WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced plans to reorganize what he called a “bloated” State Department, vowing Tuesday to cut programs and close offices but stopping short of a proposed executive order that outlined even more drastic changes.

The top U.S. diplomat circulated a new organizational chart that would downgrade ...Read more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — On a recent trip to Washington, D.C., North Carolina town leaders were asked to raise their hands if they had not yet received federal funds to pay for Helene-linked damage to public buildings, roadways and more.

In every meeting with U.S. Senators, House members, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Trump ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — The number of antisemitic assaults, vandalism, and campus-related incidents in Nevada increased in 2024, according to a Tuesday report from the Anti-Defamation League. Harassment reports fell, resulting in a decline in overall antisemitic incidents from the year before.

Antisemitic vandalism nearly doubled, with 20 incidents ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — The body of a Las Vegas equine veterinarian missing since early April was found Friday at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, authorities confirmed Monday.

The National Park Service said in a statement that a body was discovered Friday near the Boulder Islands within Lake Mead. The body was recovered and identified the next ...Read more

A survey of 520 political experts found a consensus that the United States is descending toward some form of authoritarianism. And it may be getting worse.

Bright Line Watch, which is run by a consortium of political scientists at the University of Rochester, Dartmouth College, University of Michigan, and the University of Chicago, gave the U.S...Read more

A Princeton undergraduate student was reported missing Tuesday as first responders searched an on-campus lake.

Lauren Blackburn, 23, was last seen Saturday around 6 p.m. on the school’s central New Jersey campus, the Daily Princetonian reported. The Princeton community received an alert around 11 a.m. Tuesday that Blackburn had been reported ...Read more

ATLANTA — Netflix is going to film a pilot for a sequel to “A Different World” in Atlanta in July.

The cast has not been announced yet.

Both Productionlist.com and the local union IATSE 479, which covers most crew members, confirmed the pilot’s shooting city.

The original “A Different World,” which recently began streaming on ...Read more

U.S. stocks pared gains as traders assessed the latest reports on the White House’s progress in fleshing out trade deals with top economic partners. Treasuries and the dollar remained steady.

The S&P 500 was 1.6% higher after rising nearly 3% earlier following Bloomberg News’ report of closed-door comments by Treasury Secretary Scott ...Read more

NEW YORK — More than two dozen Venezuelan immigrants linked to the notorious Tren de Aragua street gang have been arrested on federal murder, racketeering, drug and sex trafficking charges, officials said Tuesday.

The takedown by the FBI and the NYPD marks the first time members of the Venezuelan gang are facing charges under the federal ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court justices sounded ready on Tuesday to give parents a constitutional right to opt out of public school lessons for their children that offend their religious beliefs.

At issue are new "LGBTQ-inclusive" storybooks used for classroom reading for pre-kindergarten to 5th grade in Montgomery County, Maryland, a suburb ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento Assemblywoman Stephanie Nguyen, D-Elk Grove, highlighted a new bill this week that would give a tax credit to business owners who say they have to spend money cleaning up after people who camp out on or near their properties.

One of those business owners is Little Saigon’s Tina Nguyen, who joined the ...Read more

NEW YORK — Earth Day environmental activists defaced Lower Manhattan’s iconic Charging Bull statue Tuesday, then rushed to clean it up before cops arrived, officials said.

Videos on social media and photographs from the scene show a handful of Extinction Rebellion activists spray-painting “Greed=Death” onto the flank of the life-size ...Read more

New Jersey prosecutors urged an appeals court to reinstate criminal racketeering charges against Democratic power broker George E. Norcross III, arguing that a judge erred in dismissing the indictment without reviewing evidence that was presented to the grand jury.

In his February decision, prosecutors said, Mercer County Superior Court Judge ...Read more

MIAMI — The city of Miami could vote this week to deputize its officers with immigration enforcement powers, joining a growing list of Miami-Dade cities that are aiding the Trump administration’s full-forced crackdown on undocumented migration.

On Thursday, the Miami City Commission is scheduled to vote to authorize the city to enter into a...Read more

NEW YORK — A Manhattan jury heard closing arguments Tuesday in former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s defamation case do-over against The New York Times, a high-stakes suit that First Amendment advocates worry could lead to the paring away of protections for the press.

Palin, who got another chance to try the case she lost in 2022 when New York�...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — UnitedHealth Group significantly upped spending on security for top corporate leaders last year with the Dec. 4 killing of health insurance executive Brian Thompson.

The Eden Prairie-based health care giant said it spent more than $1.6 million on security for five top executives last year, including CEO Andrew Witty, according ...Read more

WASHINGTON — A looming Supreme Court decision could result in Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wielding more control over the body that recommends preventive health services insurers must fully cover — a possibility that alarms health advocates.

The Supreme Court heard arguments Monday in Kennedy v. Braidwood ...Read more