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First Tren de Aragua member extradited from Colombia to face US charges

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The United States on Thursday unveiled terrorism and drug trafficking charges against an alleged senior leader of Venezuela’s feared Tren de Aragua gang after Colombian authorities extradited him to Houston, marking the first time a member of the criminal organization has been transferred from Colombia to face prosecution in the U.S.

Jose ...Read more

Eduardo Munoz/Pool/Getty Images North America/TNS

Harvey Weinstein jury in NYC Jessica Mann rape trial deadlocked

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NEW YORK — A Manhattan jury Friday said it was deadlocked, unable to agree on whether Harvey Weinstein was guilty of raping Jessica Mann, a year after his last case ended in a mistrial for the same reason.

The seven men and five women on the jury, who began deliberating Wednesday, sent out a third note at 11:20 a.m., reading, “We the jury ...Read more

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images North America/TNS

Louisiana Senate approves new map that would scrap majority-Black district

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WASHINGTON — Louisiana is a step closer to a new congressional map after the state Senate approved a plan Thursday that would eliminate one of the state’s two majority-Black districts, both held by Democrats.

The new map comes after the Supreme Court invalidated Louisiana’s current House map last month in a ruling that found the state had...Read more

Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times/TNS

With loved ones detained, Florida's immigrant families face 'chaos'

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TAMPA, Fla. — Carmen Benavides sat on the motel bed, holding her daughter Abrahannys’ hand. The 4-year-old lay on her back, awake, as if waiting for her mother’s voice.

“You are beautiful,” Benavides said in Spanish. “Who’s the most beautiful?”

She checked a monitor and feeding tube connected to the girl’s stomach. Abrahannys...Read more

Mifepristone is one of two drugs typically used in medication abortions. Carl Lokko/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Supreme Court preserves access to mifepristone via telehealth – at least for now

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The U.S. Supreme Court has decided that patients can continue to get mifepristone, one of the two drugs used for medication abortion, via telehealth and by mail. At least for now.

A lower court had temporarily blocked this access nationwide in early May 2026. The case now returns to that lower court, although it may well make it back ...Read more

(Eric Harkleroad/KFF Health News)/KFF Health News/TNS

FDA blocked melanoma drug as confusion reigned under Makary

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The FDA’s recent decision to withhold approval of a new skin cancer treatment fell like a hammer on doctors who treat melanoma and patients who saw that the drug had prolonged the lives of a third of the participants in a clinical trial.

“It was devastating news,” said Trisha Wise-Draper, a dermatologist at the University of Cincinnati ...Read more

Brendan  Smialowski/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump to decide soon on Taiwan arms sale, noncommittal to Xi

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U.S. President Donald Trump said he made no commitment to Chinese President Xi Jinping over Taiwan, and would make a decision soon over a planned $14 billion arms deal with the island.

“On Taiwan he feels very strongly, I made no commitment either way,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday. The U.S. president said he would ...Read more

Paul Revere made the engraving used in the frontispiece of 'The New-England Psalm-Singer,' a tune book William Billings published in 1770. John Carter Brown Library via Wikimedia Commons

America’s musical founding father: ‘Liberty songs’ by a self-taught singer and tanner helped fuel the Revolution

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As July 4, 2026, approaches, Americans will be paying more attention than usual to events of 1776: the year the American Colonies declared their independence from Great Britain. Public historians, including filmmaker Ken Burns, have tried to offer a more inclusive view of the American Revolution, highlighting lesser-known patriots. But ...Read more

Passengers on the the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius watch epidemiologists board the boat in Praia, Cape Verde, on May 6, 2026 AP Photo/Uncredited

From medieval plague ships to hantavirus: How outbreaks at sea helped to shape the international public health system

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Cruise ships are convenient floating hotels by which to see far-flung parts of the world – but as an epidemiologist, I know they are also everything an infectious pathogen could want: thousands of strangers packed into enclosed spaces for days or weeks, sharing dining rooms and high-touch surfaces such as elevator buttons and handrails, ...Read more

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images North America/TNS

Supreme Court preserves telemedicine access to abortion drug

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WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed access to medication abortion via telemedicine and by mail to continue, blocking a decision at the appellate court level that had restricted the drug.

The justices granted emergency requests from the makers of mifepristone, Danco Laboratories LLC and GenBioPro Inc., after the New Orleans-...Read more

SpaceX/TNS

Sonic boom potential back again Friday as SpaceX tries for launch to space station

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Weather looks much better for SpaceX’s third try to get a resupply mission to the International Space Station off the ground Friday with a planned booster recovery back on land that could bring sonic booms to parts of Central Florida.

Poor weather conditions knocked out both Tuesday and Wednesday attempts, but now a Falcon 9 is back aiming ...Read more

Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images North America/TNS

State officials demand transparency as businesses get billions in Trump tariff refunds

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The fiscal leaders of several states are demanding transparency and consumer fairness as President Donald Trump’s administration seeks to refund billions in international tariffs following a recent Supreme Court loss.

In a February decision, the high court dealt a blow to the president’s trade agenda, ruling by a 6-3 margin that the tariffs...Read more

Herika Martinez/Getty Images North America/TNS

Some immigrants face indefinite detention, likely leading to Supreme Court case

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As appeals courts split on the constitutionality of mandatory detention for millions of immigrants, the U.S. Supreme Court is likely to decide the matter.

A Trump administration policy threatening imprisonment without bond has been struck down by three appeals courts, which could soon be joined by a fourth, but upheld by two others. The ...Read more

National Hurricane Center begins regular tropical outlook forecasts ahead of season's start

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ORLANDO, Fla. — Hurricane season does not officially begin until June 1, but the National Hurricane Center kicked off Friday its regular issuance of tropical outlooks for the Atlantic basin.

The routine reports describe significant areas of disturbed weather and their potential to form into a tropical system over the next seven days. The ...Read more

Saul Loeb/Getty Images North America/TNS

Red states press social service workers into immigration enforcement

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An increasing number of conservative states are mandating that state and local social service providers verify and report the immigration status of the people they serve — in some cases threatening stiff penalties for public employees who fail to comply.

Under federal law, immigrants who are in the United States illegally are generally barred...Read more

E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Mayor Brandon Johnson decries further cuts to Chicago Public Schools in district's budget plan

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CHICAGO — Mayor Brandon Johnson on Thursday condemned further cuts to Chicago Public Schools following the district’s latest proposal to address a yawning budget deficit by eliminating teaching staff, arguing the fate of Black enrollment is at stake.

During an interview with the Tribune ahead of his three-year mark in office, the mayor ...Read more

Trump administration readying a plan to impose Colorado River water cuts on Western states

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LOS ANGELES — After months of pressing Western states to come to their own agreement, the Trump administration told their leaders it’s drawing up a 10-year plan for dealing with water shortages on the Colorado River.

The river is a major water source for Southern California and much of the Southwest, but its largest reservoirs, Lake Mead ...Read more

Alex Wong/Getty Images North America/TNS

For Trump in China, a tonal shift yields few results

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BEIJING — A conciliatory President Donald Trump on Friday hailed success in his state visit to China, claiming a tonal reset with Xi Jinping despite departing Beijing with few concrete achievements.

The visual spectacle around Trump's visit was itself considered a breakthrough by the two sides, who expressed an eagerness entering the talks ...Read more

Brendan  Smialowski/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump says he didn't ask Xi to pressure Iran on Strait of Hormuz

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President Donald Trump said China’s Xi Jinping largely agrees with him on the risks of Iran becoming a nuclear power but said he did not push his Chinese counterpart to pressure Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

“He said that very strongly, they cannot have a nuclear weapon and he wants them to open up the strait,” Trump said Friday,...Read more

Starmer's rival Burnham opens path to a challenge, hitting gilts

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The cost of U.K. government debt jumped Friday morning as one of Keir Starmer’s top rivals, Andy Burnham, prepared to run for parliament — a process necessary for him to potentially topple the Prime Minister.

Gilts slumped at the open, sending the 10-year yield 11 basis points higher to 5.10%. Bonds globally are also selling off on higher ...Read more