WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump asked Congress to enact a $2.2 trillion budget for discretionary programs, seeking a massive increase in defense spending, while also renewing his push for steep cuts to domestic agencies.

The 2027 budget proposal released Friday requests $1.5 trillion for defense, a significant increase over the $1 ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Iran shot down a US F-15E fighter jet and a second U.S. plane reportedly crashed in the Gulf region, incidents which marked a significant escalation in the five-week war that’s already triggered a global energy crisis.

The developments added to Iran’s stepped-up attacks Friday as the Islamic Republic targeted energy sites in ...Read more

Bank of America’s $72.5 million settlement to compensate at least 60 survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring continues to move forward, following preliminary approval from a federal judge and the scheduling of a final hearing for this summer.

A victim identified as BOA Jane Doe claimed the bank ignored clear warning signs of his...Read more

CHICAGO — On the day after the “Broadview Six” indictment was filed in October charging a group of local Democratic officials and other protesters with conspiracy to impede law enforcement, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent whose vehicle was allegedly damaged in the incident texted a Facebook post about the charges to ...Read more

DENVER — Colorado’s proposed ban on allowing the largest food assistance program to pay for soft drinks is on hold while a lawsuit against the federal government plays out, but Gov. Jared Polis is planning an executive order to limit state soda purchases.

The proposed change would prevent the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, ...Read more

Despite the wave of enthusiasm of this week’s moonshot launch of Artemis II, President Donald Trump once again wants to chop billions of dollars from the agency, including its science missions, according to documents released Friday by NASA.

Trump last year sought to reduce NASA’s budget by about $6 billion, and his proposed budget for ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California filed its 66th lawsuit against President Donald Trump since he took office 62 weeks ago, this time challenging his executive order to create lists of federal voters to curtail mail-in voting.

On Tuesday, Trump ordered the Department of Homeland Security to create lists of eligible voters in every state and ...Read more

WASHINGTON — A crew member was rescued after an American aircraft went down Friday in Iran, The Associated Press reported, citing U.S. and Israeli officials.

U.S. forces launched a rescue mission in southwestern Iran after at least one American crew member ejected from a fighter jet downed by Iranian defenses, according to a U.S. official ...Read more

NEW YORK — With applications for Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s free child care program for 2-year-olds opening in June, the social media-friendly mayor announced Friday he is turning to Bronx-born rapper Cardi B to help promote it.

Parents will have from June 2 to June 26 to apply for the first 2,000 seats of 2-K in five local school districts in ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump unveiled on Friday a nearly $2.2 trillion discretionary spending request for the coming fiscal year, a nearly 21% increase over the current year’s level because of a dramatic proposed boost in defense funding.

The election-year spending blueprint doubles down on an administration drive to pump up the ...Read more

After more than a half-century of neglect, a derelict, historic church known as the oldest building on Wilshire Boulevard may finally be restored to its spiritual mission.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has notified contractors that it is seeking ideas and cost estimates for the rehabilitation of Wadsworth Chapel, the eclectic ...Read more

Even before Kristi Noem became Donald Trump’s homeland security chief, critics say she began trying to curry favor with the president by becoming transparent about altering her appearance to conform to what’s become known as a recognizable MAGA beauty aesthetic.

That meant wearing cascading hair, heavy makeup, puffed-up lips and undergoing ...Read more

Iran shot down a U.S. fighter jet for the first time in the war and targeted more sites, including energy facilities, in Arab Gulf states overnight and into Friday.

The United States has rescued one of the crew members of the F-15E fighter jet, according to a U.S. official, who asked not to be identified discussing sensitive information. A ...Read more

The four astronauts of the Artemis II mission punched their moon ticket on Thursday afternoon — but back at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, teams are already refocusing on the launch of Artemis III next year.

NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch as well as Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen were given the...Read more

Toward the end of Netflix’s “Into the Manosphere,” documentary filmmaker Louis Theroux chats in Marbella, Spain, with British influencer Ed Matthews.

“The people who run the world, they don’t have our best intentions,” says Matthews, speaking in the language of the manosphere – where some influencers and viewers believe ...Read more

In an 8-1 decision authored by Justice Neil Gorsuch, the Supreme Court held on March 31, 2026, that a Colorado law prohibiting licensed counselors from performing “conversion therapy” on minors was likely unconstitutional as applied to talk therapy. Justice Elena Kagan filed a separate concurrence, joined by Justice Sonia Sotomayor. ...Read more

Southern California’s Salton Sea was once a resort playground, with sunny beaches, celebrities and people waterskiing on the vast inland lake in the 1950s and ’60s.

Today, those resorts are long gone, replaced by a drying and increasingly toxic landscape. As the lake shrinks, wind blowing across the exposed lake bed kicks up toxic...Read more

President Donald Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi on April 2, 2026, only 14 months after she was sworn into office, making her time in the role the shortest in 60 years.

While much recent attention has focused on Trump’s decision to fire Bondi, there has been less attention on what the attorney general actually does, or what ...Read more

Just a few months after opening, the controversial Trump Truth Store in Crystal Lake, Illinois, has temporarily shut down, citing a drop in sales amid the ongoing Iran war.

In a notice to customers, business owner Lisa Fleischmann posted on Facebook on March 26 that the MAGA-themed shop “is closed until further notice.”

“I am not even ...Read more