Judge blocks immigrants’ deportation to South Sudan one day after Supreme Court clears the way
A federal judge on Friday briefly halted deportations of eight immigrants to war-torn South Sudan, sending the case to another judge, in Boston, the day after the Supreme Court greenlighted their removal. District Judge Randolph Moss sent the case north from Washington after an extraordinary Fourth of July hearing on...
What to know about Fourth of July holiday origins and traditions
The Fourth of July is Americana at its core: parades and cookouts and cold beer and, of course, fireworks. Those pyrotechnics also make it an especially dangerous holiday, typically resulting in more than 10,000 trips to the emergency room. Yet fireworks remain at the center of Independence Day, a holiday...
Democrats see Trump’s big bill as key to their comeback. It may not be so easy
WINDSOR HEIGHTS, Iowa — It is big and it is beautiful, President Donald Trump says. But for many Democratic leaders, the tax break and spending cut package passed by Trump’s Republican allies in Congress on Thursday represents the key to the Democratic Party’s resurgence. Even before the final vote, Democratic...
EPA puts on leave 139 employees who spoke out against policies under Trump
The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday put on administrative leave 139 employees who signed a “declaration of dissent” with its policies, accusing them of “unlawfully undermining” the Trump administration’s agenda. In a letter made public Monday, the employees wrote that the agency is no longer living up to its mission...
What’s in Trump’s big bill?
WASHINGTON — Republicans muscled President Donald Trump’s tax and spending cut bill through the House on Thursday, the final step necessary to get the bill to his desk by the GOP’s self-imposed deadline of July 4. At nearly 900 pages, the legislation is a sprawling collection of tax breaks, spending...
Law enforcement groups oppose proposed anti-drug program cuts
WASHINGTON — Law enforcement agencies and associations are pushing for Congress to reject a Trump administration proposal to cut funding for a program aimed at reducing drug trafficking and illicit drug production, as well as change where it is run in the government. The Trump administration’s fiscal 2026 budget request...
Man charged with killing former Minnesota House speaker says he looks forward to ‘truth’ coming out
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The man charged with killing former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband June 14, and wounding a state senator and his wife, said Thursday he’s looking forward to the facts coming out about what happened that day. During a court appearance, Vance Boelter waived...
Supreme Court clears way for deportation to South Sudan of several immigrants with no ties there
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for the deportation of several immigrants who were put on a flight in May bound for South Sudan, a war-ravaged country where they have no ties. The decision comes after the court’s conservative majority found immigration officials can quickly deport...
Confederacy group sues Georgia park for planning an exhibit on slavery and segregation
STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. — The Georgia chapter of a Confederacy group filed a lawsuit this week against a state park with the largest Confederate monument in the country, arguing officials broke state law by planning an exhibit on ties to slavery, segregation and white supremacy. Stone Mountain’s massive carving depicts...
Protests, immigration raids, tariffs put crimp in some people’s July Fourth
LOS ANGELES — Recent polls will tell you there’s been a drop in national pride among Americans, particularly Democrats in the Trump era, with some questioning whether to celebrate July Fourth at all this year. But Scott Allen, a registered Democrat in southern California, isn’t one of them. He planned...
Western Pa. Republicans see hope, Democrats doom in passage of Trump policy bill
Republicans in Western Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation celebrated the passage of President Trump’s domestic policy package Thursday afternoon, touting measures to extend and expand tax relief enacted in 2017, secure the nation’s southern border and expand domestic production of oil, coal and natural gas. Democratic leaders warned the package will be...
Hakeem Jeffries took his ‘sweet time’ holding the floor to delay Trump’s tax bill
WASHINGTON — There’s no filibuster in the House, but Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries essentially conducted one anyway. Jeffries held the House floor for more than eight hours Thursday, taking his “sweet time” with a marathon floor speech that delayed passage of Republicans’ massive tax and spending cuts legislation and gave...
Firefighters race to contain wildfires in Greece as thousands evacuated, 2 die in Turkey
ATHENS, Greece — Firefighters battled blazes Thursday near Athens and on the island of Crete, where thousands were forced to flee holiday resorts, while blazes in neighboring Turkey claimed at least two lives. More than 5,000 tourists, hotel workers and residents were evacuated from the Ierapetra area along Crete’s southern...
NASA identifies newly discovered object as an interstellar comet that will keep a safe distance
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA has discovered an interstellar comet that’s wandered into our backyard. The space agency spotted the quick-moving object with the sky-surveying Atlas telescope in Chile earlier this week, and confirmed it was a comet from another star system. It’s officially the third known interstellar object to...
How Ukraine can cope with the U.S. pause on crucial battlefield weapons
KYIV, Ukraine — The decision by the United States to pause some weapons shipments to Ukraine has come at a tough time for Kyiv: Russia’s bigger army is making a concerted push on parts of the roughly 620-mile front line and is intensifying long-range drone and missile attacks that increasingly...
Putin and Trump discuss Iran and Ukraine in 6th phone call this year, Kremlin official says
MOSCOW — U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed Iran, Ukraine and other issues on Thursday in a “frank and constructive” phone call, the Kremlin said, in their sixth publicly disclosed chat since Trump returned to the White House. While discussing the situation around Iran and in...
8 remain hospitalized from skydiving plane’s crash shortly after takeoff from New Jersey airport
CAMDEN, N.J. — Three men remained hospitalized in critical condition and five others were listed as serious Thursday, the morning after a skydiving plane with 15 people aboard crashed into a wooded area near a small airport in southern New Jersey. The single engine Cessna 208B radioed about having engine...
Drive-by shooting in Chicago leaves 4 dead and 14 others wounded, police say
CHICAGO — Four people have died from gunshot wounds and 14 others have been hospitalized following a drive-by shooting in Chicago, police said Thursday. At least three were in critical condition. The shooting happened late Wednesday in Chicago’s River North neighborhood, a popular nightlife destination with many restaurants and bars....
94 Palestinians killed in Gaza, including 45 people waiting for aid, authorities say
TEL AVIV, Israel — Airstrikes and shootings killed 94 Palestinians in Gaza overnight, including 45 who were attempting to get much-needed humanitarian aid, hospitals and the Health Ministry said Thursday. Israel’s military did not immediately comment on the strikes. Five people were killed while outside sites associated with the Gaza...
House passes Trump’s big tax bill and sends it to him to sign
WASHINGTON — House Republicans propelled President Donald Trump’s $4.5 trillion tax breaks and spending cuts bill to final congressional passage Thursday, overcoming multiple setbacks to approve his signature second-term policy package before a Fourth of July deadline. The tight roll call, 218-214, came at a potentially high political cost, with...
Kilmar Abrego Garcia says he was beaten and subjected to psychological torture in El Salvador jail
WASHINGTON — Kilmar Abrego Garcia said he suffered severe beatings, severe sleep deprivation and psychological torture in the notorious El Salvador prison the Trump administration had deported him to in March, according to court documents filed Wednesday. He said he was kicked and hit so often after arrival that by...
Skydiving plane goes off New Jersey runway and crashes into woods, sending 15 to hospital
Fifteen people were taken to a hospital when a skydiving aircraft went off a runway and crashed in the woods near an airport in southern New Jersey on Wednesday evening, according to authorities. The incident at the Cross Keys Airport, about 21 miles southeast of Philadelphia, involved a Cessna 208B...
FDA vaccine official restricted covid vaccine approvals against the advice of agency staff
WASHINGTON — The government’s top vaccine official working under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently restricted the approval of two covid-19 vaccines, disregarding recommendations from government scientists, according to federal documents released Wednesday. The new memos from the Food and Drug Administration show how the agency’s vaccine chief, Dr....
Nearly 368,000 pounds of Oscar Mayer turkey bacon recalled over possible listeria contamination
Nearly 368,000 pounds of Oscar Mayer turkey bacon products are being recalled over possible contamination with listeria bacteria that can cause food poisoning, federal health officials said Wednesday. No illnesses have been confirmed to date, U.S. agriculture department officials said. Kraft Heinz Food Company of Newberry, South Carolina, announced the...
Hundreds of thousands in Pa. could lose Medicaid, SNAP benefits under Trump bill, Shapiro says
More than 300,000 Pennsylvanians could lose Medicaid coverage if the Senate-approved version of President Donald Trump’s domestic policy bill passes the House, while nearly 150,000 people who receive SNAP benefits could lose access to food assistance, Gov. Josh Shapiro said Wednesday. “Every member of Congress who votes for this reconciliation...
