John James

Nonselect

New York Attorney General Letitia James vowed to continue legally pursuing President-elect Donald Trump after his massive victory last week.

'The most since Eisenhower'

More than 1,500 Americans were convicted or are awaiting trial for the Jan. 6, 2021 attack. He can wipe it all away.

In the autopsy of Harris' defeat, writers and political experts are looking at whether Swift, Beyonce, Oprah Winfrey, LeBron James or others helped or hurt her candidacy.

The Madison-Jefferson letters presaged the 1824 election which, thrown to the House, resulted in the election of John Quincy Adams, even though Andrew Jackson had won both the Electoral College.

President-elect Trump wants to put familiar faces on his national security team after being burned during his first term.Why it matters: Sources said Trump doesn't want former generals on his national security team and prefers businessmen and CEOs — but he's also considering a line-up of loyalists in prominent D.C. positions.Trump said several times in his campaign that during his transition he would begin pushing for negotiations between Russia and Ukraine to end the war.He also signaled in public and in private that he wants to see the wars in Gaza and Lebanon end by the time he is inaugurated.Zoom in: Here are the top contenders, based on people close to this process:State Department: A top candidate for Secretary of State is former U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, two sources said.The sources said Grenell advised Trump on foreign policy during the campaign and would likely focus on Russia-Ukraine diplomacy.Republican control of the Senate neutralizes any difficulty Grenell could have had in being confirmed.Two other candidates for the Secretary of State job are Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), who served as ambassador to Japan during Trump's first term, and Trump's former national security adviser Robert O'Brien.Former State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus is also often mentioned for a senior State Department position in D.C. or a key ambassador post.Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) is a leading name for U.S. Ambassador to the UN.Defense Department and intelligence agencies: Several names have been floated for Defense Secretary, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.).Waltz could also be considered for CIA director, in addition to John Ratcliffe, who briefly served as the Director of National Intelligence under Trump.Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) was also mentioned for top defense or intelligence roles but Axios' Stef Kight reports he told Trump's team he wouldn't be accepting any cabinet roles.Another former Trump official who could get a senior foreign policy and national security position in the new administration is Brian Hook, who was Trump's Iran envoy and will lead the new administration's State Department transition team. Hook could end up in a senior position at the department, a source said.The White House: Grenell and Waltz are also potential candidates for national security adviser in the next Trump White House.Reality check: A former senior Trump administration official told Axios it's hard to predict who Trump decides to appoint.At the start of Trump's first term, "Rex Tillerson wasn't in the first 3,000 people who were mentioned as candidates for Secretary of State," the former official said.The official said the most important thing is that Trump's new national security team helps him implement his policy rather than trying to obstruct him like his team did at the beginning of his first term.Tillerson and the Secretary of Defense James Mattis objected to several of Trump's initiatives.Zoom in: During Trump's previous term, the Middle East file was mostly run by his senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who drafted an Israeli-Palestinian peace plan and negotiated the Abraham Accords between Israel, the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.Kushner has said publicly several times during the campaign that he isn't interested in going back to government.But Trump's victory, the current crisis in the Middle East and the opportunity to get a Saudi-Israeli peace deal might change his mind.Others to watch: Avi Berkowitz, who worked with Kushner on the Israeli-Palestinian peace plan and on the Abraham Accords, could also make a comeback and be part of Trump's Middle East team.David Friedman, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Israel during Trump's first administration, could go back for another term in this post.Trump's former envoy Jason Greenblatt and Friedman's chief of staff Aryeh Lightstone might also return to government to work on the Middle East.

'Trump resistance'

Harris and Trump texts both traffic in dire warnings should the other side win and both cook up phony deadlines to get you to hurry up with your money.

Nationally, Catholic voters have been closely divided in recent presidential elections. This year, in the vital state of Pennsylvania, they’ll likely comprise at least a quarter of the electorate—and thus play a pivotal role in deciding the overall outcome.There’s been a see-saw effect in the state. Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton by about 44,000 votes in 2016; Joe Biden defeated Trump by 80,000 votes in 2020.John Fea, a history professor at Messiah University in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, said he believed Biden—an Irish-American Catholic and regular Mass-goer—connected with some Catholics as being one of their own.“I don’t think most working-class Catholics thought Biden was a perfect candidate, but he was one of them,” said Fea, who studies the interaction of religion and politics.Now Trump, a nondenominational Christian, is back atop the Republican ticket, with JD Vance—a Catholic—as his running mate.The Democrats have a ticket without a Catholic, headed by Kamala Harris, who is of Black and South Asian heritage and is from a Baptist tradition with a strong social-justice orientation, and running mate in Tim Walz, a white Lutheran.Fea said some voters in the counties around Scranton, where Biden was born, may have voted for him in 2020 because of the Catholic connection but might not vote for Harris.“You could make an argument that as goes those counties ... so goes Pennsylvania, so goes the nation,” Fea said.As an ardent opponent of abortion, Nikki Bruni of Pittsburgh says she could never vote for Harris. Trump has her vote even though she’s dismayed he’s backing away from the GOP’s traditionally staunch opposition.“I did consider not voting, but Pennsylvania is a swing state,” said Bruni, who directs People Concerned for the Unborn Child, a local anti-abortion group. “I have to do what I can morally to keep the evil from taking over completely.”For Catholics supporting Harris, there’s a similar sense of urgency—that in a state where more than a quarter of voters in 2020 were Catholic, the entire election might hinge on a handful of their fellow believers.

Whether you are getting ready to boogie down to your polling place, or have already voted and are making phone calls to friends and family to mobilize them, there should be a musical soundtrack to match and amplify your mood.I’ve put together a playlist of fun suggestions and look forward to hearing what gets you up, moving, and motivated!”Black Music Sunday” is a weekly series highlighting all things Black music, with over 235 stories covering performers, genres, history, and more, each featuring its own vibrant soundtrack. I hope you’ll find some familiar tunes and perhaps an introduction to something new.

U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson keeping his job as the first speaker of the House from Louisiana.

Ongoing odor problems that are ruining the quality of life for Absecon residents and others must be fixed, even if it means dissolving the Atlantic County Utilities Authority and privatizing landfill management, said state Sen. Vince Polistina, R-Atlantic, during a...

Polling shows the presidential election at a near dead heat. In New Hampshire, that jump ball scenario also applies to the governor’s race, which means the outcomes in both contests could hinge on voters who choose to go with one party for president,...

Early voting data suggests there is a surge beginning at 9:30 a.m., and then another wave of voters head to early voting sites between 1 p.m.-2 p.m.

In Pennsylvania, Catholic voters will likely comprise at least a quarter of the electorate — and thus play a pivotal role in deciding the overall outcome.

Illinois has a unique rule that funding caps can be lifted when campaign contributions add up to more than $100,000 during an election cycle.

Illinois has a unique rule that funding caps can be lifted when campaign contributions add up to more than $100,000 during an election cycle.

Catholics Vote Common Good recently put up billboards around Pittsburgh and Erie, urging Catholics to consider the “common good," not just the single issue of abortion.

What to KnowNationally, Catholic voters have been closely divided in recent presidential elections. This year, in the vital state of Pennsylvania, they’ll likely comprise at least a quarter of the electorate — and thus play a pivotal role in deciding the overall outcome.Some are supporting former President Donald Trump, citing Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris’ support for abortion rights, even though the Republican nominee has backed away from the GOP’s longstanding strict opposition to abortion.Others are supporting Harris as better for the “common good” on health care, immigration and other issues.Nationally, Catholic voters have been closely divided in recent presidential elections. This year, in the vital state of Pennsylvania, they’ll likely comprise at least a quarter of the electorate — and thus play a pivotal role in deciding the overall outcome.There’s been a see-saw effect in the state. Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton by about 44,000 votes in 2016; Joe Biden defeated Trump by 80,000 votes in 2020.John Fea, a history professor at Messiah University in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, said he believed Biden — an Irish-American Catholic and regular Mass-goer — connected with some Catholics as being one of their own.“I don’t think most working-class Catholics thought Biden was a perfect candidate, but he was one of them,” said Fea, who studies the interaction of religion and politics.Now Trump, a nondenominational Christian, is back atop the Republican ticket, with JD Vance — a Catholic — as his running mate.The Democrats have a ticket without a Catholic, headed by Kamala Harris, who is of Black and South Asian heritage and is from a Baptist tradition with a strong social-justice orientation, and running mate in Tim Walz, a white Lutheran.Fea said some voters in the counties around Scranton, where Biden was born, may have voted for him in 2020 because of the Catholic connection but might not vote for Harris.“You could make an argument that as goes those counties ... so goes Pennsylvania, so goes the nation,” Fea said.As an ardent opponent of abortion, Nikki Bruni of Pittsburgh says she could never vote for Harris. Trump has her vote even though she’s dismayed he’s backing away from the GOP’s traditionally staunch opposition. “I did consider not voting, but Pennsylvania is a swing state,” said Bruni, who directs People Concerned for the Unborn Child, a local anti-abortion group. “I have to do what I can morally to keep the evil from taking over completely.”For Catholics supporting Harris, there’s a similar sense of urgency — that in a state where more than a quarter of voters in 2020 were Catholic, the entire election might hinge on a handful of their fellow believers.One group, Catholics Vote Common Good, recently put up billboards around Pittsburgh and Erie, urging Catholics to consider the “common good” — an array of vital concerns in Catholic social teaching — not just the single issue of abortion.“If you’re going to be pro-life, you need to be more than anti-abortion,” said the group’s Pennsylvania chair, Kevin Hayes. “Immigration has a pro-life component. Health care has a pro-life component. Providing adequate support to young families and young mothers with kids has a pro-life component.” He also said Trump, with his verbal attacks on the judicial system and calling critics “ enemies from within ” poses a threat to democracy.Even as both campaigns court Hispanic Catholics’ votes, most of Pennsylvania’s Catholic population is descended from white European immigrants, many of whom worked in the mines and mills of the state’s industrial heyday. They’ve decreased in number amid the decline in industry and scandals in the church, but many still remain, their legacy by marked by steeples and onion domes throughout the state. “That demographic should not be overlooked,” said Hayes, who is among Catholics urging the Harris campaign to pay closer attention to them.To be clear, there is no “Catholic vote” as there might have been in past generations, when Catholics could be expected to support their own as a voting bloc.But there are Catholic voters — lots of them.In 2020, 27% of Pennsylvania voters identified as Catholic, according to AP VoteCast, and neighboring swing states of Michigan and Wisconsin also have ample Catholic populations. A Franklin & Marshall Poll survey in October suggested there could be a competitive race among Catholics in the state.Pennsylvania Catholics, who are overwhelmingly white and non-Hispanic, supported Trump over Biden by a 55%-44% margin that year, whereas the national Catholic vote, with a much larger Hispanic share, was about evenly split.Vance, now the only Catholic in the race, has been strongly influenced by conservative Catholics. He has nonetheless supported Trump’s efforts to downplay abortion as a central issue, even as Trump still claims credit for Supreme Court appointees who helped reverse Roe v. Wade and turn the issue over to the states.Groups like CatholicVote are supporting Trump and courting the Catholic vote.Hayes and other Harris supporters have urged her campaign to pay more heed to Pennsylvania’s Catholics, and they’ve taken their own steps.Sign up for our Breaking newsletter to get the most urgent news stories in your inbox.A group of Philadelphia-area Catholics recently traveled by bus to Wilkes-Barre, near Scranton — stopping for Mass at a Polish Catholic shrine along the way. They went door to door on behalf of their candidate before holding an evening campaign rally.An organizer of the tour, Steve Rukavina, said the group was reaching out in particular to Catholics and others with ancestry in Poland, Ukraine and other Eastern European lands, including those in NATO.He cited concerns that Trump has questioned NATO’s mission and repeatedly taken issue with the Biden-Harris administration’s sending of U.S. aid to Ukraine. Trump has made vague vows to end the war and praised Russian President Vladimir Putin.“I believe that a significant number of Polish and Ukrainian Americans will switch and vote for the Democratic ticket in 2024 because of the NATO and Ukraine issues, coupled with the character issue,” Rukavina said.U.S. Catholic bishops, in their guide to Catholic voters, declared opposing abortion “our pre-eminent priority because it directly attacks our most vulnerable and voiceless brothers and sisters.” They also cited concerns that fit neither party’s platform entirely, including pro-LGBTQ+ issues, religious freedom threats, migrant suffering, racism, wars and access to healthcare and education. Fewer than half of Catholics named abortion as a “very important” issue in deciding their vote, according to a late-summer survey by the Pew Research Center. More than half cited gun policy, foreign policy, Supreme Court appointments and health care, while two-thirds or more cited immigration, violent crime and the economy. Trump supporter James Karamicky raised some of those concerns after leaving a recent Mass at St. Paul Cathedral in Pittsburgh. He criticized the Biden administration for its border policies and for sending many billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine.“It’s too much money,” he said. “There’s people in this country that are suffering, homeless people, the vets.”Tatiana Rad, Trump supporter and a Ukrainian Catholic immigrant, said the former president is the clear choice.Rad grew up in the former Soviet Union, where Catholics were persecuted, and she sees Republicans as more favorable to religion. She backs Trump’s crack down on illegal immigration and believes he will make good his assertion that he’ll stop the war in Ukraine.“If America will be strong, the whole world will be looking upon America,” she said. “They need to see a strong leader.”Brandon Friez, a University of Pittsburgh student who supports Harris, said her presidency would be the best bet for preserving democracy. He also sees moral issues with the Republican Party and Trump. “The long-term suffering of the poor is not something that should be allowed,” he said. “I feel like the Republican Party doesn’t do enough to alleviate the suffering of the poor.”Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Key Trump adviser says a Trump administration will seek to make civil servants miserable in their jobs

Thursday

Lest we forget. Openly racist former president and current Republican nominee Donald Trump is not an anomaly. He actually represents a continuum of the policies and positions of former President Ronald Reagan, who holds “Saint Ronnie” status in the minds of far too many Americans. Yes, the very same Reagan who opened his 1980 campaign in Philadelphia, Mississippi. That’s where civil rights workers James Chaney, Michael Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman were tortured and murdered during “Freedom Summer.” The same Reagan who we have to thank for the meme of “welfare queens.”Reagan’s policies and positions didn’t just shape Republican domestic policy. He manufactured a military push to flex his anti-communist bona fides, choosing the tiny island of Grenada to make an example of by invading it on Oct. 25, 1983. That invasion was dubbed “Operation Urgent Fury” and sent 7,000 U.S. troops into an island nation only about twice the size of Washington, D.C. Was Grenada a threat to the U.S.? You be the judge. The past is far too often prologue, and the Caribbean our Caliban. But if we forget recent history, it could be repeated on a far larger scale should Trump win another presidency.

The former and would-be future president's visit also required dozens of local police officers for security, diverting them from storm cleanup

Florida, Michigan, New Jersey and New York all began early in-person voting Saturday as Election Day nears. The U.S. 2024 election is well underway.

'October Surprise,' a term that entered the lexicon during the 1980 presidential sweeps, have marred most elections since that year, enveloping both Democrats and Republicans.

The rally Republican Donald Trump is planning for Madison Square Garden on Sunday follows a long line of political events at the storied New York City arena

Trump wanted to turn the US military on American citizens while he was president. He has increaslngly said he would do so if he wins the White House in 2024.

With Donald Trump's encouragement, Republicans are joining Democrats at the polls to cast their ballots early this year. The surge of GOP voters has helped break records for early voting in certain swing states such as Georgia and Nevada. Nearly...

Christina Bohannan and Mariannette Miller-Meeks challenged each other’s positions and voting records on abortion and immigration throughout a televised debate this week.

The two candidates squaring off to be Costa Mesa’s mayor both said public safety should be the top priority for the city.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump prays during a roundtable discussion with Latino community leaders and voters at Trump National Doral Miami resort on Tuesday.

BATON ROUGE, La. — A federal judge heard arguments at a hearing Monday on whether he should temporarily block a new Louisiana law that requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom by Jan. 1.

The Al Smith dinner has traditionally offered presidential candidates from both parties the chance to show they can get along — or at least pretend to for one night.

One of the newest New York state troopers is from Auburn.

Montgomery County’s mobile outreach van was the target of another election-related legal matter filed this week with the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas.

Efforts to improve lighting and safety on Pacific Avenue in the Chelsea section are getting started, but volunteers need more help to feel safe there and in the surrounding neighborhood

Asian American Christians, particularly immigrants, widely consider themselves evangelical in a theological sense rather than viewing it as a political identity.

It can be tough to make sense of it all. Let us help.

“I know pilots all over the country that use his website for wind conditions. Commercial pilots and other operators use it,” said Byron Denhart, balloon meister for the Danville-based Balloons Over Vermilion.

Dillon Gabriel and Tawee Walker headline top transfer performances from Week 7

Updated football standings

Media hype about celebrity opinions is as old as some of those doing it. Yet from now till Election Day, news will be filled with brave stars sharing their support for Harris and more.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was the butt of social media jokes after he was caught on video struggling to load his own shotgun during a three-hour opening day pheasant hunt.

Tremane Wood’s lawyer struggled with addiction throughout his high-stakes murder trial. Is that why Tremane received a death sentence and his brother did not?

Soon after Donald Trump’s campaign team took over the Republican National Committee earlier this year, a senior Trump aide was asked how to combat news stories that the campaign had an insufficient get-out-the-vote operation.

The dip has forced Trump to rely more on wealthy donors and groups backed by them, a shift that cuts into the populist message that first propelled him to the White House.

Ethel Kennedy, who lost her husband Sen. Robert Kennedy to assassination, has died. She was 96.

All ads must name the person or organization paying for them. If it isn't a candidate, chances are good that dark money is involved.

A bipartisan group of local religious leaders, law enforcement officials and residents across Alabama see the fallout in Springfield as a cautionary tale — and have been taking steps to help integrate the state’s Haitian population in the small cities where they live.