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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump tells Supreme Court no need to rush to consider tariffs

Current News / News & Features /

President Donald Trump’s administration urged the U.S. Supreme Court to turn away a request for fast-track review of his sweeping tariffs, saying the justices should give lower courts more time to weigh in.

The filing comes a day after two family-owned businesses asked the court to hear their challenge on an unusually quick schedule, without ...Read more

NIKAN/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/TNS

US officials prepare for possible strike on Iran in coming days

Current News / News & Features /

Senior U.S. officials are preparing for the possibility of a strike on Iran in the coming days, according to people familiar with the matter, a sign that Washington is assembling the infrastructure to directly enter a conflict with Tehran.

The situation is still evolving and could change, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss ...Read more

Al Seib/Los Angeles Times/TNS

19 charged in alleged Mexican Mafia conspiracy to kill LA rap artist

Current News / News & Features /

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County prosecutors on Wednesday charged 19 people with conspiring to murder a rapper who allegedly angered a member of the Mexican Mafia, a prison-based syndicate of Latino gang members.

According to a complaint filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, accused Mexican Mafia member Manuel “Snuffy” Quintero ...Read more

Aaron Lavinsky/Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

Hundreds attend vigil at Minnesota Capitol for slain lawmaker and her husband

Current News / News & Features /

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Gov. Tim Walz and his wife, Gwen, attended a candlelight vigil Wednesday evening honoring state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, who were killed in what officials have called a targeted act of political violence.

Hundreds gathered on the steps of the State Capitol in St. Paul to pay their respects to the Hortmans....Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Once there were only 22 condors left on Earth; the LA Zoo just hatched 10 chicks

Current News / News & Features /

Earlier this month, wildlife enthusiasts were excited over a pair of young bald eagles that flew out of their nest for the first time, hovering high above Big Bear Lake.

This week, the focus is on 10 condor chicks that were hatched at the Los Angeles Zoo, making them eligible to be released into the wild to help restore the state's depleted ...Read more

Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson to veto measure giving police power to set temporary teen curfews

Current News / News & Features /

CHICAGO — Mayor Brandon Johnson announced he will issue a rare mayoral veto after aldermen granted Chicago’s police superintendent the power Wednesday to declare a teen curfew anytime, anywhere in the city.

The highly contentious ordinance faced months of City Council debate before passing in a 27-22 vote. After the vote, Johnson, who had ...Read more

Ethan Hyman/The News & Observer/TNS

Protesters demand NC Gov. Josh Stein 'get a spine' and veto GOP bills to expand ICE cooperation

Current News / News & Features /

As the clock winds down for N.C. Gov. Josh Stein to take action on a pair of GOP bills that would expand state and local cooperation with immigration authorities, protesters gathered in Raleigh demanding that he veto them.

Protesters rallied Wednesday evening across the street from the governor’s mansion in downtown Raleigh, where a number of...Read more

Keith Birmingham/The Orange County Register/TNS

Total number of troops supporting federal missions in Los Angeles remain at 4,800

Current News / News & Features /

A spokesperson with the command responsible for the federalized forces deployed in the Los Angeles area by the Trump administration in the wake of recent immigration enforcement protests clarified on Wednesday, June 18, that the number of troops in the Southern California area remains at 4,800 — 4,100 Army National Guard soldiers and 700 ...Read more

Hector Amezcua/The Sacramento Bee/TNS

California lawmakers decline to audit $20 billion Delta water tunnel

Current News / News & Features /

California’s state auditor will not investigate the state’s controversial Delta Conveyance Project, which would divert water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta down to farms and consumers in Southern California.

Despite the proposal receiving some bipartisan support Wednesday afternoon, lawmakers on the Joint Legislative Audit Committee ...Read more

Shari L. Gross/Minneapolis Star Tribune/TNS

Feeding Our Future defendant pleads guilty to juror bribe attempt during trial in meal fraud case

Current News / News & Features /

MINNEAPOLIS — A man portrayed by prosecutors as a ringleader in the Feeding Our Future meal fraud scheme has pleaded guilty to his role in the attempt to bribe a juror as he stood trial.

Abdiaziz Shafii Farah, of Savage, pleaded guilty to bribery of a juror Wednesday in a Minneapolis federal courtroom as part of an agreement that stipulated a...Read more

News briefs

Current News / News & Features /

Ted Cruz and Tucker Carlson throw down in ‘rough’ interview about potential Iran strikes

WASHINGTON — Conservative pundit Tucker Carlson is teasing a fiery interview with U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, he plans to release Wednesday afternoon, in which the two men clash over foreign policy and potential U.S. military strikes against Iran.

...Read more

Jerry Holt/Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

Minnesota's Hennepin County seeks to be first to prosecute shootings of lawmakers, spouses

Current News / News & Features /

MINNEAPOLIS — Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty has asked the federal government to let her office be the first to pursue murder charges against Vance Boelter for the shootings of state lawmakers and their spouses.

Moriarty made the revelation in an interview with the Minnesota Star Tribune, saying the pursuit of murder convictions is ...Read more

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump's Iran war talk is testing his ties with MAGA loyalists

Current News / News & Features /

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s hints that he may dispatch the U.S. military to help Israel destroy Iran’s nuclear program has spurred a revolt from his typically faithful America First base, further dividing a party already struggling to unite around the president’s second-term agenda.

Trump continues to be non-committal on what he’ll ...Read more

Elizabeth Flores/Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

In Minnesota assassination, abortion-rights supporters hear echoes of past violence

Current News / News & Features /

MINNEAPOLIS — Abortion providers spent the weekend in fear they could be targeted by the man charged in the assassination of Minnesota House DFL leader Melissa Hortman and shooting of Sen. John Hoffman.

The more than 40 hours police spent searching were “terrifying” as reports surfaced that the alleged killer had a list of potential ...Read more

Charles Knowles/Dreamstime/TNS

Idaho AG drops 'transparency' lawsuit over University of Phoenix deal

Current News / News & Features /

BOISE, Idaho — Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador dismissed his lawsuit against the Idaho State Board of Education after it ratified an end to the proposed deal between the University of Idaho and the University of Phoenix.

Labrador sued the State Board in June 2023 over the way the controversial transaction came about. He accused the ...Read more

Win McNamee/Getty Images North America/TNS

Fed's Powell says rate path unclear but tariff impact is coming

Current News / News & Features /

There are a lot of unknowns about the outlook for the economy and interest rates, but Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled at least one thing seems certain: Higher prices are coming.

Policymakers voted unanimously to hold interest rates steady for a fourth straight meeting Wednesday as they await clarity on whether tariffs will leave a ...Read more

Attorney General Nessel, groups challenge Trump official's order keeping west Michigan coal plant active

Current News / News & Features /

DETROIT — Environmental groups and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel launched separate challenges Wednesday to a U.S. Department of Energy order that requires Consumers Energy to extend the life of J.H. Campbell, a coal-fired power plant in west Michigan, both arguing the department leaned on a fabricated energy emergency for its decree.

...Read more

Tom Gralish/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Pennsylvania lawmakers will miss the June 30 budget deadline as state faces a $5.5B shortfall, top Republican says

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HARRISBURG, Pa. — Facing a budget shortfall of nearly $5.5 billion, Pennsylvania won’t make its June 30 deadline for passing a new state budget, a top Republican said Wednesday.

Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R., Indiana), the chief negotiator for Senate Republicans in closed-door budget talks where lawmakers will decide how to spend ...Read more

Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group/TNS

Jesuit priest with Bay Area ties accused of sexual assault of minors

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SAN JOSE, Calif. — A prominent Catholic priest with ties to the Bay Area is behind bars in San Luis Obispo County facing charges of sexually abusing three boys starting in the early 1990s, and police think there are more victims.

Theodore Gabrielli, 61, was arrested June 12 in Los Osos, near Morro Bay, and charged with three counts of ...Read more

Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune/TNS

LGBTQ advocacy, legal groups condemn court decision on gender-affirming care ban: 'Catastrophic failure for our nation's youth'

Current News / News & Features /

Chicago-area trans and LGBTQ+ community groups responded with disappointment and anger Wednesday to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care.

Representatives from Trans Up Front Illinois, Brave Space Alliance, Equality Illinois and Arcus Behavioral Health — groups that provide resources to trans...Read more