RALEIGH, N.C. — Some North Carolina school districts are canceling classes on May 1 because they say so many teachers are planning to take May Day off to participate in a mass protest in Raleigh.

The North Carolina Association of Educators is encouraging teachers to call out of work on May 1 to march on the Legislative Building in Raleigh to ...Read more

North Carolina evangelist Franklin Graham took to social media Thursday to express solidarity with President Donald Trump amid widespread backlash over recent posts by the president.

Trump shared an AI-generated image to his Truth Social platform late Sunday that depicted him as a Jesus-like figure in robes with light emitting from him as he ...Read more

After the tornado sirens cut out, Andrew Donaldson stepped out of his Clinton, Missouri, home and looked to the sky. Without their warning wail, he assumed he was safe.

But in the sky, he saw the unmistakable mark of a tornado: rotation.

He bolted back inside. The winds clawed the door from his grasp as he made it in the house, where he, his ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Twin Metals Minnesota got a major boost on Thursday with the Senate vote to roll back a Biden administration ban on mineral leasing near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

The 50-49 vote on April 16, paves the way for Twin Metals to move forward on its multibillion-dollar proposal for a copper-nickel mine near the BWCAW....Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Environmental advocates and opponents of a proposed mine near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness vowed to continue fighting after the U.S. Senate voted on Thursday, April 16, to repeal a mining ban near the protected wilderness.

The vote allows for companies such as Twin Metals, owned by Chilean mining giant Antofagasta, ...Read more

The Trump administration’s decision to shut down a refuge run by the Catholic Church in Miami for migrant children who come to the U.S. alone will traumatize kids who have already experienced extreme hardship on their journeys here, Catholic leaders said on Thursday

During a press conference, Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski and Catholic ...Read more

ST. PAUL, Minn. — An ICE agent is charged with pointing his duty weapon at two people in another vehicle on the highway, the first federal officer charged in connection with Operation Metro Surge, Hennepin County’s chief prosecutor announced Thursday.

Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr., 35, was heading to the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building ...Read more

LONDON — Pre-war planning meant Iran’s military was able to mitigate the impact of U.S.-Israeli strikes on its weapons arsenal and leadership, according to Western military intelligence assessments — which also say it retains the ability to respond if the ceasefire fails.

The country has sustained massive damage to its infrastructure and ...Read more

CHEBOYGAN, Mich. — Water is creeping closer to the crest of the Cheboygan dam and now is less than 5 inches from the top, state officials reported Thursday afternoon.

The water level at the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex was 4.92 inches below the top of the dam as of 5:30 p.m., said the Michigan State Police Department of Emergency Management...Read more

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — In a 10-1 vote, the City Council on Thursday approved an all ages 9:30 p.m. curfew at the Oceanfront for most of the last two weekends of April. It will go into effect Friday but will not be in effect on April 25, during a military appreciation festival.

“I look at this as a short-term inconvenience for a long-term ...Read more

NEW YORK — The third and final suspect in the 2002 murder of Jam Master Jay is expected to take a plea deal in connection with the rap legend’s slaying, according to a federal court filing in Brooklyn.

The suspect, Jay Bryant, didn’t go to trial alongside co-defendants Karl Jordan Jr. and Ronald Washington in 2024, but he featured heavily...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Former state Attorney General Xavier Becerra is touting a poll published Thursday and a surge of recent social media interest as evidence that his campaign for California governor is viable in the wake of Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell’s exit from the race following sexual misconduct allegations.

An Emerson College ...Read more

WOODLAND, Calif. — The former Yolo County sheriff’s lieutenant at the center of the ferocious Esparto fireworks warehouse explosion that killed seven workers last July pleaded not guilty in Woodland to murder and explosives charges in the deadly blast.

Samuel Machado remained in custody Thursday after emotional statements from victims’ ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday selected Erica Schwartz, former deputy surgeon general and medical doctor, to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, he announced on Truth Social.

Schwartz, who will require Senate confirmation, was deputy surgeon general during Trump’s first term and is a retired rear admiral in...Read more

NEW YORK — Mayor Zohran Mamdani made $1,643 in royalties from his now-defunct rap career last year, a copy of his tax return shows.

Before he ran for mayor, Mamdani moonlighted as C-list rapper “Mr. Cardamom.” Two years ago, in 2024, he took in $1,267 in royalties related to his music career.

In total, Mamdani reported $144,784 in joint ...Read more

A specific allotment of the medication Xanax, typically prescribed to treat mental health challenges including anxiety and panic disorders, has been recalled due to the product’s potential to cause adverse health effects.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials announced the voluntary recall of Xanax, also known as alprazolam, distributed...Read more

LOS ANGELES — An extreme marine heat wave is simmering the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, and experts are warning that it could affect coastal weather and ecosystems for months.

The ocean heat wave started forming at the end of last year but has worsened in recent weeks, according to readings from the Scripps Pier in La Jolla, ...Read more

BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey has introduced a new economic development bill she says focuses on creating jobs, lowering costs, and attracting global investment, as both residents and businesses continue to flee the state due to soaring energy costs and other costly state taxes and policies.

Called the Mass Win Act, the bill would utilize $305 ...Read more

NEW YORK — Mayor Zohran Mamdani is appealing to philanthropists to raise $20 million to support his free child care agenda as he sets to deliver on a campaign promise that is popular but challenging to fund.

More than $3.5 million has been raised so far through what his administration is calling the Child Care Action Fund, Mamdani said at a ...Read more