Wanna bet? Washington steps up scrutiny of prediction markets
WASHINGTON — As the United States was preparing a daring mission to rescue an airman whose fighter jet was shot down by Iran, there was money to be made. Users on Polymarket, the world’s largest prediction market, could place bets on when the airman would be rescued. When Rep. Seth...
Cameras in courtrooms stir debate from baby Lindbergh kidnapping to O.J. and Charlie Kirk’s killing
From the Lindbergh baby kidnapping trial to O.J. Simpson’s double murder case, cameras in the courtrooms have long exposed the inner workings of some of America’s most spectacular criminal cases. Now calls to bar cameras from Tyler Robinson ‘s trial in the killing of Charlie Kirk is reigniting the debate...
Man accused of killing Charlie Kirk pushes to ban cameras from court
SALT LAKE CITY — The man accused of killing Charlie Kirk wants a judge to ban cameras from the courtroom and says live broadcasts of the prosecution are violating his right to a fair trial. Tyler Robinson is due in court Friday as his attorneys press their claims that biased...
A vaccine standoff and other key moments from RFK Jr.’s 1st congressional hearing in monthsVideo
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday faced federal lawmakers for the first time since September as he sought to defend a more than 12% proposed cut to his department’s budget and dodge arrows from angry Democrats along the way. In his testimony before the House Ways and Means...
Appropriators decry firing of Army Chief Randy George
WASHINGTON — At a hearing Thursday, leading House appropriators from both parties condemned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s recent firing of Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George. Members of the House Armed Services Committee, including GOP Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia, had delivered a similar message about George at a...
ICE acting Director Todd Lyons to depart in May after tumultuous tenure
The acting head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will leave the agency at the end of May after a tumultuous year managing President Donald Trump’s mass arrest and deportation campaign. Todd Lyons has been the agency’s acting head since March 2025. During his tenure, he oversaw the rapid expansion...
Progressive Analilia Mejia takes New Jersey U.S. House special election, giving Democrats another win
DENVILLE, N.J. — Democrat Analilia Mejia won a New Jersey special election for the U.S. House on Thursday, defeating Republican Joe Hathaway on a message of standing up to President Donald Trump. Mejia, a former head of the Working Families Alliance who had support from Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders,...
TSA looks to privatize amid continued funding lapse woes
WASHINGTON — The acting administrator of the Transportation Security Administration gave a strong endorsement of President Donald Trump’s budget request for fiscal 2027 before a House Appropriations subcommittee Thursday, saying proposed privatization and modernization efforts would help ensure the agency has the funds it needs amid congressional funding struggles. “As...
Trump rails against court decision that once again stalls his White House ballroom project
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump railed against a federal judge’s decision on Thursday that continues to block above-ground construction of a $400 million White House ballroom, allowing only below-ground work on a bunker and other “national security facilities” at the site. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon’s latest ruling comes in...
Voters to decide on placing term limits on Allegheny County officials
Allegheny County Council voted this week to let voters decide whether to place term limits on the county executive, members of council and row officers including the district attorney, sheriff, controller and treasurer. County Executive Sara Innamorato plans to sign the legislation, according to a spokeswoman. That would clear the...
Federal agency approves concept for Trump’s plan for a Triumphal Arch in WashingtonVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s design for the Triumphal Arch he wants built at an entrance to the nation’s capital moved a step forward Thursday after a key agency reviewed the proposal for the first time. One commissioner suggested changes, including removing a Lady Liberty-like statue and a pair of...
County prosecutor charges ICE agent with assault for pointing gun at people on Minneapolis highwayVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — A federal immigration agent accused of pointing his gun at occupants of a car after pulling alongside them on a Minneapolis-area highway is wanted on felony assault charges, Minnesota prosecutors said Thursday. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said she believes it is the first criminal case brought against...
Senate Republicans send Trump resolution to lift mining ban near Boundary Waters Canoe Area
Congressional Republicans have sent President Donald Trump a resolution that would lift a federal ban on mining near Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, hoping to clear the way for a South American company to extract precious metals from the region’s pristine forests, lakes and bogs. House Republicans approved the...
Trump nominates Erica Schwartz, former deputy surgeon general, to serve as CDC director
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday nominated Erica Schwartz, a former deputy surgeon general, to be the next director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In a social media post, Trump described Schwartz as “incredibly talented” and said, “She is a STAR!” The Atlanta-based CDC, which is...
House passes a bill to protect Haitian immigrants, in slap back to the Trump administration
WASHINGTON — In a rare bipartisan moment, the House passed legislation Thursday that would extend temporary protections for Haitian immigrants, a long-shot effort fighting back against President Donald Trump’s attempts to end the program. The bill, pushed forward by House Democrats with a group of Republicans over the objections of...
Western Pa. congressional incumbents have upper hand over challengers in campaign cash
Congressional incumbents seeking reelection in Western Pennsylvania have significantly more cash to fuel their campaigns than their challengers, new filings show. U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Fox Chapel, has the biggest money advantage, according to the latest filings with the Federal Election Commission, which were due Wednesday. His campaign raised $2.1...
10-day ceasefire agreed on by Israel and Lebanon goes into effectVideo
BEIRUT, Lebanon — A 10-day truce began in Lebanon on Friday that could pause fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group and boost attempts to extend the ceasefire between Iran, the United States and Israel after weeks of devastating war. U.S. President Donald Trump announced the agreement as a...
Did Pete Hegseth cite Scripture or a line from ‘Pulp Fiction’?
After Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said a prayer during a Pentagon worship service Wednesday, viewers questioned whether the lines came from the Bible — or from the Quentin Tarantino movie “Pulp Fiction.” Hegseth’s prayer has drawn scrutiny and attention on social media. Christopher Hale, editor of the popular Letters from...
‘Out of many, one,’ says a U.S. national motto. What does that push for unity mean today?
NEW YORK — The aspirations cut a wide swath through American history since 1776 — from the “All men are created equal” of the Declaration of Independence and the “We the people” of the Constitution, to the “indivisible, with liberty and justice for all” of the Pledge of Allegiance. One...
Australian judge rejects U.S. Marine pilot’s appeal against extradition to U.S.
MELBOURNE, Australia — An Australian judge on Thursday rejected an appeal by former U.S. Marine Corps pilot Daniel Duggan to avoid extradition to the United States over allegations that he illegally trained Chinese military aviators more than a decade ago. Duggan is accused of training Chinese military pilots while working...
Pope blasts ‘tyrants’ ravaging the Earth during his visit to CameroonVideo
BAMENDA, Cameroon — Pope Leo XIV blasted the “handful of tyrants” who are ravaging Earth with war and exploitation, as he preached a message of peace Thursday in the epicenter of a separatist conflict considered one of the world’s most neglected crises. Leo traveled to the western Cameroon city of...
Justice Jackson chides Supreme Court conservatives over ‘oblivious’ pro-Trump emergency orders
WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has delivered a sustained attack on her conservative colleagues’ use of emergency orders to benefit the Trump administration, calling the orders “scratch-paper musings” that can “seem oblivious and thus ring hollow.” The court’s newest justice, Jackson delivered a lengthy assessment of roughly...
Astronomers measure the mind-blowing power and speed of black hole jets for 1st time
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — For the first time, scientists have measured the instantaneous mind-blowing power of jets blasting from a black hole. The jet power from this relatively close black hole-star system is equivalent to 10,000 suns, an international research team reported Thursday. They also tracked the jet speed: roughly...
Nature puts heat on blast as scorching temperatures take aim at eastern U.S.
SEASIDE PARK, N.J. — A long-lasting weather pattern is poised to blast hot air like a furnace across the eastern United States, with the unusual heat wave threatening to shatter record high temperatures Wednesday in big cities including New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. In the nation’s capital, forecasters were...
Floodwaters inundate Wisconsin streets, trapping drivers, as Midwest rebuilds after storms
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Floodwaters from record rainfall in Wisconsin inundated streets Wednesday, trapping drivers and forcing officials to close sections of a highway, as other Midwestern states worked to rebuild after storms. Cars were stranded in high floodwater on a highway in Milwaukee and video shared by the Milwaukee...
