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Robin Buckson/The Detroit News/TNS

Michigan lawmakers miss their budget deadline, OK gas price measure

Current News / News & Features /

LANSING, Mich. — Michigan lawmakers failed Wednesday to meet their self-imposed deadline for approving a new budget, but their work on a funding plan for schools, universities and state government was expected to continue Thursday.

Under a state law designed to help school districts with fiscal years that begin on July 1, the Legislature is ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Apple seeks to buy Chinese-made memory chips by lobbying US

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Apple Inc. is in negotiations to purchase chips from two Chinese semiconductor makers on a Pentagon blacklist to help reduce the impact of a global memory shortage that’s forced the company to raise prices across its product line.

The iPhone maker is seeking to buy memory components from ChangXin Memory Technologies Inc. and Yangtze Memory ...Read more

Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Illinois Speaker Welch calls on state Rep. Harry Benton to resign after investigation of his conduct

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Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch on Wednesday called on a Democratic lawmaker from Plainfield accused of improper conduct to resign from the General Assembly after an internal investigation revealed what Welch said were “clear patterns” of behavior that are “outrageous, unethical, and unbecoming of a member of the Illinois ...Read more

Finn Gomez/Getty Images North America/TNS

As Trump reports $2.2 billion in 2025 income, ethics experts raise alarms

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Ethics experts sounded the alarm Wednesday after new financial disclosure reports revealed that President Donald Trump’s income ballooned to $2.2 billion in 2025, with $1.4 billion coming from various new cryptocurrency-related businesses.

“It’s bribery. It’s graft. It’s exploitation of public power for private financial gain,” said...Read more

Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune/TNS

Minnesota anti-ICE protesters plead not guilty to federal conspiracy charges

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MINNEAPOLIS — A group of Twin Cities protesters accused of conspiring to impede immigration enforcement efforts in Minnesota pleaded not guilty to their charges during a hearing that drew several dozen demonstrators to the federal courthouse.

Appearing in a packed courtroom in downtown Minneapolis, 14 people recently indicted with conspiring ...Read more

Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Bill to ban sex offenders from running for office fails in California Senate committee

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California Democratic senators failed to advance a proposal Tuesday that would have barred registered sex offenders from running for office.

State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, voted against Assembly Bill 2753, while fellow Sens. Tom Umberg, D-Santa Ana, and Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, abstained from a vote that ultimately failed 2-1-2 in ...Read more

Matt Stone/Boston Herald/TNS

Judge scolds all lawyers in Karen Read wrongful death suit over ex-Trooper Michael Proctor info leak

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BOSTON — A judge called in all the attorneys involved in the wrongful death suit against Karen Read to scold them over leaked impounded information on former State Police Trooper Michael Proctor.

Plymouth County Superior Court Judge Mark Gildea held a hearing Wednesday afternoon and ordered all the lawyers involved to submit certifications ...Read more

Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

US decides against renewing USMCA, shifting to rolling talks

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WASHINGTON — The United States won’t renew its trade deal with Canada and Mexico, choosing instead to conduct annual reviews of the pact in a decision that risks adding uncertainty for companies producing goods across North America.

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, will remain in force for another decade provided no one country ...Read more

News briefs

Current News / News & Features /

Trump takes first flight on $400 million Air Force One jet gifted by Qatar

President Donald Trump on Wednesday took his first trip on his new luxe Air Force One, a retrofitted Boeing 747 worth an estimated $400 million transferred for free from the oil-rich Middle East nation of Qatar.

“I’m excited about the first flight,” he told ...Read more

Nancy Lane/Boston Herald/TNS

Boston trending away from safest major city to crime-ridden Chicago 'garbage,' police union leader says

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BOSTON — Mayor Michelle Wu has touted Boston as the “safest major city” in America for two years, but the city’s largest police union says the recent spate of violence and attack on cops has it trending more toward Chicago’s lawlessness.

“Safest city in America? Not so much,” the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association posted on ...Read more

Barry Williams/New York Daily News/TNS

Rapes still up in NYC as murder, shootings, other major crimes fall

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NEW YORK — Murders and shootings in the city continue to drop, but rapes are still up halfway through the year, according to statistics.

The NYPD said its continued push to encourage more victims to report what happened to them, coupled with an expanded definition of what constitutes rape, has fueled the increase — up 6% this year through ...Read more

Nancy Lane/Boston Herald/TNS

Massachusetts town manager shoots down 'online trolls' over American flag 'misinformation'

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BOSTON — A town manager is shooting down “online trolls” who he says are posting misinformation that his Cape Cod community has banned American flags ahead of the Fourth of July.

Provincetown Town Manager Alex Morse has found himself caught in the middle of a rift between the North Shore town of Newbury and Plum Island residents over a ...Read more

Craig Kohlruss/Fresno Bee/TNS

To push back on Pride month, Fresno County adopted 'Traditional' family month

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While the LGBTQ+ community and allies celebrated June as Pride month across much of the country, one community in Central California was living in a different reality.

Following a 3-2 vote on June 16 by its Board of Supervisors, Fresno County recognized June as "Traditional Nuclear Family Month," declaring that the nuclear family unit is "God's...Read more

Barry Williams/New York Daily News/TNS

Mamdani expands cooling centers, pool hours, outreach to help NYC cope with heat

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NEW YORK — Mayor Zohran Mamdani urged New Yorkers to stay out of the heat in the coming days as temperatures are expected to rise into the 100s.

Feels-like temperatures could rise as high as 112 degrees in the coming days, the mayor said, and the city is under an extreme heat warning until 9 p.m. on Friday.

The city has taken a slate of ...Read more

Hannah Babiak/Dreamstime/TNS

Texas makes the Bible required reading in public schools. Is Florida next?

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MIAMI — After the Texas Board of Education approved Bible passages as required reading for public school students last week, Florida education officials indicated the state could be open to similar policies.

Florida often adopts conservative policies on the heels of the Lone Star State, and the state’s Department of Education indicated it ...Read more

E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Before retirement, Snelling promotes Chief of Detectives Ursitti to first deputy superintendent

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CHICAGO — One day before announcing his retirement, Chicago police Superintendent Larry Snelling on Tuesday promoted Antoinette Ursitti, chief of detectives for the Chicago Police Department, to first deputy superintendent.

“During her time as the Chief of the Bureau of Detectives, she has led efforts to strengthen investigations as CPD ...Read more

Ethan Hyman/The News & Observer/TNS

NC House and Senate vote for budget, with support and dissent from both parties

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North Carolina lawmakers took key votes on the long-awaited $34 billion budget Wednesday. Both the House and Senate gave tentative approval to the major spending plan, with final votes set for Thursday.

The bill passed the Senate on a bipartisan 36-13 vote with several Democrats in favor, but two Republicans against it.

In the House, debate ...Read more

ANTHONY GALAVIZ/The Fresno Bee/TNS

California homicide rate hit record low in 2025 as violent crime continues to fall

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The homicide rate last year in California dropped to its lowest level on record as overall violent crimes showed a continued decline, keeping the state well below its peak in violence reached more than 30 years ago.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said transparent and accurate statewide crime data released each year...Read more

Photo by Brielle Aguayo/Miami Herald/Photo by Brielle Aguayo

Hispanic cops file suit against Miami Gardens for racial discrimination

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MIAMI — Almost a year after telling Miami Gardens they would file a class-action whistleblower lawsuit, five Hispanic male police officers have made good on their promise and are suing the city for alleged racial discrimination.

In their lawsuit filed Sunday, the five Miami Gardens police officers, Juan Gonzalez, Christian Vega, Francisco ...Read more

Veronica Egui Brito/El Nuevo Herald/TNS

South Florida Venezuelans urge US to stop 'being complicit' with Caracas regime

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MIAMI — Venezuelan Americans in South Florida urged the Trump administration on Wednesday to intensify efforts to remove the Venezuelan regime from power, arguing that the recent earthquake has made the need for a democratic transition even more urgent.

The disaster, which struck Venezuela’s central and coastal regions with twin quakes ...Read more