A high-profile sheriff in Michigan announced his bid to run for governor, replacing Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.First elected sheriff of Michigan’s Genesee County in 2020, Chris Swanson’s announcement on Thursday marks his full leap into politics after speaking at the Democratic National Convention last August. The race is shaping up to be one of the most fiercely contested political battles of 2026.

An aircraft used by a state-owned Venezuelan natural gas company to evade U.S. sanctions and export control laws for the benefit of the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was seized in the Dominican Republic Thursday, authorities said. The seizure of the Dassault Falcon 2000EX aircraft used by Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A.

President Donald Trump fired the U.S. Federal Election Commission Commissioner and Chair Ellen Weintraub, sending her a letter regarding her “removal.”Trump took office Jan. 20, and since then has taken on a massive government makeover, sidelining and firing hundreds of top agency officials and civil servants as he attempts to install more loyalists and downsize the bureaucracy.

A House lawmaker Thursday jokingly suggested making therapy dogs a permanent fixture in committee hearings after voicing his concern about the “mental stability” of Democrats a day earlier. On Wednesday, as Republicans on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform discussed wasteful government spending, Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., asked about bringing in therapy dogs for his Democratic colleagues amid back-and-forth sparring between both sides.

President Donald Trump on Thursday announced a slew of picks for big jobs, including director of the U.S. Marshals Service and three ambassadors.In a post on Truth Social, Trump announced Gadyaces “Gady” Serralta will serve as the next director of the United States Marshals Service.”Gady is a lifelong public servant, with 34 years of Law Enforcement experience,” Trump wrote. “I nominated him in my First Term to serve as the U.S.

The former chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., announced Wednesday his intention to run against Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., calling the Democratic Party “paralyzed and unprepared” for President Donald Trump’s second term in office.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is refusing to attend the Group of 20 (G-20) summit in Johannesburg this year, in protest of the South African government’s controversial land seizure bill.The bill, which was signed last week, permits South African authorities to expropriate land “for a public purpose or in the public interest,” promising “just and equitable compensation” to those impacted by the bill.

The U.S. State Department on Wednesday announced a new deal with the government of Panama that will eliminate charge fees for U.S. government vessels.”The government of Panama has agreed to no longer charge fees for U.S. government vessels to transit the Panama Canal,” the State Department wrote in an X post Wednesday night.The new agreement will save the U.S. government millions of dollars a year, officials noted.

The Trump administration’s plan to detain some of the most dangerous illegal immigrants arrested in the United States in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, could raise legal concerns and challenges, which could slow efforts to deport them to their home countries, experts say. President Donald Trump has instructed the Pentagon to prepare the facility to house up to 30,000 “criminal illegal aliens” at the U.S. military base. Flights to the facility began this week.