A Chicago man has been charged with obstructing an FBI investigation into an alleged plot to attack the recent Ultimate Fighting Championship event at the White House with drones and high-powered weapons.

Alexander Iniguez Mercado, 20, was charged in an indictment made public Friday with one count of obstruction of justice, which carries up to ...Read more

The death toll from the devastating double earthquake that struck Venezuela’s northern coast climbed to at least 920 people Friday, with 3,660 injured, as rescue crews intensified their search through collapsed buildings amid growing fears that the number of missing could be far higher than first thought.

The latest official figures mark a ...Read more

A new letter sent to TMZ claims to know the identities of Nancy Guthrie’s abductors and ostensibly has footage of the lead suspect.

The 84-year-old matriarch — and mother of “Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie — was snatched from her Tucson, Arizona, home in the early morning hours of Feb. 1. Authorities quickly determined foul play...Read more

MIAMI — Venezuelan organizations in Miami will ask President Donald Trump to grant immigration protection measures to Venezuelans in the United States to prevent them from being deported following the powerful earthquakes that struck Venezuela.

The death toll rose to at least 589 people on Friday morning, with more than 2,980 injured, ...Read more

Former U.S. national security adviser John Bolton, a Baltimore native, pleaded guilty in federal court at Greenbelt on Friday to retaining national defense information.

The plea resolves a case accusing Bolton, 77, of mishandling classified material while serving in the White House. He admitted to one count of unlawfully retaining national ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A mistrial was declared Friday in the federal trial of a 30-year-old former Uber driver accused of setting what would become the deadliest wildfire in Los Angeles history.

Jonathan Rinderknecht was on trial for destruction of property by means of fire, arson affecting property used in interstate commerce and timber set afire. ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Mosquitos carrying the West Nile virus have been detected in three metro counties and are the first samples of the insects carrying the disease to be found this year.

Mosquitos in Hennepin, Ramsey and Dakota counties tested positive for West Nile, which in mild cases can bring on a fever, headache and body aches, and ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — You've decided to make a sandwich and reach for your loaf of bread, but the "sell-by date" on the bag has passed. You throw it in the trash to err on the side of caution, even though you're unsure whether it means the bread is past its expiration date.

A new California law will narrow the laundry list of food date labels on ...Read more

CHICAGO — Quite simply, Hatem describes the last 10 months as “hell.”

The Syrian citizen has temporary protected status, a legal protection from deportation that was put in jeopardy in September 2025 after the Trump administration moved to strip the status from Syrians. Although the courts postponed the program’s termination, he was ...Read more

MIAMI — Miami’s elected officials heard a tsunami of opposition to the city’s partnership with Immigration and Customs Enforcement during an emotionally charged meeting Thursday that left one city commissioner who fled political persecution in Cuba with tears in his eyes.

The tense commission meeting comes as Florida continues its push to...Read more

The earthquakes that struck Venezuela Wednesday have become the first major political test for acting President Delcy Rodríguez, with the disaster quickly evolving into a contest over competence.

By Friday morning, the official death toll had risen to nearly 600, and authorities reported 3,000 injured people. More than 200 aftershocks had ...Read more

For more than two decades, the Supreme Court has issued a long series of wins for plaintiffs seeking to protect their religious practices. On June 23, 2026, though, the majority delivered an uncommon defeat in this contentious area.

Landor v. Louisiana Department of Public Education and Safety, a 6-3 judgment, rejected the claim of ...Read more

Amid celebrations of America’s 250th anniversary, assertions of the country’s religious, and specifically Christian, character have grown louder in political discourse.

In May 2026, House Speaker Mike Johnson and other prominent officials participated in a prayer service in Washington, D.C. Johnson proclaimed, “We hereby ...Read more

Venezuela and its capital, Caracas, were rocked by two massive earthquake pulses on June 24, 2026, just seconds apart. The shaking from the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 events caused buildings to collapse in cities across the northern part of the country, killing more than 500 people and trapping many more.

University of Southern California ...Read more

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 25, 2026, that the Trump administration may revoke the temporary protected status of 350,000 Haitians.

This is not the first time a legal challenge to TPS has held Haitians’ future in the balance: During his first administration, President Donald Trump attempted to terminate Haitian TPS but was ...Read more

The death toll from the devastating double earthquake that struck Venezuela’s Caribbean coast climbed to at least 589 people early Friday, with 2,980 injured, as rescue crews raced to locate survivors buried under rubble and humanitarian agencies warned the disaster’s full scale is still unfolding.

Authorities said at least 157 people ...Read more

Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine is rebounding on Russia in Crimea, amid escalating attacks on the Black Sea peninsula that he annexed in 2014.

Ukrainian drone and missile strikes are disrupting Russian logistics and supply routes to Crimea, plunging the region into crisis as officials resort to emergency measures. Electricity blackouts leave ...Read more

An attack on a container vessel sailing through the Strait of Hormuz has prompted some shipowners to review exit plans, but traffic continued to flow in both directions through the vital thoroughfare on Friday.

Two fully laden tankers are heading out of the Persian Gulf, while four empty, inbound, very large crude carriers are among the vessels...Read more