SpaceX’s debut of its next-generation version of Starship managed to take flight Friday after an issue on the launch tower forced a scrub on Thursday night, but did face some engine headaches after liftoff.

The first flight of Version 3 of Starship and Super Heavy lifted off near the opening of a 90-minute launch window just after 5:30 p.m. ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — If Minnesota lawmakers have their way, children 15 and under would need parental permission to have social media accounts, and the features available to them would be sharply limited.

A bill limiting youth access to social media sites won broad support from both parties, but its fate is uncertain. Gov. Tim Walz has not yet ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A leaking chemical tank is going to fail or explode in an “unprecedented” event that saw officials order thousands of Orange County residents to evacuate parts of six cities until it happens, authorities announced Friday afternoon.

“At that point, we know the tank is going into thermal runaway,” Orange County Fire ...Read more

NEW YORK — ICE agents arrested more than 5,000 people in New York City between January 2025 and March 2026, even using deception in pursuit of their efforts to take people into custody, according to a new City Hall audit that documented the extent of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in the five boroughs.

The dramatic ...Read more

DENVER — Tens of millions of federal dollars will finally flow to an effort by a coalition of Western Slope governments to purchase some of the largest and most senior water rights on the Colorado River.

For more than a year, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has withheld $40 million awarded to the Colorado River District for the purchase of the...Read more

NEW YORK — A fire at a Staten Island dockyard sparked a massive explosion that left 16 people — including 13 firefighters and two emergency medics — hospitalized on Friday, according to the FDNY.

The blaze ignited in the basement of a metal building at the rear of the coastal facility in Mariners Harbor around 3:30 p.m., fire officials ...Read more

The Trump administration has announced a new policy that requires most people seeking permanent residency in the U.S. return to their home countries to apply, one of the biggest blows President Donald Trump has dealt to legal migration since returning to the White House.

In a memo issued Thursday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services told ...Read more

FRESNO, Calif. — Even before Memorial Day Weekend marked the beginning of Yosemite National Park’s high season, many visitors experienced hours-long wait times at entrance gates that led to jam-packed parking lots before mid-morning.

Known for its soaring views and rushing waterfalls nestled in the Sierra Nevada, California’s most visited...Read more

A federal judge in Tennessee dismissed the human smuggling case against Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran migrant, after concluding the government had brought the case as retaliation for his legal fight against being deported.

U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw Jr. said in his 32-page ruling Friday the evidence showed the government ...Read more

WASHINGTON — For much of President Donald Trump’s second term, Republican senators have largely stayed in line, wary of the consequences of defying a president with a history of targeting those who cross him. This week, that dynamic noticeably shifted.

Senate Republicans blocked two of Trump’s legislative priorities, angered by the push ...Read more

COLUMBIA, S.C. — An attempt to cap debate early on redrawing the state’s congressional maps for 2026 failed in the South Carolina Senate, making it more challenging for the General Assembly to pass the redistricting bill before in-person early voting begins.

GOP state Sen. Larry Grooms asked to suspend typical Senate rules in order to limit...Read more

NEW YORK — Lawyers for Palestinian Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil on Friday said they would ask the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the Trump administration from deporting him after a federal appeals court declined to revisit the issue.

In a split 6-5 decision, the Philadelphia-based 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals denied Khalil’s request for a ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Former President Joe Biden will keynote the Maryland Democratic Party’s 2026 Fight Back & Win Gala, the party announced Friday.

“It’s going to be a special night, and I’m honored to spend it with the folks who are fighting to move Maryland — and this country — forward,” Biden said in a statement.

The June 27 event ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is resigning from her post as director of national intelligence because of her husband’s cancer battle, President Donald Trump announced Friday.

The commander in chief said Principal Deputy DNI Aaron Lukas would take over after Gabbard departs on June 30. Trump described Lukas as “highly ...Read more

DENVER — A district attorney on Colorado’s Western Slope dismissed more than 30 criminal cases and is reviewing nearly 100 more because of newly discovered credibility issues with the deputy who investigated the alleged crimes.

Sixth Judicial District Attorney Sean Murray is reviewing every case in which Jermal Ball is or was a witness, the...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe on Friday moved to the Aug. 4 ballot a pair of proposals that seek to replace the income tax with expanded sales taxes and overhaul the state’s form of direct democracy, a major decision that could determine the measures’ chances of passage.

The Republican governor made the announcement in a ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, whose anti-war views spurred tension with the White House, said she was resigning from the post to help her husband confront a bone-cancer diagnosis.

Gabbard notified President Donald Trump during an Oval Office meeting of her decision and her last day is expected to be June 30, ...Read more

SeaWorld is giving the people what they want: sharks and beer.

Starting this summer, SeaWorld is reopening the immersive Shark Encounter exhibit and offering $1 beer, seltzer and IPAs, among other new promotions, aiming to grow attendance.

Few San Diegans can remember the heyday when, under the leadership of Anheuser-Busch Co., guests — 21 ...Read more