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Ontario Police Dept/TNS

California warehouse arsonist compared himself to Luigi Mangione, wanted to send a message, prosecutors say

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LOS ANGELES — The worker who burned down a warehouse full of Kimberly-Clark paper products in Ontario this week railed against corporations and compared himself to Luigi Mangione in messages to coworkers after starting the fire, authorities said at a news conference Friday.

Chamel Abdulkarim, 29, is facing state and federal charges in ...Read more

Jose Luis Villegas/The Sacramento Bee/TNS

Allies pressure Swalwell to quit California governor's race over sexual assault allegations

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Rep. Eric Swalwell faced mounting calls to quit the governor’s race in California Friday, including from Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi, after The San Francisco Chronicle and CNN published reports that he sexually assaulted one woman and sent unsolicited nude photos and made unwanted advances on three others. Swalwell has...Read more

NASA/TNS/TNS

Artemis II astronauts back on Earth after splashdown to end historic moon mission

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Records were set. History was made. All that was left was to get the four Artemis II astronauts home safe.

NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen made the final run of a nearly 700,000-mile trip that began April 1 when they launched from Kennedy Space Center on the first ...Read more

Bill Ingalls/NASA/Getty Images North America/TNS

Artemis II astronauts safely splash down off San Diego coast after historic moon mission

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The Artemis II astronauts safely splashed down off the coast of San Diego at 5:07 p.m. Pacific time Friday after a historic 10-day mission around the moon, finally letting the crew and NASA officials breathe a sigh of relief.

NASA regarded the high-energy reentry — streaking through the atmosphere in a nearly 5,000-degree-Fahrenheit fireball ...Read more

Alex Wong/Getty Images North America/TNS

Jeffrey Epstein survivors split over bombshell Melania Trump speech

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Jeffrey Epstein survivors are split over first lady Melania Trump’s surprise White House speech in which she denied ties to the notorious sex trafficker and called for victims to be given a platform to speak out at fresh congressional hearings.

Some of the Epstein victims Friday cheered the first lady’s unexpected call for renewed attention...Read more

News briefs

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Epstein survivor blasts Melania Trump for ‘trying to shift attention’ with speech

Marina Lacerda, who said she was sexually trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein for years, starting at age 14, was among the late pedophile’s survivors to denounce Melania Trump’s surprise White House statement Thursday, in which the first lady denied she ever had...Read more

Jose Luis Villegas/The Sacramento Bee/TNS

Ex-staffer accuses Eric Swalwell of sexual assault, upending governor's race

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Rep. Eric Swalwell, a leading candidate to succeed outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom, allegedly sexually assaulted a staff member in 2019, according to a report published Friday by the San Francisco Chronicle.

A former staffer claims Swalwell, D-Calif.,sexually assaulted her twice while she was too intoxicated to consent, ...Read more

Ronaldo Bolaños/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Eric Swalwell, a front-runner in California governor's race, accused of sexually assaulting female staff member and sending nude photos

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Democratic front-runner in the hotly contested California governor’s race, was accused of sexual assault by a former staff member and other women, according to reports published Friday.

The woman who worked for the Northern California congressman said she had a consensual relationship at times, but...Read more

Barry Williams/New York Daily News/TNS

Former New York Rep. Eliot L. Engel dies at 79

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WASHINGTON — Former Rep. Eliot L. Engel, who was a fixture in New York politics for decades until he lost his seat in the House in 2020, has died at the age of 79.

Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins confirmed the news in a statement posted on social media.

“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former Congressman Eliot ...Read more

Jonathan Ernst/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Vance warns Iran not to 'play us' ahead of diplomatic mission in Pakistan

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WASHINGTON — Vice President JD Vance departed Friday for Islamabad, Pakistan, to open the first direct negotiations aimed at ending the war between the United States and Iran.

Together with a delegation of deeply mistrusting negotiators from Tehran, Vance is tasked with striking a lasting peace between rival nations that have failed to keep ...Read more

Jonathan Ernst/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump threatens Iran as Vance heads to Pakistan for talks

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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump ramped up pressure on Iran as Vice President JD Vance traveled to Pakistan for talks to end the war, with Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon and the Strait of Hormuz’s effective closure looming over diplomatic efforts.

Trump posted on social media Friday that Tehran’s only leverage is “short term extortion...Read more

Ronaldo Bolaños/Los Angeles Times/TNS

<strong />California gubernatorial candidate Rep. Eric Swalwell accused of sexually assaulting female staff member

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Democratic front-runner in the hotly contested California governor’s race, was accused of sexual assault by a former staff member in a report published on Friday.

The woman said she and the Northern California congressman had a consensual relationship at times, but that he sexually assaulted her ...Read more

Barry Williams/New York Daily News/TNS

Former NYC Mayor Eric Adams receives Albanian citizenship

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NEW YORK — Former Mayor Eric Adams, who has made no secret of his love for international travel, has been granted Albanian citizenship by the country’s president.

The special decree making it official was signed by Albanian President Bajram Begaj on Friday.

“Granting Albanian citizenship, upon his request, to the citizen: Eric L. Leroy ...Read more

Christopher Furlong/Getty Images North America/TNS

Chicago man threatens to shoot President Trump, decapitate son Barron

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A Chicago man was arrested after threatening to shoot President Donald Trump and decapitate his youngest son.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois said Michael Kovco sent several electronic messages to the official White House website last month expressing his intentions to harm the president, Barron Trump...Read more

Caean Couto/Getty Images North America/TNS

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani takes on scaffolding on 100th day in office

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NEW YORK — Mayor Zohran Mamdani marked his 100th day in office with a video about how citywide scaffolding has become an acceptable eyesore and what he plans to do to change that reality.

The five-minute-and-29-second public service announcement narrated by the Mayor and shot by HBO documentarian John Wilson includes interviews with everyday ...Read more

National Fallen Firefighters Memorial/TNS

Federal funding lapse closes National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Maryland

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BALTIMORE — A federal funding lapse has forced the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial to close just weeks before hundreds of families are expected to gather to honor loved ones who died in the line of duty.

The memorial, located on the campus of the National Emergency Training Center, is closed to the public because of the funding ...Read more

Alie Skowronski/Miami Herald/TNS

Miami approves $150,000 payout for mayoral candidate who fought election date change

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MIAMI — The city of Miami will pay out $150,000 to cover the legal fees for Emilio González, a candidate for mayor who sued the city last year after it attempted to postpone the election from 2025 to 2026.

In June, the city passed an ordinance moving the city from odd- to even-year elections. The change postponed the November 2025 election ...Read more

Hector Amezcua/The Sacramento Bee/TNS

Esparto fireworks site had 1 million pounds of explosives when blast killed 7, DA says

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WOODLAND, Calif. — Yolo County prosecutors on Friday unveiled sweeping grand jury indictments charging seven men and one woman in connection with a July 1, 2025, warehouse explosion near Esparto that killed seven people and was tied to an alleged “massive” illegal fireworks importation, manufacturing and sales operation.

Five of the men ...Read more

Ronaldo Bolaños/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Swalwell's attorney sends out cease and desist notice over unverified sexual assault allegation

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — An attorney for U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, a leading Democratic candidate for California governor, on Thursday sent a cease and desist letter to an unknown individual demanding that they stop accusing the congressman of sexual assault.

Swalwell's attorney Elias Dabaie of the law firm Dabaie Kelley, in Los Angeles, confirmed...Read more

'Substantial' damage caused to plane in Denver airport crash with de-icing trucks, NTSB report says

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DENVER — One person was injured and a plane suffered “substantial” damage when a United Airlines flight collided with two de-icing trucks at Denver International Airport in March after taxiing without clearance, according to investigators.

The United plane was parked on a de-icing pad when the flight crew heard what they believed to be ...Read more