From Elon Musk to the former Prince Andrew, a who’s who of powerful men are named in Epstein files
NEW YORK — From tech titans to Wall Street power brokers and foreign dignitaries, a who’s who of powerful men make appearances in the huge trove of documents released Friday by the Justice Department in connection with its investigations of Jeffrey Epstein. Many have denied having close ties to the...
In Minneapolis, all-encompassing immigration story tests a newsroom in midst of digital transition
With the eyes of a nation fixed on the unrest in Minneapolis, the events haven’t left local journalists overmatched. Over the past month, the Minnesota Star Tribune has broken stories, including the identity of the immigration enforcement officer who shot Renee Good, and produced a variety of informative and instructive...
Johnson says no quick House vote to end partial shutdown and blames Democrats for their ICE demands
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday it will be a few days before a government funding package comes up for a vote, all but ensuring the partial federal shutdown will drag into the week as Democrats and Republicans debate reining in the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration enforcement operations....
IOC president Kirsty Coventry says ICE and Epstein files are ‘sad’ distractions from Winter Olympics
MILAN — Two years before the Los Angeles Olympics, the United States is already dominating the narrative in the run-up to the opening ceremony of the Milan Cortina Winter Games. International Olympic Committee officials, including President Kirsty Coventry, couldn’t avoid questions relating to ICE and the Jeffrey Epstein files at...
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...
