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Clem Murray/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Jet fuel pipeline that leaked into Bucks County wells should be shut down, legislators say

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PHILADELPHIA — Two Pennsylvania state legislators are asking federal authorities to suspend operations of a Sunoco pipeline that leaked jet fuel into the water wells of at least six homeowners in a Bucks County town.

The request sent Saturday by State Sen. Steven J. Santarsiero and State Rep. Perry S. Warren, both Democrats representing Bucks...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Health insurance for millions could vanish as states put Medicaid expansion on chopping block

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Republican lawmakers in several states have Medicaid expansion in their crosshairs, energized by President Donald Trump’s return to the White House and a GOP-controlled Congress set on reducing spending on the public health insurance program for low-income people.

As the feds consider cuts to Medicaid, some states are already moving to end or...Read more

USC Graphic/Edward Sotelo/USC Graphic/Edward Sotelo/TNS

Earth's inner core isn't just slowing, it's also shape-shifting, study finds

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LOS ANGELES — USC scientists have made a groundbreaking discovery about the nature of the Earth's enigmatic inner core, revealing for the first time that this 1,500-mile-wide ball of iron and nickel is changing.

The planet's inner core was previously thought of as a hard, solid sphere. But a new study has found that its edges are softer than ...Read more

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images North America/TNS

House cats with bird flu could pose a risk to public health

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More than 80 domestic cats, among many other types of mammals, have been confirmed to have had bird flu since 2022 — generally barn cats that lived on dairy farms, as well as feral cats and pets that spend time outdoors and likely caught it by hunting diseased rodents or wild birds.

Now, a small but growing number of house cats have gotten ...Read more

Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel/TNS

'The check is going straight to daycare': Florida's parents struggle with high cost of child care

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ORLANDO, Fla. — After graduating from Florida A&M University, Ruthie Critton and her husband moved to Eatonville, looking to raise a family in the town where she grew up. Critton accepted an administrative job at a law firm, where she hoped to work a few years before attending law school.

But when the couple’s first child was born nearly ...Read more

Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Europe/TNS

6 men accused of kidnapping Chicago family, forcing a transfer of $15 million in cryptocurrency

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CHICAGO — Six men are accused of kidnapping three family members and a nanny from a Chicago townhouse in October and forcing a transfer of about $15 million in cryptocurrency assets before releasing them five days later near a dry cleaners, according to recently unsealed court records.

The five-day kidnapping is detailed in a 44-page FBI ...Read more

Alex Brandon/Getty Images North America/TNS

Rubio tells staff to assign sex to transgender passport applicants

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WASHINGTON — U.S. State Department workers reviewing the passport applications of transgender people have been ordered to automatically categorize them as male or female based on evidence of their “biological sex at birth.”

U.S. consular workers were ordered to disregard requests by transgender people and other gender non-conforming ...Read more

Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Judge says Treasury data limit applies to DOGE, not Secretary Scott Bessent

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A judge in Manhattan agreed that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent should be allowed to access sensitive federal government payments data during a lawsuit, even as Elon Musk’s government efficiency team will remain locked out for now.

The ruling Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas is a partial win for President Donald Trump, ...Read more

Robin Buckson/The Detroit News/TNS

Family of kids who froze to death reached out at least 3 times to Detroit's homeless response team

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DETROIT — A family facing homelessness reached out at least three times to Detroit's homeless response team, including as recently as late November, before two children froze to death in a van in a casino parking structure on Monday.

A day later, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan called for a review of city services for homelessness, the city's ...Read more

Lezlie Sterling/The Sacramento Bee/TNS

Sacramento State students protest Trump immigration policies, urge support from school

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Around 200 Sacramento State students gathered Tuesday afternoon to protest President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders that aim to enact mass deportations of immigrants and undocumented residents and end birthright citizenship.

They also protested what they said is an insufficient response from the university to threats of immigration ...Read more

Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/TNS

What's next for pardoned ex-Ill. Gov. Rod Blagojevich? A book and no apologies

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CHICAGO — Perhaps the most telling moment of the news conference Rod Blagojevich held hours after President Donald Trump granted the disgraced ex-Illinois governor a full pardon came even before he answered a single question from the media scrum gathered outside his Ravenswood Manor home.

“Patti, honey,” Blagojevich said with a smile to ...Read more

Jefferee Woo/Tampa Bay Times/TNS

Can Venezuelans stave off deportation through a U.S. citizen who is an immediate relative?

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With the Trump administration eliminating the protected immigration status for more than 300,000 Venezuelans living in the United States, the majority of whom live in South Florida, Venezuelans are scrambling to see how they can fight off deportation.

The Miami Herald asked readers to tell us about their biggest concerns facing Venezuelans. One...Read more

Pakorn Kumruen/Dreamstime/TNS

Canned tuna sold nationwide recalled over botulism risk

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Canned tuna sold at grocery stores nationwide is being recalled over risk of botulism, the Food and Drug Administration announced this week.

The recalled products, made using tuna from Tri-Union Seafoods, are sold under the Genova, Van Camp’s, H-E-B and Trader Joe’s brand names in dozens of states.

The recall affects Trader Joe’s ...Read more

Karen Ducey/The Seattle Times/TNS

Seattle council passes bill letting police use weapons on crowds

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SEATTLE — The Seattle City Council passed a bill Tuesday allowing police officers — in limited cases — to use weapons like tear gas, pepper spray and blast balls to control crowd movement during protests.

Past councils greatly restricted the use of these so-called “less lethal” weapons in the wake of the Seattle Police Department’s...Read more

Jessica McGowan/Getty Images North America/TNS

Judge temporarily blocks agencies from removing health data

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WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily paused three agencies from modifying or removing data from their websites and ordered them to restore deleted pages related to public health.

The temporary restraining order requires the Department of Health and Human Services as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the...Read more

Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS

Nevada bill proposes to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day in October

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LAS VEGAS — A bill aimed to move the celebration of Indigenous Peoples Day to the same date as Columbus Day was presented at the Legislature on Tuesday, adding to a slate of bills aiming to effect the state’s Native American communities.

Assemblymember Shea Backus, D-Las Vegas, is introducing Assembly Bill 144, which would change the date ...Read more

Vladimir Smirnov/Getty Images North America/TNS

North Korea slams 'usurper' US over Trump's Gaza takeover plan

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SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea’s state media condemned Donald Trump’s proposal to take over the devastated Gaza Strip — and gain control of other territories including Greenland and the Panama Canal — as invasive, calling the U.S. a “usurper” that violates the rights of other countries for its own interests.

North Korea’s ...Read more

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump directs federal job cuts as Musk defends downsizing

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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump directed agencies to work with Elon Musk’s government cost-cutting effort to slash their workforces, according to a White House official, his latest move to gut the federal bureaucracy.

Trump’s action orders agency heads to coordinate with Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to “significantly...Read more

Nancy Lane/Boston Herald/TNS

Karen Read case: Massachusetts' top court denies Read's appeal to toss charges

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BOSTON — The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court did not return accused murderer Karen Read’s trial team the opinion it wanted.

The SJC has ruled that Read can be tried again on charges related to the drunken, late-night crash that prosecutors say took the life of her former boyfriend and Boston police officer, John O’Keefe.

“Can ...Read more

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump eases off aid threat; Jordan to take ill Gaza children

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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump backed off his threat to withhold U.S. aid for Jordan after King Abdullah II agreed during a White House meeting to accept 2,000 ill children from Gaza.

Trump on Tuesday reiterated his desire for the United States to take ownership of Gaza, but Abdullah sidestepped questions about the lightning-rod plan, ...Read more