The State Department has been forced to close several embassies to the public, shut down at least one consulate, order the departure of embassy staff and families from at least six nations, and advise Americans in 14 countries to leave the region immediately

On Tuesday, oil prices rose again and raised more alarms. The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, briefly leaped above $84.

From Capitol News Illinois: Eighteen former Department of Justice attorneys signed onto an amicus brief arguing the Trump administration has no legal authority to demand voter registration data from Illinois

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testified in the Senate on Tuesday in her first congressional appearance since the shooting deaths of two protesters in Minneapolis galvanized widespread opposition to how the Trump administration was executing its mass deportation agenda

The U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran add yet more question marks around a U.S. economy already buffeted by on-and-off tariffs, weak hiring, and lingering inflationary pressures.

Iran expanded its targets Tuesday, striking the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia as Washington began to pull many staff out of the Middle East

The U.S. war in the Middle East "will affect oil prices significantly because of the uncertainty,” said Oguzhan Batmaz, assistant professor of economics at Lewis University in Romeoville

From Capitol News Illinois: Illinois lawmakers are calling for an independent commission to investigate Illinois-linked crimes connected to international sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

A US strike that killed Iran’s supreme leader and sparked a growing war was years in the making, said a Northern Illinois University expert who has studied US–Iran tensions

The war in the Middle East spiraled further Monday as Israel and the United States pounded Iran in a campaign that U.S. President Donald Trump said would likely take several weeks

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spoke Monday to widening concerns that the U.S.-Israeli strikes in Iran could spiral into a protracted regional conflict by declaring: “This is not Iraq. This is not endless”

Iran and allied armed groups fired missiles at Israel, Arab states, and U.S. military targets around the region on Monday, while Israel and the United States pounded Iran as the war expanded to several fronts

Asked about reports that Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in airstrikes on Saturday, President Donald Trump said: “We feel that that is a correct story.”

Democratic representatives across northern Illinois say President Donald Trump violated the Constitution by launching a military strike against Iran Saturday morning

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it would defend its homeland and its Revolutionary Guard said it launched counterattacks, firing drones and missiles at Israel and strikes aimed at U.S. military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.

From Capitol News Illinois: While the payments offer some relief, farmers say they are not enough, and the Illinois Department of Agriculture warns that damage to key trading relationships may have long-term consequences for Illinois farmers

A short video purporting to show President Donald Trump praising Republican congressional candidate Charlie Kim of Aurora has been removed from the Kim campaign’s Facebook page.

The Justice Department said Wednesday that it was looking into whether it had improperly withheld documents from the Jeffrey Epstein files after several news organizations reported that some records involving uncorroborated accusations made by a woman against President Trump

Vice President JD Vance announced Wednesday that the Trump administration would “temporarily halt” some Medicaid funding to the state of Minnesota over fraud concerns

President Donald Trump sought in his first State of the Union address to sell Americans on the idea of a booming economy, falling prices, and soaring jobs, yet he faces a skeptical public with a much gloomier view

President Donald Trump started in sales mode, using his State of the Union address to deliver an upbeat vision of the U.S. economy. But that portrayal collides with the sentiment of Americans who remain anxious about their finances

Trump championed his immigration crackdowns and his push to preserve widespread tariffs that the Supreme Court just struck down

The gold-medal-winning U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team visited President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday afternoon before they were set to attend his State of the Union address later in the day

Trump has spent the last year touting his accomplishments while mocking the record of his predecessor, former President Joe Biden. But much of this bluster is based on false and misleading claims — many of which are likely to be a part of the president’s address to the nation

A federal judge on Monday permanently barred the release of special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into President Donald Trump’s hoarding of classified documents that led to charges once seen as the most perilous of the four criminal cases the Republican faced

Just what impact the U.S. Supreme Court decision on tariffs will have on local business is tough to tell, one local economic development leader said.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is demanding billions of dollars in refunds from President Donald Trump following a U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down sweeping federal tariffs

Friday’s ruling will most likely prolong political and economic chaos over international trade through the election year

A tariff is a tax levied on imported goods. Reports estimate tariffs put in by the Trump administration have cost the average American household at least $1,000 over the past year. What happens now that the Supreme Court has struck down a wide swath of the tariffs?

The Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s far-reaching global tariffs on Friday, handing him a significant loss on an issue crucial to his economic agenda. Furious about the defeat, Trump said he would impose a global 10% tariff as an alternative

America’s gross domestic product — the nation’s output of goods and services — increased at an 1.4% annual rate in the fourth quarter, the Commerce Department reported Friday

Three of the four Republicans running for Illinois’ 11th Congressional District seat have expressed doubts that Joe Biden legitimately won the 2020 presidential election.

A Republican candidate for Illinois’ 6th Congressional District seat said the U.S. should close its borders to all would-be immigrants until reforms are enacted.

From Capitol News Illinois: In his eighth State of the State address, Pritzker focused on affordability issues affecting Illinois residents and blamed President Donald Trump for the state’s tight financial condition

Dillan Vancil: Congress should stop using band‑aid bailouts and fix trade policy so farmers are not collateral damage every time there’s a trade war. Read Vancil's full questionnaire here

The eight candidates in the Democratic primary for the 8th Congressional District seat debated the role Congress should play in resolving the conflict in Gaza at a recent forum.

Eliminating income taxes on young people, encouraging companies to hire more Americans, and slashing regulations are among the solutions to affordability problems proposed by some Republicans running for U.S. Senate.

The Republicans running for Illinois’ 9th Congressional District seat have different ideas for U.S. immigration policy, some of which diverge from President Donald Trump’s approach.

Both Republicans running to represent Illinois’ 14th Congressional District cited financial issues among their top concerns – but the specifics varied greatly.

Immigration policy was among the issues debated by three of the four Republican candidates for the 8th Congressional District at a recent forum.

An exhibit about nine people enslaved by George Washington must be restored at his former home in Philadelphia after President Donald Trump’s administration took it down last month, a federal judge ruled on Presidents Day

A Sauk Valley community action group flipped the script Saturday afternoon by focusing on love instead of anger at its rally against the Trump administration. About 100 people gathered outside the Grandon Civic Center in Sterling.

Ellen Corley on a top priority for Congress: To be on the House Oversight committee to get an official Truth and Reconciliation Hearing on all those who colluded with the Epstein cabal’s plan for world domination

Their lawsuit, led by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, argues that the health care cuts violate the Constitution by imposing retroactive conditions on funding that Congress already awarded

The Trump administration on Thursday revoked a scientific finding that long has been the central basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change, the most aggressive move by the president to roll back climate regulations

Most Republicans vying to replace outgoing U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin contend U.S. support for Ukraine is crucial as it battles Russia, although some raised concerns about the cost.

The immigration crackdown in Minnesota that led to mass detentions, protests and two deaths is coming to an end, border czar Tom Homan said Thursday

About 6 in 10 U.S. adults say President Donald Trump has “gone too far” in sending federal immigration agents into American cities, according to a new AP-NORC poll that suggests political independents are increasingly uncomfortable with his tactics

House Republicans rushed to approve legislation on Wednesday that would impose strict new proof-of-citizenship requirements ahead of the midterm elections, a long shot Trump administration priority that faces sharp blowback in the Senate

Raja Krishnamoorthi: I intend to address the affordability crisis head-on. President Trump and his Administration have hurt working families through reckless policies like blanket tariffs that have fueled rising prices. Read Krishnamoorthi's full questionnaire here