Politics

As a 23-year-old serving his first term in the Oregon state legislature, Representative Earl Blumenauer cosponsored the first bill in the country to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana. More than 50 years later, the congressman from Portland is preparing to retire after nearly three decades on Capitol Hill, and mounting a lonely campaign to persuade his fellow Democrats, including President …

President Biden plans to speak with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Sunday to discuss the prospects of a possible cease-fire deal to obtain the release of some of the remaining hostages held since the Hamas-led terrorist attack of Oct. 7, according to two officials with direct knowledge of the plan. Mr. Biden’s call with the prime minister is …

People in the media have long worried about the impact of the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on journalism. The concern is that it makes the press look too chummy with politicians it’s covering. But what is the impact on comedy? A high-ceilinged hotel ballroom filled with television anchors and network executives is a tough room for stand-up, but no …

Lying in an Afghan desert, engulfed in flames and soaked in diesel fuel, Sam Brown realized he was about to die. It was September 2008, and Mr. Brown, a U.S. Army captain, had been leading his platoon to the aid of fellow soldiers who had been ambushed by the Taliban. Then, his Humvee struck a roadside bomb. In an explosion …

As a 23-year-old serving his first term in the Oregon state legislature, Representative Earl Blumenauer cosponsored the first bill in the country to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana. More than 50 years later, the congressman from Portland is preparing to retire after nearly three decades on Capitol Hill, and mounting a lonely campaign to persuade his fellow Democrats, including President …

“So that’s not true? That’s not true?” The judge in control of Donald J. Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial had just cut off the former president’s lawyer, Todd Blanche. Mr. Blanche had been in the midst of defending a social media post in which his client wrote that a statement that had been public for years “WAS JUST FOUND!” Mr. Blanche …

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will travel to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday to speak with top Arab officials and try to figure out possible solutions for the thorniest issues of the Israel-Gaza war, including humanitarian aid, reconstruction and hostages, the State Department said on Saturday. One of Mr. Blinken’s priorities on Monday and Tuesday will be discussing “ongoing …

It hasn’t been the “nerd prom” for a while. Once a popular target of jokes about bad fashion (and not just from the evening’s featured comedian host), the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner has morphed in recent years into a less campy, more staid prelude to the Met Gala, which takes place days later. It’s only fitting, really, given the …

Former President Donald J. Trump is sharpening his attacks on the independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as new polls show an overlap between their core supporters. In a series of posts on his Truth Social media platform on Friday night, Mr. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, took aim at both Mr. Kennedy and his running mate, Nicole Shanahan, …

It was just 43 days before the 2022 Republican primary in Ohio, and former President Donald J. Trump had yet to throw his weight behind a Senate candidate. J.D. Vance, a political novice competing in a packed field, had a huge problem. He had publicly called Mr. Trump “loathsome” and an “idiot.” Once, he described him as “cultural heroin.” Then …