NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The former teacher at Richneck Elementary School who was shot by a 6-year-old student in early 2023 can proceed with her lawsuit against the school’s former assistant principal, a judge ruled Thursday.

But Newport News Circuit Court Judge Matthew W. Hoffman tossed the claims that Abby Zwerner filed against two other ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said that his administration may begin sending out letters to trading partners as soon as Friday setting unilateral tariff rates ahead of a July 9 deadline for negotiations.

“We’re probably going to be sending some letters out, starting probably tomorrow, maybe 10 a day to various countries saying what ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The massive tax and spending package that cleared the House on Thursday didn’t just deliver President Donald Trump a big win. It also handed both parties a message for the midterms.

Democrats were united in their opposition to the bill, while Republicans saw two defections: the fiscally conservative Rep. Thomas Massie of ...Read more

Two hundred U.S. marines are going to be sent to to Florida to support President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts, the U.S. Northern Command announced on Thursday

The marines will be deployed from an air base in North Carolina to the Sunshine State to “augment U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement interior enforcement,” the ...Read more

NEW YORK — The good news for 20-year-old asylum-seeker Joselyn Chipantiza-Sisalema is that a Manhattan federal judge has left the door open on her bid to stay in the U.S. and avoid what her family says is persecution and certain death if she returns to Ecuador.

The bad news is that federal agents, lying in wait outside the courtroom, arrested...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump was “heavily engaged” in Republicans’ budget reconciliation process at every step and a big player in an endgame “full-court press,” according to sources. But he left it to GOP leaders and his vice president to twist the arm of one key Senate holdout.

As a group of conservative holdouts left the ...Read more

Kenneth Colley, a British actor known for playing Admiral Piett in the original “Star Wars” trilogy, has died at age 87.

Colley died at his home in England on Monday, according to a statement shared by his agent, Julian Owens.

Before his death, Colley been admitted to a hospital for an arm injury he suffered in a fall, but he quickly ...Read more

CHICAGO — Late Wednesday night, assailants armed with at least one rifle rolled up outside an album release party for a local drill rapper in River North and opened fire on a crowd gathered on the sidewalk.

Within a matter of seconds, police Superintendent Larry Snelling said, the attackers were able to shoot an astonishing 18 people, killing...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Abortion services are poised to resume in Kansas City and across Missouri after a Jackson County judge on Thursday blocked a series of restrictions that temporarily banned access.

Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Jerri Zhang, in an order issued late Thursday afternoon, halted requirements that abortion providers must ...Read more

SpongeBob SquarePants would, in theory, have little use for stamps. They would get soggy in that pineapple under the sea.

Neither would Patrick Star (no fingers on the ends of those arms), Mr. Crabs (claws) or Squidward Tentacles (his name says it all). One could argue that even the fans of "SpongeBob SquarePants" wouldn't have much use for ...Read more

NEW YORK — Sean “Diddy” Combs has ducked a possible life sentence after his acquittal on sex trafficking and racketeering charges, but prison time is still a possibility for the multimillionaire rap mogul.

Following a nine-week trial, a federal court jury in Manhattan on Wednesday convicted Combs of ferrying people across the U.S. and ...Read more

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Hot, dry, windy weather fed several fires burning near Fairbanks and Healy in Interior Alaska on Wednesday after several days of cooler weather allowed firefighters to make progress.

As of Thursday morning, the Parks Highway remained closed in both directions after authorities issued an alert Wednesday evening warning that...Read more

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has asked House minority members not to show up for the first five days of an August special session, his spokesperson said Thursday, in order to thwart an effort by majority lawmakers to override Dunleavy’s veto of $51 million in education funding.

“Dunleavy asked House minority members to not show up for the ...Read more

A pyrotechnics business in Northern California has confirmed that an unspecified number of its employees were “lost” when a warehouse full of fireworks exploded earlier this week, sparking a wildfire and days-long evacuation for nearby communities.

On Wednesday evening, Devastating Pyrotechnics released a statement saying seven of its ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — After a father jumped in after his daughter fell overboard from a Disney Cruise Line ship Sunday, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office released a statement clarifying details from its investigation.

The pair were rescued by crew from the Disney Dream after the father treaded water with his 5-year-old daughter for about 20 ...Read more

President Donald Trump’s so-called “one big beautiful bill” could be one big pain for the Pennsylvania Republicans who voted for it, hoping to hold onto their seats next year.

The bill, which is unpopular among voters who have heard of it, according to polling, passed the House 218-214 on Thursday and now heads to Trump’s desk, where he...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Trump administration is seeking to wipe rainbows and other “political banners” from streets and crosswalks across the nation, a move that puts at risk the multi-colored crossing near the former Pulse nightclub in Orlando.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent a letter to the nation’s governors this week ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Hall of Presidents has reopened at Walt Disney World and the re-election of President Donald Trump has prompted an unusual rearrangement inside the Magic Kingdom attraction.

For the first time since the attraction debuted with the theme park in 1971, a U.S. president is serving nonconsecutive terms. So, an animatronic ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. – The National Hurricane Center on Thursday upped its prediction a system could form off the coast of Florida and develop into the season’s next tropical depression or storm.

In its 2 p.m. Eastern time tropical advisory, the NHC said an area of low pressure is forecast to develop on Friday or Saturday over the Florida ...Read more