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Pedro Rances Mattey/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Venezuela moves substantial troops to Guyana border, report says

Current News / News & Features /

Venezuela’s armed forces have moved “substantial quantities” of personnel and equipment near the disputed Essequibo region that’s controlled by Guyana, a Washington-based think tank reports, potentially escalating tensions ahead of presidential elections.

The report published Tuesday by the Center for Strategic and International Studies...Read more

Sergei Savostyanov/Pool/AFP/Getty Images/TNS

Putin visits Xi as US threatens China sanctions over ties

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Russian President Vladimir Putin is heading to China for the first foreign visit of his new term, underlining the vital importance of the relationship as Beijing faces growing U.S. pressure to curtail support that’s helping Moscow continue its war in Ukraine.

Putin, 71, who extended his nearly quarter-century rule in tightly controlled March ...Read more

Amanda Sabga/Boston Herald/TNS

Warren, Markey, Pressley follow Boston Police review by pressing for federal probe of ShotSpotter

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BOSTON — Three federal lawmakers from Massachusetts signed onto a letter urging a national probe into how ShotSpotter is being funded amid concerns that the technology Boston Police says is critical to saving lives is ineffective and racially biased.

In the Tuesday letter, U.S. Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Ayanna Pressley ...Read more

Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Shuttered section of Highway 1 near Big Sur to reopen Friday

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BIG SUR, Calif. — A section of Highway 1 near Big Sur that fell into the Pacific Ocean in late March is slated to reopen Friday – eight days ahead of schedule, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday.

A temporary 24/7 signal will provide unrestricted public access with one-way alternating traffic in both directions of the highway, the governor�...Read more

Alex Derosier/St. Paul Pioneer Press/TNS

Minnesota GOP leaders won't pass infrastructure bill if opposition party moves on ERA, gun control, other measures

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With just a few days left for the Minnesota Legislature to pass bills, it’s still unclear whether there will be action on some of the biggest items at the state Capitol.

There’s still no sign of success in persuading Uber and Lyft to stay in the state, and a deal still needs to be made on close to a billion dollars in infrastructure ...Read more

Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Summer of 2023 was hottest in 2,000 years, study finds

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An extreme summer marked by deadly heat waves, explosive wildfires and record-warm ocean temperatures will go down as among the hottest in the last 2,000 years, new research has found.

The summer of 2023 saw the temperature in the Northern Hemisphere soar 3.72 degrees above the average from 1850 to 1900, when modern instrumental recordkeeping ...Read more

Amy Davis/Baltimore Sun/TNS

Woman pleads guilty in neo-Nazi plot to attack Baltimore power grid

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A Maryland woman pleaded guilty on Tuesday in a plot to attack the Baltimore power grid with a Florida neo-Nazi leader.

Sarah Beth Clendaniel, 36, and co-conspirator Brandon Russell, the founder of the group Atomwaffen Division, conspired to shoot up five electrical substations in the greater Baltimore area in order to “break down society,”...Read more

Luiz C. Ribeiro/New York Daily News/TNS

NYC shutters 75 illicit weed shops in first week of crackdown, with hundreds and hundreds to go

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NEW YORK — Seventy-five illegal weed shops were shuttered in the first week of the Adams administration’s “Operation Padlock” crackdown on illicit marijuana sales in the city, officials announced Tuesday.

The first batch of closures marks a drop in the bucket as there are believed to be some 3,000 illegal pot shops operating in the Big ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Rollback of reforms? Advocates express concerns with new NC juvenile justice proposal

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A proposal that would require some 16- and 17-year-olds to be tried initially as adults in North Carolina’s courts took a step forward on Tuesday, despite concerns by some that it would roll back protections for youths.

Currently, juveniles under 18 are tried in the state’s juvenile court after a petition is filed.

If a 16- or 17-year-old ...Read more

Couple hauling $3M in cocaine killed in shootout with Texas police after tractor-trailer chase

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A Tennessee couple hauling $3 million worth of cocaine was killed in a shootout with police after a dangerous tractor-trailer chase in west Texas, authorities said Monday.

Edward and Elizabeth Stevenson, of Cookeville, Tenn., were driving the truck on Texas State Highway 70 in Donley County when law enforcement tried to pull them over, Amarillo...Read more

Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Rebecca Grossman's lawyers file motion for new trial, seek to overturn murder conviction

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LOS ANGELES — Rebecca Grossman's new attorneys are seeking a new trial that would overturn her second-degree murder conviction in the killing of two young brothers in a Westlake Village crosswalk, arguing that prosecutors failed to prove she acted with implied malice and that erroneous evidence was admitted.

Attorneys James Spertus and Lara J...Read more

Pedro Rances Mattey/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Venezuela moves substantial troops to Guyana Border, report says

Current News / News & Features /

Venezuela’s armed forces have moved “substantial quantities” of personnel and equipment near the disputed Essequibo region that’s controlled by Guyana, a Washington-based think tank reports, potentially escalating tensions ahead of presidential elections.

The report published Tuesday by the Center for Strategic and International Studies...Read more

PETRAS MALUKAS/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Polish leader says Russia can't be allowed to win in Ukraine

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Polish President Andrzej Duda said Russia would invade other countries if its forces are victorious in its war on Ukraine, as he predicted a fresh military push by the Kremlin in the coming weeks.

Though he said an assault on other neighbors isn’t imminent, the Polish leader warned at the Qatar Economic Forum on Tuesday that NATO allies are ...Read more

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images North America/TNS

Casey DeSantis has 'zero' interest in running for governor, Ron DeSantis says

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The next Florida governor’s race is a long way off, but the noise has been persistent.

Two recent surveys depicted Florida first lady Casey DeSantis as a top choice among Republican voters in a hypothetical 2026 election.

But on Monday, Casey’s husband, Gov. Ron DeSantis, threw cold water on the speculation.

“If I had to characterize ...Read more

Ocala County Sheriff's Department/Ocala County Sheriff's Department/TNS

Driver arrested after collision with bus that left 8 dead, 45 injured in Florida

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A devastating traffic collision in central Florida left eight dead and 45 injured after a bus transporting 53 agricultural workers crashed, authorities said.

The bus, which was taking workers to a watermelon farm, collided with a Ford Ranger and overturned around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday on SR-40, between Ocala and Dunnellon, according to the Florida ...Read more

News briefs

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Lawmakers issue ultimatum to tech platforms over data privacy

WASHINGTON — For years Congress has held dozens of hearings aiming to enact laws on data privacy and kids’ online safety, and to curb the freewheeling collection and sale of Americans’ data without enacting any substantial legislation. The frustration is showing.

Two House ...Read more

Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group/TNS

San Jose State students set up pro-Palestine encampment

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SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State students on Monday night set up a pro-Palestine encampment just days before the start of their finals week, adding to the nationwide reports of student encampments on college campuses.

The encampment sprung up near the statues of Tommie Smith and John Carlos, legendary San Jose State athletes whose ...Read more

Andy Cross/The Denver Post/TNS

More protesters cited for trespassing after refusing to leave Auraria Campus building in Colorado

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DENVER — Police cited 10 more pro-Palestine demonstrators on charges of trespassing, interference and disturbing the peace Monday after the group refused to leave an Auraria Campus building, according to school officials.

Around 4 p.m. Monday, more than a dozen protesters marched from the 19-day-old Gaza solidarity encampment on the Tivoli ...Read more

Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images of North America/TNS

High-levels talks of US aid to Ukraine, followed by Neil Young guitar riffs in a Kyiv bar

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WASHINGTON — Even as fierce new clashes erupt, one of Ukraine's toughest fights these days is taking place off the battlefield: persuading allies that its outgunned, outnumbered army can ultimately prevail, and that billions of dollars in Western military assistance is money well spent.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made that case Tuesday to...Read more

Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Drownings rose among young children after decades of decline. It's 'highly concerning,' CDC says

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LOS ANGELES — During the pandemic years of shuttered pools and difficult-to-find swim lessons, the drowning rate of very young children increased significantly in the U.S., following decades of declines, according to a new federal report.

Drowning rates among children 1 to 4 were about 28% higher in 2021 and 2022, compared to 2019, according ...Read more