Hamas freed American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander on Monday in a hastily announced move ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East.

Citing the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that a hostage had been handed over to the ICRC and “they are on their way toward IDF ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday again urged California cities and counties to ban homeless encampments, increasing his pressure campaign on local governments to follow the state’s lead and remove tents from sidewalks and other public property.

“There’s nothing compassionate about letting people die on the streets,” ...Read more

President Donald Trump on Monday said he will implement a prescription drug payment plan that could dramatically lower prices paid by Medicare, although details remain murky.

Trump claimed his proposed plan to tie drug prices to those paid in foreign nations would lower payments by the U.S. by up to 90%, although experts said it’s unclear if ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order that seeks to bring the price of drugs in the United States in line with what other countries pay.

The policy, known as most-favored-nation status, is intended to drive drug companies to lower prices domestically while other countries shoulder more of the cost. White ...Read more

A Nebraska man killed his family in a triple murder-suicide on the day of his eldest son’s high school graduation, police said.

Jeremy Koch, 42, fatally stabbed his wife, Bailey, and their two sons, Hudson and Asher, on Saturday at their home in Johnson Lake, Nebraska State Patrol said in a press release. Hudson Koch, 18, was scheduled to ...Read more

The Trump administration announced Monday that it has launched an investigation into California's Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants, a state program that provides monthly cash benefits to aged, blind and disabled noncitizens who are ineligible for Social Security benefits due to their immigration status.

The investigation began in Los ...Read more

Most Canadians now feel unwanted and unsafe in the United States, according to new polling, which comes after President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened to annex the country.

In a May 1-3 Leger Marketing survey of 1,626 Canadians, 54% of respondents agreed with the statement “I no longer feel welcome in the United States.” Just 27% ...Read more

Donald Trump’s effort to secure peace in Ukraine is reaching a decisive moment with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy challenging Vladimir Putin to engage in talks this week.

Following a weekend of hectic diplomacy, Zelenskyy said he will travel to Istanbul on May 15 where Putin has proposed direct negotiations between the two countries.

But...Read more

BALTIMORE — Maryland Senate Minority Leader Steve Hershey, a Republican, is disappointed by what he sees as a lack of progress made on energy issues during the 2025 legislative session.

“I think they failed dramatically to address the resource adequacy requirements that the state of Maryland has,” Hershey told The Baltimore Sun of his ...Read more

The U.S. and China will temporarily lower tariffs on each other’s products in a dramatic ratcheting down of trade tensions that buys the world’s two largest economies three months to work toward a broader agreement.

The combined 145% U.S. levies on most Chinese imports will be reduced to 30% including the rate tied to fentanyl by May 14, ...Read more

A separatist Kurdish group agreed to lay down arms to end a 40-year war for autonomy against Turkey, an historic step that could strengthen Ankara’s aspirations to become a regional powerhouse.

The PKK agreed to disarm and disband at a congress last week, the pro-Kurdish ANF news agency reported Monday, after declaring a ceasefire on March 1....Read more

Hamas said it will release the last living American hostage held in Gaza after renewed talks with the U.S. over a truce deal with Israel.

The freeing of 21-year-old Israeli soldier Edan Alexander, who’s a U.S. citizen, is a step toward reaching a new ceasefire agreement in Gaza, the Palestinian militant group said late Sunday in a statement ...Read more

Donald Trump’s effort to secure peace in Ukraine is reaching a decisive moment with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy challenging Vladimir Putin to engage in talks this week.

Following a weekend of hectic diplomacy, Zelenskyy said he will travel to Istanbul on May 15 where Putin has proposed direct negotiations between the two countries.

But...Read more

MEXICO CITY — She has won acclaim for facing down tariff threats, shunning political bluster and skirting White House provocations — while winning admiration from President Donald Trump.

"A cool head" has been her motto.

But Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum may soon face her most challenging test — and her response could define ...Read more

The journey of Bob Prevost of the South Side of Chicago to Pope Leo XIV of the Holy See could not have been foreseen when the new pope was a Chicago kid in the 1960s or when he was a math major at Villanova in the 1970s. Every pope since 1523 — 45 men sitting as successors to St. Peter as bishop of Rome — had been Italians.

But the Church ...Read more

When the Denver City Council rejected a $25 million contract with Suncor Energy last week, it was just the latest example in the past year of local governments in Colorado pushing back against the oil and gas industry.

The council voted unanimously as its members cited the Commerce City oil refinery’s repeated violation of its air and water ...Read more

Kayce Zangaro couldn't stop throwing up.

She had been taking Ozempic for a few months, starting in June 2023, with the goal of losing weight. Symptom-free at first, she lost 30 pounds. But when she increased her dose, the nausea began — followed by nonstop vomiting.

The 31-year-old Carrick, Pa., resident tried anti-nausea medication, but it ...Read more

CRESTWOOD, Mo. — The prospect of sweeping federal cuts to Medicaid is alarming to some Missourians who remember the last time the public medical insurance program for those with low incomes or disabilities was pressed for cash in the state.

In 2005, Missouri adopted some of the strictest eligibility standards in the nation, reduced benefits, ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Nothing helped Dr. Sarah Freitas regain her spark at work — not therapy, not a rafting retreat in Utah, not a three-month leave to clean her garage and catch up on chores.

The obstetrician would return to practice in Waconia, Minnesota, and feel tired every time she haggled on the phone with an insurance company or labored ...Read more

Jefferson Griffin’s concession in the North Carolina Supreme Court race was a massive win for Democrats, who had warned that his six-month attempt to overturn his narrow election loss could undermine democracy nationwide.

But the lengthy court battle saw several wins for Republicans, too, potentially setting precedent that will affect ...Read more