U.S./World category, Page 3
JD Vance says administration pausing some Medicaid funding to Minnesota because of fraud concernsVideo
WASHINGTON — Vice President JD Vance announced Wednesday that the Trump administration would “temporarily halt” some Medicaid funding to the state of Minnesota over fraud concerns, as part of what he described as an aggressive crackdown on misuse of public funds. Vance, who made the announcement with Dr. Mehmet Oz,...
Justice Department says it’s reviewing whether any Epstein-related records were mistakenly withheld
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department said Wednesday that it was looking into whether it had improperly withheld documents from the Jeffrey Epstein files after several news organizations reported that some records involving uncorroborated accusations made by a woman against President Donald Trump were not among those released to the public....
Cuba says boat from Florida opened fire at its soldiers, starting fight that killed 4
HAVANA — Cuba’s government said late Wednesday that the 10 passengers on a boat that opened fire on its soldiers were armed Cubans living in the U.S. who were trying to infiltrate the island and unleash terrorism. The announcement came hours after Cuba said its soldiers killed four people and...
Pam Bondi denounced by graduates of Stetson Law amid Epstein file revelations
As revelations emerged this week that the U.S. Department of Justice withheld key materials relating to allegations against President Donald Trump in its release of Jeffrey Epstein files, Stetson University College of Law graduates demanded action from the U.S. attorney general’s alma mater. Pam Bondi earned her law degree from...
West Virginia mother sentenced in death of emaciated daughter
A West Virginia woman was sentenced to up to life in prison Wednesday in the death of her teenage daughter whose emaciated body was found at their home in a case that prompted scrutiny of the state’s overwhelmed child welfare system. Julie Miller will be eligible for parole after serving...
Kristi Noem brings back threat to suspend TSA PreCheck amid shutdown
The federal government may stop TSA PreCheck during the ongoing partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, Secretary Kristi Noem said Wednesday. Noem previously said the department would suspend PreCheck operations last weekend but quickly reversed course and kept the faster, prescreened security lanes open. However, she put the...
Surgeon general nominee faces sharp questions about vaccines, birth control and qualificationsVideo
NEW YORK — Wellness influencer, author and entrepreneur Dr. Casey Means on Wednesday shared a vision for addressing the root causes of chronic disease instead of feeding into “reactive sick care” during her confirmation hearing to become the nation’s next surgeon general. “Our nation is angry, exhausted and hurting,” the...
Trump administration’s ‘third country’ deportation policy is unlawful, judge rules
The Trump administration’s latest policy of deporting immigrants to “third countries” to which they have no ties is unlawful and must be set aside, a federal judge ruled Wednesday in a case that already reached the nation’s highest court. U.S. District Judge Brian E. Murphy in Massachusetts agreed to suspend...
Trump administration hits Iran with new sanctions as nuclear talks near
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Wednesday imposed another tranche of sanctions on people and companies accused of enabling Iran’s ballistic missile program, drone production and illicit oil sales as the U.S. presses Tehran to make a deal ahead of nuclear talks this week. The sanctions against 30 people, companies...
Larry Summers will resign from teaching at Harvard during review of Epstein ties, university says
Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers will resign from teaching at Harvard University as the campus reviews his ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the university announced Wednesday. Summers, who has been on leave since November and whose name appeared hundreds of times in newly released Epstein...
NASA moves its Artemis II moon rocket off the launch pad for more repairs
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA moved its grounded Artemis moon rocket from the launch pad back to its hangar Wednesday for more repairs. The slow-motion trek at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center was expected to take all day. The 322-foot Space Launch System rocket had spent a month at the pad...
Iran pushes back against Trump ahead of Geneva talks in face of major U.S. military deploymentVideo
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran pushed back Wednesday against U.S. President Donald Trump’s pressure tactics ahead of critical talks in Geneva over Tehran’s nuclear program, alternating between calling his remarks “big lies” to saying negotiations may yield an agreement through “honorable diplomacy.” The remarks by two Iranian officials ahead...
Ukrainian officials to meet Trump envoys in Geneva over more Russia talks
KYIV, Ukraine — A Ukrainian delegation will meet with President Donald Trump’s envoys in the run-up to another round of trilateral talks with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday. Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council Secretary, is due to hold talks with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on...
Trump plans to take his State of the Union message on the road — eventually
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has delivered the State of the Union. Now the challenge for him is to make that message stick. His address Tuesday was a declaration of pride in the achievements of his still-young second term, as he boasted of an economic renaissance at home while he’s...
Viktor Orban’s support crumbles weeks ahead of Hungarian elections
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s support crumbled less than seven weeks before a parliamentary election, a poll showed, raising the prospect of a landslide victory for an opposition that’s pledged to reverse the country’s slide toward authoritarianism. The opposition Tisza party of former ruling elite insider Peter Magyar widened its...
Floods ravage Minas Gerais in Brazil, killing 36 as rescuers race to find dozens missing
JUIZ DE FORA, Brazil — Dozens are still missing in southeastern Brazil on Wednesday after floods killed at least 36 people in the state of Minas Gerais, officials said Wednesday. Rescue teams worked through the night, as heavy rain is expected in the region in the next few days. All...
Columbia student detained by federal agents who claimed to be seeking ‘missing person,’ school says
NEW YORK — A Columbia University student was arrested early Thursday by federal immigration agents who gained entry to her student housing by posing as investigators searching for a “missing person,” according to her attorneys and a statement from the school’s president. The student, Ellie Aghayeva, is a senior from...
Trump uses longest-ever State of the Union to try to convince voters that U.S. is ‘winning so much’Video
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump declared during Tuesday’s marathon State of the Union that “we’re winning so much,” saying he’d sparked a jobs and manufacturing boom at home while imposing a new world order abroad — hoping that offering a long list of his accomplishments can counter approval ratings that...
Trump’s DOJ losing court fights over DOGE, Elon Musk secrecy
WASHINGTON — U.S. courts are foiling efforts by the Trump administration to keep under wraps information about the Department of Government Efficiency and the role that Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, played in it during his whirlwind stint with the White House last year. A New York federal judge...
Pentagon appeals order blocking Sen. Mark Kelly’s punishment for call to resist unlawful orders
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is appealing a judge’s order that blocks him from punishing Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, a former Navy pilot, for participating in a video that called on troops to resist unlawful orders, according to a court filing on Tuesday. Justice Department officials filed a notice...
Judge bars government from ‘wholesale’ search of Washington Post reporter’s seized devices
WASHINGTON — Federal authorities are barred from conducting an “unsupervised, wholesale search” of electronic devices that they seized from a Washington Post reporter’s Virginia home while investigating allegations that a Pentagon contractor illegally leaked classified information to the journalist, a magistrate judge ruled Tuesday. U.S. Magistrate Judge William Porter said...
Iranians worry over American military buildup as last-chance round of talks nears
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — As the United States assembles its greatest military firepower in decades in the Middle East, Iranians are warily awaiting the next round of talks with the U.S. in Geneva this week — negotiations that many see as a last chance for their ruling theocracy to...
States sue Trump administration over changes to childhood vaccine recommendations
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — More than a dozen states sued the Trump administration Tuesday over its rollback of vaccine recommendations for children, calling the move an illegal threat to public health. The states argue that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put children’s lives at risk when it announced last...
Suspect, 4 others are dead after stabbing near Tacoma, Washington, authorities say
SEATTLE — A man fatally stabbed four people before being shot by a sheriff’s deputy outside a home northwest of Tacoma, Washington, on Tuesday, authorities said. The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office said deputies initially responded to reports made at around 8:40 a.m. Tuesday that a 32-year-old man was violating a...
Democrat says DOJ withheld Epstein files on Trump abuse claim
WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice appears to have withheld from disclosure files on disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein related to a claim that President Donald Trump sexually abused a minor, a top Democratic lawmaker said Tuesday. “Oversight Democrats can confirm that the DOJ appears to have illegally withheld FBI interviews...
