NATO scrambles jets to shoot down Russian drones in Poland, raising fears of war spillover
WARSAW, Poland — Multiple Russian drones crossed into Poland in what European officials described Wednesday as a deliberate provocation, causing NATO to send fighter jets to shoot them down. A NATO spokesman said it was the first time the alliance confronted a potential threat in its airspace. The incursion, which...
Cruise ship passenger jumps overboard to avoid paying $16K gambling debt, police say
A man was arrested last weekend after authorities said he leapt off of a Royal Caribbean cruise ship in order to avoid paying a $16,000 gambling debt. Jey Gonzalez-Diaz jumped off the Rhapsody of the Seas near the Port of Suan Juan, Puerto Rico, at around 9:15 a.m. Sunday during...
Harris says leaving reelection decision to Biden was ‘recklessness,’ but defends his abilities
WASHINGTON — Former Vice President Kamala Harris says it was “recklessness” for Democrats to leave it to President Joe Biden to decide whether to continue seeking another term last year, but she defends his ability to do the job, according an excerpt of her new book. Harris, in an excerpt...
Nepalese army moves to restore order after protest violence intensifies
KATHMANDU, Nepal — Nepalese soldiers guarded the streets of the country’s capital on Wednesday and ordered people to stay at home as they moved to restore order after tens of thousands of protesters stormed and set fire to government buildings and attacked politicians. Armed troops guarding the main areas of...
Trump is upsetting the U.S. allies needed to counter China
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade and immigration policies are undermining relationships that have been cornerstones of American foreign policy to counter China’s growing influence, eroding years of diplomatic investments spanning administrations. The latest fracture came Friday, when hundreds of South Korean workers were detained at a Hyundai manufacturing...
Chicagoans change routines as immigration crackdown looms. Some carry passports and avoid stores
CHICAGO — The streets in some of Chicago’s liveliest neighborhoods are quiet these days. Public schoolteachers want online learning for families scared to venture out. And houses of worship are urging people to carry identification everywhere they go. As the nation’s third-largest city awaits a much-hyped federal intervention, residents are...
U.S. high school students lose ground in math and reading, continuing yearslong decline
WASHINGTON — A decade-long slide in high schoolers’ reading and math performance persisted during the covid-19 pandemic, with 12th graders’ scores dropping to their lowest level in more than 20 years, according to results released Tuesday from an exam known as the nation’s report card. Eighth-grade students also lost significant...
Trump dines at a restaurant near the White House to promote his federal law enforcement surge in D.C.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump had dinner Tuesday night at a seafood restaurant near the White House, promoting his deployment of the National Guard and federalizing the police force in an effort to crack down on crime in the nation’s capital. His motorcade made the short distance to Joe’s Seafood,...
Court rules Lisa Cook can remain a Fed governor for now while fighting Trump’s attempt to fire her
WASHINGTON — A federal court ruled Tuesday that embattled Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her position while she fights President Donald Trump’s efforts to fire her. The ruling, which will almost certainly be appealed, is a blow to the Trump administration’s efforts to assert more control over...
New York City police hunt for man suspected of killing elderly couple and burning their home
NEW YORK — A New York City couple in their 70s was killed Monday in what the police commissioner said was a “horrific double homicide, robbery and arson” — the man tied to a pole and stabbed, the woman’s body severely burned as their home went up in flames. Frank...
Trump downplays Jeffrey Epstein letter that reignited an uproar
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump called a birthday note he allegedly sent to Jeffrey Epstein a “dead issue,” seeking to tamp down mounting questions over his past interactions with the late disgraced financier. “I don’t comment on something that’s a dead issue,” Trump said in an interview with NBC News...
Democrat James Walkinshaw wins U.S. House special election in Virginia
Democrat James Walkinshaw, a politician with experience working on Capitol Hill, has won a special election to be the next U.S. House representative of the Virginia district home to the state’s most populous county. Walkinshaw’s victory in Virginia’s 11th Congressional District helps Democrats winnow Republicans’ narrow majority in the House...
More than 350 Greenlandic women, girls forcibly given contraception by Danish officials, report says
COPENHAGEN — More than 350 Greenlandic Indigenous women and girls, including some 12 years old and younger, reported that they were forcibly given contraception by Danish health authorities in cases that date back to the 1960s, according to an independent investigation’s findings released Tuesday. The Inuit victims, many of them...
Alex Jones asks U.S. Supreme Court to hear appeal of $1.4 billion Sandy Hook judgment
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his appeal of the $1.4 billion judgment a Connecticut jury and judge issued against him for calling the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting a hoax staged by crisis actors. The Infowars host is arguing that the judge...
Chief Justice Roberts keeps in place Trump funding freeze that threatens billions in foreign aid
WASHINGTON — Chief Justice John Roberts on Tuesday temporarily kept in place the Trump administration’s decision to freeze nearly $5 billion in foreign aid. Roberts acted on the administration’s emergency appeal to the Supreme Court in a case involving billions of dollars in congressionally approved aid. President Donald Trump said...
CBS News’ new ombudsman has background and duties that differ from the job’s traditional definition
NEW YORK — CBS News has a new ombudsman assigned to look into public complaints, but the job being assumed by Kenneth Weinstein bears little resemblance to how this watchdog role has traditionally operated in journalism. Weinstein, appointed Monday by CBS’ parent company Paramount, has little background in journalism and...
Supreme Court to quickly consider if President Donald Trump has power to impose sweeping tariffs
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted an unusually quick hearing on whether President Donald Trump has the power to impose sweeping tariffs under federal law. The justices will hear arguments in November, lightning fast by the typical standards of the nation’s highest court. The small businesses and states...
RFK Jr.’s latest ‘Make America Healthy Again’ report calls for more scrutiny of vaccines, autism
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is imploring the nation’s public health agencies to prioritize investigations of vaccine injuries, prescription drug use and the cause of autism in a new “Make America Healthy Again” report focused on children released Tuesday. The 20-page report, overseen by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert...
Man accused of killing Ukrainian refugee on North Carolina train charged with federal crime
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Tuesday charged a man with a lengthy arrest record with the fatal stabbing of a Ukrainian refugee on a North Carolina commuter train last month, meaning he could face the death penalty. The federal charge comes amid growing questions about why Decarlos Brown Jr....
AP finds major disaster declarations are taking longer under Trump
TYLERTOWN, Miss. — As an ominous storm approached Buddy Anthony’s new home, he took shelter in his Ford F-250 pickup parked under a nearby carport. Seconds later, a tornado tore apart the one-story brick house and damaged the truck while lifting it partly in the air. Anthony emerged unhurt. But...
Prosecutor in New York warns of more raids after 57 detained making snack bars
ALBANY, N.Y. — Fifty-seven people in the country illegally were detained after a raid on an upstate New York snack bar plant last week, according to federal prosecutor who warned Tuesday that employers can expect more large-scale workplace enforcement actions. John Sarcone, acting U.S. Attorney for northern New York, said...
National money starts flowing into critical Pa. Supreme Court retention races
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 national political group is spending tens of thousands of dollars to urge voters to reject new...
Russian glide bomb attack in eastern Ukraine kills at least 24 people collecting their pensions
SLOVIANSK, Ukraine — A Russian glide bomb struck a village in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday as people stood in line in the open air to collect their monthly pension. The blast killed at least 24 people and injured 19 others, the Ukraine Emergency Service said. The bomb hit the Donetsk...
Israeli strike in Qatar targets Hamas leaders as they weigh Gaza ceasefire proposal
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Israel struck the headquarters of Hamas’ political leadership in Qatar as the group’s top figures gathered to consider a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The strike on the territory of a U.S. ally marked a stunning escalation and risked upending talks...
Home Depot stores, long a hub for day laborers, now draw immigration agents out on raids
LOS ANGELES — At a Home Depot parking lot, a man patrols on a bicycle for federal immigration agents, toting a megaphone on his hip so he can blast a warning to day laborers waiting to land a landscaping or construction job. The workers from Mexico, El Salvador and elsewhere...
