FBI Director Kash Patel clashes with skeptical Democrats at contentious hearing
WASHINGTON — FBI Director Kash Patel clashed with skeptical Democrats at a contentious Senate oversight hearing Tuesday, defending his record amid criticism that he has politicized the nation’s premier federal law enforcement agency and pursued retribution against perceived adversaries of President Donald Trump. The appearance Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary...
Russia shows off conventional and nuclear military might in drills — and raises tensions with NATO
A swarm of Russian drones flies into Poland in what officials there regard as a deliberate provocation. NATO responds by bolstering the alliance’s air defenses on its eastern flank. Moscow showcases its conventional and nuclear military might in long-planned exercises with Belarus, as it warns the West against sending foreign...
New York judge tosses terrorism charges against Luigi Mangione, lets murder count stand
NEW YORK — A New York judge on Tuesday threw out terrorism charges against Luigi Mangione, rejecting the Manhattan district attorney’s theory in a state murder case that the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was “intended to evoke terror.” Judge Gregory Carro kept other charges in place, including a...
Georgia Supreme Court declines to hear Fani Willis’ appeal of her removal from Trump election case
ATLANTA — Georgia’s highest court has declined to consider Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ appeal of her removal from the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump and others. Citing an “appearance of impropriety” created a romantic relationship Willis had with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, whom she had hired...
Zelenskyy calls for a European air defense system as Russian strike wounds 13 in Ukrainian city
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian forces bombarded the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia with rockets overnight, wounding 13 people, including two children, officials said Tuesday, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged European leaders to make the continent safe by building an ambitious air defense umbrella. With the war grinding on since Russia’s...
Israeli military begins its ground offensive in Gaza City as thousands of Palestinians flee
JERUSALEM — Israel launched its offensive in Gaza City on Tuesday, vowing to overwhelm a city already in ruins from nearly two years of war as thousands of Palestinians fled in vehicles strapped with mattresses and other belongings that clogged a coastal road. The operation into the largest Palestinian city...
Valley Forge Military Academy to close at school year’s end
The nearly century-old Valley Forge Military Academy is set to close for good in May, following years of declining enrollment, numerous abuse scandals, and allegations of financial mismanagement. In a statement posted online Monday, the board of trustees said the academy’s future “is no longer viable” due to rising tuition...
U.S. designates Colombia as failing to cooperate in the drug war for 1st time in nearly 30 years
MIAMI — The Trump administration on Monday added Colombia to a list of nations failing to cooperate in the drug war for the first time in almost 30 years, a stinging rebuke to a traditional U.S. ally that reflects a recent surge in cocaine production and fraying ties between the...
Senate approves White House economist to serve on Fed board
WASHINGTON — The Senate has approved one of President Donald Trump’s top economic advisers for a seat on the Federal Reserve’s governing board, giving the White House greater influence over the central bank just two days before it is expected to vote in favor of reducing its key interest rate....
Kash Patel to face lawmakers in aftermath of Charlie Kirk shooting
WASHINGTON — Kash Patel is set to face lawmakers twice this week as he navigates criticism of his leadership as FBI director on politically charged issues such as the Charlie Kirk murder investigation, the unreleased investigative materials related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and the firing of some agency officials....
Appeals court rejects Trump’s bid to unseat Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook ahead of rate vote
WASHINGTON — An appeals court ruled Monday that Lisa Cook can remain a Federal Reserve governor, rebuffing President Donald Trump’s efforts to remove her just ahead of a key vote on interest rates. The Trump administration is expected to quickly turn to the Supreme Court in a last-ditch bid to...
Trump wouldn’t call Minnesota governor after Democrat was slain but now blames him for raised flags
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump claimed Monday that he would have ordered flags lowered to half-staff following the assassination of a Minnesota Democratic state lawmaker this summer had he been asked by the state’s governor. But Trump at the time refused to even call Democratic Gov. Tim Walz to express...
Trump administration joins Republicans’ campaign to police speech in reaction to Kirk’s murder
Vice President JD Vance on Monday jumped onto the conservative movement demanding consequences for those who have cheered Charlie Kirk’s killing, calling on the public to turn in anyone who says distasteful things about the assassination of his friend and political ally. “When you see someone celebrating Charlie’s murder, call...
Trump deploys National Guard to Memphis, calling it a ‘replica’ of his crackdown on Washington
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed an order Monday sending the National Guard into Memphis to combat crime, offering another major test of the limits of presidential power by using military force in American cities. With Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee visiting the Oval Office, Trump said troops would be...
Shapiro to speak about political violence at Pittsburgh summit
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is scheduled to speak about political violence at Tuesday’s Eradicate Hate Global Summit in Downtown Pittsburgh, less than a week after a gunman assassinated conservative influencer Charlie Kirk. Shapiro, a Jewish Democrat, survived a violent attack in April. He and his family had been sleeping inside...
Fired federal prosecutor Maurene Comey sues Trump administration to get her job back
NEW YORK — Former federal prosecutor Maurene Comey sued the U.S. government Monday to get her job back, saying her firing was for political reasons and was unconstitutional. Her lawsuit in Manhattan federal court blamed the firing on the fact that her father is James Comey, a former F.B.I. director,...
Kennedy’s vaccine committee plans to vote on covid-19, hepatitis B and chickenpox shots
NEW YORK — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s new vaccine advisory committee meets this week, with votes expected on whether to change recommendations on shots against covid-19, hepatitis B and chickenpox. The exact questions to be voted on Thursday and Friday in Atlanta are unclear. Officials at the Department...
Trump says U.S. military again targeted boat allegedly carrying drugs from VenezuelaVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said the U.S. military on Monday again targeted a boat allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela, killing three aboard the vessel, and hinted that the military targeting of cartels could be further expanded. “The Strike occurred while these confirmed narcoterrorists from Venezuela were in International Waters...
Trump threatens to take over D.C. police again over immigration enforcement
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to once again federalize Washington, D.C.’s police force, in what he suggested could come in response to the city’s mayor’s stated refusal to cooperate with immigration enforcement. Trump’s emergency order, which took over the local police force, expired last week. Hours before...
Searchers discover ‘ghost ship’ that sank in Lake Michigan almost 140 years ago
MADISON, Wis. — After decades of scouring the bottom of Lake Michigan, searchers have finally found the wreckage of a “ghost ship” that sank during a ferocious storm almost 140 years ago off the Wisconsin coastline. The Wisconsin Historical Society and the Wisconsin Underwater Archeology Association announced Monday that a...
Shipping companies support a 1st-ever global fee on greenhouse gases, opposed by Trump officials
Nearly 200 shipping companies said Monday they want the world’s largest maritime nations to adopt regulations that include the first-ever global fee on greenhouse gases to reduce their sector’s emissions. The Getting to Zero Coalition, an alliance of companies, governments and intergovernmental organizations, is asking member states of the International...
Trump administration boosts HBCU funding after cutting grants for Hispanic-serving colleges
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is redirecting nearly $500 million in federal funding toward historically Black colleges and tribal colleges, a one-time investment covered primarily by cuts to other colleges serving large numbers of minority students. The Education Department announced the funding boost days after cutting $350 million from other...
DNA evidence found near scene of Charlie Kirk’s shooting matches suspect, FBI director says
OREM, Utah — DNA on a towel wrapped around a rifle found near where conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated matched that of the 22-year-old accused in the killing, FBI Director Kash Patel said on Monday. Investigators also have used DNA evidence to link the suspect, Tyler Robinson, with a...
Huge piles of rusty WWII ammunition are poisoning the Baltic Sea. Germany is trying to recover them
BOLTENHAGEN, Germany — Slowly, Dirk Schoenen dives down to a huge pile of ammunition from World War II at the bottom of the Baltic Sea. He removes some of the top pieces and carefully puts them into a basket, as a team of engineers, divers and seamen watch his every...
British politicians condemn Elon Musk’s comments at anti-migrant rally
LONDON — Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday condemned “dangerous” comments by Elon Musk after the X and Tesla owner told an anti-immigration rally that violence is coming to Britain and they must fight or die. But the U.K. government resisted opposition calls to sanction Musk for the remarks. Starmer...
