WASHINGTON — A sanctioned oil tanker pursued by U.S. forces turned away from Venezuela and retreated out into the Atlantic Ocean, according to people familiar with the matter, as the Trump administration continues a blockade piling pressure on Caracas.

The U.S. Coast Guard encountered the ship, Bella 1, amid bad weather near Barbados on ...Read more

In a scene reminiscent of the 1990 Christmas classic “Home Alone,” a quick-thinking Long Island boy foiled a robbery by leaping out of his bedroom window and calling police as he hid in the backyard of his Medford home.

The incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon when the 12-year-old child heard glass breaking in the kitchen and someone ...Read more

Federal prosecutors in New York and the FBI have “uncovered” over 1 million additional documents related to investigations into Jeffrey Epstein, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday, five days after last Friday’s deadline to turn over all of its Epstein-related files.

The announcement portends a long, drawn-out process as the ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The most powerful Christmas storm in years slammed into Southern California on Wednesday, closing roads, flooding streets and drenching last-minute holiday shoppers.

The region’s wet Christmas is expected to continue through the weekend, though forecasters said Wednesday was expected to be the more intense day of rain. ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Twenty-four hours after two gas explosions ripped through a Bucks County nursing home, the dead and injured had been identified, survivors were accounted for, and the cleanup was underway. But unanswered questions about the blast’s cause mounted.

On Wednesday morning, PECO provided a drastically different account of when its ...Read more

Jeffrey Epstein’s team of high-powered lawyers famously negotiated a lenient 2007 deal on his behalf with federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida that allowed the financier to avoid a lengthy prison sentence and plead guilty to only two state charges to settle allegations that he had abused dozens of teenage girls.

Never-...Read more

Dominion Energy is suing the Trump administration following its decision Monday to suspend the federal lease for the wind-power project off the coast of Virginia Beach just months before it was slated to start producing energy after more than 10 years of work.

The Interior Department paused the leases for five offshore wind projects, citing ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — A man stalked federal agents in his pickup truck for miles in West St. Paul and aimed a gun at them in an effort to chase them off, according to a criminal complaint filed on Dec. 24.

Thomas Edwin Edwards, 63, was charged in Dakota County District Court with obstructing the legal process with force, a gross misdemeanor, and four...Read more

CHICAGO — Chicago faith leaders were once again denied entry to pray inside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in suburban Broadview. This time, on Christmas Eve.

A handful of faith leaders and other community members walked up to the facility doors at 1930 Beach St. on Wednesday morning to pray with detainees inside the ...Read more

BOISE, Idaho — One Treasure Valley doctor is putting off his retirement and doing something “profound” with his last year in the emergency room.

Stuart Clive, who was a longtime St. Luke’s Medical Center emergency room physician, is donating an entire year’s salary in an effort to cure blindness for thousands of people.

Clive works ...Read more

A TikToker accused of mowing down a pedestrian in suburban Chicago while livestreaming on the platform has been arrested in Illinois.

Social media star Tea Tyme, whose real name is Tynesha McCarty-Wroten, was taken into custody on Tuesday and booked on two felonies, reckless homicide and aggravated use of communications resulting in death, ...Read more

A relatively quiet session on Wall Street before Christmas saw stocks hitting all-time highs, with more signs the jobs market is not quickly deteriorating supporting bets on a soft economic landing.

Investors hoping for a “Santa Claus Rally” — which typically encompasses the last five trading days of the year and the first two of the new ...Read more

The Justice Department’s long-awaited rollout of the Jeffrey Epstein files has been a chaotic spectacle that, so far, has largely turned the spotlight back to his previously known associates, including President Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton, while fueling frustrations.

As of Tuesday evening in Washington, the DOJ had ...Read more

ATLANTA — Three escaped inmates wrapped a rope around their Lyft driver’s neck, tied her wrists and dragged her into the car’s back seat during a 10-hour getaway trip from metro Atlanta to South Florida, federal authorities said.

It was the beginning of a harrowing ordeal for the ride-hailing driver who thought she was picking up another ...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Thousands of people awoke without power Wednesday morning after a powerful storm slammed into the Bay Area, toppling trees and further complicating holiday travel across the region.

The North Bay, Peninsula and the South Bay appeared to bear the brunt of the latest storm front, which packed wind gusts topping out at 108 mph...Read more

One common argument we hear against having a natural Christmas tree is the misconception that the trees are cut down from the forest then hauled away to market. The belief is that fewer trees are left to help capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

What actually happens is that Christmas trees are grown as a harvestable farm crop much like ...Read more

NEW YORK — As murders and shootings in New York City continue to drop to record lows, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch on Wednesday announced a new milestone: 1,000 fewer people shot this year than in 2021.

“Incredible stat! As of today, NYC has recorded 1,000 FEWER shooting victims than in 2021. And 235 fewer than last year,” Tisch posted...Read more

The cause of death has been revealed for a 26-year-old English free climber and content creator who died last year while scaling Spain’s tallest bridge, Castilla La Mancha.

Photographer Lewis Stevenson’s death in the early morning hours of Oct. 13, 2024 occurred due to blunt force head injuries and uncontrolled descent from height, ...Read more

BRISTOL, Pa. — As first responders arrived at the Bristol Health and Rehab Center Tuesday afternoon, they were faced with a nightmarish scene: a nursing facility that housed 120 people had exploded, and dozens were trapped.

Shards of wood, glass, and paneling littered the lawn. The smell of gas hung thick in the air — and flames were ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — At Quruxlow Restaurant on Lake Street in Minneapolis, only a portion of the dining space is being used because of a drop-off in customers. Business at the African restaurant is also roughly half of what it was before this month’s ICE crackdown, according to the restaurant’s manager.

The restaurant is just one immigrant-owned...Read more