LOS ANGELES — The LAPD has opened an internal investigation into a San Fernando Valley gang unit officer who used a photo of Rafael Perez — the face of the Rampart police scandal of the late 1990s — as the lock screen on his cellphone, according to four sources familiar with the case.

Perez went to prison in 2000 after confessing that he ...Read more

LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan House has voted overwhelmingly in favor of a measure that would block foreign contributions to Michigan ballot campaigns and election administration.

The bills, which passed the Republican-led House 97-6 and 99-4 on Thursday, aim to close a loophole in the overlap of state and federal laws, which already ...Read more

A ransom note demanding money in exchange for the return of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother was “carefully crafted” and included details not previously released to the public, according to people who have read it.

The note has taken center stage as authorities are still frantically trying to find Nancy Guthrie, 84, five ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — One of the lasting images of President Donald Trump's mass deportation campaign will be the masks worn by federal immigration agents.

The widespread use of facial coverings by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers is among the suite of tactics — agents dressed in plainclothes, wearing little identification, ...Read more

Anyone who has lived long in Kansas City — a city proud of its fountains, parks, first-rate sports teams and barbecue — could not help but see that it has also become a city with a burgeoning population of people experiencing homelessness.

Huddling downtown against the cold and heat. Raising sprawling, and, in some cases, dangerous ...Read more

Iran said it agreed with the U.S. to continue indirect talks to de-escalate tensions and avert a military confrontation, with Tehran describing the first day as positive.

Negotiations, mediated by Oman in its capital Muscat, had a “good start,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told state TV after the talks concluded for the day. He ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — A Jeep Cherokee left the Henry Bishop Whipple Building near Fort Snelling on a January afternoon. As it drove away, protesters quickly captured its Minnesota license plate to share with others tracking immigration agents.

But the plates didn’t belong to the Cherokee. They were last registered in 2014 to a Porsche 911 Turbo.

...Read more

Iran and the U.S. held indirect talks on Friday to reduce tensions that have threatened to spiral into war, with Tehran saying the meetings will be the first stage of a longer diplomatic process.

“The consultations focused on creating the appropriate conditions for the resumption of diplomatic and technical negotiations,” Oman’s Foreign ...Read more

A top Russian military intelligence officer was wounded in an assassination attempt in Moscow, according to the country’s Investigative Committee.

Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseyev was hospitalized after a gunman fired several shots in a residential building in northwest Moscow on Friday, Russian Investigative Committee spokeswoman ...Read more

The situation on the frontline in Ukraine’s east “remains difficult” as Russian attacks persist despite talks to end the war, Kyiv’s top military general said.

“The enemy continues to launch offensive actions along the entire contact line,” Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi told reporters on Thursday.

He said that the ...Read more

A blast at a mosque in Pakistan’s capital killed at least 31 people and injured more than a hundred, local reports said, the latest incident of violence in the South Asian nation facing a surge in militant attacks.

The incident occurred during Friday prayers at a Shiite mosque in Tarlai, a suburb of Islamabad, a police spokesperson Taqi Jawad...Read more

Many Americans report frustration with the two-party system, in which the Democratic and Republican candidates are seen as the only viable options for elective office.

But an alarming trend in many state legislative elections is lowering the bar even further, to something more like a one-party system. In dozens of states, an ...Read more

Few ideas are as central to the nation’s identity as that of the American Dream.

With the 250th birthday of the United States coming up in July 2026, it’s worth stepping back to examine a concept essential to the nation’s self-image.

The term “American Dream” was actually coined in the 1930s by historian James ...Read more

In late 2025, Interpol coordinated a global operation across 134 nations, seizing roughly 30,000 live animals, confiscating illegal plant and timber products, and identifying about 1,100 suspected wildlife traffickers for national police to investigate.

Wildlife trafficking is one of the most lucrative illicit industries worldwide. It...Read more

The measles outbreak in South Carolina reached 876 cases on Feb. 3, 2026. That number surpasses the 2025 outbreak in Texas and hits the unfortunate milestone of being the largest outbreak in the U.S. since 2000, when the disease was declared eliminated here.

The outbreak is exposing the breadth of dangers the disease can pose. South ...Read more

Anti-abortion conservatives have long sought to force Planned Parenthood’s clinics to close their doors and to make it harder, if not impossible, to get abortion pills as part of a two-pronged approach to limit access to abortion.

First, undermine Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers by questioning their credibility and ...Read more

What do collecting old editions of Dungeons & Dragons monster manuals, securing the same tailgate spot for over 20 years and mastering yoga postures have in common? They are all forms of “serious leisure.”

These pursuits are different from casual hobbies in several ways. They require participation over longer periods, which ...Read more

Editor’s note: If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org.

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Cindy Clemishire was 12 years old on Christmas night in 1982 when a traveling evangelist staying with her family first abused her.

According ...Read more