With some early childhood education centers already closing their doors because of the federal government shutdown, local leaders are scrambling to find money to keep Head Start programs available to some of the country’s most vulnerable children.

Head Start programs, which serve more than 700,000 low-income children across the country, are ...Read more

RAPID CITY, S.D. — Echo Kopplin wants South Dakota’s leaders to know that money from a new $50 billion federal rural health fund should help residents with limited transportation options.

Kopplin, a physician assistant who works with seniors, low-income people, and mental health patients in the rural Black Hills, shared her thoughts at a ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — More than a half century after the U.S. ignited 67 atomic weapons in the the central Pacific Ocean, a former Navy base in the Bay Area continues to carry that nuclear legacy.

Last week, residents were informed by the San Francisco Department of Health that a test taken in November 2024 at the former site of Hunters Point ...Read more

International travel to Cuba is tumbling, putting the cash-strapped communist island on track for its worst showing since the pandemic.

The island received 1.4 million foreign visitors during the first nine months of the year, down 20% versus the same period in 2024, according to the latest data from Cuba’s national statistics agency.

While...Read more

The Supreme Court temporarily blocked an order late Friday night that would have forced the government to backfill the country’s largest anti-hunger program — a move the administration claimed would require it to “raid school lunch money” to keep families fed.

The decision, issued on behalf of the court by Associate Justice Ketanji ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — A jury on Friday awarded $8.5 million to the parents of a bus passenger who died after another passenger restrained him for several minutes during an altercation on a San Diego bus.

The San Diego Superior Court jury found the San Diego County Metropolitan Transit System was liable for 40% of the award. The jury unanimously found ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Justice Department is moving to subpoena former U.S. officials who worked on the investigation into whether anyone associated with Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign conspired with Russia to interfere in that year’s election, according to people familiar with the matter.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump ordered a federal investigation into the meatpacking industry, blaming “majority foreign owned” companies for soaring beef prices.

Trump asked the Justice Department to “immediately begin” the investigation into meat processors, accusing them of collusion, price fixing and manipulation, according to...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday granted the Agriculture Department’s request for administrative stays on two federal court orders requiring the agency to fully pay November food stamp benefits.

The high court intervention came hours after an appellate court denied the request for a stay. It also came hours after the department ...Read more

MIAMI — A Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputy who was shot when he responded to a traffic crash in the southwest area of the county on Friday afternoon died at HCA Florida Kendall Hospital.

Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz, during a news conference at the hospital, said that while Deputy Devin Jaramillo responded to the accident, “he was ...Read more

President Donald Trump’s plan to deploy the National Guard to Portland, Oregon, to quell protests against his immigration crackdown was permanently blocked by a U.S. judge, handing him a major loss in his bid to send troops to Democratic-led cities.

A federal judge who oversaw a trial last month agreed with the city and the state of Oregon on...Read more

Queen Elizabeth II allegedly knew of the unsavory sexual proclivities of her son, Prince Andrew, according to a royal historian.

The long-reigning British monarch is said to have been a part of covering up the former Duke of York’s tawdry behavior — outside of what he was accused of in connection to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

...Read more

NEW YORK — The U.S. Justice Department urged a New York state appeals court to reverse Donald Trump’s felony conviction, an extraordinary intervention by federal officials as the president seeks to clear his criminal record.

Lawyers in the Justice Department filed a friend-of-the-court brief Friday, arguing that his conviction last year was...Read more

FRESNO, Calif. — A popular restaurant manager in Fresno was granted a pardon by Gov. Gavin Newsom for a crime he committed in his youth, according to the clemency letter released Friday.

Psalm Behpoor, who manages Pismo’s Coastal Grill in north Fresno, has been held in the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center in Bakersfield for 138 days after ...Read more

CHICAGO — A federal magistrate said she plans to visit the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in Broadview amid a class-action lawsuit alleging inhumane conditions, granting a win to the plaintiffs who want verification that the government is abiding by court-ordered requirements to improve circumstances there.

...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The mother of 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard, who has been missing since early October, was arrested Friday by Santa Barbara County sheriff's deputies, but officials said the arrest was unrelated to her daughter's disappearance.

Melodee was last seen in August but was reported missing more recently when Lompoc Unified School ...Read more

James Watson, whose co-discovery of DNA’s structure brought genetics to the forefront of scientific research before his remarks about the intelligence of Black people caused public outrage, has died. He was 97.

He died on Nov. 6 in East Northport on New York’s Long Island, The New York Times reported. Citing his son, Duncan, the Times said ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — About $100 million in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits started reaching Pennsylvanians Friday in a major victory for Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration.

Shapiro, at a news conference Friday at North Philadelphia’s Share Food, credited Department of Human Services Secretary Val Arkoosh for acting ...Read more

BOSTON — Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said SNAP benefits will be paid “IN FULL” starting Saturday, adding that others who haven’t missed a payment will keep seeing the next installment.

The governor posted the announcement on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday afternoon, adding, “people need to eat. We’re making sure they do.”

A ...Read more