WASHINGTON — The Trump administration’s Cuba strategy is increasingly focused on ramping up sanctions and economic pressure rather than deploying military force to break the island’s Communist leadership, people familiar with the matter said.

U.S. attention is now centered on cutting off all revenue sources for the regime rather than any ...Read more

ANAHEIM, Calif. — California Department of Justice investigators will not pursue criminal charges against Fullerton police officers who fatally shot a man following a high-speed pursuit in 2023, Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Friday.

Austin Heiselman, 48, of Whittier, was shot and killed by Fullerton police on Feb. 10, 2023, after a ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has begun searching for new members for a vaccine advisory committee it is quietly reshaping to look at alternatives to vaccinations, a move that has drawn worries from outside groups.

The National Vaccine Advisory Committee, created in 1987, has worked across agencies to advise the Health and Human ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A family vacation last month turned to grief when a Kansas City man was seriously injured by a falling rock at Glacier National Park in Montana and later died at a hospital.

The family of Rex Schowengerdt, 72, shared their story on a GoFundMe page, describing the man as a beloved husband, father, brother and grandfather who...Read more

NEW YORK — Two more people have died of Legionnaires’ disease, raising the death toll from this summer’s Upper East Side outbreak to nine, officials announced Friday.

“I’m saddened to share that 2 more people have died in connection with the UES Legionnaires’ disease cluster,” city Health Commissioner Dr. Alister Martin said in a ...Read more

NEW YORK — Luigi Mangione pleaded guilty in a Manhattan courtroom Friday to stalking and killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a dramatic turning point in the high-profile prosecution over the executive’s predawn murder outside a Midtown hotel in December 2024.

In a stunning courtroom admission before Thompson’s tearful widow, ...Read more

MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Friday vented long-simmering frustrations with the Trump administration, accusing Washington of "meddling" after the State Department revoked the visa of the son of her predecessor and mentor, ex-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

The Mexican leader denounced as "political" an ongoing...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The family of murdered UnitedHealthcare Chief Executive Brian Thompson called Friday’s guilty plea by Luigi Mangione an “important step toward justice for Brian and our family.”

“While nothing will ease the pain of losing him, we are grateful that the federal justice system has held the person responsible for this ...Read more

DETROIT — Six people are dead, including the suspect, in a mass shooting in Northern Michigan, Michigan State Police confirmed Friday.

Details of the attack were emerging late Friday from the MSP officials, including that a person was critically wounded.

MSP Lt. Ashley Miller told WWJ Newsradio that said a call came in to 911 dispatchers ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Boyle Heights was reaching a breaking point as a deadline passed to clean up 88 million pounds of rotten food from the burned-down warehouse and residents begged for relief from the horrifying stench.

The city says Lineage failed to meet the deadline Friday, while the company says it should have more time. Residents say the end ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has largely ended a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients who marry U.S. citizens.

President Donald Trump tried, unsuccessfully, to end DACA during his first term. This week's action reflects his administration's ongoing focus on the Obama-era program that shields from deportation hundreds of ...Read more

LEXINGTON, S.C. — As expected, the efficient state Judge Debra McCaslin started Friday’s pretrial hearing for Alex Murdaugh second double murder trial right on time, at 10 a.m.

But over the next 31/2 hours, the unexpected kept popping up.

First, there was an allegation — possibly baseless — aired by the defense that the missing assault...Read more

President Donald Trump touched down Friday on Long Island to highlight his record on crime and try to boost Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s campaign for governor.

With Blakeman by his side, Trump released FBI statistics showing decreases in violent crime after touring the Nassau County Police Academy in Garden City.

“...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump downplayed concerns over conditions for sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, amid an uproar from service members’ families as its deployment to the Middle East approaches nine months.

Numerous relatives of the roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines aboard the aircraft carrier have voiced outrage at reports ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The U.S. is readying unprecedented economic measures against Iran, as President Donald Trump seeks to intensify efforts to force Tehran to capitulate after almost six months of war.

The president said in a brief interview with Fox News that the U.S. is planning to hit Iran’s economy hard, and that he didn’t care if the ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — It may be too soon to tell, but Big Bear bald eagle Shadow — the former mate of the recently deceased Jackie — may have a new partner.

Friends of Big Bear Valley, the group that runs the 24/7 livestream of the eagles, reported Thursday via social media that Shadow has been seen in the nest with a young adult eagle believed ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Democratic lawmakers and military families are pressing the Pentagon for answers after reports emerged that thousands of sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln have endured food shortages, plumbing failures and severe fatigue during deployment that has stretched more than 260 days.

The roughly 5,000-person crew, which left San ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Prosecutors this week unveiled a new indictment against the man accused of igniting last year’s deadly fire in the Palisades, nixing one of the three original charges and revising the other two after a mistrial in federal court earlier this summer.

Jonathan Rinderknecht, 33, remains in federal custody on charges he ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear believes he’s done everything possible to demand more transparency surrounding Sen. Mitch McConnell’s absence.

In a Friday interview on MS Now’s State of Play, host Peter Alexander asked Beshear if he has “done everything in your power to sort of move the ball forward on this, to try to ...Read more