America’s already roiling debate around transgender rights sharply escalated in recent days after Charlie Kirk — one of the nation’s most prominent anti-transgender voices — was fatally shot by a suspect whose life and social circles have been meticulously scrutinized for any connection to the transgender community.

Taking over Kirk’s...Read more

President Donald Trump threatened to “go after” ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl as part of a White House crackdown on what it calls hate speech after the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

After Karl asked Trump a pointed question about the line between “hate speech” and “free speech” — in reference to U.S. Attorney ...Read more

The National Hurricane Center on Tuesday said an Atlantic system is expected to develop into the season’s next tropical depression or storm, while also beginning to track a new tropical wave off the coast of Africa.

As of the NHC’s 2 p.m. Eastern time tropical outlook, an area of low-pressure with showers and thunderstorms in the central ...Read more

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi is drawing criticism from across the political spectrum for comments she made this week about free speech.

In a podcast interview Monday, Bondi promised to crack down on those who practice “hate speech,” connecting that practice with last week’s killing of the conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

“We will...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A judge has rejected Erik and Lyle Menendez’s petition for a new trial, ruling that additional evidence that they suffered sexual abuse at their father’s hands would not have changed the outcome of the trial that has put them in prison for more than 35 years for gunning down their parents.

The ruling, handed down by Los ...Read more

NEW YORK — A Manhattan judge on Tuesday dismissed terrorism offenses against Luigi Mangione, the suspected killer of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, finding the Manhattan district attorney’s office presented “legally insufficient” evidence to a grand jury.

The ruling is a significant win for Mangione, who no longer faces a ...Read more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Queens University of Charlotte and Elon University announced Tuesday that they plan to merge.

At the conclusion of the merger, which is expected to come by August 2026, Elon will operate Queens “in partnership with existing and legacy leaders,” the universities announced in a news release. Queens is a private college of ...Read more

NEW YORK — A federal appeals court in Manhattan on Monday upheld the dismissal of a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by former U.S. Rep. George Santos against late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.

The former GOP congressman and convicted fraudster filed a lawsuit against Kimmel, ABC, and its parent company, The Walt Disney Company, in February ...Read more

CHICAGO — With the low hum of planes flying overhead, some 40 people wove through Franklin Park Monday night chanting out across the dark, quiet streets.

“Say his name!” they shouted. “Silverio!”

As questions continue to surface over how U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents came to fatally shoot a man in Franklin Park on ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A strong majority of Jewish Americans said they are concerned about antisemitism on college campuses but disagree with President Donald Trump's approach to combating it, a national poll showed.

By nearly 3 to 1, American Jews believe that Trump is using antisemitism as an "excuse" to "penalize and tax college campuses," ...Read more

DENVER — Federal immigration authorities have rescinded a policy that provided protections and affirming health care for transgender people held in the Aurora detention center, part of a broader push by the Trump administration to end those guardrails across the country.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials ended the policy ...Read more

The Trump administration has added Venezuela to its annual list of major drug-transit and production countries and, for the first time since 1996, decertified Colombia as a U.S. ally in the fight against narcotics.

The Presidential Determination for fiscal year 2026, issued by the Office of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, ...Read more

A growing share of Americans have a negative view of U.S. military operations abroad, according to a new YouGov poll. A strong majority also oppose the U.S. invading Venezuela to topple President Nicolás Maduro.

The poll — conducted Sept. 5-8 with 1,114 U.S. adults — comes as tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela have risen in recent ...Read more

U.S. naval forces in the Caribbean have sunk a third alleged drug-running boat off the coast of Venezuela, President Donald Trump said Tuesday.

“We knocked off, actually, three boats —not two— but you saw two,” Trump said on the White House lawn, following the release of footage Monday showing three alleged drug smugglers being killed ...Read more

Colombia’s dollar bonds dropped after the U.S. “decertified” the nation as a partner in the war on drugs amid the biggest cocaine boom in history.

The move by the Donald Trump administration is likely to hit foreign investment, multilateral funding and tourism, as a long-time ally of Washington now finds itself in the same rogue category ...Read more

A West Nile virus case has been confirmed in Lexington, according to the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department.

West Nile virus is most commonly spread through the bite of an infected mosquito, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in the contiguous United States.

...Read more

A TV anchor who aired a tribute to Charlie Kirk — her former boss — resigned from her Illinois station after she said she was disciplined.

Beni Harmony, the now-former WICS reporter, announced Sept. 15 her resignation came “after being suspended for airing a non-partisan tribute to Charlie Kirk.”

“Two days ago, I lost a mentor, my ...Read more

CHICAGO — After months of closed door meetings and zipped lips from its members, a working group appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson to give him ideas to to plug next year’s $1.15 billion budget gap is rolling out a bunch of largely familiar, in some cases improbable options for Chicago officials to consider.

The report is a mix of revenue ...Read more

ATLANTA — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis can no longer oversee the prosecution of President Donald Trump in the 2020 election interference case, according to a decision issued Tuesday by the state’s highest court.

The ruling casts doubt on the future of the last remaining criminal prosecution of Trump. A nonpartisan state ...Read more