Rising summer heat increases risk of child deaths in hot cars
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A record heat wave that spread across the East Coast of the United States during the first week of summer has child advocates warning parents and caretakers about the risks of heatstroke to children left inside hot vehicles. So far this year, nine children have died...
Biden, Harris and Walz attend funeral for former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman
MINNEAPOLIS — Democratic former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman was honored for her legislative accomplishments and her humanity during a funeral Saturday where former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris joined more than 1,000 mourners. Hortman was shot to death in a pair of attacks two weeks...
Many forget the damage done by diseases like whooping cough, measles and rubella. Not these families
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — In the time before widespread vaccination, death often came early. Devastating infectious diseases ran rampant in America, killing millions of children and leaving others with lifelong health problems. These illnesses were the main reason why nearly one in five children in 1900 never made it to...
Israeli strikes kill at least 72 people in Gaza as ceasefire prospects move closer
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli strikes killed at least 72 people across Gaza overnight and into Saturday, health workers said, as ceasefire prospects were said to be improving after 21 months of war. Three children and their parents were killed in an Israeli strike on a tent camp in...
Hundreds of thousands mourn top Iranian military commanders and scientists killed in Israeli strikes
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Hundreds of thousands of mourners lined the streets of downtown Tehran on Saturday for the funeral of the head of the Revolutionary Guard and other top commanders and nuclear scientists killed during a 12-day war with Israel. The caskets of Guard chief Gen. Hossein Salami,...
Takeaways from the Supreme Court’s term: largely good news for Trump
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has been very good to President Donald Trump lately. Even before he won a new term in the White House, the court eliminated any doubt about whether Trump could appear on presidential ballots, then effectively spared him from having to stand trial before the 2024...
Senators prep for a weekend of work to meet Trump’s deadline for passing his tax and spending cuts
WASHINGTON — The Senate is expected to grind through a rare weekend session as Republicans race to pass President Donald Trump’s package of tax breaks and spending cuts by his July Fourth deadline. Republicans are using their majorities in Congress to push aside Democratic opposition, but they have run into...
Democrats wrestle with how to conduct oversight as Trump officials crack down
WASHINGTON — Just hours after she pleaded not guilty to federal charges brought by the Trump administration, New Jersey Rep. LaMonica McIver was surrounded by dozens of supportive Democratic colleagues in the halls of the Capitol. The case, they argued, strikes at the heart of congressional power. “If they can...
Trump says he’s ending trade talks with Canada over ‘egregious’ tax on technology firms
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Friday he’s suspending trade talks with Canada over its plans to continue with its tax on technology firms, which he called “a direct and blatant attack on our country.” Trump, in a post on his social media network, said Canada had just informed the...
Senate, helped by Fetterman, rejects effort to restrain Trump on Iran
WASHINGTON — Democratic efforts in the Senate to prevent President Donald Trump from further escalating with Iran fell short Friday, with Republicans blocking a resolution that marked Congress’ first attempt to reassert its war powers following U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. The resolution, authored by Sen. Tim Kaine of...
Mudslide along West Virginia highway strands thousands for more than 8 hours
Thousands of motorists were stranded for more than eight hours along a section of rural interstate highway in southern West Virginia early Friday after a mudslide caused by heavy rains blocked a storm drain the previous night, flooding the northbound lanes. Traffic backed up for 12 miles along the West...
California Gov. Gavin Newsom sues Fox News over alleged defamation in story about call with Trump
SAN FRANCISCO — California Gov. Gavin Newsom sued Fox News on Friday over alleged defamation, saying the network knowingly aired false information about a phone call he had with President Donald Trump about the time the National Guard was sent Los Angeles. The lawsuit alleges Fox News anchor Jesse Watters...
Big banks all pass Federal Reserve’s stress tests, but tests were less vigorous
NEW YORK — All the major banks passed the Federal Reserve’s annual “stress tests” of the financial system, the central bank said Friday, but the test conducted by the central bank was notably less vigorous than it had been in previous years. All 22 banks tested this year would have...
Trump administration ends legal protections for half-million Haitians who now face deportations
MIAMI — The Department of Homeland Security said Friday it is terminating legal protections for hundreds of thousands of Haitians, setting them up for potential deportation. DHS said conditions in Haiti have improved and Haitians no longer meet the conditions for the temporary legal protections. The termination of temporary protected...
For Eastern U.S., temperatures swing high, then low. They’ll soon go back up
After days of blistering heat, the nation’s sweaty East Coast got to open windows, step outside and get temporary relief Friday as temperatures plummeted as much as 40 degrees and humidity dropped. At least 68 record highs were set and more than 20 places logged triple-digit heat from Sunday through...
California court rules state insurance policy on smoke damage is unlawful
A California judge has ruled the state’s bare-bones home insurance program’s handling of smoke damage claims is unlawful, a decision that could have wide-ranging implications as insurers increasingly deal with the aftermath of wildfires. Home insurance broadly covers fire damage, but there is a growing dispute over what damage must...
Trump emboldened to accelerate his agenda after nationwide injunction ruling
After a divided Supreme Court on Friday ruled that individual judges lack the authority to grant nationwide injunctions, President Donald Trump told reporters he’d “promptly file” to advance policies blocked by judges, including birthright citizenship restrictions. “We can now promptly file to proceed with these numerous policies,” he said. The...
Conor Lamb steps up as Democrats try to figure out what to do about John Fetterman
ENOLA — Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania isn’t even up for reelection until 2028, but already a one-time primary foe, former U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, is crisscrossing Pennsylvania and social media, looking and sounding like he’s preparing to challenge Fetterman again. At town hall after town hall across Pennsylvania,...
Environmental groups sue to block migrant detention center rising in Florida Everglades
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Environmental groups filed a federal lawsuit Friday to block a migrant detention center being built on an airstrip in the heart of the Florida Everglades. The lawsuit seeks to halt the project until it undergoes a stringent environmental review as required by federal law. There is also...
Colorado funeral home owner accused of stashing nearly 190 bodies to be sentenced for fraud
DENVER — A Colorado funeral home owner accused of stashing nearly 190 dead bodies in a decrepit building and sending grieving families fake ashes is set to be sentenced Friday in federal court for cheating customers and defrauding the government out of nearly $900,000 in covid-19 aid. Jon Hallford, owner...
What do new flu vaccine standards mean?
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s newly appointed Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) upheld recommendations for the fall flu vaccination to be administered to anyone 6 months and older, as long as the shots are completely mercury-free. While some Western Pennsylvania doctors say the new recommendations won’t change...
Supreme Court upholds Texas law aimed at blocking kids from seeing pornography online
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a Texas law aimed at blocking children under 18 from seeing online pornography. Nearly half of all states have passed similar age verification laws as smartphones and other devices make it easier to access online porn, including hardcore obscene material. The ruling...
Supreme Court says Maryland parents can pull their kids from public school lessons using LGBTQ books
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that Maryland parents who have religious objections can pull their children from public school lessons using LGBTQ storybooks. The justices reversed lower-court rulings in favor of the Montgomery County school system in suburban Washington. The high court ruled that the schools likely...
Supreme Court OKs fee that subsidizes phone, internet services in schools, libraries and rural areas
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the fee that is added to phone bills to provide billions of dollars a year in subsidized phone and internet services in schools, libraries and rural areas. The justices, by a 6-3 vote, reversed an appeals court ruling that had struck down...
Supreme Court preserves key part of Obamacare coverage requirements
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court preserved a key part of the Affordable Care Act’s preventive health care coverage requirements on Friday, rejecting a challenge from Christian employers to the provision that affects some 150 million Americans. The 6-3 ruling comes in a lawsuit over how the government decides which health...
