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Hurricane Erin becomes a 'catastrophic' Category 5, tracking north of Bahamas

Current News / News & Features /

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Hurricane Erin strengthened into a powerful Category 5 storm on Saturday only a day after becoming a hurricane. It’s forecast to continue to intensify for at least several hours.

NOAA Hurricane Hunters found maximum sustained winds have increased to nearly 160 mph during a pass through the storm just after 11 a.m. ...Read more

Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel/TNS

Riding out a Category 5 hurricane in a high-rise: Should you stay or go?

Current News / News & Features /

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Can you ride out a Category 5 hurricane on the 50th floor? Would you want to?

You might not make it through the storm alive, experts say. Even if you do, your building won’t likely be the same when the storm is over. The South Florida Sun Sentinel spoke to five people in the know to find out how all those tall towers...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

A grandmother's request to spend a few more minutes at a NYC beach ends in tragedy

Current News / News & Features /

As the lifeguards prepared to end their shift, a 77-year-old Russian grandmother visiting her family in Brooklyn was having such a good time at Manhattan Beach Park she called her daughter and told her to hold off on picking her up.

“It’s breezy. It’s good weather,” Liudmila Marchenko told her daughter. “”Give me an hour.”

...Read more

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images North America/TNS

After welcoming Putin, Trump appears to adopt his goal, agreeing to cede land for peace

Current News / News & Features /

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — President Donald Trump made his expectations clear entering a summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday: “I won’t be happy if I walk away without some form of a ceasefire,” he said aboard Air Force One.

Yet he did, emerging from their meeting in a diplomatic retreat, endorsing Russia’s territorial ambitions ...Read more

LEZLIE STERLING/The Sacramento Bee/TNS

Students head back to class as federal funding uncertainties weigh on US schools

Current News / News & Features /

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — While classes were out for summer, districts were busy preparing for the upcoming school year: Finalizing budgets, hiring staff, building programming and working with the state to secure grants are all a regular part of business when kids are out of class.

But the attitude toward education on a federal level has shifted ...Read more

Kyle Green/Pool/Getty Images North America/TNS

Idaho prison officials investigate possible leak of Bryan Kohberger footage

Current News / News & Features /

BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho Department of Correction said it’s investigating to determine whether videos of Bryan Kohberger, the man convicted of murdering four University of Idaho students, in his prison cell were leaked online.

IDOC in a news release said it hasn’t yet confirmed the legitimacy of the what appears to be footage of Kohberger...Read more

RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

FAA closes latest SpaceX investigations, opens door for next Starship launch

Current News / News & Features /

ORLANDO , Fla. — SpaceX has had a tough year with its Starship program, but the Federal Aviation Administration has cleared the path for the next-generation rocket’s 10th suborbital launch attempt as early as next weekend.

The FAA on Friday closed investigations into mishaps suffered on the ninth launch in May that saw the Super Heavy ...Read more

Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump's unprecedented shows of force in LA and Washington are pushing norms, sparking fears

Current News / News & Features /

LOS ANGELES — In downtown Los Angeles, Gov. Gavin Newsom was holding a news conference with Democratic leaders when the Border Patrol showed up nearby to conduct a showy immigration raid.

In Washington, D.C., hundreds of National Guard troops patrolled the streets, some in armored vehicles, as city officials battled with the White House over ...Read more

Hurricane Erin quickly strengthens into Category 5 storm

Current News / News & Features /

Hurricane Erin, the first of the 2025 Atlantic season, strengthened into a dangerous Category 5 storm in the northeast Caribbean on Saturday, rapidly intensifying from a tropical storm in just 24 hours.

While forecasters previously predicted the hurricane would become a Category 3 by the end of the weekend, the storm had already reached ...Read more

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump sets up meeting with Zelenskyy as Putin renews land demands

Current News / News & Features /

Donald Trump will host President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington on Monday after the U.S. president abandoned his push for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and Vladimir Putin again insisted that Kyiv give up land in peace talks.

Trump told the Ukrainian president and European leaders in a call that Putin wants Kyiv to cede control of the ...Read more

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images North America/TNS

Putin, triumphant in Alaska, may be pressing his luck with Trump

Current News / News & Features /

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — President Donald Trump made his expectations clear entering a summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday: "I won't be happy if I walk away without some form of a ceasefire," he said aboard Air Force One.

Yet he did, ending his meeting with the Russian leader with curt remarks, taking no questions from the press and ...Read more

Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times/TNS

California approves an unprecedented plan to protect Joshua trees from climate change threats

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A sweeping conservation plan identifies where Joshua trees may survive in a warmer future and plots out how to best protect that land.

Proponents say it’s the first time the state has taken steps to conserve a species that’s abundant now but is projected to lose much of its future habitat due to climate change.

Some fear the plan and the ...Read more

Luke Johnson/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Vigil honors man who died while fleeing immigration raid at SoCal Home Depot

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LOS ANGELES — Hundreds of people gathered in Monrovia on Friday night at a vigil for Carlos Roberto Montoya, who was struck and killed by an SUV after running onto the 210 Freeway while trying to flee U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents this week.

The vigil, held at the Home Depot that was the location of Thursday’s raid, was ...Read more

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images North America/TNS

With more self-driving cars on the road, states put more rules in place

Current News / News & Features /

Self-driving vehicle technology continues to advance, prompting a wave of liability and safety regulations from state lawmakers.

This year, lawmakers in Arizona, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada and the District of Columbia enacted legislation to regulate driverless vehicles, according to a database from the National Conference of State Legislatures....Read more

Jeff Gritchen/KFF Health News/TNS

'A fear pandemic': Immigration raids push patients into telehealth

Current News / News & Features /

Jacob Sweidan has seen his patients through the federal immigration raids of the 1990s, a sitting governor’s call to abolish birthright citizenship, and the highly publicized workplace crackdowns and family separation policies of President Donald Trump’s first term.

But in his 40 years as a pediatrician in Southern California serving those ...Read more

Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun/TNS

Gov. Moore partners with faith leaders to bridge Maryland's deepest divides

Current News / News & Features /

BALTIMORE — When Heather Miller Rubens and Lora Hargrove met for the first time this year, they agreed they were doing so at a time of extraordinary dividedness, particularly for religious leaders.

Immigration, abortion and LGBTQ+ rights had long since split Americans into separate, often angry camps. Racial and economic inequality were well-...Read more

ERIC PAUL ZAMORA/Fresno Bee/TNS

California high-speed rail may lose $4 billion. Should it continue?

Current News / News & Features /

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — More than a month after the Trump administration moved to rescind $4 billion in expected funding, the future of California’s high-speed rail project remains uncertain.

The money hasn’t been reallocated yet, and California is challenging the decision. But the attempted funding cut has reignited long-standing doubts ...Read more

TAndy Cross/The Denver Post/TNS

Western Colorado is at the 'epicenter of drought' as a hot, dry summer saps water supplies -- and fuels wildfires

Current News / News & Features /

DENVER — Drought and long, hot summer days are sucking Western Colorado’s rivers dry, parching farm fields and fueling the massive wildfires proliferating across the region.

A chunk of northwestern Colorado in the last week plunged into exceptional drought — the most dire category recorded by the U.S. Drought Monitor. The swath of ...Read more

Jefferee Woo/Tampa Bay Times/TNS

Gov. Ron DeSantis' office was scheduled to discuss a legal deal. The first lady's Hope Florida got millions afterward, records show

Current News / News & Features /

ORLANDO, Fla. — On September 10, 2024, state health officials planned to brief Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office on a lucrative deal that had been three years in the making. The topic: a $67 million Medicaid settlement that could soon come Florida’s way, newly released records show.

The day after that scheduled meeting, the health agency’s top ...Read more

Meg McLaughlin/The San Diego Union-Tribune/TNS

San Diego judge sentences 3 in Tijuana hostage-taking murder as convicted gunman seeks new trial

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SAN DIEGO — Three men were sentenced this week in San Diego federal court for their roles in abducting a San Diego teenager who was tortured and killed in Tijuana, while a fourth defendant in the case continues to seek a new trial on the grounds that an unsolicited text message tainted the jury that convicted him of shooting and killing the ...Read more