JULIET LINDERMAN

President-elect Donald Trump walks with Elon Musk before the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024 in Boca Chica, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Pool via AP)

Elon Musk warns Republicans against standing in Trump’s way — or his

Donald Trump’s second term comes with the specter of the world’s richest man serving as his political enforcer.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump, left, and Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump attend the final day of the Republican National Convention, July 18, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Lara Trump stepping down as RNC co-chair and addressing speculation about Florida Senate seat

Lara Trump will step down as co-chair of the Republican National Committee. One of her potential next steps is replacing Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, whom Donald Trump tapped to be the next secretary of state. If Rubio is confirmed, Florida Gov.

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for secretary of defense, speaks with reporters following a meeting with senators on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

Police report reveals assault allegations against Hegseth, Trump’s pick for defense secretary

A woman told police that she was sexually assaulted in 2017 by Pete Hegseth after he took her phone, blocked the door to a California hotel room and refused to let her leave.

FILE - Marine Maj. Joshua Mast, arrives at Circuit Court for a hearing in an ongoing custody battle over an Afghan orphan, March 30, 2023 in Charlottesville, Va. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)

Military board substantiates misconduct but declines to fire Marine who adopted Afghan orphan

A U.S. Marine whose adoption of an Afghan war orphan has spurred a yearslong legal battle and raised alarms at the highest levels of government will stay in the Marine Corps. A three-member panel of Marines said Tuesday that while Maj.

FILE - U.S. Marine Corp Major Joshua Mast, center, talks with his attorneys during a break in the hearing of an ongoing custody battle over an Afghan orphan, March 30, 2023, at the Circuit Courthouse in Charlottesville, Va. A Virginia appellate court ruled Tuesday, July 16, 2024, that the U.S. Marine should never have been granted an adoption of an Afghan war orphan and voided the custody order he’s relied on to raise the girl for nearly three years. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)

Appeals court voids Marine’s adoption of Afghan orphan; child’s fate remains in limbo

A Virginia appellate court ruled Tuesday that a U.S. Marine should never have been granted an adoption of an Afghan war orphan and voided the custody order he’s relied on to raise the girl for nearly three years.

FILE - Former Pentagon Chief of Staff Kash Patel waves to the crowd as he speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2024, at the National Harbor, in Oxon Hill, Md., Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Who is Kash Patel? Trump loyalist looks to build influence and power

Kash Patel is a trusted aide to Donald Trump and a swaggering campaign surrogate who mythologizes the former president while promoting conspiracy theories and his own brand.

FILE - Kash Patel, former chief of staff to Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller, speaks at a rally in Minden, Nev., Friday, Oct. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/José Luis Villegas, Pool, File)

Kash Patel is pushing conspiracies and his brand. He’s poised to help lead a Trump administration

Kash Patel is a trusted aide to Donald Trump and a swaggering campaign surrogate who mythologizes the former president while promoting conspiracy theories and his own brand.

FILE - Lara Trump speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2024, at the National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Md., Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Lara Trump is taking the reins and reshaping the RNC in her father-in-law’s image

Lara Trump became co-chair of the Republican National Committee in March, culminating efforts by her father-in-law, former President Donald Trump, and his allies to shake up the party’s governing body.

At least 5 US-funded projects in Gaza are damaged or destroyed, but most are spared

The United States has spent more than $7 billion on humanitarian aid and building infrastructure in the Palestinian territories in recent decades, while sending more than $3 billion a year to Israel for its military.

FILE - Federal prosecutor Leo Wise poses for a photograph at the U.S. Attorney's Office in downtown Baltimore on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018. Before he was assigned to investigate President Joe Biden’s son, Leo Wise built a reputation in Baltimore as a tough and hard-charging federal prosecutor, taking on powerful figures, whether a gang of corrupt cops, a police commissioner, a top local prosecutor or even the city’s mayor. (AP Photo/David McFadden, File)

A lead prosecutor in the Hunter Biden case cut a contentious path during his time in Baltimore

Before Leo Wise was assigned to investigate Hunter Biden, he had built a reputation in Baltimore as a tough and hard-charging federal prosecutor.

FILE - Marine Maj. Joshua Mast and his wife, Stephanie, arrive at Circuit Court, Thursday, March 30, 2023 in Charlottesville, Va. The U.S. government has warned a Virginia judge that allowing Marine Maj. Joshua Mast and his wife to keep an Afghan war orphan risks violating international law and could be viewed around the world as “endorsing an act of international child abduction,” according to secret court records reviewed by The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)

Secret records: Government says Marine’s adoption of Afghan orphan seen as abduction, must be undone

The U.S. government has warned a Virginia judge that an American Marine’s adoption of an Afghan war orphan was flawed and could be seen as international child abduction. That is from secret court records reviewed by The Associated Press.

A baby was found in the rubble of a US raid in Afghanistan. But who exactly was killed and why?

A baby found in the rubble of a U.S. raid in Afghanistan in 2019 is raising questions about who was killed and why. A U.S. Marine who adopted the baby insists her parents were foreign fighters killed in the attack.

Resident Ashley Johnson speaks with Baltimore Police officers about the mass shooting incident in the Southern District of Baltimore, Monday, July 3, 2023. Police say a number of people were killed and dozens of others were wounded in a shooting that took place during a block party just after midnight on Sunday. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)

Baltimore samaritan who bandaged a shooting victim from block party says ‘All they know is guns’

Police are searching for suspects who opened fire during a holiday weekend block party in Baltimore that killed two people, wounded 28 others. Authorities say many of the shooting victims were under 18.

HUD seeks to roll back Obama rule on housing desegregation

The Trump administration is taking steps to roll back an Obama-era rule intended to ensure that communities confront and address racial segregation in housing. It says the requirements have overburdened local governments.

SUNDAYS AFTER: Patrick Shepard finds healing in basketball

For many years Patrick Shepard wouldn’t touch a basketball -- his molester, a priest, had taught him the game and as much as he loved it, he had “so many bad memories.” The abuse sent him spiraling down, through anger and alcohol abuse and sadness.

SUNDAYS AFTER: Amid daily struggles, working to conquer fear

Jacob Olivas was abused by a priest for a year when he was between the ages of 6 and 7. Now, more than four decades later, his life is difficult. He suffers from crippling panic attacks, fears and night terrors.

SUNDAYS AFTER: For priest’s victim, home is a sanctuary

Dorothy Small was 60 years old when she met the priest. She thought it was love — that was the only way to make sense of what happened. But another priest had a different word for it. He told her she had been raped.

Payday without pay hits federal workers as shutdown drags on

Friday is supposed to be payday for about 800,000 federal workers affected by the government shutdown. But there won’t be any checks for those employees.

Panel: No ethics violation by Rep. Esty in harassment case

The House Committee on Ethics says a Democratic representative accused of tolerating sexual harassment in her office could have better protected her staff but didn’t break congressional rules. Rep.

Congress passes overhaul of sexual harassment policies

Both the House and Senate have passed a bill to overhaul the process for handling harassment claims in Congress.

As aid checks go out, farmers worry bailout won’t be enough

American farmers will soon begin getting checks from the government as part of a billion-dollar bailout to help those experiencing financial strain from President Donald Trump’s trade disputes with China.

Judge upholds delay of anti-segregation housing rule

A federal judge has upheld a decision by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to delay an Obama-era anti-discrimination rule. Chief Judge Beryl A. Howell of the U.S.

Trump sides with House on farm bill work requirement fight

President Donald Trump is siding with House Republicans in the showdown over work requirements for food stamp recipients.

Analysis: HUD plan would raise rents for poor by 20 percent

Housing Secretary Ben Carson says a plan to raise rents for people who get federal housing aid is a result of budget constraints, but that it could see changes depending on funding for the agency.

Senate approves sexual harassment bill for Congress

The Senate gave swift, unanimous approval Thursday to a bill that revamps the system for handling sexual harassment complaints on Capitol Hill.

House GOP seeks stricter work requirements on food stamps

Republicans controlling the House are proposing stricter work mandates on the nation’s more than 40 million food stamp recipients as they kick off debate on a politically-freighted election-year overhaul of the government’s food and farm programs.

At the EEOC, harassment cases can languish for years

The federal agency handling workplace harassment complaints has a huge backlog, with wait times for resolution often stretching years.

Internal probe finds misconduct within Bono’s advocacy group

The One Campaign, an advocacy organization co-founded by Bono of the rock band U2, is acknowledging “an institutional failure” after an internal investigation revealed a pattern of abuse and misconduct among leadership in its Johannesburg office over a four-year span.

Perdue to food box critics: Give the idea a chance

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue is defending a proposal that would replace a portion of food stamp benefits with pre-assembled boxes of shelf-stable goods delivered to recipients’ doorsteps _ an idea one lawmaker called “a cruel joke.”

House member offices paid $342k in settlements over 4 years

Newly-released statistics show that House lawmakers’ offices paid out more than $342,000 in workplace discrimination settlements between 2008 and 2012, including nearly $175,000 for eight settlements related to sexual harassment and sex discrimination accusations.