Current News

/

ArcaMax

Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Gary Glitter faces new child sex crime charges dating back decades

Current News / News & Features /

Jailed British rocker Gary Glitter has been charged with four “historic” sex offenses that occurred between 1978 and 1981 in west London.

The 82-year-old glam star born Paul Gadd is accused of one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 13 and three counts of indecent assault on a girl under the age of 14.

...Read more

Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Facing setbacks and resistance, Trump presses bid to reshape elections on multiple fronts

Current News / News & Features /

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has spent months waging an unusually aggressive campaign to reshape how states run elections, leveraging federal agencies in ways no previous president has attempted.

He has pushed the Department of Homeland Security to compile a list of citizens in each state to help determine voter eligibility. He is ...Read more

U.S. Marshals/U.S. Marshals/TNS

US Marshals in Massachusetts apprehend 110 fugitives in 'Operation 250th'

Current News / News & Features /

BOSTON — The U.S. Marshals of the District of Massachusetts have made a big dent in their goal to arrest more than 250 fugitives in honor of America’s 250th birthday.

As of Thursday, the agency said they’d apprehended 110 people.

The arrests are part of “Operation 250th,” which the U.S. Marshals described as, “an intensive summer ...Read more

NC lawmakers take final vote on budget with overdue raises, sending it to Gov. Josh Stein

Current News / News & Features /

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina lawmakers — a year late — took final votes to pass a state budget Thursday, sending the $34 billion bill to Democratic Gov. Josh Stein’s desk.

In the House, the final vote was 88-21 on Thursday. In the Senate, the final vote was 35-10.

Some Democrats in both chambers joined with Republicans, who have ...Read more

Nancy Lane/Boston Herald/TNS

Karen Read case: 69% of Massachusetts residents believe police concealed evidence, poll says

Current News / News & Features /

BOSTON — Karen Read, acquitted last summer of the murder of John O’Keefe, is not only winning in the courtroom but also in the court of public opinion, especially when compared to police.

A strong majority of Massachusetts residents polled by the University of New Hampshire said they believe that police concealed evidence in the case ...Read more

Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Appeals court sides with city on Chicago police union COVID vaccine mandate case

Current News / News & Features /

CHICAGO — The latest chapter in a years long legal scuffle between the city of Chicago and two of its main police unions over COVID-19 vaccine mandates has ended with a city victory, though the fight could continue.

A three-judge appellate court panel reversed a decision by the Illinois Labor Relations Board, finding the board “abused its ...Read more

Christian Kantosky/Lexington Herald-Leader/TNS

As questions about McConnell's health grow, Charles Booker calls for answers

Current News / News & Features /

The Democrat vying to replace Mitch McConnell in the U.S. Senate says Kentuckians deserve to know “if our senator is alert, conscious, or capable of serving” more than two weeks after the 84-year-old was hospitalized for an unspecified reason.

Charles Booker, the Democrat facing off against Republican nominee Andy Barr, released a lengthy ...Read more

Yorman Maldonado/Getty Images North America/TNS

Chaos, collapse and cash: Is Venezuela hampering rescue teams in disaster zone?

Current News / News & Features /

Venezuelan security forces have tightly restricted access to parts of the country’s Caribbean coast following last week’s devastating earthquakes, amid allegations that authorities are protecting hidden caches of gold, weapons and cash, according to people familiar with the situation.

The claims come as multiple foreign rescue teams have ...Read more

Martin Bernetti/AFP/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/TNS

Here's how Central Floridians can help Venezuela after the earthquake

Current News / News & Features /

ORLANDO, Fla. — Central Florida’s Venezuelan community is seeking help in the wake of last month’s rare twin earthquakes that devastated their homeland.

On June 24, 7.5 and 7.2 magnitude earthquakes struck the South American country and have caused more than 2,200 deaths so far, officials said this week, with thousands more still missing ...Read more

Joe Sohm/Dreamstime/TNS

Massachusetts teachers who have sex with students under 18 could face charges after state budget passes

Current News / News & Features /

BOSTON — Bay State teachers who have sex with 16- and 17-year-old students could face criminal charges after the Legislature closed the “age of consent loophole” in the state budget.

This child protection measure in the state budget comes as local school districts face lawsuits for educator sexual misconduct with students.

Across ...Read more

Even home-baked treats were rejected by a neighbor. Ajax9/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Civility requires the willingness to engage – a dispute with a neighbor revealed how much motivation matters

Current News / News & Features /

I stood there in shock, staring blankly at the letter. A lawyer was notifying me that my neighbors – as well as anyone they hired – would be on my property the next day to cut some branches from a tree near the property line. It ended with a stern command to lock up my “vicious” dog for the safety of the workers.

I read the ...Read more

Barry Williams/New York Daily News/TNS

Republicans slam Mayor Zohran Mamdani for asking New York to turn down AC

Current News / News & Features /

NEW YORK — Republicans slammed Mayor Zohran Mamdani for calling on New Yorkers to save electricity and ease strain on the power grid by setting air conditioners no lower than 78 degrees.

Even though red states have made similar pleas, GOP officials derided Mamdani for the optional request as a brutal holiday weekend heat wave gripped NYC.

�...Read more

Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump's attention drifts to 250th even after House floor meltdown

Current News / News & Features /

WASHINGTON — All aboard the Trump train.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday emerged from a rail coach painted specially for America’s 250th birthday bash, with both arms spread, as the awaiting crowd in Medora, N.D., cheered his arrival.

Moments later, as a pack of Theodore Roosevelt-era “Rough Rider” enactors on horseback escorted ...Read more

Karl Merton Ferron/The Baltimore Sun/TNS

Trump ethics disclosure throws curveball at Senate crypto talks

Current News / News & Features /

WASHINGTON — The newly disclosed scale of President Donald Trump’s personal cryptocurrency-related profits since taking office last year comes right at a sensitive moment for Senate negotiations on a major digital assets bill that GOP leaders want to bring to the floor this month.

Trump’s potential crypto conflicts have been a sticking ...Read more

Joseph Prezioso/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Shark spotted 50 yards off Cape Cod beach, first shark alert of season

Current News / News & Features /

BOSTON — Just in time for the Fourth of July.

Phones were lighting up across the region on Thursday with the first shark alert of the season, as vacationers flock to the beach.

A great white shark was spotted close to a beach in Chatham, where sharks throughout the summer and fall hunt for seals.

“!! SHARK ALERT !!” shark researcher ...Read more

Forest Service firefighters can now wear breathing masks for some work on the fire line

Current News / News & Features /

LOS ANGELES — Last week, the U.S. Forest Service and Department of the Interior expanded the situations in which their firefighters are allowed to wear N95 masks.

Starting in September, the federal government began allowing firefighters to wear the masks, but not when they were working on the fire line, only at times such as in camp and ...Read more

Barry Williams/New York Daily News/TNS

Couple who climbed Empire State Building spire post engagement pics while awaiting arraignment

Current News / News & Features /

NEW YORK — The daredevil couple who got global attention for climbing to the top of the Empire State Building’s spire during an elaborate marriage proposal managed to upload their engagement pictures — which were posted online as they sat in a holding cell Thursday morning.

“@angela_nikolau and @beerkus are currently unavailable, and we...Read more

Alie Skowronski/Miami Herald/TNS

Florida designated this Islamic advocacy org a 'terror' group. Now, CAIR is suing

Current News / News & Features /

The Muslim civil rights organization Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, is suing Florida after the state designated the group as a terrorist organization.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday announced that his administration was putting CAIR and several other organizations on the list.

He did so under the authority of a law his office...Read more

Massachusetts Environmental Police/TNS

Massachusetts police crack down on illegally fishing for striped bass, make several arrests

Current News / News & Features /

BOSTON — Stop overfishing for striped bass!

That’s the message from Massachusetts Environmental Police, who are cracking down on people illegally fishing for striped bass as officers make several arrests so far this season.

“With their population in a decline, enhanced management strategies have been put in place to aid in rebuilding the...Read more

Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Extreme heat continues to pound Chicagoland with heat index expected to reach 105 degrees

Current News / News & Features /

CHICAGO — An extreme heat warning is in effect for the Chicagoland area until midnight Thursday, weather officials said.

National Weather Service included several cities and towns in Illinois saying the heat index was expected to reach at least 105 degrees Thursday in portions of central, central east, north central and northeast Illinois, as...Read more