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Yuri Gripas/Abaca Press/TNS

Trump no longer plans to punish NYC, will be 'cheering' for Mamdani after 'great' White House meeting

Current News / News & Features /

During an extraordinarily cordial meeting at the White House on Friday, President Donald Trump showered New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani with compliments and vowed to be “a big help” to his incoming administration — sparking perhaps the most improbable bromance in American politics.

The sympatico tone was a shocking turnaround for...Read more

Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images North America/TNS

Rapper Michel gets 14 years for illegally aiding 1MDB's Jho Low

Current News / News & Features /

Pras Michel, a Grammy-winning rapper turned political influencer, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for conspiring to wage a back-channel lobbying campaign to end U.S. probes of fugitive Malaysian tycoon Jho Low and other crimes.

U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly sentenced Michel, 52, on Thursday in Washington federal court, where ...Read more

News briefs

Current News / News & Features /

Florida DOGE seeks information on every course taught at universities

ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida’s DOGE team has asked state universities to turn over data on every undergraduate course offered at the 12 schools, including the syllabus and names of faculty members who are instructing it in the next two academic years.

The DeSantis ...Read more

Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Huge storms produced wettest November on record for parts of Southern California

Current News / News & Features /

LOS ANGELES — An unusual series of storms has made this the wettest November on record for swaths of Southern California, dumping as much as 8.9 inches of rain along the coast as of Friday afternoon before a week of dry weather will provide a reprieve through the Thanksgiving holiday.

Scattered light showers are still possible through ...Read more

Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Imprisoned ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan formally disbarred after nearly 60 years as a lawyer

Current News / News & Features /

CHICAGO — Nearly 60 years after earning his law degree, imprisoned former House Speaker Michael Madigan was formally disbarred this week in a one-paragraph notice buried in a monthly list of attorney discipline from around the state.

Madigan, the notice from the Illinois Supreme Court stated, was disbarred by his own consent following his ...Read more

Lindsey Halligan/CNP/ZUMA Press/TNS

DOJ now says Comey grand jury did see final indictment

Current News / News & Features /

The prosecutor hand-picked by President Donald Trump to pursue a criminal case against James Comey now says the indictment of the former FBI director was properly presented to a grand jury for a vote — a day after telling a judge the final version of the charging papers was never shown to the full jury.

In a “notice correcting the record”...Read more

Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/TNS

US Sen. Ruben Gallego, a Chicago native, denounces immigration raids in return home

Current News / News & Features /

CHICAGO — U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego walked down 26th Street in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood on Friday morning while moments from his past came back to life. This is where he came every year to buy shoes for school. Across the street was the shop where he rented a tuxedo for prom.

There weren’t many restaurants around that didn’t ...Read more

Yuri Gripas/Abaca Press/TNS

Trump praises 'rational' Mamdani during warm Oval Office meeting, shifting tone

Current News / News & Features /

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday warmly welcomed one of America’s most powerful self-described democratic socialists to the Oval Office, saying he hopes New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has a “great” term that builds a safer and more affordable Big Apple — after harshly criticizing him for months.

“The better he does...Read more

Alexander Demyanenko/Dreamstime/TNS

Rights 'undone': North Idaho city repeals ban on discrimination

Current News / News & Features /

BOISE, Idaho — After hours of heated testimony and debate, Sandpoint’s City Council voted to repeal the city’s rules protecting residents and visitors from discrimination.

The city was the first of 13 in Idaho to pass an ordinance barring discrimination, said Nicole Erwin, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates. Its ...Read more

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images North America/TNS

Members search for end to House censure battle

Current News / News & Features /

WASHINGTON — The House has a lot on its plate after reopening the government — including bad blood.

After a week of censure threats on the floor, many are grumbling about wasted time and an endless cycle of revenge. But that cycle could be hard to break, as members increasingly turn to punishment tools they once used only sparingly.

“It�...Read more

Yuri Gripas/Abaca Press/TNS

Trump no longer plans to punish NYC, will be 'cheering' for Mamdani after 'great' White House meeting

Current News / News & Features /

President Donald Trump took off the table the possibility of slashing federal funding for New York and vowed to actually be “a big help” to the city after an extraordinarily cordial meeting with Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani at the White House on Friday.

The sympatico tone marked a shocking turnaround for Trump, who has for months smeared ...Read more

Elizabeth Robertson/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Pennsylvania Rep. Chrissy Houlahan says she is 'profoundly disappointed' in lack of support from GOP colleagues after Trump's sedition accusation

Current News / News & Features /

U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, a Pennsylvania Democrat, said Friday she is “profoundly disappointed” in her Republican colleagues for not speaking up after President Donald Trump accused her and five other Democratic lawmakers of sedition.

Houlahan was one of six Democrats in Congress — all military veterans or members of the intelligence ...Read more

Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Even a full reservoir wouldn't have ensured water in Palisades fire, California officials say

Current News / News & Features /

LOS ANGELES — In January, when crews fighting the fast-spreading Palisades fire were hampered by low water pressure and dry hydrants, Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered an investigation.

After a 10-month review, California officials concluded in a report that the water supply in Southern California was “robust” at the time of the fire and that the...Read more

Allison Bailey/Getty Images North America/TNS

Bipartisan health subsidy bill adds income caps, anti-fraud measures

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WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of House lawmakers released text of legislation Friday aimed at avoiding the health care subsidy cliff by extending Affordable Care Act tax credits for two years while installing income caps and anti-fraud measures.

Reps. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., Don Bacon, R-Neb., Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Jeff Hurd, R-Colo., ...Read more

Barry Williams/New York Daily News/TNS

FBI memo indicates online chats of immigration court watchers in NYC were monitored

Current News / News & Features /

NEW YORK — An FBI memo that claims “anarchist violent extremist actors” are targeting law enforcement cites a private text message chat that included immigration court observers, raising questions about whether the department is monitoring political activity, a copy of the document indicates.

The “joint situational information report,�...Read more

Ozan Kose/Getty Images North America/TNS

Zelenskyy warns Ukraine may lose US as key partner as Trump pushes for deal

Current News / News & Features /

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine risks losing its key partner after the U.S. threatened to cut off support unless Kyiv agrees to a peace deal that would force it to cede territory to Russia, cap the size of its military and pledge never to join NATO.

“Now it’s one of the most difficult moments in our history,” Zelenskyy said in ...Read more

Ricardo Ramirez-Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel/TNS

Florida DOGE seeks information on every course taught at universities

Current News / News & Features /

ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida’s DOGE team has asked state universities to turn over data on every undergraduate course offered at the 12 schools, including the syllabus and names of faculty members who are instructing it in the next two academic years.

The DeSantis administration sent its request Monday to the Board of Governors, which oversees ...Read more

Win McNamee/Getty Images North America/TNS

RFK Jr. takes credit for scrubbing 'vaccines don't cause autism' from CDC site

Current News / News & Features /

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is reportedly personally taking credit for scrubbing a statement that “vaccines don’t cause autism” from the Centers for Disease Control web site.

The controversial vaccine skeptic said he ordered the change because he believes there could be a link between childhood vaccinations and rising autism ...Read more

Barry Williams/New York Daily News/TNS

Man held on Rikers Island dies; 13th jail-related death in 2025

Current News / News & Features /

NEW YORK — A man held in a city jail on a burglary charge died under as yet undisclosed circumstances early Friday, the 13th jail-related death in 2025, officials said.

Edwin Ramos, 50, was found in medical distress in a bathroom at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center on Rikers Island at 12:04 a.m. and taken to that jail’s medical clinic 20...Read more

Robert Willett/The News & Observer/TNS

North Carolina Gov. Stein asks for answers about Border Patrol in letter to DHS secretary

Current News / News & Features /

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein asked in a letter on Friday that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security give more information about “Charlotte’s Web,” the Border Patrol operation in the city.

“State and local officials have been left guessing about what may happen next despite the critical role our law enforcement ...Read more