‘Life-threatening cold’ expected as polar vortex stretches across U.S. after deadly weekend floodingVideo
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Harsh weather moved west on Monday as a polar vortex was expected to grip the Rockies and the northern Plains after winter storms pummeled the eastern U.S. over the weekend, killing at least 10 people, including nine victims in Kentucky who died during flooding from heavy rain....
Trump begins firings of FAA air traffic control staff just weeks after fatal D.C. plane crash
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has begun firing several hundred Federal Aviation Administration employees, upending staff on a busy air travel weekend and just weeks after a January fatal mid-air collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Probationary workers were targeted in late night emails Friday notifying them they had...
Trump’s tariffs expose Ukraine’s steel industry to another war
ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine — The steel mill in a partially occupied region of Ukraine is a dystopian maze of flames, chutes and tentacled pipes, vast enough to be a small city. Thunderous blazes of sparks flash above the open furnaces where workers smelt iron ore into streams of molten metal day...
Investigators find 3rd victim from fiery Wyoming highway tunnel crash
GREEN RIVER, Wyo. — A third victim was found Sunday in the wreckage from a fiery crash inside a Wyoming highway tunnel that involved 26 cars and trucks, officials said. At least five people were seriously injured in Friday’s accident along Interstate 80 near the small town of Green River,...
Justice Department’s independence threatened as Trump’s team asserts power over cases, staff
WASHINGTON — Pam Bondi had insisted at her Senate confirmation hearing that as attorney general, her Justice Department would not “play politics.” Yet in the month since the Trump administration took over the building, a succession of actions has raised concerns the department is doing exactly that. Top officials have...
Ukraine, Europe worry about being sidelined as Trump pushes direct talks with Russia on war’s endVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s approach to ending Russia’s war against Ukraine has left European allies and Ukrainian officials worried they are being largely sidelined by the new U.S. administration as Washington and Moscow plan direct negotiations. With the three-year war grinding on, Trump is sending Secretary of State Marco...
Fired nuclear bomb specialists recalled by Energy Department
WASHINGTON — The Energy Department is seeking to bring back nuclear energy specialists after abruptly telling hundreds of workers that their jobs were eliminated, according to two people familiar with the matter. The employees, responsible for designing and maintaining the nation’s cache of nuclear weapons at the National Nuclear Safety...
Trump administration wants Supreme Court to permit the firing of whistleblower agency head
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration wants the Supreme Court to permit the firing of the head of the federal agency dedicated to protecting whistleblowers, according to documents obtained Sunday that would mark the first appeal to the justices since President Donald Trump took office. The emergency appeal is the start...
Trump administration cuts reach FDA employees in food safety, medical devices and tobacco products
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration’s effort to slash the size of the federal workforce reached the Food and Drug Administration this weekend, as recently hired employees who review the safety of food ingredients, medical devices and other products were fired. Probationary employees across the FDA received notices Saturday evening that...
At least 9 people are dead, including 8 in Kentucky, in latest blast of winter weatherVideo
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — At least nine people have died in the most recent round of harsh weather to pummel the U.S., including eight people in Kentucky who died as creeks swelled from heavy rain and water covered roads. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Sunday that hundreds of people stranded by...
Manor couple aims to create pet-finding app after death of 16-year-old goat
When Penny Layne ventured into the woods behind her Manor home on an icy January night, only one objective was on her mind: to find her missing 16-year-old goat, Patrick. Armed with a flashlight and a cellphone battery life near zero, Layne climbed over downed trees and trudged through the...
IRS will lay off thousands of probationary workers in the middle of tax season
WASHINGTON — The IRS will lay off thousands of probationary workers in the middle of tax season, according to two sources familiar with the agency’s plans, and cuts could happen as soon as next week. This comes as the Trump administration intensified sweeping efforts to shrink the size of the...
Defiant Canadians mark their flag’s anniversary as Trump hopes to make their country a state
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Canadians on Saturday marked the 60th anniversary of the inauguration of their flag with a defiant sense of patriotism that people said was prompted by U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats of tariffs and suggestions that the country become the 51st U.S. state. Deborah Weismiller said she...
23-year-old man stabbed 5 people in Austria, killing 1 in what police described as a random attack
VIENNA — A 23-year-old man stabbed five passersby in southern Austria on Saturday in what police said was a random attack that left a 14-year-old dead and four others injured. The suspect was detained in the city of Villach, where the attack took place, police said. He is a Syrian...
Hungary’s transformation into an ‘electoral autocracy’ has parallels to Trump’s second term
BUDAPEST, Hungary — Hours before President Donald Trump was sworn in to begin his second term, promising a “golden age” for America, the leader of a Central European country was describing the years ahead in strikingly similar terms. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Trump’s return would usher in Hungary’s own...
Trump moves with dizzying speed on his to-do list. But there are warning signs in his 1st month
WASHINGTON — As President Donald Trump approaches the first-month mark in his second term, he has moved with dizzying speed and blunt force to reorder American social and political norms and the economy while redefining the U.S. role in the world. At the same time, he has empowered Elon Musk,...
Anger, chaos and confusion take hold as federal workers face mass layoffs
NEW YORK — Workers across the country responded with anger and confusion Friday as they grappled with the Trump administration ‘s aggressive effort to shrink the size of the federal workforce by ordering agencies to lay off probationary employees who have yet to qualify for civil service protections. While much...
Vermont border agent’s death was the latest violence linked to the cultlike Zizian group
In the wooded outskirts of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, a perplexed landlord noticed odd sights at two of his rental properties. Tenants wore long black coats and parked box trucks outside the duplexes. They ran an electrical cord from one box truck into one of the condos, and kept a...
Consumer watchdog agency called ‘vicious’ by Trump seen as a ‘hero’ to many it aided
NEW YORK — To President Donald Trump, it’s a hotbed of “waste, fraud and abuse” whose only purpose is to “destroy people” and whose staff amounts to a “vicious group.” To Jonathon Booth, it’s simply the agency that helped him get $17 back. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is in...
Eastern U.S. braces for flooding while snow will hit Northeast, cold temperatures across Plains
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Much of the eastern U.S. braced for a renewed round of harsh, soggy weather on Saturday, while snowstorms were predicted in the Northeast and heavy winds brought the threat of tornadoes to the Mississippi Valley. Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia and Arkansas were under flood warnings, and residents...
Israel and Hamas complete their latest exchange as ceasefire’s first phase has just 2 weeks left
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Israel and Hamas completed the sixth exchange of hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners on Saturday with just over two weeks remaining in the initial phase of their fragile Gaza ceasefire. Israelis expressed relief as the three hostages — Argentinian-Israeli Iair Horn, 46; American-Israeli Sagui...
‘We can’t carry anger.’ Parkland families let doves fly on 7th anniversary of shooting
MIAMI — About 200 people gathered in Coral Springs on Friday to remember the 17 victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting with the things they loved: art, sports, horses and music. The somber day marks seven years since a former student killed 14 students and three school...
U.S. deports immigrants to Venezuela after judge blocked transfer to Guantanamo Bay
EL PASO, Texas — Three immigrants who won a restraining order against the federal government to avoid transfer to the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba were deported this week on direct flights to Venezuela, according to court documents published Friday. The three men were deported Monday, the day after...
AP reporter, photographer barred from Air Force One over ‘Gulf of Mexico’ terminology dispute
The White House barred a credentialed Associated Press reporter and photographer from boarding the presidential airplane Friday for a weekend trip with Donald Trump, saying the news agency’s stance on how to refer to the Gulf of Mexico was to blame for the exclusion. It represented a significant escalation by...
Kindergarteners could learn gun safety in school under a bill gaining momentum in Utah
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah students in as early as kindergarten would be required to learn about firearm safety in the classroom under a bill that passed the state House with overwhelming support Friday. The Republican-controlled chamber approved the measure in a 59-10 vote and sent it to the Senate,...
