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Trump taps DOT Secretary Duffy to lead NASA, for now

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President Donald Trump late Wednesday announced he was putting Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in charge of NASA as its new interim chief.

“Sean is doing a TREMENDOUS job in handling our Country’s Transportation Affairs, including creating a state-of-the-art Air Traffic Control systems, while at the same time rebuilding our roads and ...Read more

Pedro Portal/Miami Herald/TNS

New ICE pact could have Florida jail staff driving immigrants to Alligator Alcatraz

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ORLANDO, Fla. — Orange County jail staff could be directed — at county expense — to haul immigration detainees to “Alligator Alcatraz” or other detention facilities used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement if county commissioners approve an amended pact with the agency.

“I’m gonna fight it,” said commissioner Nicole Wilson, ...Read more

Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times/TNS

New poll finds most Californians believe American democracy is in peril

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LOS ANGELES — An overwhelming number of California voters think American democracy is being threatened or, at the very least, tested, according to a new poll released Thursday by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies.

The poll, conducted for the nonprofit Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund, found that concerns cut across the ...Read more

Congressman calls for halt to troubled MDC Brooklyn's intake of immigrants detained by ICE

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NEW YORK — U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman is calling for an immediate halt to troubled MDC Brooklyn’s intake of immigrant detainees, saying the influx of inmates will only further deteriorate the lockup’s “already deplorable conditions.”

“It is neither ethical nor safe for BOP (Federal Bureau of Prisons) to divert limited resources and space...Read more

Israeli official plays down chance of imminent end to Gaza war

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A senior Israeli official played down the chances of an imminent end to the war in Gaza, even as U.S. President Donald Trump said negotiators were “very close” to a ceasefire.

The Israeli official, granted anonymity to speak about the progress of the negotiations, indicated a truce with Hamas could be agreed to in a week or two but may not ...Read more

Rebecca Droke/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Secret Service suspends 6 agents after President Trump assassination attempt

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The Secret Service has suspended six agents tasked with securing the Pennsylvania rally where Donald Trump was shot last year.

Matt Quinn, Secret Service deputy director, told CBS News that their punishments range from 10 to 42 days of leave without pay or benefits. They include several agents at the service’s Pittsburgh field office, along ...Read more

After $43 million withheld from Kansas schools, these key programs could be cut

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An abrupt decision to hold back millions of dollars in federal funding for Kansas schools threatens to make it more difficult for some students to learn English and for poor districts to provide after-school activities.

The funding freeze, which will also affect programs designed to improve student achievement and help recruit and retain ...Read more

Evaristo Sa/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump's Brazil tariffs gift Lula surprise tailwind for 2026 vote

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Brazil spent months flying under the radar as Donald Trump upended global trade. Now that it’s in the spotlight, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva may stand to benefit from the attention.

Hours after the U.S. president threatened to hit Brazil with 50% tariffs, the leader known universally as Lula announced that, rather than rush to appease...Read more

Ukraine hit with deadly attack as allies meet on recovery

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Ukraine’s allies gathering in Rome to discuss the nation’s postwar revival will be forced to grapple with the reality that such a prospect is more remote than ever as Russia unleashed its latest deadly air strike on Kyiv.

Two people were killed and 16 wounded as around 400 drones, as well as 18 missiles including ballistic ones, targeted ...Read more

South Korea struggles with uncertainty over US trade negotiations

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SEOUL, South Korea — As the Trump administration has been churning out trade threats this week, South Korea, a crucial trading partner and military ally, has been struggling — like many — to navigate the uncertainty that looms over trade negotiations with Washington.

On Monday, Trump sent a letter dictating new tariff rates to 14 ...Read more

Israel reaches agreement with EU to allow more aid into Gaza

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The European Union reached an agreement with Israel to allow more aid into Gaza.

“We have achieved an agreement on very concrete terms: how many trucks will get in, how many crossings will be opened, distribution points so that people would receive help, water distribution,” Kaja Kallas, the bloc’s top diplomat, told Bloomberg TV in Kuala...Read more

WPA Pool/Getty Images Europe/TNS

UK and France order more cruise missiles, pledge nuclear cooperation

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The U.K. and France will agree to strengthen their cooperation on nuclear deterrence, formally declaring a willingness to coordinate any response to an extreme security threat in Europe.

The two nuclear-armed members of the U.N. Security Council will highlight deeper defense ties during meetings between U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and ...Read more

Spencer Platt/Getty Images North America/TNS

Ghost factories are a warning sign for green manufacturing's future

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The vast tract of land off Route 85 was meant to be a symbol of Made-in-America manufacturing. A billion-dollar battery factory was going to rise, bringing thousands of new jobs. The business announced, “Get Ready Arizona,” the governor said the state was thrilled and even the U.S. president gave the project a shoutout.

But here, in the ...Read more

Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Stubborn feud between gangs surfaces again in Chicago's River North mass shooting

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CHICAGO — It was a jarring act of violence that again put Chicago in an unwanted spotlight and left River North on edge.

A drive-by shooting into a crowd of people waiting outside a lounge on Chicago Avenue left four dead and 14 others injured, making it one of the worst such attacks in the city’s recent memory.

Chicago police and City ...Read more

Diana Pressey/KFF Health News/TNS

Workplace mental health at risk as key federal agency faces cuts

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In Connecticut, construction workers in the Local 478 union who complete addiction treatment are connected with a recovery coach who checks in daily, attends recovery meetings with them, and helps them navigate the return to work for a year.

In Pennsylvania, doctors applying for credentials at Geisinger hospitals are not required to answer ...Read more

Angela Hart/KFF Health News/TNS

In a nation growing hostile toward drugs and homelessness, Los Angeles tries leniency

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LOS ANGELES — Inside a bright new building in the heart of Skid Row, homeless people hung out in a canopy-covered courtyard — some waiting to take a shower, do laundry, or get medication for addiction treatment. Others relaxed on shaded grass and charged their phones as an intake line for housing grew more crowded.

The Skid Row Care Campus ...Read more

Rich Pedroncelli/KFF Health News/TNS

States brace for reversal of Obamacare coverage gains under Trump's budget bill

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Shorter enrollment periods. More paperwork. Higher premiums. The sweeping tax and spending bill pushed by President Donald Trump includes provisions that would not only reshape people’s experience with the Affordable Care Act but, according to some policy analysts, also sharply undermine the gains in health insurance coverage associated with ...Read more

Michael Blackshire/Los Angeles Times/TNS

City of LA on pace for lowest homicide total in nearly 60 years

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LOS ANGELES — Homicides across Los Angeles fell by more than 20% in the first half of the year, leaving the city on pace to end 2025 with its lowest total for that crime category in nearly 60 years, according to an LAPD tally.

Although violent crime persists in parts of the city, homicides overall in L.A. have dropped to 116 through June 28, ...Read more

Jim Watson/Getty Images North America/TNS

Why Donald Trump's legal strategies are working -- some of the time

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When President Donald Trump decided last month to send the California National Guard to Los Angeles over the objections of Gov. Gavin Newsom, many political and legal watchers were certain that courts would view the move as illegal, a belief that was quickly shattered when a panel of appellate judges appointed by presidents from both political ...Read more

Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Think Democrats and Republicans can't work together? On eviction records, they do

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When North Dakota state Sen. Ryan Braunberger first introduced a slate of tenant protection bills this year, he knew the odds of passage weren’t in his favor. Braunberger, a Democratic lawmaker in a Republican-controlled legislature who represents a renter-heavy district in Fargo, spent years as a housing advocate — walking tenants through ...Read more