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Alex Wroblewski/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

GOP promotes MAHA agenda in bid to avert midterm losses. Dems point to contradictions

Current News / News & Features /

When a “Make America Healthy Again” summit was held at the posh Waldorf Astoria in Washington, the line of attendees stretched down the block.

The daylong, invitation-only event in November featured a who’s who of MAHA luminaries. Vice President JD Vance attended, as did Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the ...Read more

E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune/TNS

At one time, Illinois was a top oil producer. Today, that legacy is a $160M problem

Current News / News & Features /

CRAWFORD COUNTY, Ill. — Bill Rosborough and his son Jon stopped their pickup truck near a 40-acre cornfield and pointed to a white PVC pipe that rose 5 feet from the snow-covered ground on a windy December afternoon.

The Rosboroughs farm this land and placed the pipe to mark the spot where an oil well once stood.

“I don’t even know that ...Read more

Alex Kormann/Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

ICE is using Medicaid data to find out where immigrants live

Current News / News & Features /

In a win for President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, a recent court ruling has cleared the way for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to resume using states’ Medicaid data to find people who are in the country illegally.

The case is ongoing. But for now, immigrants — including those who are in the country legally — will ...Read more

YAMIL LAGE/Getty Images North America/TNS

For decades many have predicted the downfall of Cuba's regime. Is this time different?

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Following the capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro in an operation in which several Cuban security officers died protecting him, Donald Trump joined a long line of U.S. presidents who over the decades anticipated the collapse of Cuba’s communist government.

“Cuba gives protection to Venezuela, and Venezuela gives Cuba money ...Read more

Jesus Vargas/Getty Images North America/TNS

The quiet ascent: How Delcy Rodríguez took over Venezuela's criminal networks

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On a March 2023 afternoon in Caracas, the corridors of power in Venezuela’s government were shifting beneath the surface. Tareck El Aissami, once the regime’s top power broker and a man long accused by Washington of narcotics trafficking, had vanished from public view. His fall—swift and opaque—created a dangerous void in the structure ...Read more

Liz Rymarev/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/TNS

School for teens recovering from substance abuse to open in St. Louis area

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ST. LOUIS — A high school designed for teenagers who are recovering from drug or alcohol abuse has the green light to open in the St. Louis area this fall.

The Missouri Board of Education voted unanimously Tuesday to approve three “recovery high schools,” a decision set in motion by legislation signed by Gov. Mike Kehoe in July. The other...Read more

Alex Kormann/The Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

Republicans want Minnesota to cooperate with ICE. What would that look like?

Current News / News & Features /

MINNEAPOLIS — The Trump administration and other Republicans argue the surge of federal immigration agents to Minnesota is necessary in part because of “sanctuary” laws protecting unauthorized immigrants.

And with tensions high over the federal immigration crackdown, many in the national and local GOP are pushing Gov. Tim Walz and ...Read more

Clarence Tabb Jr./The Detroit News/TNS

Michigan mayor says federal immigration authorities are 'terrorizing' people

Current News / News & Features /

DETROIT — Sterling Heights Mayor Michael C. Taylor blasted President Donald Trump's national deportation efforts Tuesday, saying, during a city council meeting, that federal authorities had been "terrorizing" peaceful communities and Trump's political opponents.

Taylor, a former Republican who is now a political independent, gave a fiery, 22-...Read more

Renee Jones Schneider/Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

Somali American U.S. citizen arrested by immigration agents, detained for two days

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MINNEAPOLIS — A U.S.-born Somali American woman said she was forcibly arrested and detained by immigration officials for two days amid the Trump administration’s crackdown in Minnesota.

With bandages still covering scrapes on her forehead, Nasra Ahmed, 23, spoke about her arrest at a news conference at the Minnesota Capitol on Wednesday. ...Read more

Alex Kormann/Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

Preschooler and three other students detained by ICE, school district leader says

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A 5-year-old preschool student was taken with his father by federal immigration agents shortly after arriving home from school, Columbia Heights school leaders said Jan. 21 — the first time a Twin Cities school district has publicly confirmed a student being detained by ICE since Operation Metro Surge began.

His detention, school leaders say,...Read more

Yuri Gripas/Abaca Press/TNS

Crypto bill delayed as Senate panel pivots to housing push

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A sweeping U.S. crypto market bill is likely to be delayed by at least several weeks as key lawmakers shift their focus to potential housing legislation in support of President Donald Trump’s affordability push, according to people familiar with the matter.

The move by the Senate Banking Committee follows Trump administration calls to tackle...Read more

Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office/TNS

Mamdani signals he's ready to push Gov. Hochul on tax hikes as NYC budget shortfall looms

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Facing a potential $12 billion budget gap and a need to make good on promises of an ambitious, but pricey, affordability agenda, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani indicated Wednesday he may push Governor Kathy Hochul in budget negotiations to include tax hikes on millionaires and corporations.

That effort could set up a conflict between the ...Read more

Heather Diehl/Getty Images North America/TNS

Democratic senator assails 'secret' ICE policy to enter homes

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WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., is demanding answers from the Department of Homeland Security after whistleblowers disclosed a new policy that would let immigration agents forcibly enter homes without a judge’s warrant to carry out arrests.

In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Blumenthal said an “...Read more

CLARENS SIFFROY/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/TNS

UN to Haiti's political leaders: 'Time for political maneuvering is over'

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As Haiti approaches the end of another political transition without elections or a clear governing framework, the United Nations and other international partners are warning that political self-interest and infighting could further unravel an already fragile country,

The warning comes as the nine-member Transitional Presidential Council appears...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Washington state considers ending interest on medical debt

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OLYMPIA, Wash. — As lawmakers pursue bills to zero in on affordability issues gripping households across the state, a Democratic measure in the Legislature seeks to curb the financial strain of medical expenses by proposing to eliminate interest charges on new and unpaid medical debt incurred in Washington.

Senate Bill 5993, sponsored by ...Read more

Alex Kormann/Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

Minnesota resident, US citizen detained for accent

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MINNEAPOLIS — Ramon Menera, a Columbia Heights resident and U.S. citizen, said he was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents Jan. 14 after an agent told him his accent led officers to question where he was born, adding to a growing list of encounters that have been dubbed “Kavanaugh stops.”

Menera said in an interview with the...Read more

New ad in Michigan race for governor questions James' loyalty to Trump

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LANSING, Mich. — A nonprofit organization that formed in December has launched an ad blitz in recent days attacking U.S. Rep. John James and possibly signaling a new candidate could be waiting in the wings to enter the race to be Michigan's next governor.

James, a two-term member of the U.S. House from Shelby Township, is viewed by many as ...Read more

Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS

Judge removes Las Vegas Review-Journal staff from courtroom

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LAS VEGAS — A judge removed Las Vegas Review-Journal staff from her courtroom Wednesday because they refused to promise not to name an alleged victim testifying in the Nathan Chasing Horse sexual assault trial.

An attorney for the Review-Journal plans to appeal District Judge Jessica Peterson’s ruling.

Glenn Cook, executive editor of the ...Read more

LOU ROCCO/American Broadcasting Companies, Inc./TNS

FCC takes aim at talk shows in fight over 'equal time' rules for politicians

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The Federal Communications Commission is taking aim at broadcast networks' late-night and daytime talk shows, including ABC's "The View," which often feature politicians as guests.

On Wednesday, the FCC's Media Bureau issued a public notice saying broadcast TV stations would be obligated to provide equal time to an opposing political candidate...Read more

Silas Walker/Lexington Herald-Leader/TNS

Lawmakers try to lower age for concealed carry of guns in Kentucky

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentuckians could carry concealed firearms at age 18 instead of 21 under a bill headed to the House floor.

House Bill 312, approved Wednesday by the House Judiciary Committee, would lower the age at which someone could apply to the Kentucky State Police for a newly created “provisional” concealed carry license.

Kentucky ...Read more