Lawsuit seeks to ban Trump Media from charging for early access to president’s posts on US policy

August 13, 2026

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump was sued in federal court Wednesday to stop him from making money off a new, paid service at his Truth Social company offering early, exclusive access to his posts on U.S. policy. The lawsuit alleges that Trump’s deal to post first on his own company’s site about U.S. policy decisions on war, tariffs and other issues violates the Constitution and that official announcements should be made available to everyone at the same time. The suit comes after his media company, Trump Media & Technology, rolled out a new subscription service earlier ...

Forget left vs. center. Democratic voters are making clear they just want change

August 13, 2026

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats remain mixed over what ideological direction the party should take. But across a series of closely watched primaries, they are sending a clearer message about the party’s path forward: They want change. In marquee Senate primaries in Michigan and Minnesota, ...

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, youngest person to hold role, to leave at month’s end

August 13, 2026

WASHINGTON (AP) — White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, the youngest person to hold the role, will leave at month’s end, President Donald Trump announced Wednesday. Leavitt, 28, just recently returned to the White House after taking a brief leave for the birth of her second child in May. Leavitt has been one of the most visible advocates of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement. The Republican president described her as one of his “most trusted aides” in a social media post announcing her departure. He said Leavitt “will be departing her role at the ...

Today in History

August 13, 2026

On Aug. 13, 1961, on what would become known as Barbed Wire Sunday, East Germany sealed the border between Berlin’s eastern and western sectors before building a wall that would divide the city for the next 28 years. Also on this date: In 1521, Spanish conqueror Hernando Cortez captured Tenochtitlan (teh-natch-teet-LAHN’), present-day Mexico City, from the Aztecs. In 1792, French revolutionaries arrested and imprisoned King Louis XVI; he would be executed by guillotine the following January. In 1889, William Gray of Hartford, Connecticut, received a patent for the first ...

ICE’s plan to give officers electric shock gloves draws outrage and fears of misuse

August 13, 2026

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s plan to give officers gloves that deliver painful electric shocks faced criticism Wednesday from Democratic elected officials and civil rights advocates, who called it unnecessary and cruel. ICE plans to spend between $10 million and $20 million to ...

Photo of the Day: Hollywood sign 1978

August 12, 2026

AP Photo/Wally Fong Workmen prepare to take down the letter “D” in the famed “Hollywood” sign, the last one to be removed from the sign that stood in the Hollywood Hills overlooking Los Angeles for 55 years, on Aug. 12, 1978. The old sign, made from telephone poles and plywood, had ...