Magnitude-7.6 earthquake shakes Caribbean
MEXICO CITY — A magnitude-7.6 earthquake shook the Caribbean Sea south of the Cayman Islands Saturday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Several islands and countries urged people near the coastline to move inland but authorities in most places later lifted the tsunami alerts. The quake struck at 6:23 p.m....
Trump’s 3rd week saw more executive orders, a trade war that wasn’t and a Mideast jolt
WASHINGTON — Three weeks in, President Donald Trump keeps cranking out executive orders designed to remake the government while billionaire Elon Musk hunts for more ways to upend the federal workforce. Trump also provoked — then called off — trade wars with Canada and Mexico but allowed one with China...
Here’s what we know about a commuter plane crash in Alaska that killed 10 people
JUNEAU, Alaska — Authorities are working to recover the wreckage of a plane crash in western Alaska that killed 10 people while investigators are trying to determine what caused the small commuter aircraft to go down in the icy Bering Sea. The single-engine turboprop plane was traveling from Unalakleet to...
Why is Trump punishing South Africa and who are the Afrikaners he wants to give refugee status to?
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — U.S. President Donald Trump followed through on his promise to punish South Africa by signing an executive order Friday stopping all aid to the country over what he called a human rights violation against a white minority group. The Trump administration says a land expropriation...
Zelenskyy confirms new Ukrainian offensive in Russia’s Kursk region
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed a new Ukrainian offensive in Russia’s Kursk region and said that North Korean troops were fighting alongside Russian forces there. “In the areas of the Kursk operation, new assaults have taken place,” Zelenskyy said during his Friday address, adding, “Russia has once...
Hamas releases 3 frail-looking Israeli hostages for 183 Palestinian prisoners under Gaza ceasefire
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Hamas-led militants released three gaunt, frail-looking Israeli hostages and Israel freed nearly 200 Palestinian prisoners Saturday in the latest exchange of a ceasefire agreement that has paused 16 months of war in Gaza. The hostages’ condition and scenes of Hamas forcing them to speak in...
Missing commuter plane found crashed on Alaska sea ice and all 10 aboard died, authorities say
JUNEAU, Alaska — A small commuter plane that crashed in western Alaska on its way to the hub community of Nome was located Friday on sea ice and all 10 people on board died, authorities said. Mike Salerno, a spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard, said rescuers were searching the...
Trump says he’s revoking Biden’s security clearance, ending intelligence briefings in payback move
PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump said Friday he’s revoking former President Joe Biden’s security clearance and ending the daily intelligence briefings he’s receiving in payback for Biden doing the same to him in 2021. Trump made the announcement on social media shortly after arriving at Mar-a-Lago for the...
Federal judge weighing whether to block DOGE access to U.S. Labor Department
WASHINGTON — A federal judge heard arguments Friday over whether to block Trump adviser Elon Musk’s team from accessing systems at the Labor Department, which has investigated the billionaire’s companies. The Trump administration agreed earlier this week that DOGE wouldn’t get access to Labor Department data until after a ruling...
Judge says he will temporarily block Trump from placing 2,200 USAID workers on paid leave
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Friday said he will temporarily block the Trump administration from placing 2,200 employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development on paid leave. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, who was nominated by President Donald Trump, sided with two federal employee associations in agreeing to...
Police: DNA technology still not good enough to find JonBenet Ramsey’s killer
ATLANTA — It’s been nearly three decades since Atlanta-born child beauty pageant queen JonBenet Ramsey was brutally killed in her Colorado home. Her family now hopes advances in DNA technology can help solve the case soon, but it’s unclear if police have engaged the private companies at the center of...
Senate GOP unveils $340B budget plan with Trump’s deportation and defense funds, as House stalls
WASHINGTON — As House Republicans missed another deadline Friday to produce a massive budget package of tax cuts and slashed spending, Senate Republicans jumped ahead, unveiling a more tailored $340 billion blueprint focused on President Donald Trump’s deportation agenda and bolstered U.S. defense spending. Speaker Mike Johnson acknowledged his own...
More GOP-led states seek to follow Trump’s lead in defining male and female
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Katherine Bartle said she spent her years growing up in Alabama trying anything to “fix” herself and exist as a man. Eventually she realized it wasn’t possible. “I am a woman. I assure you that this is not a costume, nor is it by my own choice,”...
Iran supreme leader criticizes proposed nuclear talks with U.S., upending push to negotiation
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s supreme leader said Friday that negotiations with America “are not intelligent, wise or honorable” after President Donald Trump floated nuclear talks with Tehran. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also suggested that “there should be no negotiations with such a government,” but stopped short of issuing a...
Russia claims it’s taken another eastern Ukraine town. Kyiv officials make no comment
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed on Friday that its forces had captured the coal mining town of Toretsk in their latest breakthrough in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, where Ukrainian defenses are creaking. Ukrainian officials did not immediately make any comments on the Russian claim. A Ukrainian officer in...
Gallery: Photos from Feb. 7, 2025
Embark on a visual journey around the Western Pennsylvania region with TribLive’s latest collection of captivating images for Friday, Feb. 7, 2025....
New Hampshire man is 2nd person known to be living with a pig kidney
A New Hampshire man fought for the chance at a pig kidney transplant, spending months getting into good enough shape to be part of a small pilot study of a highly experimental treatment. His effort paid off: Tim Andrews, 66, is only the second person known to be living with...
Trump administration sues Chicago in latest crackdown on ‘sanctuary’ cities
CHICAGO — The Trump administration sued Chicago on Thursday alleging that ‘sanctuary’ laws in the nation’s third-largest city “thwart” federal efforts to enforce immigration laws. The lawsuit, which also names the state of Illinois, is the latest effort to crack down on places that limit cooperation between federal immigration agents...
19 states to sue over DOGE access to government payment systems containing personal data
Nineteen Democratic attorneys general sued President Donald Trump on Friday to stop Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing Treasury Department records that contain sensitive personal data such as Social Security and bank account numbers for millions of Americans. The case, filed in federal court in New York City,...
Search underway along Alaska’s western coast for plane carrying 10 people
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Rescuers searched Friday for any sign of a plane that went missing while carrying 10 people across Alaska’s Norton Sound south of the Arctic Circle. The Bering Air Caravan, a single-engine turboprop, was heading from Unalakleet to Nome on Thursday afternoon with nine passengers and a pilot,...
Take the TribLive weekly news quiz: Feb. 7
The following is a regular feature from TribLive: A weekly news quiz:...
Trump promotes misleading claims about federal government’s media subscriptions
NEW YORK — Federal government payments to news outlets like Politico, The New York Times and The Associated Press for subscriptions or to license content are in the crosshairs of Trump administration spending hawks, with the president on Thursday calling it potentially “THE BIGGEST SCANDAL OF THEM ALL.” It’s the...
Senate confirms Project 2025 architect Russell Vought to lead powerful White House budget office
WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmed Russell Vought as White House budget director on Thursday night, putting an official who has planned the zealous expansion of President Donald Trump’s power into one of the most influential positions in the federal government. Vought was confirmed on a party-line vote of 53-47. With...
Trump blames ‘obsolete’ air traffic control system for the plane and chopper collision near D.C.Video
President Donald Trump on Thursday blamed the deadly collision of a passenger jet and Army helicopter last week on what he called an “obsolete” computer system used by U.S. air traffic controllers. He vowed to replace it after NTSB officials told members of Congress that advanced surveillance technology available on...
Trump administration plans to slash all but a fraction of USAID jobs, officials say
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration presented a plan Thursday to dramatically cut staffing worldwide for U.S. aid projects as part of its dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development, leaving fewer than 300 workers out of thousands. Two current USAID employees and one former senior USAID official told The...
