National News

President Donald Trump listens to a question as he speaks at his Mar-a-Lago club, Monday, Dec. 22, ...

Judge blocks Trump effort to strip security clearance from attorney who represented whistleblowers

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from enforcing a March presidential memorandum to revoke the security clearance of prominent Washington attorney Mark Zaid, ruling that the order — which also targeted 14 other individuals — could not be applied to him. The decision marked the administration’s second legal setback on […]
11 months ago
A makeshift memorial of flags, flowers and other items is seen Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, outside of Fa...

Suspect in national guard shooting faces new federal charges that allow death penalty discussions

WASHINGTON (AP) — A man accused of shooting two National Guard troops near the White House has been charged in a complaint with federal firearms charges in connection with the ambush on November 26 that fatally wounded one of the West Virginia National Guard members and seriously injured the second. Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, has been […]
11 months ago
A responder navigates around Bristol Health & Rehab Center and surrounding rubble after a gas explo...

Investigators sift through wreckage after a deadly Pennsylvania nursing home explosion

BRISTOL, Pa. (AP) — Construction crews and drones searched the rubble of a Pennsylvania nursing home Wednesday, a day after a powerful explosion killed at least two people, collapsed part of the building and left several residents unaccounted for. Emergency responders from across the region dug through debris and evacuated residents amid flames, smoke, a […]
11 months ago
Dianna Tompkins looks at a mirror while she sits on a bed at her home in Demotte, Ind., Dec. 17, 20...

How a fast-moving $50 cash relief program buoyed needy families when SNAP payments were paused

Finances already looked tight for Jade Grant and her three children as she entered the year’s final months. “Everyone’s birthday is back-to-back,” the 32-year-old certified nursing assistant said. “You have holidays coming up. You have Thanksgiving. Everything is right there. And then, boom. No (food) stamps.” Grant is among the nearly 42 million lower-income Americans […]
11 months ago
puyallup walmart Wienerschnitzel...

Here’s what stores are open, and which ones are closed, on Christmas

From department stores to grocery stores, most retailers across the U.S. close early on Christmas Eve and shut their doors entirely on Christmas Day — while others opt to cut back hours. But there’s also a handful of businesses that will be open during the holiday. Before you run out the door this Christmas — […]
11 months ago

Southern California drivers urged to reconsider Christmas travel as heavy rain and winds roll in

California officials and weather forecasters urged holiday travelers to avoid the roads and reconsider Christmas travel as a series of powerful winter storms brought relentless rains, heavy winds and mountain snow. Storms began to move in late Tuesday evening and were expected to intensify into Christmas Eve. Authorities said the millions of people expected to […]
11 months ago
A person fills out a Powerball lottery ticket on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo...

Powerball’s $1.7B jackpot could make Christmas Eve unforgettable for a lucky winner

A Christmas Eve Powerball drawing could add new meaning to holiday cheer as millions of players hope to cash in on the $1.7 billion prize, which comes after months without a jackpot winner. The United States’ 4th-largest jackpot on record comes after 46 consecutive draws without someone claiming to have all six numbers. The last […]
11 months ago

California farmer arrested on suspicion of murder in wife’s death in Arizona

A prominent California farmer was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of murder in the shooting death of his estranged wife in a remote mountain community in Arizona, the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office said. Michael Abatti, 63, was arrested in El Centro and booked into jail on a first-degree murder charge. He is awaiting extradition to Arizona. […]
11 months ago
Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., speaks during an event on prescript...

More than a third of states sue HHS over a move that could curtail youth gender-affirming care

NEW YORK (AP) — A coalition of 19 states and the District of Columbia on Tuesday sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, its secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and its inspector general over a declaration that could complicate access to gender-affirming care for young people. The declaration issued last Thursday called treatments […]
11 months ago
FILE - Music mogul and entrepreneur Sean "Diddy" Combs arrives at the Billboard Music Awards, May 1...

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs seeks immediate release from prison in appeals argument

NEW YORK (AP) — Lawyers for hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs urged a federal appeals court in New York late Tuesday to order his immediate release from prison and reverse his conviction on prostitution-related charges or direct his trial judge to lighten his four-year sentence. The lawyers said in a filing with the 2nd U.S. […]
11 months ago
New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a press conference, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, in...

Judge green lights New York’s driver’s license law, rejecting a Trump administration challenge

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge gave a green light Tuesday to New York’s so-called Green Light Law, rejecting the Trump administration’s bid to stop the state from giving people driver’s licenses without having them prove they are in the country legally. U.S. District Judge Anne M. Nardacci in Albany ruled that the Republican […]
11 months ago
FILE - The symbol of the United Nations is displayed outside the Secretariat Building, Feb. 28, 202...

Iran and US reaffirm commitment to diplomacy at UN, but gap on a nuclear deal remains wide

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Iran and the United States reaffirmed their commitments to diplomacy at a contentious meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday, but the gap between the Trump administration and the Islamic Republic on a nuclear deal remains wide and deep. The sixth round of negotiations between Washington and Tehran had been […]
11 months ago
Miami Heat's Terry Rozier leaves Brooklyn federal court, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025, in New York. (AP Pho...

Miami Heat’s Terry Rozier asks judge to throw out betting charges

NEW YORK (AP) — Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier ’s lawyers are asking a judge to throw out sports gambling charges that have kept him off the court this season, arguing that the government overreached by turning a private dispute over bettors’ use of non-public information into a federal case. In a motion to dismiss […]
11 months ago

Colorado woman suspected of killing 2 of her children is extradited from the UK

DENVER (AP) — A Colorado woman suspected of killing two of her young children during a custody dispute with her ex-husband two years ago has been extradited from Britain to the United States to face charges in their deaths. Kimberlee Singler was arrested in December 2023 in London just over a week after her 9-year-old […]
11 months ago
FILE - A truck departs from a Port of Oakland shipping terminal on Nov. 10, 2021, in Oakland, Calif...

Immigrant truckers file suit over California’s plans to revoke commercial driver’s licenses

A group of immigrant truckers sued California’s Department of Motor Vehicles on Tuesday, alleging the state violated thousands of workers’ rights when officials took action to revoke their commercial driver’s licenses. California officials said last month that the state notified about 17,000 truckers that their commercial driver’s licenses would be revoked because the expiration dates […]
11 months ago
Alex Diaz, left, reaches for a bag of masa, a dough used to make tamales, as shoppers wait in line ...

Families wait in line for hours to buy masa for Christmas tamales at beloved LA grocer

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Christina Chavarria had already prepared almost 200 tamales, but she was back at Amapola Market in Southern California early Tuesday morning for more masa. The dough made from ground corn was the best there, so it didn’t bother her that the line was wrapped around the parking lot. “It’s always seasoned […]
11 months ago

Editorial Roundup: United States

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad: ___ Dec. 12 The Wall Street Journal on Pete Hegseth’s “Zombie Reaganism” You almost have to admire Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth taking the stage at the Ronald Reagan presidential library and immediately opening fire. “Most who invoke Ronald Reagan’s name today, especially self-styled Republican hawks, […]
11 months ago
FILE - The Department of Homeland Security logo is seen during a news conference in Washington, Feb...

Trump administration moves to overhaul how H-1B visas are granted, ending lottery system

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday it was replacing its longstanding lottery system for H-1B work visas with a new approach that prioritizes skilled, higher-paid foreign workers. The change follows a series of actions by the Trump administration aimed at reshaping a visa program that critics say has become a pipeline […]
11 months ago
This image made from surveillance footage captured at a rental car company, on Oct. 7, 2025, and re...

California woman charged in her 9-year-old daughter’s murder case

A California woman has been arrested in her 9-year-old daughter’s murder case after the missing child’s remains were found in Utah, authorities said Tuesday. Ashlee Buzzard, 40, was arrested after 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard’s body was found in an area they had traveled through two months ago, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office announced at a […]
11 months ago
Secretary of State Marco Rubio listens as President Donald Trump speaks at his Mar-a-Lago club, Mon...

US bars five Europeans it says pressured tech firms to censor American viewpoints online

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department announced Tuesday it was barring five Europeans it accused of leading efforts to pressure U.S. tech firms to censor or suppress American viewpoints. Secretary of State Marco Rubio did not name those he said fell foul of a new visa policy announced in May to restrict the entry of […]
11 months ago
Wind turbine bases, generators and blades are positioned along with support ships at The Portsmouth...

Trump order halts offshore wind projects for at least 90 days

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has directed five large-scale wind projects under construction off the East Coast to suspend their activities for at least 90 days, according to letters from the Interior Department obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, which provide new details on the government’s move to pause the offshore ventures. During the […]
11 months ago

Colorado man extradited from UK to New York to face Ponzi scheme allegations

NEW YORK (AP) — A financier has been extradited from the United Kingdom to the United States to face allegations that he cheated investors who were promised monthly 10% gains in what was actually a Ponzi scheme, authorities said. Matthew Melton, 61, of Boulder, Colorado, has remained jailed at a federal lockup in Brooklyn after […]
11 months ago

Gas explosion at a Pennsylvania nursing home traps people inside, authorities say

BRISTOL, Pa. (AP) — There was a gas explosion reported Tuesday at a nursing home just outside Philadelphia and people are believed to be trapped inside, authorities said. “We understand that there are people trapped inside,” said Ruth Miller, a Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency spokesperson. Bucks County officials notified the agency of an explosion before […]
11 months ago

Gunman dead after a shooting at a Delaware DMV

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — A gunman is dead after a shooting at a Delaware motor vehicle agency, Gov. Matt Meyer said. Neither his office nor state and local police immediately returned messages seeking details about the shooting in New Castle, just a few miles outside of Wilmington. State police said in a social media post […]
11 months ago