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US energy secretary tours Lower Snake River dams after Trump nixed deal

Current News / News & Features /

ICE HARBOR DAM, Wash. — U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright arrived in the Tri-Cities this week on a tour of some of Washington state's energy infrastructure, including a dam on the Lower Snake River.

The visit comes on the heels of President Donald Trump exploding a hard-fought deal this summer over river operations that could have led to dam...Read more

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump immigration crackdown after D.C. shooting ripples through Washington

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SEATTLE — From her home in Tacoma, S has watched the flurry of immigration policy changes issued by the Trump administration in recent days with horror.

The Afghan woman was granted asylum in 2022 and applied for a green card in 2023, but has not received an update on her application since last December, when she fulfilled a request for ...Read more

Kansas City fire chief candidates speak at forum on leadership, department vision

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Three men being considered to be Kansas City’s next fire chief gathered in front of an audience of community members at the Kansas City Public Library’s Plaza branch Thursday evening to tell the community how they would take on the role.

The candidates, hailing from Houston, Orlando and Washington, D.C., each gave a 15-...Read more

Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Prosecutors want to toss federal charges in Charlotte Border Patrol case

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Federal prosecutors want to dismiss a felony charge against a man accused of assaulting Border Patrol agents in Charlotte last month.

The man denied assaulting officers and said they came after him.

If Cristobal Maltos’ charge is dismissed, it will be at least the third time a federal judge has tossed a felony charge ...Read more

Grigory Sysoyev/Getty Images North America/TNS

Modi, Putin push to deepen economic ties despite US pressure

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged to widen economic ties in the face of pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to slam the brakes on an oil trade that surged after the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine.

In his first trip to India since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Putin sought to showcase...Read more

Carl De Souza/Getty Images North America/TNS

Why many Mexicans welcome US strikes on drug cartels despite sovereignty concerns

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MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has repeatedly insisted that she will not allow the U.S. military to fight drug cartels inside her nation’s borders.

“It’s not going to happen,” Sheinbaum said last month after President Trump yet again threatened such an operation. “We don’t want intervention by any foreign ...Read more

Sergio Morales/AFP/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/TNS

Sheinbaum faces next Trump test while on defense back in Mexico

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MEXICO CITY — Claudia Sheinbaum’s ability to steer Mexico through Donald Trump’s trade chaos turned her into an international phenomenon. A year into her presidency, however, she’s finding it harder to navigate political difficulties at home.

Sheinbaum and Trump will meet in person for the first time around Friday’s FIFA World Cup ...Read more

Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/TNS

A snowy, cold start to winter follows a very warm fall. How are Illinois seasons changing?

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CHICAGO — After years of little snow across the Chicago area, recent record-breaking snowfall and below-freezing temperatures might seem to contradict scientific reports of winters getting warmer. But climate change is still transforming how locals experience the changing seasons, including this fall, one of the top 10 warmest recorded in ...Read more

Grigory Sysoyev/Getty Images North America/TNS

Modi, Putin push to deepen economic ties despite US pressure

Current News / News & Features /

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged to widen economic ties in the face of pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to slam the brakes on an oil trade that surged after the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine.

Putin is making his first trip to India since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine to showcase ...Read more

Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times/TNS

'Kissing Club' at private LA school leads to bullying and sexual assault, lawsuit claims

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LOS ANGELES — The parents of an 8-year-old girl are suing a Los Angeles-area private school for allegedly failing to take action against a "Kissing Club" that was started by older students who bullied and sexually assaulted their daughter.

Pantea Kipnis, the child's mother, said in a statement to The Times that she came forward to raise ...Read more

Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel/TNS

Swim with Florida's sea cows in Crystal River, the 'Manatee Capital of the World'

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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

Lake Street Church of Evanston/Lake Street Church of Evanston/TNS

Suburban Chicago church's Nativity depicts baby Jesus zip-tied by ICE agents

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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

Porn advertisers target California secretary of state's website

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The state of California's official elections and business registration websites appear to have been compromised by pornography and cash app peddlers.

Google users searching for information related to the sites, both of which are overseen by the California secretary of state, were directed to PDFs with links and titles that include "My friends ...Read more

Nonhuman Rights Project/TNS/TNS

Michigan Supreme Court asked to consider chimps held at U.P. zoo as persons

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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

Leila Navidi/The Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

Twin Cities districts vow to block ICE access to schools amid reports of agents near campuses

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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

Al Diaz/Miami Herald/TNS

'A sad, cruel moment': 58 Florida children leave US amid parent deportations

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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

Nathan Howard/Getty Images North America/TNS

Kiggans leads bipartisan effort to temporarily extend ACA tax credits

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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

Angela Weiss/Getty Images North America/TNS

'All kinds of goodies,' said Altoona cop on finding gun Luigi Mangione allegedly used in CEO killing

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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

Erika Schultz/The Seattle Times/TNS

Former EPA lawyer based in Seattle fights Trump-related firing

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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

Alex Kormann/The Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

Twin Cities religious leaders unite to support Somali community and condemn Trump attacks

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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