Critically wounded National Guard member being moved to in-patient rehabilitation
A West Virginia National Guard member who was shot last month in the nation’s capital is being transitioned from hospital acute care to in-patient rehabilitation, a doctor said Friday. Staff. Sgt. Andrew Wolfe was airlifted to MedStar Washington Hospital Center with a critical gunshot wound to the head on Nov....
New Orleans jail escapee who evaded capture for months gets life sentence for double murder
NEW ORLEANS — The last inmate caught after an audacious New Orleans jailbreak was sentenced Friday to two life sentences over a 2018 double murder, with the Louisiana judge rebuking him for the disruption caused by his five months on the run. Derrick Groves, 28, wore shackles and an orange...
TSA renews push to end collective bargaining agreement for airport security screeners
The Transportation Security Administration is renewing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s push to end a collective bargaining agreement with airport screening officers — the second such attempt this year and one that comes just a month after the longest government shutdown on record. The agency said Friday the move is...
Iran arrests Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, supporters say
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran has arrested Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, her supporters said Friday. A foundation in her name said she was detained in Mashhad, some 420 miles northeast of the capital, Tehran, while attending a memorial for a human rights lawyer recently found dead under...
EU indefinitely freezes Russian assets so Hungary and Slovakia can’t veto their use for Ukraine
BRUSSELS — The European Union on Friday indefinitely froze Russia’s assets in Europe to ensure that Hungary and Slovakia, both with Moscow-friendly governments, can’t prevent the billions of euros from being used to support Ukraine. Using a special procedure meant for economic emergencies, the EU blocked the assets until Russia...
U.S. accuses Rwanda of violating peace deal as M23 rebels seize key city in eastern Congo
UNITED NATIONS — The United States accused Rwanda on Friday of violating a U.S.-brokered peace agreement by backing a new and deadly offensive in the mineral-rich eastern Congo and warned that the Trump administration will take action against “spoilers” of the deal. The remarks by U.S. Ambassador to the United...
Navy investigation finds Osprey safety issues were allowed to grow for years
WASHINGTON — After a spate of deadly accidents that have claimed the lives of 20 service members in the past four years, a Navy report acknowledges that the military failed to address a growing series of issues with the V-22 Osprey aircraft since it took flight almost 20 years ago....
House Democrats release photos of Trump, Clinton and Andrew from Epstein’s estate
WASHINGTON — House Democrats released a selection of photos from the estate of Jeffrey Epstein on Friday, including some of Donald Trump, Bill Clinton and the former Prince Andrew. The 19 photos released by Democratic lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee were a small part of more than 95,000 they...
Threat of equine virus looms over major rodeo event in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS — Declaring Las Vegas a “cowboy town,” dozens of riders on horseback have traditionally kicked off the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo by galloping into the arena and then lining up their horses side by side as the riders tip their hats to cheers. But an equine virus outbreak...
Trump administration delays decision on federal protections for monarch butterflies
MADISON, Wis. — President Donald Trump’s administration has delayed a decision on whether to extend federal protections to monarch butterflies indefinitely despite years of warnings from conservationists that populations are shrinking. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced during the waning days of then-President Joe Biden’s term in December 2024...
Washington flooding forces an entire city to evacuate as rivers top historic highs
BURLINGTON, Wash. — National Guard troops went door-to-door early Friday to evacuate a farming city north of Seattle as severe flooding throughout Western Washington stranded families on rooftops, washed over bridges and ripped homes from their foundations. Days of torrential rain have swelled rivers to record or near-record levels, with...
Church Nativity scenes add zip ties, gas masks and ICE to protest immigration raids
DEDHAM, Mass. — One baby Jesus lays in a manger in the snow, wrapped in a silver emergency blanket with his wrists zip-tied. Mary stands nearby outside the Lake Street Church in Evanston, Illinois, wearing a plastic gas mask and flanked by Roman soldiers in tactical vests labeled “ICE.” In...
Chinese whistleblower now living in U.S. is being hunted by Beijing with help from U.S. tech
MIDLAND, Texas — Retired Chinese official Li Chuanliang was recuperating from cancer on a Korean resort island when he got an urgent call: Don’t return to China, a friend warned. You’re now a fugitive. Days later, a stranger snapped a photo of Li in a cafe. Terrified South Korea would...
Crypto mogul Do Kwon sentenced to 15 years in prison for $40 billion stablecoin fraud
NEW YORK — Onetime cryptocurrency mogul Do Kwon was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison after a $40 billion crash revealed his crypto ecosystem to be a fraud. Victims said the 34-year-old financial technology whiz weaponized their trust to convince them that the investment — secretly propped up by...
Japan issues tsunami advisory after 6.7 magnitude quake in country’s northeast
TOKYO — Japan on Friday issued a tsunami advisory after a 6.7 magnitude earthquake shook the country’s northeast, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. The quake occurred off the east coast of Aomori prefecture, in the north of Honshu, the main Japanese island, at a depth of 12.4 miles at...
Trump plans to push for cannabis rescheduling as less dangerous
President Donald Trump is expected to direct his administration to move to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, according to people familiar with the matter, a move that could represent one of the biggest shifts in U.S. policy toward cannabis in decades. Trump has discussed the idea with marijuana...
Trump signs executive order to block state AI regulations
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday aimed at blocking states from crafting their own regulations for artificial intelligence, saying the burgeoning industry is at risk of being stifled by a patchwork of onerous rules while in a battle with Chinese competitors for supremacy. Members of Congress from both...
House votes to nullify Trump order and restore bargaining rights for federal workers
WASHINGTON — Nearly two dozen House Republicans joined Democrats Thursday to pass a bill that would restore collective bargaining rights for hundreds of thousands of federal employees, an attempt to overturn an executive order that President Donald Trump issued earlier this year. The measure passed 231-195 after reaching the floor...
Democratic senators demand details on Trump’s drugmaker deals
WASHINGTON — Democratic senators are demanding more details on the drug pricing deals that Pfizer Inc., Eli Lilly & Co. and others have struck with the Trump administration in an effort to understand whether they’re actually saving the government any money. In letters sent to chief executives of Pfizer, Lilly,...
Who wants to be a billionaire? Powerball jackpot hits $1 billion for 2nd time this year
The Powerball jackpot has swelled to an estimated $1 billion ahead of the drawing on Saturday night, marking one of the largest prizes in history. No tickets matched all six numbers drawn on Wednesday: white balls 10, 16, 29, 33, 69 and the red Powerball 22. The pot now ranks...
Indiana Republicans block Trump’s redistricting push in rare break with the president
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana’s Republican-led senate voted against a redrawn congressional map Thursday that would have favored their party in the 2026 elections, despite months of pressure by President Donald Trump for a rare mid-cycle redistricting. Twenty-one senators from the Republican supermajority and all 10 of the chamber’s Democrats voted down...
Homeland Security Secretary Noem defends Trump’s hard-line immigration policies under scrutinyVideo
WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defiantly defended the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration policies on Thursday during a House committee hearing, portraying migrants as a major threat faced by the nation that justifies a crackdown that has seen widespread arrests, deportations and a dizzying pace of restrictions on foreigners....
Shapiro admin subpoenaed for records detailing use of public funds to upgrade governor’s private home
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania Senate panel has taken the rare and dramatic step of subpoenaing the Shapiro administration for...
The man accused of killing Charlie Kirk appears in court for 1st time as judge weighs media access
PROVO, Utah — The 22-year-old Utah man charged with killing Charlie Kirk made his first in-person court appearance Thursday as his attorneys push to further limit media access in the high-profile criminal case. A Utah judge is weighing the public’s right to know details in the prosecution of Tyler Robinson...
Justice Department again fails to re-indict New York Attorney General Letitia James
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A grand jury declined for a second time to re-indict New York Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday, refusing to resurrect a mortgage fraud prosecution encouraged by President Donald Trump, according to a person familiar with the matter. It’s another major blow to the Justice Department after...
