ORLANDO, Fla. — It’s one thing to visit an aquarium and gaze in awe at a 1,000-pound manatee swimming just behind the glass. It’s another thing to share the same water with Florida’s sea cows, encountering them in an up-close and personal way.

Such an opportunity is only possible while visiting the aptly-named “Manatee Capital of the ...Read more

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Mother Mary wearing a respirator mask to protect herself from tear gas. Baby Jesus with zip-tied hands, wrapped in a thin blanket that looks like aluminum foil. Masked centurions with sunglasses and green vests labeled “ICE.”

This is how the Lake Street Church of Evanston chose to assemble its Nativity scene for the ...Read more

A Washington D.C.-based nonprofit is asking the Michigan Supreme Court to consider a lawsuit that seeks to remove seven chimpanzees from an Upper Peninsula zoo and to legally recognize the primates as persons.

The Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP) filed the request Dec. 1, urging the state's high court to reverse an appellate decision affirming a ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — As reports of federal immigration enforcement activity ripple across Minnesota, Twin Cities school districts are issuing unusually direct, and in some cases defiant, messages to families. Some are pledging to deny federal immigration agents access to school buildings; others are emphasizing student privacy and urging families to ...Read more

The small figures huddled together at Miami International Airport carried backpacks, stuffed animals and three suitcases. One wore a silver cross necklace.

Families of the seven travelers – ages 3 to 15 – have been torn apart this year by the Trump Administration’s deportation campaign. The children left the United States on Thursday for ...Read more

U.S. Rep. Jen Kiggans announced Thursday a bipartisan health care proposal meant to prevent health insurance premiums from skyrocketing by extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits set to expire at the end of the year.

Thirty-five House members have signed onto the bipartisan effort, which comes as Democratic and Republican leaders are ...Read more

Luigi Mangione sat in a lower Manhattan courtroom Thursday watching the moments just before he became a household name — one year to the day since UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot dead on a Midtown sidewalk and the killer’s disappearing act left the nation rapt.

Police evidence displayed at a Manhattan Supreme Court ...Read more

A former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency attorney who was based in Seattle is among those challenging their firings for signing a letter critical of the Trump administration.

Ted Yackulic worked for the EPA for nearly 36 years and focused on ensuring polluters paid for environmental cleanup. He would help write orders and negotiate ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — A broad swath of religious leaders packed into a south Minneapolis mosque on Thursday to show solidarity and condemn ongoing attacks from President Donald Trump against Minnesota’s Somali community.

The crowd of more than 50 inside of Umatul Islam Center consisted of imams, pastors, rabbis and leaders from other religions who ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Hate crimes in Los Angeles County remained near record-high levels in 2024, despite slight decreases in several types of violent incidents, according to a report released Thursday.

The findings from the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations, presented at a news conference in Koreatown, said there were 1,355 reported ...Read more

A Good Samaritan tried to save a man suffering the latest medical emergency to strike Walt Disney World — after a string of deaths at the Orlando park throughout October.

According to dramatic video obtained by TMZ on Thursday, an unidentified man collapsed during the Magic Kingdom’s new “Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away” parade ...Read more

WASHINGTON — A sharply divided Supreme Court said Thursday that it would allow Texas to use a new congressional map that targets five seats held by Democrats in next year’s midterms.

The brief, unsigned order paused a ruling from a lower court that had found the state’s new map was likely an unconstitutional racial gerrymander and ordered...Read more

In the high-frequency churn of President Donald Trump’s first term, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s repeated missteps would have fueled guessing games about his imminent firing. In the second, he has maintained White House support — at least for now.

On Thursday, a Pentagon inspector general found that Hegseth risked endangering U.S. ...Read more

NEW YORK — The City Council on Thursday voted to override Mayor Eric Adams’ vetoes of four pieces of legislation, and members slammed the mayor’s attempts to shut the legislation down as attacks on working-class New Yorkers.

“This Council… has been steadfast in working for the people of the city of New York, particularly for the least...Read more

President Donald Trump’s administration restricted employment authorization for asylum seekers and other immigrants, the latest bid to increase scrutiny of migrants entering the country.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on Thursday limited work permits for asylum seekers and others with temporary legal status to 18 months. Current ...Read more

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota’s projected budget surplus has grown to nearly $2.5 billion in the current two-year budget cycle, though a projected shortfall of almost $3 billion is expected in the following two years.

The new budget forecast released Thursday by the Minnesota Department of Management and Budget shows a larger surplus in the ...Read more

NEW YORK — Incoming Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Thursday did not rule out revoking an executive order issued by outgoing Mayor Eric Adams that threatens city government employees with disciplinary action if they take any official actions that “discriminate” against Israel or its citizens.

“The mayor is free to issue as many executive orders...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments Monday over President Donald Trump’s decision to fire Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, in a case that could expand the control a president has over the executive branch.

Directly, the Trump administration asked justices to overturn a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals ...Read more