconduct involving women.Gallego rescinded his endorsement of Maine Senate nominee Graham Platner on Monday after a rape allegation surfaced.

The Trump administration plans to open a new migrant holding facility next to an airport hub in Louisiana, potentially allowing the federal government to speed up deportations of families and unaccompanied children.A holding facility with 528 beds is set to open in Alexandria, Louisiana, near the Alexandria International Airport (AEX), according to The Associated Press.

Support for embattled Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner is cratering among Democrats, with one of his most prominent supporters calling on him to exit the race following a harrowing rape allegation.Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., rescinded his endorsement and called on Platner to suspend his campaign following a bombshell Politico report detailing a rape allegation by Maine resident Jenny Racicot, 41, who previously dated the scandal-plagued candidate.

As NATO allies prepare to meet in Turkey, at the top of their agenda will be drone warfare and Russia’s testing of the NATO alliance.Using its shadow fleet of old sanction-busting ships, Russia appears to have launched drones at European military bases and airports to test the reaction time of NATO allies and their air defenses, according to a new report published by the International Institute of Strategic Studies, or IISS.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it had carried out 20 federal warrants and 10 arrests last Wednesday in connection with sex trafficking operations in Los Angeles by the Hoover Criminals Gang (HCG), a group known for its human exploitation.Officials identified 51 victims in connection with the arrests, some of whom were as young as 14.

China publicly announced it launched a ballistic missile from a nuclear-powered submarine into the Pacific Ocean Monday — a rare acknowledgment of its sea-based nuclear capabilities that came as U.S. allies deepen security ties in the Indo-Pacific and NATO leaders prepare to meet amid growing concerns over Beijing’s military ambitions.

Democratic Maine Senate nominee Graham Platner is facing calls from top Democrats in his home state and in Washington to immediately end his campaign, in the wake of an explosive report on Monday afternoon that contained an allegation of rape from a woman he previously dated.Platner, a populist Democrat long backed by progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, is challenging longtime Republican Sen.

Mallory McMorrow announced Sunday that she is suspending her campaign for the U.S. Senate in battleground Michigan.The Michigan state senator’s decision leaves her party’s primary as a two-way race between moderate Rep. Haley Stevens, who is backed by longtime Senate Democratic leader Sen. Chuck Schumer and the establishment, and former Wayne County Health Department Director Abdul El-Sayed, a left-wing candidate endorsed by progressive champions Sen.

President Donald Trump and his Interior Department are declaring an America 250 victory over algae in the Lincoln Reflecting Pool.Trump shared photos on Truth Social on Sunday showing the pool and the reflection of the Washington Monument appearing clear and blue, and made a call out with a “Wanted” poster for vandals.”The U.S.

Former President Bill Clinton took a swipe at President Donald Trump in a statement posted to X marking the nation’s 250th birthday, urging Americans to reject division and embrace the country’s founding ideals without mentioning Trump by name.In the statement, released Saturday, Clinton reflected on the nation’s founding and warned that the United States was experiencing another period of deep political division.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s claims that President Donald Trump’s Justice Department launched a politically motivated “fishing expedition” against him are facing new scrutiny after multiple reports indicated key federal investigations predate Trump’s second administration.The timeline has emerged as a central point in the dispute.

President Donald Trump delivered a 37-minute speech for America’s 250th birthday after a weather delay in the dark of night that was lit up by a Guinness world-record-setting fireworks display stretching from July 4 into July 5 at Washington, D.C.’s National Mall.While thousands outlasted the rain and dodged nature’s thunderstorm light show, many Americans might have missed the president’s historic remarks.Here is a recap of some of the highlights.

Paul Pelosi, the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is facing a misdemeanor hit-and-run charge after authorities say he struck a parked vehicle in Napa County, California, on Friday, and drove away before his own car became disabled.The Napa County Sheriff’s Office said the crash happened Friday afternoon in Yountville, just over an hour north of San Francisco.A witness reported seeing a brown convertible hit an unoccupied parked vehicle before continuing north.

President Donald Trump pardoned nine people convicted of violating the Clean Air Act by tampering with diesel vehicle emissions-control systems.On Friday, Trump announced six of the pardons on Truth Social, arguing that the men he granted clemency to were “persecuted by the Biden Administration” and punished for “fixing their car.

Pope Leo XIV urged Americans to embrace the U.S.’s history of welcoming immigrants in a virtual address to the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia Friday while accepting the 2026 Liberty Medal in recognition of his commitment to religious freedom.

OpenAI founder and CEO Sam Altman is considering offering 5% of his company to the U.S. in a deal negotiated with President Donald Trump if his other AI competitors agree to do the same, the Financial Times reported Thursday.Altman reportedly met with Trump, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent about a plan to make OpenAI public to some degree, according to the report.Altman also met with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

President Donald Trump marked the eve of America’s 250th anniversary with a sweeping patriotic address at Mount Rushmore on Friday, declaring the United States the “most exceptional nation ever to exist” and vowing that it would “never be a Communist country.