IRS broke the law by disclosing confidential information to ICE 42,695 times, judge says
WASHINGTON — A federal judge said Thursday that the IRS broke the law by disclosing confidential taxpayer information “approximately 42,695 times” to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly found that the IRS had erroneously shared the taxpayer information of thousands of people with the Department of Homeland...
Nearly blind refugee found dead after Border Patrol agents drop him at Buffalo doughnut shop
A nearly blind refugee from Myanmar who disappeared after U.S. Border Patrol agents dropped him off at a Buffalo doughnut shop was found dead on the street five days later, prompting a police investigation and complaints from city officials that he’d been abandoned without care for his safety. Nurul Amin...
Columbia student detained by ICE is abruptly released after Mamdani meets with Trump
NEW YORK — Federal immigration authorities arrested a Columbia University student early Thursday, triggering protests on campus along with allegations that agents had entered the university-owned residence under false pretenses. Just hours after detaining student Ellie Aghayeva, though, the federal government abruptly reversed course, permitting her to walk free after...
Alcoa plans to sell off 10 former facilities for use as data centers
Alcoa, the Pittsburgh-based aluminum giant, intends to sell 10 of its closed or curtailed sites for use as data centers. Alcoa CEO Bill Oplinger announced the sell-off Tuesday at the BMO Global Metals, Mining and Critical Minerals Conference in Florida. Of the 10 facilities going on the market, “we think...
Judge rejects request to block Trump White House from building its $400 million ballroom project
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Thursday rejected a preservationist group’s request to block the Trump administration from continuing construction of a $400 million ballroom where it demolished the East Wing of the White House. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled that The National Trust for Historic Preservation was unlikely...
Afghanistan’s new penal code sets 15 days in prison for wife-beating, 5 months for animal fights
ATHENS, Greece — A new penal code issued by decree in Afghanistan sets harsher punishments for the mistreatment of animals than for domestic violence against women and solidifies into law inequality based on gender and social status. The decree, which was signed by Afghanistan’s Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada in January,...
Columbia student detained by federal agents who claimed to be seeking ‘missing person,’ school says
NEW YORK — A Columbia University student was arrested early Thursday by federal immigration agents who gained entry to her student housing by posing as investigators searching for a “missing person,” according to her attorneys and a statement from the school’s president. The student, Ellie Aghayeva, is a senior from...
North Korea warns it could destroy South if threatened, but leaves door open for U.S. dialogue
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un claimed his nuclear-armed country could “completely destroy” South Korea if its security were threatened, reiterating his refusal to engage with Seoul, state media said Thursday. However, he left the door open to dialogue with Washington as he concluded a ruling...
Deadly shooting in Cuban waters highlights obsessions with counter-revolution as U.S. pressure mounts
MIAMI — Word from the Cuban government of a deadly encounter between its troops and a boat carrying armed expatriates is casting a spotlight on Cubans living in the U.S. who still harbor aspirations of a counter-revolution 67 years after a guerrilla uprising ushered in communism. Cuban soldiers confronted a...
NYC police arrest man after officers were pelted during a snowball fight
NEW YORK — A 27-year-old man was arrested Thursday after New York City police said officers were hurt when they were pelted with snow and ice during a massive snowball fight in Washington Square Park this week. The New York Police Department said in a brief social media post the...
Trump administration asks the Supreme Court to allow an end to legal protections for Syrian migrants
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to allow it to end legal protections for migrants from Syria for now, in the latest emergency appeal to the nation’s highest court. The Department of Justice wants the court to lift a New York judge’s ruling halting the...
U.S. moves to cut off a Swiss bank over alleged Iran and Russia money flows
WASHINGTON — The U.S. is moving to sever a small Swiss bank from access to the U.S. financial system for its alleged support for Iranian and Russian actors, as U.S. and Iranian officials hold indirect talks Thursday in Geneva over Tehran’s nuclear negotiations. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network proposed a...
Gallery: Near or far, the world in focus on Feb. 26, 2026
The world is always moving — and TribLive’s gallery is there to catch it. From the rolling hills of Western Pennsylvania to far-flung corners of the globe, photographers near and far capture moments of place, connection and the quiet beauty of everyday life. More than a snapshot of Western Pennsylvania,...
Instagram says it will notify parents if teens ‘repeatedly’ search for terms related to suicide
Instagram said Thursday it will start alerting parents if their kids repeatedly search for terms clearly associated with suicide or self-harm. The alerts will only go to parents who are enrolled in Instagram’s parental supervision program. Instagram says it already blocks such content from showing up in teen accounts’ search...
New York sues Counter-Strike game developer saying ‘loot boxes’ promote gambling
NEW YORK — New York’s attorney general has sued video game developer Valve, claiming the “loot boxes” found in Counter-Strike and other popular video game franchises illegally promote gambling. State Attorney General Letitia James said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in New York state court that games such as Counter-Strike...
Hillary Clinton testifies she has no information on Epstein’s crimes and doesn’t recall meeting him
WASHINGTON — Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told members of Congress on Thursday that she had no knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein’s or Ghislaine Maxwell’s crimes, starting off two days of depositions that will also include former President Bill Clinton. “I had no idea about their criminal activities. I do...
Israeli strike kills 2 Palestinians in Gaza, health officials say, the latest deaths as truce stalls
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — An Israeli strike on Thursday killed at least two Palestinians and wounded five others east of Gaza City, according to Fadel Naeem, director of Al-Ahli Hospital, where the casualties arrived. The Israeli military had no immediate comment. Deadly Israeli strikes have repeatedly disrupted the truce...
Fire at an Ohio farm complex kills about 6,000 hogs and smoke is visible for miles
LONDON, Ohio — A fire at an Ohio hog farm complex has killed about 6,000 of the animals, an official said. A large column of smoke could be seen in the distance on Wednesday from Fine Oak Farms in London, Chief Brian Bennington of the Central Townships Joint Fire District...
Memorial services for Jesse Jackson begin at Chicago headquarters of his civil rights organization
CHICAGO — Crowds of mourners lined up in Chicago as cross-country memorial services for the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. began Thursday in the city the late civil rights leader called home. The protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and two-time presidential candidate will lie in repose for two...
FBI searches Los Angeles school district headquarters and the superintendent’s home
LOS ANGELES — The FBI served search warrants Wednesday at the Los Angeles Unified School District’s headquarters and the home of its leader, a former Superintendent of the Year who was knighted by Spain for his work. Federal officials would not give details of the nature of the investigation involving...
Lawyers say Pennsylvania student protesters did not know a man who joined scrum was the police chief
PHILADELPHIA — Lawyers for student protesters detained in Pennsylvania for four days after a scuffle with police say their clients had no idea the stocky older man in street clothes who joined the fray and put his arm around a 15-year-old girl’s neck was the local police chief. The attorneys...
U.S. and Iran are holding another round of nuclear talks as more American forces deploy to the Mideast
GENEVA — Iran and the United States began indirect talks Thursday in Geneva over Tehran’s nuclear negotiations viewed as a last chance for diplomacy as America has gathered a fleet of aircraft and warships to the Middle East to pressure Tehran into a deal. U.S. President Donald Trump wants a...
3rd victim dies from wounds suffered in Rhode Island ice rink attack, police say
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A deadly shooting during a youth hockey game in Rhode Island last week has claimed a third victim, a grandfather whose daughter and grandson were also killed in the attack, authorities said. Gerald Dorgan, who had been in critical condition, has died from his injuries, Pawtucket police...
Crews in Florida battle a 25,000-acre wildfire near ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
Crews in South Florida were trying to contain a wildfire in Big Cypress National Preserve that had burned more than 25,000 acres near the immigration detention facility known as ” Alligator Alcatraz ” as of Wednesday. The fire caused periodic lane closures due to smoke and poor visibility on the...
Supreme Court litigator convicted of tax evasion over income from high-stakes poker
WASHINGTON — A prominent Supreme Court litigator who also published a popular blog about the nation’s highest court was convicted Wednesday of tax evasion and related charges stemming from his secretive lifestyle as an ultra-high-stakes poker player. A federal jury found SCOTUSblog co-founder Thomas Goldstein guilty of 12 of 16...
