On a March 2023 afternoon in Caracas, the corridors of power in Venezuela’s government were shifting beneath the surface. Tareck El Aissami, once the regime’s top power broker and a man long accused by Washington of narcotics trafficking, had vanished from public view. His fall—swift and opaque—created a dangerous void in the structure ...Read more

ST. LOUIS — A high school designed for teenagers who are recovering from drug or alcohol abuse has the green light to open in the St. Louis area this fall.

The Missouri Board of Education voted unanimously Tuesday to approve three “recovery high schools,” a decision set in motion by legislation signed by Gov. Mike Kehoe in July. The other...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The Trump administration and other Republicans argue the surge of federal immigration agents to Minnesota is necessary in part because of “sanctuary” laws protecting unauthorized immigrants.

And with tensions high over the federal immigration crackdown, many in the national and local GOP are pushing Gov. Tim Walz and ...Read more

DETROIT — Sterling Heights Mayor Michael C. Taylor blasted President Donald Trump's national deportation efforts Tuesday, saying, during a city council meeting, that federal authorities had been "terrorizing" peaceful communities and Trump's political opponents.

Taylor, a former Republican who is now a political independent, gave a fiery, 22-...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — A U.S.-born Somali American woman said she was forcibly arrested and detained by immigration officials for two days amid the Trump administration’s crackdown in Minnesota.

With bandages still covering scrapes on her forehead, Nasra Ahmed, 23, spoke about her arrest at a news conference at the Minnesota Capitol on Wednesday. ...Read more

A 5-year-old preschool student was taken with his father by federal immigration agents shortly after arriving home from school, Columbia Heights school leaders said Jan. 21 — the first time a Twin Cities school district has publicly confirmed a student being detained by ICE since Operation Metro Surge began.

His detention, school leaders say,...Read more

A sweeping U.S. crypto market bill is likely to be delayed by at least several weeks as key lawmakers shift their focus to potential housing legislation in support of President Donald Trump’s affordability push, according to people familiar with the matter.

The move by the Senate Banking Committee follows Trump administration calls to tackle...Read more

Facing a potential $12 billion budget gap and a need to make good on promises of an ambitious, but pricey, affordability agenda, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani indicated Wednesday he may push Governor Kathy Hochul in budget negotiations to include tax hikes on millionaires and corporations.

That effort could set up a conflict between the ...Read more

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., is demanding answers from the Department of Homeland Security after whistleblowers disclosed a new policy that would let immigration agents forcibly enter homes without a judge’s warrant to carry out arrests.

In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Blumenthal said an “...Read more

As Haiti approaches the end of another political transition without elections or a clear governing framework, the United Nations and other international partners are warning that political self-interest and infighting could further unravel an already fragile country,

The warning comes as the nine-member Transitional Presidential Council appears...Read more

OLYMPIA, Wash. — As lawmakers pursue bills to zero in on affordability issues gripping households across the state, a Democratic measure in the Legislature seeks to curb the financial strain of medical expenses by proposing to eliminate interest charges on new and unpaid medical debt incurred in Washington.

Senate Bill 5993, sponsored by ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Ramon Menera, a Columbia Heights resident and U.S. citizen, said he was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents Jan. 14 after an agent told him his accent led officers to question where he was born, adding to a growing list of encounters that have been dubbed “Kavanaugh stops.”

Menera said in an interview with the...Read more

LAS VEGAS — A judge removed Las Vegas Review-Journal staff from her courtroom Wednesday because they refused to promise not to name an alleged victim testifying in the Nathan Chasing Horse sexual assault trial.

An attorney for the Review-Journal plans to appeal District Judge Jessica Peterson’s ruling.

Glenn Cook, executive editor of the ...Read more

The Federal Communications Commission is taking aim at broadcast networks' late-night and daytime talk shows, including ABC's "The View," which often feature politicians as guests.

On Wednesday, the FCC's Media Bureau issued a public notice saying broadcast TV stations would be obligated to provide equal time to an opposing political candidate...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentuckians could carry concealed firearms at age 18 instead of 21 under a bill headed to the House floor.

House Bill 312, approved Wednesday by the House Judiciary Committee, would lower the age at which someone could apply to the Kentucky State Police for a newly created “provisional” concealed carry license.

Kentucky ...Read more

Idaho state Sen. Ben Adams took an “unconventional” approach with his proposal to preserve public lands, he told fellow lawmakers.

In August, months before the 2026 legislative session, Adams publicly proposed to amend the state’s constitution to prevent Idaho from selling off lands it acquired from the federal government. The Nampa ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — For eight months, the Los Angeles City Council and Mayor Karen Bass have butted heads over police hiring amid a budget crisis.

The conflict began last spring when the council voted to reduce LAPD hiring to 240 new police officers this budget year — just half the officers Bass had requested — in order to close the city’s $1...Read more

BALTIMORE — Gov. Wes Moore released a $70.8 billion budget proposal on Wednesday for fiscal year 2027 that makes nearly $1.8 billion in program cuts and fund transfers to eliminate a projected $1.4 billion shortfall, in part by reducing cost-sharing with local governments.

The Maryland governor told reporters that the plan, which represents a...Read more

President Donald Trump said he would refrain from imposing tariffs on goods from European nations opposing his effort to take possession of Greenland, citing a “framework of a future deal” he said was reached regarding the island.

The decision, which Trump announced Wednesday on social media, marks a stark reversal for a president who has ...Read more