WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Sunday suggested that the federal government could help finance his proposed $5,000 dividend checks for American adults by scaling back what he described as an ambitious Space Force program to build a fleet of interplanetary battleships, adding a new element to an increasingly contentious debate over how the payments would be funded.

The proposal came as Trump faced pushback from House Speaker Mike Johnson, who said earlier Sunday that any legislation authorizing the payments would require congressional approval.

WASHINGTON — A political controversy erupted Friday after photographs purportedly showing Senators Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Ted Cruz of Texas vacationing together in Cancún circulated widely on social media, prompting sharp criticism from Democrats over the senators' absence from prominent 25th-anniversary commemorations of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The images, which were posted online by a tourist and quickly spread across social media, appeared to show the two Republican senators at a resort in the Mexican Caribbean. 

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration announced Thursday that it plans to send $500 rebate checks to eligible Affordable Care Act enrollees, describing the payments as a partial response to rising health-insurance costs that have left many Americans struggling to afford coverage.

Los Angeles — Actress Sydney Sweeney and political commentator Erika Kirk have drawn attention after appearing in a provocative advertising campaign for Novig, a sports-betting application that says it is seeking to distinguish itself in an increasingly crowded online wagering market.

The campaign, released Tuesday across social-media platforms, uses minimalist imagery and the slogan, “Nothing Between You and the Game.” The company did not disclose the financial terms of the endorsement agreements.

WASHINGTON — A reported polygraph examination involving Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has become the subject of renewed attention after an alleged physiological response to a question about the 2020 presidential election.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday expressed surprise at the number of U.S. state names derived from Spanish and Indigenous languages, suggesting that they could be replaced with what he called “strong American names.”

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Sunday that the United States would impose a 70% tariff on Canadian dollars entering the American financial system, dramatically escalating an already strained trade relationship with Canada.

The measure would represent an unprecedented expansion of the trade dispute beyond tariffs on physical goods. Trump said the policy was intended to address what he described as an unfair currency advantage enjoyed by Canada.