ORLANDO, Fla. — That bump in the night that might be heard in Central Florida in the wee hours of Thursday morning might be for national security.

That’s because a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on the NROL-95 mission carrying a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office is set to launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s ...Read more

HARTFORD, Conn. — The University of Connecticut has lost $100 million in federal research funding with more delayed, threatening both the university’s footprint in sciences and research and the state’s economy, officials have said.

“It impacts science, the pursuit of knowledge, advancement and things like advanced manufacturing and ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said the U.S. would strike back at Iran after a recent attack that targeted a military base in Jordan, as the war in the Middle East flared up again following a pause in hostilities.

“We’ll be hitting them hard,” Trump said in a phone interview, Fox News reported Wednesday, adding that “they’re ...Read more

Oprah Winfrey is handing over operations of the South African school for girls she opened in 2002 to local officials.

The multibillionaire media mogul calls the move part of a plan that will “expand” the mission of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls (OWLAG).

“Following the completion of the 2027 academic year, the residential...Read more

Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh insisted policymakers’ decision to leave interest rates unchanged wasn’t a sign of inertia at the central bank, which he reiterated is committed to tackling inflation.

The Federal Open Market Committee voted 9-3 to hold the benchmark federal funds rate in a range of 3.5% to 3.75%. Dallas Fed President ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The same-sex couple former Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis refused to issue a marriage license to in 2015 want her held in contempt for allegedly lying about her assets to avoid paying a half-a-million-dollar judgment a jury awarded them.

In a motion filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, ...Read more

LANSING, Mich. — A Traverse City hair salon that posted a Facebook message shunning transgender patrons was found to have violated a new tenet of Michigan's anti-discrimination law, the first test of the statute's new protections against discriminatory advertising based on gender identity.

After a three-year investigation and adjudication ...Read more

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is pressuring U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune to address Sen. Mitch McConnell’s ongoing absence and encouraging others to join him in the effort.

During a live call-in broadcast that aired on SiriusXM Progress Wednesday afternoon, Beshear said it’s up to Thune to make sure the GOP members of the Senate have...Read more

WASHINGTON — Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has until 4 p.m. Wednesday to appease two GOP holdout senators and unlock a key vote scheduled for Thursday morning that would bring him a step closer to heading the Justice Department permanently.

Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn said he is waiting for Blanche and the DOJ to nail down ...Read more

Federal Reserve officials left interest rates unchanged, but a fractured vote signaled growing conviction among some policymakers that higher rates are needed to curb resurgent inflation.

The Federal Open Market Committee voted 9-3 to hold the benchmark federal funds rate in a range of 3.5% to 3.75%. Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan, Cleveland�...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Abdoulaye Cherif was asleep when his phone rang that morning, and answered only because the display showed the call was coming from a prison.

He was shocked to hear the voice of his father, who was supposed to be at work, driving for Uber.

Mamadou Fadel Cherif told his son he had been arrested by ICE as he left the family home...Read more

LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Senate and House Democrats are reintroducing nine bills that Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer vetoed earlier this month at the end of an 18-month legal fight between the legislative chambers.

The bills are unlikely to have much of a chance of moving through the Republican-led House, where the majority has largely ...Read more

A federal judge has ruled that a former Fort Worth ISD principal’s First Amendment lawsuit is unlikely to succeed after she was reassigned during an investigation of her social media posts, and denied her request to be immediately reinstated.

Shayma Alzubi was reassigned shortly after being announced as principal of Western Hills High School ...Read more

Former Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and journalist Brian Glenn tied the knot during a ritzy ceremony in Las Vegas this week, according to reports.

The conservative couple exchanged vows Tuesday at the Terrazza di Sogno in The Bellagio, TMZ reported.

In images published by the outlet, 52-year-old Greene can be seen sporting an elegant ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The City of St. Paul, Minnesota, has hired an outside law firm to investigate sexual harassment allegations against Mayor Kaohly Her, including claims that she directed inappropriate sexual comments toward police Chief Axel Henry and other city employees.

The Minnesota Star Tribune obtained an April 1 letter sent by Henry’s ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The University of California offered seats to a record number of Californians this year, according to new figures released Wednesday, as it faces intense scrutiny of its admissions practices, including pressure from Sacramento to enroll more state residents and investigations by the Trump administration.

UC admitted 102,031 ...Read more

DENVER — The Denver City Council is weighing the addition of a “slavery acknowledgment” at the beginning of its meetings to recognize the forced labor of enslaved Africans and the legacy of that practice.

Councilwoman Shontel Lewis brought the proposal forward during a committee meeting Tuesday, originally calling it a “labor ...Read more