WASHINGTON — Senators moved ahead with a bipartisan housing bill this week, paving the way for a final vote once they return from the Juneteenth long weekend. But on another topic, they seemed to go not forward, but back.

President Donald Trump sent negotiations to renew a lapsed spy power authority back to square one Wednesday, souring the ...Read more

Vice President JD Vance aggressively defended the controversial peace deal with Iran, and warned Israel not to criticize President Donald Trump over the agreement.

In a White House press briefing, Vance embraced his new role as the top cheerleader for the deal that some critics say amounts to a capitulation to the Islamic Republic and a sell ...Read more

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court struck down an initiative petition to lower the state income tax from 5% to 4%, stating that a summary of the proposal authored by the Attorney General’s office and used to collect required signatures was misleading and must be disqualified from appearing on the ballot.

The high court ruled ...Read more

BALTIMORE — The criminal case against the chief engineer of the cargo ship that destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge could be dismissed three years from now under an agreement with the government, entered into federal record on Thursday.

Federal prosecutors allege that Karthikeyan Deenadayalan, chief engineer aboard the Dali, failed to ...Read more

CHICAGO — While Jackie Mills waited for the dedication ceremony for the Obama Presidential Center to start, she found herself reminiscing on former President Barack Obama’s first inauguration.

Her entire family gathered in her mother’s home, huddled around the television, the 72-year-old Bronzeville resident said. Her mom had insisted ...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — The finish line on the overdue state budget is in sight.

Millions of North Carolinians await a new state budget, which funds raises for teachers and state employees and pays for programs and capital projects across the state. It also includes policy, like setting the income tax rate. It is also now a year late.

It is coming ...Read more

Comedian Carlos Mencia is expected to face criminal charges in Los Angeles in what will be the first case filed by Los Angeles County’s new Business Tax Fraud Unit.

District Attorney Nathan Hochman did not provide specifics about the allegations, but he said the exact charges against the 58-year-old funnyman would be announced during a press ...Read more

If you’re a red wolf or a black bear, the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in Eastern North Carolina can be a pretty sweet place to live, with plenty of food and lots of open spaces, largely free of humans.

That is except for the two-lane highway, U.S. 64, that cuts through the refuge in Dare County, carrying people to and from the ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The U.S.-Iran interim peace deal took effect and shipping started returning to the Strait of Hormuz as the U.S. declared an end to its blockade and a complex negotiating period over Tehran’s nuclear program began in earnest.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance told reporters Thursday at the White House that the 60-day clock for ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled for gun rights and against drug laws on Thursday, striking down part of a federal law that made it crime for an “unlawful user” of an illegal drug like marijuana to own firearms.

All nine justices agreed the law was too broad and overly harsh.

They left open the possibly that “addicts” and “...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — President Donald Trump’s administration can replace the slavery exhibits it removed in January from George Washington’s Philadelphia residence, a federal appeals court ruled.

A three-judge 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals panel unanimously agreed Thursday to toss out an injunction issued by a Philadelphia district court judge ...Read more

The days of ground beef and chicken legs are long gone at the Ritenour Co-Care Food Pantry just outside of St. Louis. The nonprofit has swapped out those staple proteins for cheaper ground chicken and hot dogs as it faces higher food costs and surging demand.

“We have to adapt just like everybody else,” Executive Director Angela Gabel said ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — A few days after the FBI raided the headquarters of Feeding Our Future and the home of its leader, Aimee Bock, federal authorities raided Partners in Nutrition, Bock’s biggest competitor and another suspected sponsor of fraudulent meal sites.

But the nature and outcome of those visits in 2022 were starkly different.

After ...Read more

CHICAGO — The ceremony opening the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park kicked off Thursday morning as the former first family was joined by dignitaries and celebrities in a day filled with celebration and aspiration, music and motivation.

Former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, who returned to town last week, ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The U.S.-Iran interim peace deal took effect and shipping started returning to the Strait of Hormuz as the United States declared an end to its blockade and a complex negotiating period over Tehran’s nuclear program began in earnest.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance told reporters at the White House that the 60-day clock for ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — President Donald Trump’s administration can replace the slavery exhibit it removed in January from George Washington’s Philadelphia Executive Mansion, a federal appeals court ruled.

A three-judge 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals panel unanimously agreed Thursday to toss out an injunction issued by a Philadelphia district court ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday limited a federal law that prohibits illegal drug users from possessing firearms, in a case involving a man who was charged after investigators found a gun in his home and he admitted using marijuana about every other day.

In a unanimous decision, the justices found that the prosecution of Ali Danial...Read more

NEW YORK — The NYPD is investigating the Central Park carriage horse crash that killed an 18-year-old tourist, officials confirmed Thursday.

Cops from the Central Park Precinct are looking into the crash and have interviewed the carriage horse driver, who had stepped away from the carriage to take a photo of victim Romanch Mahajan and his ...Read more