Minnesota voting case to be heard by Supreme Court

When Andrew Cilek entered a Lutheran church in Minnesota to cast his vote during the 2010 election, he was surprised when the poll worker told him he couldn't vote because he was wearing a T-shirt with the emblem of a local tea party group, and had a button asking for poll workers to check his I.D. He kept pressing to be allowed in, and eventually the media showed up to cover the test of wills. He was finally allowed to cast his ballot, but poll workers took down his name and information.

The debate over Trump’s border wall is overlooking a key component of border security

As vehicles line up at the Border Patrol's checkpoint a half-hour drive's north of the US-Mexico border, its agents have around 10 seconds to check each driver and decide which few they will stop for additional inspection. It's a situation challenged constantly by smugglers, sometimes with deadly consequences.

Michelle Obama to release memoir in November

In this May 12, 2017, file photo, former first lady Michelle Obama smiles while speaking at the Partnership for a Healthier American 2017 Healthier Future Summit in Washington. The former first lady tweeted Sunday, Feb. 25, 2018 that her memoir, one of the most highly anticipated books in recent years, is coming out Nov. 13, 2018, and is called "Becoming."

Mueller gets another witness to flip, charges pile up on…

Registration will allow you to post comments on newstimes.com and create a newstimes.com Subscriber Portal account for you to manage subscriptions and email preferences. Mueller gets another witness to flip, charges pile up on Manafort, and Democrats release their memo - here's the latest in the Russia investigation Special Counsel Robert Mueller secured another potential witness this week in his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Feinstein doesn’t get state Democrats’ backing in reelection bid

Sen. Dianne Feinstein failed to pick up the endorsement of her own party back in California, where the four-term Democrat is running for another stint in the Senate. In fact, delegates at the California Democratic Party's convention failed to reach a 60% majority for any U.S. Senate candidate, or anyone running for statewide office.

Paul Ryan: ‘We’re going to win’ despite midterm challenges

House Speaker Paul Ryan says he's confident Republicans will triumph at the polls in November, while at the same time acknowledging that midterm elections are often tough for the president's party. The Journal Sentinel reports that Ryan delivered an upbeat message to Waukesha County, Wisconsin, Republicans Saturday night and said of the GOP nationally, "We're going to win."

Flood fears rise as wicked storm system tears across southern, central U.S.

A violent storm system with relentless rains and fierce winds that pounded the southern and central U.S. over the weekend could lead to treacherous flooding in the days ahead. The system that stretched from Texas to the Canadian maritime provinces left a path of destruction as it cut eastward Sunday: Homes were leveled, trees uprooted, cars demolished.

Toomey: Trump’s Support on Background Checks Is ‘Constructive’

Sen. Pat Toomey said Sunday some Senate opponents of gun reform are "reconsidering" their position on background check legislation - a hopeful sign as the Pennsylvania Republican tries to revive a failed 2013 measure. "The president's expression of support for strengthening the background check system is constructive," Toomey said.

Border Patrol’s Checkpoints Overlooked in Debate over Wall

As vehicles line up at the Border Patrol's checkpoint a half-hour drive's north of the U.S.-Mexico border, its agents have around 10 seconds to check each driver and decide which few they will stop for additional inspection. It's a situation challenged constantly by smugglers, sometimes with deadly consequences.

Q&A: What the battle of memos on FBI surveillance showed

In the battle of the classified memos in the House Intelligence Committee, both sides have now had their say on whether the FBI and Justice Department acted inappropriately as they began investigating President Donald Trump's ties to Russia. A Democratic memo that was declassified Saturday, with sections blacked out and after weeks of delays, aimed to defend the FBI and Justice Department's conduct.

U.S. nears decision on Ravenna as missile defense site

WASHINGTON  If the state's congressional delegation has its way, one of the first lines of defense against incoming ballistic missiles would be an Ohio Army National Guard base in a northeast Ohio city of 11,533. Ohio's congressional delegation is in the midst of what one congressman calls a "full court press" to land an East Coast Missile Defense site in Ravenna, Ohio - a site that would, along with bases in California and Alaska, be capable of fending off long- and intermediate-range missiles, presumably from Iran or North Korea.

Chelsea Manning draws little attention in Md. senate race new

Democratic Maryland Senator Ben Cardin is running for a third term in office this year, and while he'll be joined by several other names on the ballot, most of the other candidates for office lack any type of name recognition that will resonate with voters at a statewide level - except one. More than a few eyebrows were raised when Chelsea Manning put out a slickly produced video announcing her run for a U.S. Senate seat in Maryland, where the activist has lived since her release from a military prison.

Dems release Russia probe memo defending FBI surveillance

Two weeks after President Donald Trump blocked its full release, the House Intelligence Committee published a blacked out version of a classified Democratic memo aiming to counter a GOP narrative that the FBI and Justice Department conspired against Trump as they investigated his ties to Russia. The document's release Saturday was the latest development in an extraordinary back and forth between Republicans and Democrats about the credibility of multiple inquiries into links between the Trump campaign and Russia, and the integrity of the top U.S. law enforcement agencies.

California Democrats Decline to Endorse Feinstein

"The California Democratic Party decided not to endorse in the U.S. Senate contest on Saturday, an embarrassing rebuke of veteran Sen. Dianne Feinstein ," the Los Angeles Times reports. "Feinstein, who has represented California in the Senate for a quarter-century, is facing an insurgent bid by fellow Democrat, state Senate leader Kevin de Leon.

C Spire celebrates 30 years of customer inspiration this month

RIDGELAND, Miss: C Spire is celebrating a big anniversary this month - 30 years of inspired service as one of the nation's leading telecommunications and technology services providers and its evolution into one of the leading broadband companies in the U.S. The Ridgeland-based firm, which changed its brand name from Cellular South to C Spire in 2011, was launched 30 years ago on Feb. 4, 1988 in Gulfport on the Mississippi Gulf Coast with completion of the first call on its wireless network between former Ole Miss and New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie Manning and then U.S. Rep. Trent Lott.

Will endorsement of Barletta narrow the field for Senate?

The Republican State Committee's endorsement of U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta for the U.S. Senate seat held by Bob Casey may thin the GOP field of candidates, a public affairs professor said last week. "Barletta is the odds-on favorite to win the primary," said G. Terry Madonna, a professor at Franklin & Marshall College.