Who could take over for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei?
Before the American and Israeli bombs started falling Saturday, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the authoritarian center of the theocratic regime for nearly 40 years, had planned for a transition of power in the event of his death. Khamenei, 86, had led Iran since 1989, and held sweeping powers...
Trump’s ‘America First’ campaign battle cry gives way to military strikes abroad
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump, whose fierce denunciation of military adventurism abroad fueled his unlikely rise to the top of the Republican Party, risks becoming ensnared by that very type of conflict. The U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran Saturday cemented Trump’s decade-long transformation from a candidate who in 2016...
War powers debate intensifies after Trump orders attack on Iran without approval by Congress
WASHINGTON (AP) — Key members of Congress are demanding a swift vote on a war powers resolution that would restrain President Donald Trump’s military attack on Iran unless the administration wins their approval for what they warn is a potentially illegal campaign that risks pulling the United States into a...
Trump’s push for election power raises fears he will ‘subvert’ midterms
Ahead of the midterm elections, an emboldened President Donald Trump has shown an increased eagerness to leverage the full investigative, prosecutorial and legislative powers of the federal government to bend election mechanics to his will. With his words and deeds, the president — who pushed to overturn his 2020 defeat...
What to know about U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran
The U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday in what President Donald Trump said was a massive operation to destroy the country’s military capabilities and eliminate the threat of it creating a nuclear weapon. He urged Iranians to “take over your government.” Iran launched counterattacks, firing drones and missiles at...
QAnon faithful see validation in the Epstein files
The theory at the heart of the QAnon conspiracy theory was simple, even if the details were not: A global cabal of elites was running a child sex-trafficking ring. The latest release of files about Jeffrey Epstein has the QAnon faithful crowing that they were right. The documents revealed that...
Families tell of life in Texas detention center: Worms in food, poor medical care, lights on 24/7
LAREDO, Texas — A month after ICE agents sent the young Ecuadorian mother and her 7-year-old daughter to a sprawling detention center 1,300 miles from their Minnesota home, they were finally free. But when the bus pulled up to a migrant shelter in the border city of Laredo, dropping off...
Calls for peace and flashes of anger after US and Israeli attacks kill Iran’s Khamenei
BRUSSELS — World leaders urged peace and a return to talks Sunday as the military strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran raised concerns that the violence could spread across the region, with Iran vowing devastating blows after the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Massive explosions...
Russia condemns U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran as ‘unprovoked act of armed aggression’
Russia on Saturday condemned the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran as “a preplanned and unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign and independent U.N. member state,” demanding an immediate halt to the military campaign and a return to diplomacy. In a statement posted to Telegram, the Foreign Ministry accused Washington...
A Supreme Court case over whether marijuana users can own guns is creating unusual alliances
WASHINGTON — Gun rights and cannabis legalization are usually on opposite ends of the political spectrum, but both movements have brought about seismic shifts in the United States in recent decades. Now those forces are lining up for a rare overlap in a case coming before the Supreme Court on...
Read President Trump’s statement on Iran in full
President Donald Trump said in an 8-minute video posted on his Truth Social that the U.S. has begun “major combat operations in Iran.” He claimed Iran has continued to develop its nuclear program and plans to develop missiles to reach U.S. and appealed to the Iranian people to “take over...
Iran’s supreme leader is dead following major attack by U.S. and Israel
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei died following a major attack by Israel and the United States, Iranian state media confirmed early Sunday, throwing the future of the Islamic Republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. President Donald Trump announced the death...
Trump orders U.S. agencies to stop using Anthropic technology in clash over AI safety
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Friday ordered all U.S. agencies to stop using Anthropic’s artificial intelligence technology and imposed other major penalties, culminating an unusually public clash between the government and the company over AI safety. President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other officials took to social...
Trump’s ‘pretty much’ decided whom to endorse in Texas’ Senate primary but isn’t yet saying a name
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump — who has long seemed like he just can’t seem to choose among friends in the Texas Senate Republican primary — says he’s “pretty much” decided whom to endorse in the critical March 3 contest. But as the showman president is wont to do, he...
Deaths on a boat off Cuba spotlight Florida anti-government groups
MIAMI — A stolen boat, with 10 people aboard, loaded with weapons, departs the Florida Keys but gunfire erupts before reaching Cuba. The explanation, according to the Cuban government, is the men aboard were terrorists who wanted to infiltrate the country. The fatal shooting broke out Wednesday amid heightened tensions...
Los Angeles school superintendent placed on paid leave amid federal probe
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles schools superintendent Alberto Carvalho was put on paid leave Friday while he is part of a federal investigation, two days after the FBI served search warrants at his home and the district’s headquarters. Authorities have not provided details of the nature of the investigation involving...
Sweden says it intercepted Russian drone during visit by French aircraft carrier
STOCKHOLM — A Russian drone carried out an unauthorized flight off southern Sweden earlier this week while a French aircraft carrier was docked in the port of Malmö, the Swedish military said Friday, in what the defense minister said was a violation of his country’s airspace. The armed forces said...
ICE facilities are planned for Pa. Will the Shapiro admin sue to stop them?
This story was produced by the Berks County bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom. Sign up for Good Day, Berks, a daily dose of essential local stories at spotlightpa.org/newsletters/gooddayberks. READING — Maryland’s attorney general is suing the federal government to prevent ICE from converting a warehouse into an...
Trump says he’s ‘not happy’ with Iran talks but will wait to see what happens in further rounds
TEL AVIV, Israel — U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday he’s “not happy” with Iran talks so far but that he’ll wait to see what happens in additional rounds of negotiations with the Middle Eastern country over its nuclear program. “I’m not happy with the fact that they’re not willing...
4 things you didn’t know about the plummeting U.S. birth rate
The U.S. birth rate has fallen to its lowest rate in history. This has caused consternation in the political class: A falling rate can eventually lead to too few workers to support an aging population. (Immigration, the other element of population change, has fallen under the Trump administration.) Some on...
Pakistan is in ‘open war’ with Afghanistan after latest strikes, defense minister says
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan and Afghanistan exchanged cross-border attacks overnight in a dramatic escalation of tensions that led Pakistan’s defense minister to say on Friday that the two countries are in a state of “open war.” Afghanistan launched a cross-border attack on Pakistan late Thursday, saying it was in retaliation for...
At least 55 Ghanaians killed fighting for Russia in Ukraine war, minister says
ACCRA, Ghana — At least 55 Ghanaians have died fighting for Russia in Ukraine, Ghana’s foreign minister said Friday, one of the highest death tolls from among several African countries whose citizens are fighting in the war. Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said 272 Ghanaians have been lured into...
Bill Clinton says he ‘did nothing wrong’ with Epstein as he faced grilling over their relationship
WASHINGTON — Former President Bill Clinton told members of Congress on Friday that he “did nothing wrong” in his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and saw no signs of Epstein’s sexual abuse as he faced hours of grilling from lawmakers over his connections to the disgraced financier from more than two...
Scouting America will alter its policies to maintain support from the U.S. military, Pentagon says
WASHINGTON — Scouting America will alter several policies at the urging of the Pentagon, including one targeting transgender youths, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Friday as he pushes a campaign against military support for diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Some of the changes mirror what the organization suggested to the...
Papa Johns pizza chain will close 300 stores across U.S.
Papa Johns announced it plans to close about 300 stores across the United States by the end of 2027. The announcement was made by the Kentucky-based pizza chain during an earnings call on Thursday, USA Today reported. The company also said during the call that it has cut its corporate...
