Bill seeks park status for New Mexico’s stunning white dunes

A vast expanse of shifting white sand dunes in southern New Mexico would be elevated from a national monument to a national park under legislation proposed Friday by one of the state's senators. U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, a Democrat, made the announcement while visiting the state as part of a multiday tour that also included looking at the potential for more outdoor recreation elsewhere as New Mexico and other western states promote their wide open spaces in hopes of attracting more tourists and more money.

Pelosi says Democrats have cash and environment to win House

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said Sunday that House Democrats have the fundraising, the issues and the political atmosphere on their side to win back the majority in November. These factors, and an activated party base that's helped Democrats win in special elections across the country this year are the "small droplets of water" that create a wave, Pelosi said headlining a county Democratic Party banquet in Des Moines.

How Indians See Nikki Haley

A politician who can straddle the cultures of South Carolina and the Subcontinent knows a thing or two about winning popular support. She may have even more in India than the U.S. That Indian-American Nikki Haley is the most popular member of the Trump administration in her own country has now been demonstrated by reliable polling.

High Stakes for GOP in Vicious Primaries Being Decided on Tuesday

Control of the House and Senate won't be determined until November, but this week will point to where both parties go from here. In West Virginia, one Republican primary candidate has waged an all-out racist assault against the Senate leader of his own party.

Barbra Streisand and other things you didn’t know about big Jersey races at Trump midterm

President Donald Trump isn't on the state's June 5 primary ballot, but his presence will loom over the candidates who are. Thanks in part to Trump's unpopularity in the Garden State , Democrats have a shot at winning all five Republican-held House districts, while their one possibly endangered incumbent appears to be safe.

Trump-Pence rally grows for Indiana attack on Sen. Joe Donnelly

President Trump and Vice President Pence are moving their post-primary Indiana visit to a venue with more seats, all the bigger to begin their campaign attacks on Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly. The rally is being moved from South Bend to Elkhart to "accommodate more Hoosiers," according to a news release from the Trump-Pence re-election campaign.

Gloria Allred hired by political consultant Sparks’ ex-fiancee

The ex-fiancee of Benjamin Sparks, the Nevada political consultant facing battery charges after he allegedly assaulted the woman and made her his sex slave, has hired attorney Gloria Allred a week before the case heads to a Las Vegas courtroom. The ex-fiancee of Benjamin Sparks, the Nevada political consultant facing battery charges after he allegedly assaulted the woman and made her his sex slave, has hired attorney Gloria Allred a week before the case heads to a Las Vegas courtroom.

Hawaii volcano destroys 9 homes, spews lava 200 feet upward

This photo provided by Hawaii Electric Light shows Mohala Street in Leiliani Estates near the town of Pahoa on Hawaii's Big Island that is blocked by a lava flow from the eruption of Kilauea volcano. The Kilauea volcano sent more lava into Hawaii communities Friday, May 4, 2018, a day after forcing more than 1,500 people to flee from their mountainside homes, and authorities detected high levels of sulfur gas that could threaten the elderly and people with breathing problems.

As Trump prepares plan to lower drug prices, big pharma girds for a fight

Big Pharma is pouring money into a lobbying campaign to thwart any serious efforts to rein in prescription drug prices before a presidential speech this month where Trump plans to lay out his drug pricing proposals. "There is apprehension across the industry," said Bruce Artim, who retired recently after 11 years as the director of federal affairs at Eli Lilly and Co.

California Republican activists favor John Cox for governor but remain divided

Fighting to put a candidate before voters in November, California Republicans strongly preferred businessman John Cox for governor at the party's convention in San Diego this weekend. During an endorsement vote Sunday morning, delegates favored Cox, 55 to 41 percent, over Assemblyman Travis Allen of Huntington Beach.

Inside Scott Pruitt’s ‘miserable’ bunker

Trump team makes the midterms about saving his presidency - The president has raised the spectre of impeachment in cautioning his party against letting the House, and even the Senate, fall into Democratic control. - Rudy Giuliani's revelation Sunday that he expects President Donald Devin Nunes: AG Jeff Sessions should be held in contempt of Congress - House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes is going to push Congress to hold Attorney General Jeff Sessions in contempt of Congress.

Voters eye Pennsylvania’s wide-open, crowded US House races

In this May 3, 2018, photo, Stephen Bloom, one of eight Republicans running for the U.S. House in Pennsylvania's 13th District, speaks to a crowd of party faithful at the Southeastern Adams Volunteer Emergency Services social hall, in Hanover, Pa. less In this May 3, 2018, photo, Stephen Bloom, one of eight Republicans running for the U.S. House in Pennsylvania's 13th District, speaks to a crowd of party faithful at the Southeastern Adams Volunteer Emergency ... more In this May 3, 2018, photo, Doug Mastriano, one of eight Republicans running for the U.S. House in Pennsylvania's 13th District, speaks to a crowd of party faithful at the Southeastern Adams Volunteer Emergency Services social hall, in Hanover, Pa.

Trump floats ‘closing country for a while’

Washington, May 6 - US President Donald Trump has floated a new idea about border security, saying that people might have to think about closing up the country, the media reported. They don't want the wall but we're going to get the wall, even if we have to think about closing up the country for a while, CNN quoted Trump as saying during a tax reform roundtable in Ohio on Saturday.

Race pits Democrat labeled ‘moderate,’ 3 called progressives

In the four-way primary for central Arkansas' congressional seat, the Democrats' positions on health care -- three support a single-payer solution and the other favors a Medicare buy-in proposal -- reflect the tenor of the race's debate. Clarke Tucker, an attorney and two-term state lawmaker, has been painted by pundits and his three opponents as the more moderate choice.

Immigration laws foolish, Trump insists

President Donald Trump renewed a threat to close down the federal government when current funding runs out in September if immigration changes and money for a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico aren't forthcoming. "We may have to close up our country to get this straight," Trump said Saturday during an event in Cleveland focused on the benefits of the 2017 Republican tax overhaul.

An Urgent Debate for California Republicans: How to Get Back in the Game

For anyone wondering about the state of the Republican Party here these days, consider this: There may be no Republican candidate for governor or United States senator on the California ballot this November. That dispiriting possibility is beginning to sink in for California Republicans against the backdrop of a divisive debate among its candidates and leaders on how the embattled party can become competitive again in a state where Ronald Reagan was elected twice as governor and that Richard M. Nixon called home.