Vance says Iran has a renewed chance to pursue ‘the path of peace’ after U.S. attack
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Sunday that America “does not seek war” with Iran in the aftermath of a surprise attack overnight on three of that country’s nuclear sites while Vice President JD Vance said the strikes have given Tehran a renewed chance of negotiating with Washington. The...
What to know about the conflict between Israel and Iran, and the U.S. intervention
ATHENS, Greece — The United States inserted itself into Israel’s war against Iran, bombing three of the Islamic Republic’s key nuclear sites overnight in an attack it dubbed “Operation Midnight Hammer.” U.S. President Donald Trump asserted that the sites were “completely and fully obliterated,” and warned there would be additional...
Transcript of Trump’s speech on U.S. strikes on Iran
WASHINGTON — A transcript of President Donald Trump’s speech on U.S. airstrikes on Iran on Saturday as transcribed by The Associated Press: Thank you very much. A short time ago, the U.S. military carried out massive, precision strikes on the three key nuclear facilities in the Iranian regime. Fordo, Natanz...
White House photos show rare look inside the Situation Room as Trump authorizes strikes in Iran
WASHINGTON — One image shows President Donald Trump staring straight ahead stone-faced, monitoring the mission that took out three Iranian nuclear enrichment sites on Saturday. In another image, Trump stands as his chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, appears to speak. And whenever Trump is pictured, he...
Trump ignites debate on presidential authority with Iran strikes and wins praise from Republicans
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s bombardment of three sites in Iran quickly sparked debate in Congress over his authority to launch the strikes, with Republicans praising Trump for decisive action even as many Democrats warned he should have sought congressional approval. “Well done, President Trump,” Sen. Lindsey Graham of South...
Trump’s big gamble in Iran is a risky moment after his pledges to keep U.S. out of ‘stupid wars’
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump expressed certainty his big gamble to directly assist the Israelis delivered a knockout blow to Iran’s nuclear program — even as many supporters and detractors alike were warning that U.S. military action could draw the United States into an expansive regional conflict. Trump, in brief...
New Texas law will require Ten Commandments to be posted in every public school classroom
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas will require all public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments under a new law that will make the state the nation’s largest to attempt to impose such a mandate. Gov. Greg Abbott announced Saturday that he signed the bill, which is expected to draw a...
U.S. strikes 3 Iranian sites, joining Israeli air campaign against nuclear program
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military struck three sites in Iran early Sunday, directly joining Israel ‘s war aimed at decapitating the country’s nuclear program in a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe amid Tehran’s threat of reprisals that could spark a wider regional conflict. Addressing the nation from the...
Judge blocks Trump administration’s cuts to National Science Foundation research
BOSTON — A federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from making drastic cuts to research funding provided by the National Science Foundation. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston struck down on Friday a policy change that could have stripped universities of tens of millions of dollars in...
Jury awards $2.25 million to Georgia couple in suit over autopsy images of decapitated baby
ATLANTA — A jury has awarded a Georgia couple $2.25 million in their lawsuit accusing a pathologist of posting graphic videos of an autopsy of their decapitated baby. A Fulton County jury returned the verdict against Dr. Jackson Gates on Wednesday. The couple, Jessica Ross and Treveon Isaiah Taylor Sr.,...
8 killed, 13 injured after hot-air balloon catches fire and falls in Brazil
RIO DE JANEIRO — A hot-air balloon caught fire and tumbled from the sky on Saturday in Brazil ‘s southern state of Santa Catarina, killing eight people, firefighters said. Footage shared by local news outlet G1 showed billows of smoke coming from the balloon in flames as it hurtled toward...
After a senator’s posts about the Minnesota shootings, his incensed colleagues refused to let it go
WASHINGTON — Sen. Mike Lee has in recent years become one of the Senate’s most prolific social media posters, his presence seen in thousands of posts, often late at night, about politics. Fellow senators have grown accustomed to the Utah Republican’s pugnacious online persona, mostly brushing it off in the...
Man arrested after Utah No Kings rally shooting is released as investigation continues
A man accused of brandishing a rifle at a No Kings rally in Utah — prompting an armed safety volunteer to open fire and accidentally kill a protester — has been released from jail while the investigation continues. Salt Lake District Attorney Sim Gill’s office said Friday that it was...
Israel hits Iranian nuclear research facility and says it’s preparing for possibly long campaign
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel’s military said Saturday it struck an Iranian nuclear research facility overnight and killed three senior Iranian commanders in targeted attacks, while emphasizing it was preparing for the possibility that the war could turn into a lengthy campaign. Early Saturday, smoke could be seen rising from...
Fast-moving blaze in southwest Utah destroys a dozen structures, forces evacuations
PINE VALLEY, Utah — A fast-moving fire fueled by high winds Friday has destroyed a dozen structures, including homes, and forced some in a rural area of southwest Utah to evacuate. The Forsyth Fire started Thursday in the Pine Valley Mountains and has already burned about 2.3 square miles, said...
Vance blames California Dems for violent immigration protests, calls Sen. Alex Padilla ‘Jose’
LOS ANGELES — Vice President JD Vance on Friday accused California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of encouraging violent immigration protests as he used his appearance in Los Angeles to rebut criticism from state and local officials that the Trump administration fueled the unrest by sending...
North Carolina Gov. Stein vetoes first bills. They are on concealed carry and immigration
RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina Democratic Gov. Josh Stein vetoed his first bills Friday, blocking for now Republican legislation that would let adults carry concealed handguns without a permit and make state agencies and local sheriffs more active in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Stein, who took office in January,...
Gov. Ron DeSantis: Florida will help evacuate more Americans from Israel
TAMPA, Fla. — Sonia Delgado had spent more than eight hours in an airport in Larnaca, Cyprus, when she learned her rescue flight back to the United States, funded by the state of Florida, wasn’t coming that night. The Atlanta resident had gone to Tel Aviv, Israel, with her daughter...
Columbia protester Mahmoud Khalil freed from immigration detention
JENA, La. — Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil was released Friday from federal immigration detention, freed after three months by a judge’s ruling after becoming a symbol of President Donald Trump ‘s clampdown on campus protests. The former Columbia University graduate student left a federal facility in Louisiana on Friday. He...
Court blocks Louisiana law requiring schools to post Ten Commandments in classrooms
NEW ORLEANS — A panel of three federal appellate judges has ruled a Louisiana law requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted in each of the state’s public school classrooms is unconstitutional. The ruling on Friday marked a major win for civil liberties groups who say the mandate violates the...
Senate parliamentarian deals blow to GOP plan to gut consumer protection bureau in tax bill
WASHINGTON — Republicans have suffered a sizable setback on one key aspect of President Donald Trump’s big bill after their plans to gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other provisions from the Senate Banking Committee ran into procedural violations with the Senate parliamentarian. Republicans in the Senate proposed zeroing-out...
Poll: Majority of Democrats want new party leadership
Nearly two out of three Democrats think their party needs new leadership, according to a poll released Thursday. The Reuters/Ipsos poll showed that 62% of Democrats surveyed agreed with the statement that “the leadership of the Democratic Party should be replaced with new people,” while 24% disagreed and 14% weren’t...
Federal judge blocks Trump effort to keep Harvard from hosting foreign students
BOSTON — A federal judge Friday blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to keep Harvard University from hosting international students. An order from U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs preserves the ability of Harvard to host foreign students while the case is decided. It marks another victory for the Ivy League school...
Judge rules Trump administration can’t require states to help on immigration to get transport money
BOSTON — A federal judge on Thursday blocked the Trump administration from withholding billions of dollars in transportation funds from states that don’t agree to participate in some immigration enforcement actions. Twenty states sued after they said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy threatened to cut off funding to states that refused...
Trump calls for special prosecutor to investigate 2020 election, reviving longstanding grievance
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday called for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the 2020 election won by Democrat Joe Biden, repeating his baseless claim that the contest was marred by widespread fraud. “Biden was grossly incompetent, and the 2020 election was a total FRAUD!” Trump...
