The U.S. increased pressure on Iran with its naval blockade, as it seeks to get Tehran to agree to talks, while Israel and Lebanon are set to extend a ceasefire for three weeks.

President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. Navy to shoot any boat putting mines in the Strait of Hormuz, after the military intercepted two oil supertankers that tried to ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth criticized European and Asian countries for relying on the U.S. military to reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz after it was closed by the war against Iran.

“Europe and Asia have benefited from our protection for decades, but the time for freeriding is over,” Hegseth said at a news conference on ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Mayor Jacob Frey has earned glowing attention in the national media since the federal immigration surge, with talk show appearances and magazine mentions and even a hint of presidential buzz. Meanwhile, back home, you can buy a T-shirt that says “Frey is a bad mayor.”

There’s no doubt the 12-week Operation Metro Surge ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — With the Iran war continuing to strangle Middle East oil supplies, public transit agencies looking to add passengers might expect high gas prices to incentivize people to ride the rails more than ever.

Historically, high gas prices do lead to spikes in public transportation use. But the pandemic hit mass transit hard, ...Read more

A judge on Thursday threw out most of Smokey Robinson’s $500 million defamation suit against four former housekeepers who accused him and his wife of labor law violations and sexual assault.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Kevin Brazile ruled there was no evidence of “actual malice” in the women’s accusations that would meet the legal ...Read more

President Donald Trump said he would look into the actions of banks in their response to last year’s devastating Los Angeles wildfires following a meeting with that city’s mayor, Karen Bass.

Trump said he met with Bass and other officials to discuss the “progress made on the horrific fires that ravaged Los Angeles, and the surrounding ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump indicated his commitment to working with Los Angeles officials who want to secure federal wildfire recovery funding for victims of the 2025 fires during a private White House meeting with local leaders, County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said Thursday.

Trump spoke for about an hour and a half Wednesday with ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has repeatedly said his war against Iran is intended to prevent Tehran from ever getting a nuclear weapon. But when it comes to core nuclear issues, he risks ending up with a worse deal than the one he abandoned in his first term.

With talks on hold amid a tentative ceasefire, the Trump administration is ...Read more

MIAMI — With a month to go before the deadline for sending referendums to the August primary ballot, the city of Miami is still weighing its options for moving from odd- to even-year elections.

The development puts Mayor Eileen Higgins, who was elected in December, in a difficult spot. She’d promised voters on the campaign trail that she ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — A man charged with assault for spraying U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar with vinegar plans to change his plea to guilty next month.

Anthony James Kazmierczak, a 55-year-old Minneapolis resident, was arrested and charged in federal court after he allegedly sprayed Omar with apple cider vinegar during a town hall event on Jan. 27.

...Read more

A decade after Fidel Castro’s death, the fate of his communist revolution might be tied to an unlikely figure: his great-nephew, a colonel who goes by the nickname “El Cangrejo,” the Crab, and has a penchant for the sort of capitalist luxuries — yachts, VIP parties, private jets — that Castro made sure most Cubans could not even dream ...Read more

ROMULUS, Mich. — The U.S. Homeland Security Department bought a Romulus warehouse this year because "political opposition" to immigration enforcement limited the department’s options, according to documents filed Tuesday.

The documents were filed in federal court as part of a lawsuit by the Michigan attorney general to stop construction of...Read more

CHICAGO — Hundreds of Chicago Public Schools lunchroom workers rallied outside of the Board of Education Thursday, demanding higher pay as contract negotiations approach the one-year mark.

Clad in navy CPS uniforms, 25 workers linked arms and blocked traffic on Madison Street across from the district’s downtown offices, sitting in silence ...Read more

CHICAGO — Several Chicago Transit Authority train lines were down Thursday evening after a Yellow Line train derailed as it approached the Howard Station on the city’s Far North Side, according to the city agency.

Rail service has been temporarily suspended along the entire Yellow and Purple lines, as well as along the Red Line between the ...Read more

The United States Environmental Protection Agency awarded $39 million to Chesapeake Bay watershed states, including Maryland, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency awarded $800,000 in funds for state flood-mitigation projects.

The EPA shifted money from coordination activities to field-tested projects, according to its announcement ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A federal judge on Thursday ordered the government to release a man arrested by ICE last week amid his involvement in a class action lawsuit challenging immigration raids in Los Angeles.

U.S. District Judge Michelle Williams ordered the government to immediately release Isaac Antonio Villegas Molina, a Pasadena resident who was ...Read more

A U.S. Army special forces soldier who participated in planning the operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro has been charged with using classified information to place bets on the outcome of that mission, federal prosecutors said Thursday.

Gannon Ken Van Dyke, 38, allegedly made more than $400,000 by wagering ...Read more