Israel claims another top Iranian official killed while Iran’s attacks kill 2 near Tel Aviv
/ DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Israel said Wednesday it killed another top Iranian official, the third in two days, while Iran lashed out with attacks on its Persian Gulf neighbors and Israel, using some of its latest missiles to evade air defenses and killing two people near Tel Aviv...
Pa. House Republicans hold on to key seats in special elections
Pennsylvania Republicans held on to two state House seats, critical to keeping them within striking range of majority control, in special elections Tuesday. Preliminary counts showed Catherine Wallen of York Springs had prevailed over Todd Crawley in the 193rd House District, covering parts of Adams and Cumberland counties. In Blair...
Former Illinois Republican Party chairman Don Tracy wins GOP primary for U.S. Senate seat
CHICAGO — Illinois voters decided primaries Tuesday for six open U.S. House and Senate seats in contests that became a testing ground for issues shaping the Democratic Party’s future. From questions about the cryptocurrency and AI industries to immigration enforcement to fracturing U.S. support for Israel, the state’s voters confronted...
Afghan man who worked with U.S. military dies after taken into ICE custody
HOUSTON — An Afghan immigrant whose family said had worked with U.S. forces in his home country died at a Texas hospital after having been detained by immigration authorities, according to officials. Mohommad Nazeer Paktyawal, 41, died Saturday at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, a day after having been taken into...
Trump’s next decision: Whether to retrieve Iran’s nuclear fuel, whatever the risk
WASHINGTON — Repeatedly over the past two days, President Donald Trump returned to his central argument for his decision to attack Iran, and to do it at this moment in history. Tehran was on the verge of getting a nuclear weapon, the president insists, and would use it first on...
Judge orders restoration of Voice of America, putting hundreds of journalists back to work
NEW YORK — A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration to restore the government-run Voice of America’s operations after it had effectively been shut down a year ago, putting hundreds of employees who have been on administrative leave back to work. U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth...
Summer Lee moves to impeach Attorney General Pam Bondi as GOP-led committee subpoenas her
U.S. Rep. Summer Lee and five Democratic colleagues on Tuesday introduced articles of impeachment against Attorney General Pam Bondi over her handling of files related to the late billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and what the lawmakers described as the politicization of the Justice Department. Separately Tuesday, the GOP-controlled House...
Pa. Senate passes bill to protect children, others by mandating safeguards for AI ‘friend’ bots
The state Senate on Tuesday passed a bill that would require AI chatbot operators to implement guardrails against self-harm and sexually explicit material, putting near-unanimous bipartisan support behind an idea that has also been endorsed by Gov. Josh Shapiro. The bill comes as polls show a growing public pushback to...
New York transit officials sue Trump administration to restore subway project funding
NEW YORK — The transit agency in charge of New York City’s subway system sued the Trump administration Tuesday, accusing it of breach of contract for withholding almost $60 million in federal funding that was supposed to help build new stations in Manhattan. The suit from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority...
Chief Justice Roberts says personal criticism of judges is dangerous and has ‘got to stop’
WASHINGTON — Chief Justice John Roberts warned Tuesday that personal criticism of federal judges is dangerous and “it’s got to stop,” two days after President Donald Trump called a federal judge who ruled against the administration “wacky, nasty, crooked and totally out of control.” As he has done before, Roberts...
Ohio jury deliberating in corruption trial of ex-FirstEnergy executives accused of $4.3 million bribe
COLUMBUS — Jurors in Akron began deliberating Tuesday in the corruption trial of two fired FirstEnergy Corp. executives charged for their alleged roles in a sweeping $60 million bribery scheme that resulted in a lucrative bailout of two affiliated nuclear plants. Former CEO Chuck Jones and ex-senior vice president Michael...
Trump fumes at NATO for refusing to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, and embraces going it alone
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Tuesday NATO and most other allies have rejected his calls to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, grousing that he has been unable to rally support behind his war of choice in Iran that he insists he’s conducting for the good of the world,...
Attorney General Pam Bondi subpoenaed to answer questions from Congress about the Epstein files
WASHINGTON — Attorney General Pam Bondi was subpoenaed Tuesday to answer questions from Congress about the Justice Department’s sex trafficking investigation of Jeffrey Epstein and the agency’s handling of millions of files related to the disgraced financier. Bondi was ordered to appear for a deposition on April 14 by the...
Rome’s Colosseum gets a fresh look that recreates the footprints of long-gone columns
ROME — The Colosseum has a bright new look following a restoration using the same travertine marble of ancient Rome to recreate parts of columns from 2,000 years ago. Thousands of Romans once flocked to this arena to watch gladiators battle each other and wild animals. The structure still captures...
Bank of America settles claims over lawsuits by Jeffrey Epstein victims
NEW YORK — Bank of America has tentatively settled a lawsuit claiming it ignored suspicious financial transactions involving Jeffrey Epstein while he was sexually abusing hundreds of girls and women. The proposed settlement was revealed in filings in Manhattan federal court on Monday, the same day that billionaire financier Leon...
Oil prices resume their rise, but stocks hold steadier this time around
NEW YORK — Oil prices resumed their rise on Tuesday because of the war with Iran, but U.S. stocks held steadier this time around. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% to add to its gain from the day before, which was its biggest since the war began. The Dow Jones Industrial...
2 men found with hundreds of ants are charged with illegally dealing in wildlife in Kenya
NAIROBI, Kenya — A Chinese national and a Kenyan man were charged Tuesday with unlawfully dealing in wildlife species after they were found in possession of hundreds of live ants stored in specialized tubes. The case was the latest focused on the alleged smuggling of ants in the East African...
Trump’s next target: ‘Taking Cuba’
NEWS ANALYSIS “I do believe I’ll be having the honor of taking Cuba,” President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. “Taking Cuba in some form, yeah,” he added when a reporter asked for clarification. “Taking Cuba. I mean, whether I free it, take it — I...
Man charged with planting pipe bombs before the Jan. 6 riot argues Trump’s mass pardons apply to him
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s sweeping act of clemency for rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol also should apply to a man charged with planting pipe bombs near the national headquarters of the Democratic and Republican parties on the eve of the riot on Jan. 6, 2021, the suspect’s attorneys...
Top counterterrorism official Joe Kent resigns over Trump’s Iran war, says Iran posed no imminent threatVideo
WASHINGTON — Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced his resignation on Tuesday, citing his concerns about the justification for military strikes in Iran and saying he “cannot in good conscience” back the Trump administration’s war. “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is...
Meteor lights up sky in Pittsburgh region as social media eruptsVideo
The western sky — and social media — lit up Tuesday morning when a meteor streaked over Western Pennsylvania skies and into the atmosphere over northeast Ohio. Jared Rackley, an employee with the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh, caught video of the large fireball as the suspected meteoroid entered the...
Trump officials weigh new $1 billion deal to stop offshore wind farms
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is considering a new strategy for throttling the country’s offshore wind industry, after federal judges blocked its five previous attempts to stop wind farms under construction off the East Coast. Senior administration officials are drafting settlement agreements that would pay nearly $1 billion to TotalEnergies,...
Illinois voters set to pick a new generation of Democrats for House, Senate after near-record retirements
CHICAGO — Illinois voters are deciding primaries Tuesday for six open U.S. House and Senate seats that will spur a new generation of leadership in the state’s heavily Democratic congressional delegation. The retirement of longtime Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat, has triggered a competitive campaign, drawing as candidates two sitting...
Republicans are launching a voting bill debate that could last days or even weeks
WASHINGTON — Republicans are launching an unprecedented effort on Tuesday to hold the Senate floor and talk for days about a bill that they know won’t pass — an attempt to capture public attention on legislation requiring stricter voter registration rules as President Donald Trump pressures Congress to act before...
Islandwide blackout hits Cuba as it struggles with deepening energy crisis
HAVANA — Officials in Cuba reported an islandwide blackout Monday in the country of some 11 million people as its energy and economic crises deepen and its power grid continues to crumble. The Ministry of Energy and Mines on X noted a “complete disconnection” of the country’s electrical system and...
