California Democrats open convention with eye on Trump

Thousands of California Democratic activists gathered Friday for a three-day convention as they look to lift the party's national prospects after last year's stunning loss to President Donald Trump. In a state where Democrats are itching to lead the liberal resistance to Trump and the Republican Congress, the party's activists find themselves singularly united behind the goal of stunting the GOP.

S.L. mayor, Utah senators jockey for Trump’s ear on monuments

The Democratic leader of Utah's capital city and a pair of Utah Republican congressmen were jockeying for the president's ear on public lands Friday. The jostling comes as U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke considers whether the president should shrink or rescind Utah's national monuments.

Rising GOP figure Tom Cotton in Iowa as Trump faces turmoil

Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton was meeting Friday with Republican activists in the early presidential testing ground of Iowa, walking a delicate path by raising his national political profile at a time of turmoil for Donald Trump's White House. The 40-yer-old freshman Republican senator was scheduled to headline the Pottawattamie County Republican Party's annual fundraiser in Council Bluffs in conservative western Iowa.

Weiner pleads guilty in sexting case, could go to prison

Former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner, whose penchant for sexting strangers ended his political career and sparked a probe that upended the presidential race, pleaded guilty Friday to a sex charge, tearfully apologizing for communications with a 15-year-old girl that he said destroyed his "life's dream in public service." Weiner, who could go to prison, pleaded guilty to a single count of transmitting obscene material to a minor.

Tulsa police officer acquitted in death to return to duty

A white Oklahoma police officer acquitted in the killing of an unarmed black man last year will be allowed to return to the force - although she won't be allowed on patrol, Tulsa's police chief said Friday. Police Chief Chuck Jordan announced in a one-sentence email that officer Betty Jo Shelby will return to active duty.

Report: Trump brags to Russians about firing ‘nut job’ Comey

President Trump meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, next to Russian Ambassador to the United States, Sergei Kislyak, at the White House in Washington on May 10. President Trump, accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, gives a thumbs-up as they walk across the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Friday to board Marine One for a short trip to Andrews Air Force Base, Md. WASHINGTON - President Trump bragged to two top Russian officials last week that firing "nut job" FBI Director James Comey eased "great pressure" on him, the New York Times reported today.

Notre Dame Protest of Pence Twists Catholic Social Teaching Alexandra DeSanctis 58 minutes ago

This Sunday, vice president Mike Pence will return to his home state of Indiana to deliver the commencement address at the University of Notre Dame. For the third time in several years, the school's graduation ceremony will be plagued by controversy, as a group of students plans to walk out during Pence's speech.

The Latest: Tulsa cop acquitted in death to return to duty

Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum, left, listens as Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan speaks during a press conference, Thursday, May 18, 2017, in Tulsa, Okla., about the not guilty verdict in Tulsa police office Betty Jo Shelby's manslaughter trial. A jury on Wednesday acquitted Shelby, a white Oklahoma police officer who says she fired out of fear last year, when she killed Terence Crutcher, an unarmed black man with his hands held above his head.

Professors rescue design drawings for neon signs on Route 66

This Thursday, May 11, 2017, photo shows one of the neon signs that has been refurbished along Route 66 in Albuquerque, N.M. University of New Mexico associate dean and architecture professor Mark Childs pointed to the d... . In this Tuesday, May 9, 2017, photo University of New Mexico associate professor of sculpture Ellen Babcock examines one of the neon design sketches she found among old business files belonging to Zeon Signs in Albuquerq... Hundreds of design drawings for some of Route 66's most memorable signs in Albuquerque and other spots along the road are now part of a special research collection at the University of New Mexico.

Prospect of NAFTA rewrite gives US farmers a case of jitters

U.S. President Donald Trump has vowed to redo the No... . In this Tuesday, April 4, 2017, photo, Blake Hurst, a corn and soybean farmer and president of the Missouri Farm Bureau, right, talks with his son Dallas Hurst, left, and his brother Brooks Hurst, center, on his farm in Westboro... .

Staunch conservative lawmaker tipped to be new US ambassador in Prague

Not Donald Trump's first, Czech born, wife Ivana Trump, but a staunch conservative lawmaker now appears to be the front runner to be the next US ambassador to the Czech Republic. A bigger contrast with the previous incumbent under former president Barack Obama could hardly be found.

Chaffetz resignation latest twist in GOP oversight of Trump

As Chairman of the House Governmental Oversight Committee , Rep. Jason Chaffetz was a determined investigator of the Obama administration and of Hillary Clinton 's use of a private email server while she was Secretary of State. That looked like it was changing this week when reports emerged that former FBI director James Comey had taken notes after Trump privately asked him to end a probe into his former National Security Adviser before firing Comey.