CHICAGO — Chicago rapper Lil Durk pleaded not guilty to murder-for-hire charges at his Los Angeles arraignment Thursday, three weeks after his dramatic arrest in Miami as he allegedly tried to flee the country.

Lil Durk, 32, whose real name is Durk Davontay Banks, was accused of paying five associates of his South Side rap consortium “Only ...Read more

Newly released security footage of Liam Payne shows the One Direction alum hours before his fatal fall last month, chatting with one of the hotel employees now charged in connection with his death.

Video obtained by TMZ shows the staffer, who sources say is bellboy Ezequiel David Pereyra, stacking chairs in the basement of Buenos Aires’ ...Read more

LANSING, Mich. — A man disrupted an already tense Michigan Senate committee hearing Thursday on whether guns should be permanently banned from the state Capitol building by using a racial slur to refer to people in Detroit while testifying.

The individual identified himself as Avi Rachlin and said he was representing "Groypers for America," ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Sen. Thom Tillis warned his Senate Judiciary Committee colleagues Thursday morning that they would face consequences if they approved a judicial nominee that he and Sen. Ted Budd are vehemently opposed to.

They did it anyway.

The committee approved, in an 11-10 party-line vote, President Joe Biden’s nomination of North ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The reaction on the Hill to President-elect Donald Trump announcing that he nominated former Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Republican from Florida, to become the next attorney general came swiftly.

House Republicans reportedly let out an audible gasp at their meeting at a nearby Hyatt.

One couldn’t stop laughing when reporters asked ...Read more

After a spring semester that saw pro-Palestinian tent encampments pop up on college campuses around the country, the board that governs North Carolina’s public universities could move to draft a policy setting standards for protests that would apply to all 17 campuses under its jurisdiction.

Currently, there is not a single, UNC System-wide ...Read more

MEXICO CITY — In a blistering critique, the top U.S. diplomat in Mexico said the country is not safe and that its leaders should stop denying widespread violence, invest more in security and increase cooperation with the United States.

"To say there is no problem is to deny reality," U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar told reporters this week. "And ...Read more

NEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday said that he would replace U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams with his former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Jay Clayton.

The move, which Trump announced in a Truth Social post, comes as Williams is overseeing several high-profile cases ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump announced his intent Thursday to nominate noted vaccine skeptic and conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be his Health and Human Services secretary, disclosing his pick after the Senate left town for the weekend.

“For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and ...Read more

A new report from the U.S. government’s lead investigator on gun trafficking in the Caribbean area is confirming what region leaders have long said: Most of the firearms wreaking havoc in their vulnerable nations and being used in 90% of the homicides are coming from the United States.

However, the report from the Government Accountability ...Read more

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Biden administration on Wednesday endorsed a land exchange that would allow a controversial gravel road to be built through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in Southwest Alaska.

The Biden administration won't make the final call on the road, which would travel about 16 miles through the refuge. That decision will ...Read more

WASHINGTON — A growing chorus of voices are calling for the release of a much-hyped House Ethics report on Rep. Matt Gaetz, who resigned Wednesday shortly after earning President-elect Donald Trump’s nod for attorney general.

House Ethics had been investigating the Florida Republican for sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, among other ...Read more

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Tropical Storm Sara formed in the western Caribbean Sea Thursday afternoon as it headed toward Honduras, but there is a great deal of uncertainty about what, if any, impacts the storm will have in Florida or other parts of the U.S. Gulf Coast.

As of Thursday afternoon, Sara was located off the coast of Honduras and was...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A substitute teacher at Beverly Hills High School says she was fired due to posts she shared on Facebook criticizing Trump and condemning the behavior of students at a MAGA rally on campus, where Black students reported being harassed.

Joanie Garratt retired last year after teaching at the Beverly Hills Unified School District ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump said he is tapping Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to run the Department of Health and Human Services, a move that would elevate a prominent vaccine skeptic and pharmaceutical industry critic to a top role on federal health policy.

“The Safety and Health of all Americans is the most important role of any ...Read more

President-elect Donald Trump’s decision on Wednesday to tap now-former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz to serve as his attorney general raised eyebrows across the political spectrum.

Gaetz, a four-term congressman from Florida’s Panhandle, has little experience as a practicing attorney and has carved out a reputation for himself in both Tallahassee ...Read more

For a rare, if not lucky, few days a year, Yosemite National Park's famed El Capitan granite cliff converts into what looks like an active volcano jutting 3,000 feet above the valley floor.

The conditions need to be right, including early-evening clear skies, generally in February, and plenty of water. Should the sunset properly backlight a ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Crime is trending down in Los Angeles, with homicides alone on track to fall 15% compared to last year, but newly sworn-in LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell is concerned that statistics aren’t telling the full story.

Speaking ahead of the ceremony Thursday to mark his arrival as the city’s 59th chief of police, McDonnell voiced ...Read more

Inquiring minds really want to know: What did the celebrities know and when did they know it?

We’re of course talking about the high profile guests who were invited to Sean “Diddy” Combs infamously hedonistic parties.

The fallen rapper, behind bars on sex trafficking charges, is accused of throwing wild, alcohol and drug fueled ...Read more