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FILE - President Donald Trump gestures to a chart as he speaks at Mount Airy Casino Resort, Dec. 9, 2025, in Mount Pocono, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Are Trump’s supporters getting what they want from his second term? Here’s what a new poll shows

Steve Peoples, Mike Catalini, Jesse Bedayn And Amelia Thomson-deveaux, The Associated Press 7 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 10:09 AM CST

NEW YORK (AP) — Nearly a year into his second term, President Donald Trump's work on the economy hasn't lived up to the expectations of many people in his own party, according to a new AP-NORC survey.

The poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds a significant gap between the economic leadership Americans remembered from Trump's first term and what they've gotten so far as he creates a stunning level of turmoil at home and abroad.

Just 16% of Republicans say Trump has helped “a lot” in addressing the cost of living, down from 49% in April 2024, when an AP-NORC poll asked Americans the same question about his first term.

At the same time, Republicans are overwhelmingly supportive of the president's leadership on immigration — even if some don't like his tactics.

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Trump says he may punish countries with tariffs if they don’t back the US controlling Greenland

Daniel Niemann And Darlene Superville, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Trump says he may punish countries with tariffs if they don’t back the US controlling Greenland

Daniel Niemann And Darlene Superville, The Associated Press 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 9:54 PM CST

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump suggested Friday that he may punish countries with tariffs if they don’t back the U.S. controlling Greenland, a message that came as a bipartisan Congressional delegation sought to lower tensions in the Danish capital.

Trump for months has insisted that the U.S. should control Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark, and said earlier this week that anything less than the Arctic island being in U.S. hands would be “unacceptable.”

During an unrelated event at the White House about rural health care, he recounted Friday how he had threatened European allies with tariffs on pharmaceuticals.

“I may do that for Greenland too,” Trump said. “I may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security. So I may do that,” he said.

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Updated: Yesterday at 9:54 PM CST

President Donald Trump speaks during an event to promote investment in rural health care in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump speaks during an event to promote investment in rural health care in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Trump’s Twin Cities immigration crackdown has made chaos and tension the new normal

Tim Sullivan, The Associated Press 7 minute read Preview

Trump’s Twin Cities immigration crackdown has made chaos and tension the new normal

Tim Sullivan, The Associated Press 7 minute read Yesterday at 11:05 PM CST

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Work starts around sunrise for the federal officers carrying out the immigration crackdown in and around the Twin Cities, with hundreds of people in tactical gear streaming out of a bland office building near the main airport.

Within minutes, hulking SUVs, pickup trucks and minivans begin leaving, forming the unmarked convoys that have quickly become feared and common sights in the streets of Minneapolis, St. Paul and their suburbs.

Protesters also arrive early, braving the cold to stand across the street from the fenced-in federal compound, which houses an immigration court and government offices. “Go home!” they shout as convoys roar past. "ICE out!”

Things often turn uglier after nightfall, when the convoys return and the protesters sometimes grow angrier, shaking fences and occasionally smacking passing cars. Eventually, the federal officers march toward them, firing tear gas and flash grenades before hauling away at least a few people.

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Yesterday at 11:05 PM CST

Federal immigration officers are seen outside Bishop Whipple Federal Building after tear gas was deployed Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)
Federal immigration officers are seen outside Bishop Whipple Federal Building after tear gas was deployed Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

AP News in Brief at 12:04 a.m. EST

The Associated Press 11 minute read Yesterday at 11:05 PM CST

Judge rules feds in Minneapolis immigration operation can’t detain or tear gas peaceful protesters

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal officers in the Minneapolis-area participating in its largest recent U.S. immigration enforcement operation can’t detain or tear gas peaceful protesters who aren't obstructing authorities, including when these people are observing the agents, a judge in Minnesota ruled Friday.

U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez's ruling addresses a case filed in December on behalf of six Minnesota activists. The six are among the thousands who have been observing the activities of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol officers enforcing the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area since last month.

Federal agents and demonstrators have repeatedly clashed since the crackdown began. The confrontations escalated after an immigration agent fatally shot Renee Good in the head on Jan. 7 as she drove away from a scene in Minneapolis, an incident that was captured on video from several angles. Agents have arrested or briefly detained many people in the Twin Cities.

Abigail Spanberger becomes Virginia’s 1st female governor in historic inauguration

Olivia Diaz, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Abigail Spanberger becomes Virginia’s 1st female governor in historic inauguration

Olivia Diaz, The Associated Press 3 minute read Yesterday at 11:04 PM CST

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Abigail Spanberger is set to take Virginia's top office on Saturday, becoming the first female governor to lead the state, with Democrats regaining control of the seat.

She will be sworn in during a midday inauguration ceremony filled with pageantry and grandeur in front of the state Capitol in Richmond. A traditional inaugural parade will kick off after the ceremony.

Spanberger, a former CIA case officer and member of Congress, defeated Republican Winsome Earle-Sears in November. Her inauguration as the state's 75th governor is a historic first: only men have held the post since Virginia first became a commonwealth in 1776. And no woman served as a colonial governor before then.

“For the next generation of kids, it’ll be normal to see a woman in this role, whether it’s doing the joyful things of ribbon cuttings or the hard things of contending with whatever challenges we might be facing into the future,” Spanberger has said.

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Yesterday at 11:04 PM CST

Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger during an interview at the Capitol Tuesday Jan. 6, 2026, in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger during an interview at the Capitol Tuesday Jan. 6, 2026, in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Sen. Thom Tillis takes on the White House, but not Trump

Steven Sloan And Joey Cappelletti, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Sen. Thom Tillis takes on the White House, but not Trump

Steven Sloan And Joey Cappelletti, The Associated Press 6 minute read Yesterday at 11:02 PM CST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Thom Tillis isn't holding back during his final year in Washington.

“I'm sick of stupid,” the two-term Republican from North Carolina said from the Senate floor recently as he derided President Donald Trump 's advisers for stoking a potential U.S. military takeover in Greenland.

It was just one of several moments during the opening weeks of 2026 when Tillis, who isn't seeking reelection, seemed unconstrained by the anxieties that weigh down many of his GOP colleagues who are loath to cross the White House for fear of triggering a political backlash.

He's one of just two Republicans, along with Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who participated in a congressional delegation to Denmark this week while Trump threatens to seize Greenland. He was quick to criticize the Justice Department's investigation of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. As Trump and his allies try to rewrite the history of the Jan. 6, 2021 riot, Tillis backed the eventual display of a plaque honoring police who defended the Capitol that day.

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Yesterday at 11:02 PM CST

FILE - Wearing a beaded bolo around a pin that says "United States Senate," Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., listens to thanks from members of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, after the passage of a bill granting the tribe with federal recognition, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Dec. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
FILE - Wearing a beaded bolo around a pin that says

Yay for me! Venus Williams set for a record at the Australian Open

John Pye, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Yay for me! Venus Williams set for a record at the Australian Open

John Pye, The Associated Press 3 minute read Yesterday at 9:02 PM CST

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — At 45, it's no surprise Venus Williams will be setting an age record at the Australian Open when she lines up Sunday in the first round.

The fact she'll be the oldest player ever to compete in the Australian Open women's singles draw wasn't something she realized until after she'd received a wild-card entry to play at the year's first major for the first time in five years.

“I hadn’t thought about it until it came out in the press,” she said Saturday in closing her pre-tournament news conference. “So yay. Yay for me! Let’s do this.”

She then left the auditorium and walked hand-in-hand with her husband, Andrea Preti, down a corridor back toward the player area — which isn't much like she remembered it from her previous trip in 2021, the 21st time she'd competed at Melbourne Park.

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Yesterday at 9:02 PM CST

Venus Williams of the United States serves during a practice session ahead of the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
Venus Williams of the United States serves during a practice session ahead of the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

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RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS Jordan Pastushenko, his wife Breanne and their nine-month-old son, Bohden, visited Toys “R” Us Wednesday morning after hearing of the store’s upcoming closure.

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Patient activists seek movement in diagnosis, treatment of FND or functional neurological disorder

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Jen Sebring, a PhD candidate at the University of Manitoba whose research focuses on functional neurological disorder (FND), with art created by people with FND as part of a series of art workshops on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. The patients created pieces that show what their symptoms feel like as part of the diagnostic process. For Eva story. Free Press 2025 MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS University of Manitoba PhD candidate and functional neurological disorder sufferer Jen Sebring is studying the condition and has created a group art project on the subject, called Undoing Disorder.

FAA urges pilots to exercise caution over eastern Pacific, citing ‘military activities’

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

FAA urges pilots to exercise caution over eastern Pacific, citing ‘military activities’

The Associated Press 2 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 9:25 PM CST

The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday urged U.S. aircraft operators to “exercise caution” when flying over the eastern Pacific Ocean near Mexico, Central America and parts of South America, citing “military activities” and possible satellite navigation interference.

The warning was issued in a series of Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) issued by the FAA. They say, “Potential risks exist for aircraft at all altitudes, including during overflight and the arrival and departure phases of flight.” The alerts are in effect for 60 days. Such notices are issued routinely in any region where there are hostilities nearby.

The notices come after nearly four months of U.S. military strikes against boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific that the U.S. alleged were trafficking drugs. That campaign included 35 known strikes that killed at least 115 people, according to the Trump administration.

In November, the FAA warned all pilots to exercise caution when flying in the airspace over Venezuela “due to the worsening security situation and heightened military activity.”

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Updated: Yesterday at 9:25 PM CST

Supporters of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro rally calling for his release as he faces trial in the United States after being captured by U.S. forces, in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)
Supporters of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro rally calling for his release as he faces trial in the United States after being captured by U.S. forces, in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)

Judge rules feds in Minneapolis immigration operation can’t detain or tear gas peaceful protesters

Audrey Mcavoy And Steve Karnowski, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Judge rules feds in Minneapolis immigration operation can’t detain or tear gas peaceful protesters

Audrey Mcavoy And Steve Karnowski, The Associated Press 3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 9:11 PM CST

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal officers in the Minneapolis-area participating in its largest recent U.S. immigration enforcement operation can’t detain or tear gas peaceful protesters who aren't obstructing authorities, including when these people are observing the agents, a judge in Minnesota ruled Friday.

U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez's ruling addresses a case filed in December on behalf of six Minnesota activists. The six are among the thousands who have been observing the activities of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol officers enforcing the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area since last month.

Federal agents and demonstrators have repeatedly clashed since the crackdown began. The confrontations escalated after an immigration agent fatally shot Renee Good in the head on Jan. 7 as she drove away from a scene in Minneapolis, an incident that was captured on video from several angles. Agents have arrested or briefly detained many people in the Twin Cities.

The activists in the case are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, which says government officers are violating the constitutional rights of Twin Cities residents.

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Updated: Yesterday at 9:11 PM CST

An FBI officer works the scene during operations on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
An FBI officer works the scene during operations on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Tennessee judge grants expanded media access to state-run executions

Adrian Sainz, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Tennessee judge grants expanded media access to state-run executions

Adrian Sainz, The Associated Press 4 minute read Yesterday at 7:01 PM CST

A judge ruled Friday that Tennessee prison officials must grant expanded access to media members to view state-run executions, after a coalition of news organizations including The Associated Press sued on claims that state execution protocols unconstitutionally limit thorough and accurate reporting.

Before Chancellor I'Ashea L. Myles' order, reporters witnessing lethal injections were limited to a short time period during which they could view the execution process. The coalition's lawsuit argued the protocols violate the public and press’s constitutional rights to witness the entirety of executions conducted by the Tennessee Department of Correction, "from the time the condemned enters the execution chamber until after the condemned is declared dead.”

The lawsuit sought a judgment that the protocols are unconstitutional and an injunction to allow the press to see the full execution process. Myles' order granted a temporary injunction allowing media members and other witnesses to see most of the execution process, with security procedures in place for those carrying out the procedures.

The lawsuit, filed in Davidson County Chancery Court in Nashville, names as defendants Kenneth Nelsen, warden of Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville that houses Tennessee’s execution chamber, and Frank Strada, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Correction.

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Yesterday at 7:01 PM CST

FILE - India Pungarcher, left, hugs Rev. Ingrid McIntyre as demonstrators gather in the area reserved for anti-death penalty protesters outside Riverbend Maximum Security Institution before the execution of Byron Black in Nashville, Tenn., Aug. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
FILE - India Pungarcher, left, hugs Rev. Ingrid McIntyre as demonstrators gather in the area reserved for anti-death penalty protesters outside Riverbend Maximum Security Institution before the execution of Byron Black in Nashville, Tenn., Aug. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

Trump issues a flurry of pardons, including for a woman whose sentence he commuted in his first term

Will Weissert, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Trump issues a flurry of pardons, including for a woman whose sentence he commuted in his first term

Will Weissert, The Associated Press 4 minute read Yesterday at 6:48 PM CST

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump issued a flurry of pardons in recent days, including for the father of a large donor to his super PAC, a former governor of Puerto Rico and a woman whose sentence he commuted during his first term but who ended up back in prison for a different scheme.

Trump commuted the sentence of Adriana Camberos just before his first stint in the White House ended in 2021. That followed her being convicted as part of an effort to divert 5-Hour Energy drink bottles acquired for resale in Mexico and instead keep them in the U.S. Prosecutors said she and several co-conspirators attached counterfeit labels and filled the bottles with a phony liquid before selling them.

In 2024, she and her brother, Andres, were convicted in a separate case, this one involving lying to manufacturers to sell wholesale groceries and additional items at big discounts after pledging that they were meant for sale in Mexico or to prisoners or rehabilitation facilities. The siblings sold the products at higher prices to U.S. distributors, prosecutors said.

The Camberoses were among 13 pardons Trump issued Thursday, along with eight commutations. An additional pardon was announced Friday for Terren Peizer, a resident of Puerto Rico and California who headed the Miami-based health care company Ontrak.

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Yesterday at 6:48 PM CST

President Donald Trump points after arriving at Palm Beach International Airport on Air Force One, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
President Donald Trump points after arriving at Palm Beach International Airport on Air Force One, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Trump quietly appoints 4 members to commission that will review his White House ballroom plan

Darlene Superville, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Trump quietly appoints 4 members to commission that will review his White House ballroom plan

Darlene Superville, The Associated Press 3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 6:22 PM CST

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump this week quietly appointed four new members to the Commission of Fine Arts, one of two federal panels reviewing his plan to build a White House ballroom.

The Republican president has talked about building a White House ballroom for years, and completing the proposed 90,000-square-foot (8,400-square-meter) addition would not only forever alter the public face of the mansion but would stand for decades as a lasting legacy to Trump.

One of new members is James McCrery, an architect who had led the now $400 million ballroom project until Trump replaced him late last year. The White House has said the project would be financed with private donations — including from Trump himself — and the East Wing has already been demolished to make space for the ballroom.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has sued in federal court to halt construction until the fine arts panel and a second federal commission give their approval. The four new members were revealed in court papers filed Thursday by a White House official as part of that lawsuit. The White House did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment.

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Updated: Yesterday at 6:22 PM CST

FILE - President Donald Trump, with architect James McCrery, left, surveys the grounds from the roof above the Colonnade that goes to the West Wing of the White House, Aug. 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
FILE - President Donald Trump, with architect James McCrery, left, surveys the grounds from the roof above the Colonnade that goes to the West Wing of the White House, Aug. 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

8-year-old girl who went missing on Navajo Nation found dead Friday

The Associated Press 2 minute read Yesterday at 5:40 PM CST

TUBA CITY, Ariz. (AP) — An 8-year-old girl who went missing on tribal lands in northern Arizona was found dead Friday, authorities said.

Navajo Nation officials say Maleeka Boone was last seen Thursday evening in the Coalmine Canyon area, located 240 miles (386 kilometers) north of Phoenix.

A spokesperson for the FBI, which is conducting the investigation with tribal police, declined to provide details of her death. The Associated Press left an email message with a tribal police spokesperson.

In a social media video, Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren said Maleeka’s death was devastating. “This tragedy weighs heavy on my heart,” Nygren said.

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