The general in charge of U.S. Southern Command, charged with overseeing the military buildup in the Western Hemisphere and an ongoing campaign of strikes against alleged drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, made a surprise visit to Venezuela on Wednesday.

Marine Corps General Francis Donovan, who took over the command ...Read more

A handful of Democratic candidates running for governor addressed how they would make life for Californians more affordable by outlining their ideas to lower costs for necessities like child care and health care.

The Democratic Legislative Women’s Caucus held a forum Wednesday for gubernatorial candidates on women’s economic security, ...Read more

Grammy-winning rock band U2 released a new EP on Wednesday with an opening track that pays homage to Renee Good, a Minneapolis mother who was killed by federal agents on Jan. 7 while opposing ICE operations in her state.

The six-track EP, titled “Days of Ash,” kicks off with a song called “American Obituary.”

Its lyrics include the ...Read more

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether three public school districts in Michigan, including Detroit Public Schools Community District, have been teaching students about sexual orientation and gender ideology without parental consent.

The probe involves Detroit Public Schools Community District, Lansing School District and ...Read more

The St. Paul City Council voted Wednesday, Feb. 18, to require law enforcement officers – including ICE and Customs and Border Protection agents – to show their faces on the job.

The measure comes as immigration enforcement has slowed in the Twin Cities, but St. Paul leaders said they would keep working to pass city laws governing federal ...Read more

Haitians in Florida with Temporary Protected Status can continue renewing their driver licenses, Miami-Dade County said, citing updated state guidance.

But the directive only applies until March 15 or when a court makes a decision in the ongoing appeal process filed by the Trump administration following the decision by a federal judge earlier ...Read more

Just days before a deadly avalanche killed eight backcountry skiers near Tahoe, the guiding company leading the trip warned on social media that unstable snowpack could trigger “unpredictable avalanches.”

Blackbird Mountain Guides posted a video Sunday on Instagram cautioning that recent snow conditions around Tahoe were creating atypical ...Read more

A bipartisan bill that would pave the way for Kentucky to restore voting rights to some people who have served sentences for felony convictions passed out of a Senate committee Wednesday morning.

Kentucky voters would have the final say at the ballot box in November if the General Assembly approves Senate Bill 80, sponsored by Sens. Jimmy ...Read more

Bone-dry weather and gusty winds are complicating efforts to contain a massive wildfire burning across Oklahoma’s panhandle, with little relief expected heading into Thursday as flames spread into neighboring Kansas.

The Ranger Road Fire has consumed 145,000 acres, or an area about 10 times the size of Manhattan. The blaze is one of four ...Read more

The Trump administration is withdrawing forces from Syria as part of a strategic shift now that the government of President Ahmed al-Sharaa is taking control of the fight against terror groups, according to a senior U.S. official.

A significant U.S. troop presence is no longer required in Syria, according to the official who detailed the ...Read more

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s President Donald Trump’s favorite colors!

The Air Force One fleet is getting a makeover at the hands of the First Air Traveler, and just as he’s done on the ground, the president is painting over a reminder of the John F. Kennedy administration.

Layers of red, white, navy blue and gold are replacing ...Read more

Mubashir Khalif Hussen remembered the terror he felt when federal immigration agents slammed him against a stairwell doorframe in his Minneapolis neighborhood two months ago, ignoring a photo he attempted to show of his passport.

“I’m a U.S. citizen, bro!” he told the agents.

“I didn’t know what was going on,” Hussen, 20, recounted...Read more

NEW YORK — A veteran NYPD detective admitted Wednesday he ran a $1 million COVID fraud scheme that helped more than 65 people illegally apply for small-business pandemic relief funds.

Detective John Bolden, 48, a 20-year NYPD veteran who retired from the force in October, pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy. He admitted to his role in the...Read more

President Donald Trump signed an order aimed at protecting domestic supplies of elemental phosphorus used by the U.S. military and glyphosate-based herbicides common in U.S. agricultural production, according to a White House official.

The executive order, which Trump signed on Wednesday, invokes the Defense Production Act to protect domestic ...Read more

The kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie is the subject of a sprawling investigation involving local and federal agents.

But there is a second, shadow effort occurring on podcasts and social media platforms.

Psychics are on the case. Livestreamers are camped out in front of Guthrie’s Tucson-area home, waiting for another detail to share.

Online, ...Read more

Pastors, people of faith and advocates gathered in downtown Miami for a peaceful protest against immigration policies they believe are inhumane and, for some, against their religious beliefs.

Led by pastors from First Church Miami, a United Methodist congregation, a few dozen people marched from the downtown church to the immigration courthouse...Read more