What to know about the partial government shutdown
WASHINGTON — The partial government shutdown is vastly different from the record closure in the fall. That is mostly because this shutdown, which started Saturday, does not include the whole of government and may not last long, even as it now drags into the new week. The House had hoped...
More winter weather leads to heavy snow, canceled flights and, in Florida, falling iguanas
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A huge swath of the U.S. from the Gulf Coast into New England was mired in extra-cold temperatures Sunday after a bomb cyclone brought heavy snow and hundreds of flight cancellations to North Carolina, flurries and falling iguanas in Florida, and more misery for thousands who are...
5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and father return to Minnesota from ICE facility in Texas
Five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, who were detained by immigration officers in Minnesota and held at an ICE facility in Texas, have been released following a judge’s order. They have returned to Minnesota, according to Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro. The boy and his dad, Adrian Conejo Arias, who...
Russian drone strike kills 15 in Dnipro as Zelenskyy says more Russia-Ukraine talks next week
KYIV, Ukraine — A Russian drone strike on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro hit a bus carrying mineworkers and killed at least a dozen people, Ukrainian authorities said Sunday, hours after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that the next round of peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations will take place...
Iran’s supreme leader warns any U.S. attack would spark ‘regional war’
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s supreme leader warned Sunday that any attack by the United States would spark a “regional war” in the Mideast, further escalating tensions as President Donald Trump has threatened to militarily strike the Islamic Republic over its crackdown on recent nationwide protests. The comments from...
Trump administration’s climate skepticism effort violated federal law, judge rules
A federal judge on Friday ruled the U.S. Department of Energy violated federal law when it formed a secretive group of researchers to produce a report downplaying the effects of climate change. The “Climate Working Group” was composed of five scientists hand-picked by Energy Secretary Chris Wright shortly after the...
Trump nominates government economist to lead Bureau of Labor Statistics
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Friday he is nominating the government economist Brett Matsumoto to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics, after having previously accused the federal agency of releasing low monthly jobs numbers in order to make him look bad. There is no evidence the Bureau of Labor...
Judge blocks additional citizenship provisions in latest setback to Trump’s election executive order
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal judge Friday blocked certain federal agencies from requesting citizenship status when distributing voter registration forms, the latest blow to a wide-ranging executive order on elections President Donald Trump signed last year. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington ruled that the Constitution’s separation of powers,...
U.S. approves arms sales to Israel, Saudi Arabia
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has approved a massive new series of arms sales to Israel totaling $6.67 billion and to Saudi Arabia worth $9 billion. Both sets of sales were announced by the State Department late Friday as tensions rise in the Middle East over the possibility of U.S....
Venezuela announces amnesty bill that could lead to mass release of political prisoners
CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez on Friday announced an amnesty bill that could lead to the release of hundreds of prisoners, including opposition leaders, journalists and human rights activists detained for political reasons. The measure had long been sought by the United States-backed opposition. It is the...
Senate passes government funding deal despite GOP backlash
WASHINGTON — The Senate voted Friday to fund most of the government through the end of September after President Donald Trump made a deal with Democrats to carve out Homeland Security funding and allow Congress to debate new restrictions on federal immigration raids across the country. With a weekend shutdown...
Texas A&M shutters women, gender studies department amid new policy crackdown
Texas A&M University said Friday it is ending its women’s and gender studies programs, and that hundreds of course syllabuses have been or will be altered under a new policy regulating how race and gender can be discussed in class. The university wrote in a statement Friday that six courses...
Cubans scramble to survive as U.S. vise on island tightens in push to oust government
HAVANA — Cubans are hustling to become more self-sufficient as the U.S. government tightens its economic noose over the communist-run island in a move experts say is meant to force a popular uprising and usher in a new government. A sharp increase in U.S. sanctions was already suffocating Cubans when...
Tens of thousands face another arctic blast without power
BELZONI, Miss. — As tens of thousands of people endured nearly a week with no electricity, another storm loomed on the East Coast where residents braced for near-hurricane force winds, heavy snow and potential flooding. More than 230,000 homes and businesses were without electricity Friday, with the vast majority of...
NASCAR’s Greg Biffle wasn’t flying his plane before crash that killed him and 6 others
WASHINGTON — Retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle was not flying his own jet when it crashed last month, killing him and six others, according to a Friday report from federal safety officials who also concluded that while an experienced pilot was at the controls, no one else on board was...
Justice Department says it’s releasing 3 million pages from its Jeffrey Epstein files
NEW YORK — The Justice Department on Friday released many more records from its investigative files on Jeffrey Epstein, resuming disclosures under a law intended to reveal what the government knew about the millionaire financier’s sexual abuse of young girls and his interactions with rich and powerful people including Donald...
DOJ has opened a federal civil rights probe into the death of Alex Pretti
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has opened a federal civil rights investigation into the shooting of Alex Pretti, the Minneapolis resident killed Saturday by Border Patrol officers, federal officials said Friday. “We’re looking at everything that would shed light on what happened that day and in the days and weeks...
Protesters call for nationwide strike against Trump’s immigration policies
Protesters across the U.S. are calling for “no work, no school, no shopping” as part of a nationwide strike on Friday to oppose the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis. The demonstrations are taking place amid widespread outrage over the killing Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse, who was shot...
York County GOP Rep. Seth Grove to leave office, 5th opening in the House this year
A former state House Republican leader who served as the caucus’ budget watchdog announced he would resign from office effective Sunday. Rep. Seth Grove (R-York) revealed in May that he would not seek reelection for a 10th term, ending the announcement with “Lets get back to work,” but no indication...
Israel reopening Gaza’s border crossing with Egypt on Sunday after long closure
JERUSALEM — Israel said Friday that it will reopen the pedestrian border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt in both directions over the weekend, marking an important step forward for U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan. COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of coordinating aid to Gaza,...
What is the fate of some 2 dozen ICE bills before Pa. state lawmakers?
About two dozen proposals related to immigration enforcement are percolating in the state legislature in response to the Trump administration’s crackdown and tactics – including increased reliance on county jails and local police departments. Lawmakers acknowledge it’s a long shot to enact reforms in a federally-governed arena and with a...
Journalist Don Lemon has been arrested after he covered a Minnesota church protest
WASHINGTON — Journalist Don Lemon and three other people were arrested Friday in connection with an anti-immigration enforcement protest that disrupted a service at a Minnesota church and increased tensions between residents and federal officials. Lemon was arrested by federal agents in Los Angeles, where he had been covering the...
Senate leaders scramble to save bipartisan deal and avert partial government shutdown at midnight
WASHINGTON — Senate leaders were scrambling to save a bipartisan spending deal and avert a partial government shutdown at midnight Friday as Democrats have demanded new restrictions on federal immigration raids across the country. Democrats struck a rare deal with President Donald Trump Thursday to separate funding for the Homeland...
Trump’s choice of Warsh to lead Fed could reshape the world’s most influential central bank
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh to chair the Federal Reserve could bring about sweeping changes at a central bank that dominates the global economy and markets like no other. Warsh, if approved by the Senate, will be under close scrutiny from financial markets and Congress given...
Masked agents, face scans and a question: Are you a citizen? Inside Trump’s Minnesota crackdown
Luis Martinez was on his way to work on a frigid Minneapolis morning when federal agents suddenly boxed him in, forcing the SUV he was driving to a dead stop in the middle of the street. Masked agents rapped on the window, demanding Martinez produce his ID. Then one held...
