WASHINGTON — Peach and Blossom, a pair of fluffy, white American turkeys, were “pardoned” Monday by President Joe Biden as he participated in the White House’s most offbeat tradition for the final time.

Any worries about the fowls’ collective fate were relieved late in the morning when Biden, in a tongue-in-cheek ceremony on a sun-...Read more

CHICAGO — Mayor Brandon Johnson announced Monday he will restore the critical positions in the Chicago police department responsible for enforcing the department’s federal consent decree after weeks of backlash that cutting those roles would endanger reform efforts.

The mayor’s office released a statement that he would introduce a budget...Read more

NEW YORK — Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams announced Monday that he would resign in December, ahead of President-elect Donald Trump taking over the White House.

Trump said earlier this month that he plans to nominate Jay Clayton as the new U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

“Today is a bittersweet day for me, as I...Read more

Republican state Sen. Randy Fine, best known in Central Florida for his threats against UCF and Special Olympics, hinted at a congressional run Monday after President-elect Trump endorsed him to succeed Michael Waltz.

Trump last week tapped U.S. Rep. Waltz, R-St. Augustine Beach, to be his national security advisor and this week called Fine an ...Read more

NEW YORK — Microsoft is experiencing a global software outage affecting Outlook, Word, Teams and other apps.

The company said on social media early Monday the issue was being investigated.

“We’ve identified a recent change which we believe has resulted in impact,” the company added later. “We’ve started to revert the change and are...Read more

LOS ANGELES — For all attention focused on Erik and Lyle Menendez — the TikTok freedom campaign, the multiple documentaries and docudramas — one fact gets easily lost: While their lives and actions have been chronicled exhaustively up to their trials for violently killing their parents, much less is known about their 34 years behind bars. ...Read more

CHICAGO — Jurors in the Michael Madigan corruption trial on Monday got their first look at a secretly recorded video of the then-powerful House speaker soliciting business for his law firm from the developer of a Chinatown hotel project.

“We’re not looking for a quick killing here,” Madigan said near the end of the August 2014 meeting, ...Read more

Haiti’s armed-gang crisis just got worse — and even more complicated.

A new report by the United Nations’ leading child welfare agency, UNICEF, says the number of children being recruited by the country’s violent gangs has soared by 70% in the last year.

The unprecedented spike, registered between the second quarter of 2023 and this ...Read more

Israel is potentially days away from a cease-fire agreement with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, following a new round of shuttle diplomacy by a senior envoy for the outgoing Biden administration.

“We are close to a deal,” the Israeli ambassador to the U.S., Michael Herzog, told Israel’s Army Radio on Monday, adding that some final points still ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Brothers Erik and Lyle Menendez, who are serving life terms without parole for the shotgun killings of their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion, will make their first court appearance Monday in a bid for their release after more than 34 years behind bars.

The brothers will join the hearing in Van Nuys via video from the San ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Brothers Erik and Lyle Menendez, who are serving life terms without parole for the shotgun killings of their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion, will make their first court appearance Monday in a bid for their release after more than 34 years behind bars.

The brothers will join the hearing in Van Nuys via video from the San ...Read more

CHICAGO — Former Ald. Daniel Solis will resume testifying Monday in the corruption trial of ex-House Speaker Michael Madigan about his bombshell turn as an FBI mole.

Solis, 71, the former 25th Ward alderman and longtime head of the City Council’s influential Zoning Committee, took the witness stand late last week to begin what will be a ...Read more

ATLANTA — Georgia officials will begin the upcoming budget season with plenty of cash on hand and no shortage of ways to spend it.

The state closed the fiscal year that ended in July with nearly $16.5 billion in “rainy day” and undesignated reserves, according to a recent state report. That’s enough to pay for nearly half a year’s ...Read more

BALTIMORE — The construction giant selected by Maryland officials to replace the fallen Francis Scott Key Bridge recommended itself for at least $64 million in contracts while serving as the construction manager for a Connecticut pier project, according to a state audit.

The process, during which Kiewit Infrastructure developed bid packages ...Read more