Politics

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he departs the White House in Washington en route to Grand Island, Neb., to campaign ahead of the midterm elections, on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. President Trump reversed course on Monday and announced that his super PAC would now pay for the television ads promoting him that have been airing nationwide at taxpayer expense. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times)

Facing backlash, President Trump says his super PAC will pay for taxpayer-funded ads

By The New York Times News Service Syndicate

October 5, 2026 at 7:03 p.m.

President Donald Trump reversed course Monday and announced that his super political action committee would...

Former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert leaves Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago after sentencing on April 27, 2016. (Zbigniew Bzdak/baiduhai)

Dennis Hastert, the disgraced former US House speaker who went to prison, dies at 84

By Rick Pearson

October 5, 2026 at 6:36 p.m.

Former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, who was sentenced to 15 months in prison in...

Marimar Martinez, center, listens while her attorney Chris Parente, left, speaks, Oct. 5, 2026, at his Chicago office about filing of a federal lawsuit over her shooting by a Border Patrol agent during Operation Midway Blitz last year. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

Lawyers for Chicago woman shot by Border Patrol agent call for criminal charges

By Jason Meisner

October 5, 2026 at 2:47 p.m.

Attorneys for Marimar Martinez, shot by a Border Patrol agent during Operation Midway Blitz last...

A parking meter box is stationed in Chicago’s Loop on Sept. 15, 2026. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

City Council punts decision on $2.53 billion Chicago parking meter sale to Stonepeak

By Alice Yin

September 25, 2026 at 2:51 p.m.

Aldermen delayed a vote on the sale of Chicago’s parking meters Friday, punting a fateful...

Ald. Matt Martin, 47th, left, talks outside chambers on July 15, 2026, before a City Council meeting at Chicago City Hall. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

Chicago City Council approves campaign ethics tweaks as election season heats up

By A.D. Quig

September 25, 2026 at 12:37 p.m.

Candidates will have to stand by their ads this election season — in writing or...

CNN Senior Reporter Betsy Klein reports from the White House, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

White House TV pool is back in operation after a dayslong ban of news outlets from grounds

By Jocelyn Noveck

September 25, 2026 at 1:10 p.m.

The U.S. network video pool for the White House was back in operation Friday, for...

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. listens as President Donald Trump speaks during an event about healthcare in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday Sept. 18, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

CDC vaccine recommendations are at a standstill, and unanswered questions are piling up

By Mike Stobbe

September 25, 2026 at 8:22 a.m.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s crusade to upend vaccine policy and the legal action...

President Donald Trump, center right, and first lady Melania Trump, right, greet China’s President Xi Jinping, center left, and his wife Peng Liyuan on the South Portico of the White House, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump’s state dinner for Xi Jinping features sea bass and a long list of tech titans

By Will Weissert

September 25, 2026 at 6:15 a.m.

President Donald Trump's state dinner honoring China’s leader Xi Jinping featured a cavalcade of billionaires,...

Pope Leo XIV talks to journalists aboard the papal flight from Rome to Paris, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, during his apostolic journey to France. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, Pool)

Pope Leo XIV affirms need for media to cover public figures when asked about Trump ban

By Nicole Winfield

September 25, 2026 at 6:09 a.m.

Pope Leo XIV told reporters they were welcome to cover him, as he responded to...

A voter casts a ballot on the first day of early voting in Minnesota at the Elections & Voter Services building, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)

Just 40 days out from midterms, election officials say new US cyber plan comes too late

By Ali Swenson

September 24, 2026 at 9:23 p.m.

Election officials said the plan is both inadequate and belated after the administration gutted the...

Gov. JB Pritzker speaks at La Villita Community Church in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood on Sept. 15, 2026. (E. Jason Wambsgans/baiduhai)

Gov. JB Pritzker turns to Illinois lawmakers to act on data center regulations

By Olivia Olander

September 24, 2026 at 6:20 p.m.

Gov. JB Pritzker said he isn’t pursuing a moratorium on new data centers in Illinois...

South Shore Convention & Visitors Authority president and CEO Phil Taillon is dwarfed by a graphic as discussion turns to the Chicago Bears coming to Indiana during the Lake County Advancement Conversation hosted by the the Legacy Foundation and the Lake County Advancement Committee at the South Shore Convention & Visitor Authority in Hammond, Indiana on Thursday, September 24, 2026. (Andy Lavalley/for the Post-Tribune)

Tourism chief: Northwest Indiana thankful for focus in Chicago Bears stadium search

By Michelle L. Quinn

September 24, 2026 at 4:24 p.m.

No, South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority President and CEO Phil Taillon still can’t tell...

The U.S. Capitol is seen Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

Senate rejects resolution to halt the Iran war as gas prices upend midterms

By Lisa Mascaro

September 24, 2026 at 3:56 p.m.

Despite increasing political anxiety over Iran war, senators narrowly rejected a war powers resolution.