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Jill Lang/Dreamstime/TNS

NC House passes bill curbing minors' access to confidential mental health, STD care

Current News / News & Features /

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A bill limiting when minors can consent to medical treatment without parental involvement passed the North Carolina House, with every Republican who voted supporting it and all but four Democrats who voted opposing it.

Rep. Jennifer Balkcom, a Hendersonville Republican, said the bill upheld the “essential role of parents ...Read more

Yawar Nazir/Getty Images North America/TNS

India, Pakistan trade military strikes after Kashmir attack

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India conducted targeted military strikes against Pakistan, which said it shot down five Indian jets in retaliation, in widely expected tit-for-tat blows after a militant attack last month in Kashmir that killed 26 people.

India said in a statement early Wednesday that it conducted “a precise and restrained response” that was “designed to...Read more

Yuri Gripas/Abaca Press/TNS

Bessent, Greer to meet China to start trade talks this week

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WASHINGTON — U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will travel later this week to Switzerland for trade talks with China led by Vice Premier He Lifeng, jump-starting negotiations between the two nations.

The travel was announced in statements Tuesday from the Chinese and U.S. governments. It will ...Read more

Pedro Mattey/AFP/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/TNS

Federal judge grants injunction, indefinitely bars Trump's use of Alien Enemies Act in Colorado

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DENVER — A federal judge on Tuesday granted a preliminary injunction to indefinitely limit President Donald Trump’s administration from deporting Venezuelan immigrants in Colorado under the Alien Enemies Act.

U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney also granted a request from the American Civil Liberties Union to turn the civil case into a ...Read more

Gary Sparks/Delta/TNS/TNS

Florida will ban water fluoridation amid battle between public health, personal freedom

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Florida will become the second state in the nation to prohibit fluoridation of public water supplies, reversing decades of public health policy in favor of a new mindset that discounts experts and embraces individual autonomy.

“It’s forced medication when they’re jamming fluoride. And they did it because if you have fluoride, it’ll help...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Barbie doll prices spike as Trump tariffs loom

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With President Donald Trump warning that his tariff policy may cause the price of toys to spike, a Barbie with swimsuit accessories that cost $10.49 on April 16 is now selling at Target for $14.99 — marking a 43% increase.

While it’s not clear if the higher price is directly linked to tariffs, toymaker Mattel reportedly confirmed its plans ...Read more

Ting Shen/Getty Images North America/TNS

Duffy says air traffic overhaul to cost tens of billions of dollars

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WASHINGTON — Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Tuesday that his proposal to overhaul the U.S.’s air traffic system, which he plans to unveil May 8, will cost “tens of billions” of dollars.

Urgency around upgrading the Federal Aviation Administration’s aging system has grown after a radar and radio outage early last week at the...Read more

Elizabeth Robertson/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Girlfriend of NJ wildfire suspect tells friend, 'We started the fire,' affidavit says

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The girlfriend of a 17-year-old arrested in connection with a massive wildfire in New Jersey last month allegedly admitted to a friend that her group started the blaze, court documents show.

“We started the fire,” she wrote to a classmate in a Snapchat message, according to an affidavit of probable cause obtained by NJ Advance Media.

The ...Read more

Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group/TNS

CSU students start 'indefinite' hunger strike in support of Palestinians

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Around two dozen California State University students say they have started an “indefinite” hunger strike in support of Palestinians facing starvation in Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas war.

Students are demanding each CSU campus and the California State University system as a whole adopt policies divesting from companies that “supply weapons,...Read more

Alex Wroblewski/AFP/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/TNS

Polls show Trump's approval rating 'stabilized' but underwater

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President Donald Trump’s international trade war may not be as popular as he might wish, but his approval rating hasn’t suffered as a consequence, new polling shows.

According to a Morning Consult survey of more than 2,200 registered voters, Trump’s approval rating has “stabilized” but remains underwater.

“Sentiment about Trump’s...Read more

Clarence Tabb Jr./The Detroit News/TNS

Michigan Senate votes to let schools decide their own cellphone policies

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LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Senate voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to require school districts to develop their own policies on the use of cellphones by students, avoiding a stricter statewide ban that had been sought by some lawmakers.

The Senate supported the bill in a vote of 28-9, with nine Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader ...Read more

Monica Herndon/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Philadelphia Mayor Parker's administration says it is ready 'to litigate' if city's funding is put at risk under Trump sanctuary order

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PHILADELPHIA — An official from Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration said Tuesday that they are prepared to go to court if federal authorities identify Philadelphia as a so-called “sanctuary city” and decide to revoke its federal funding under a new executive order signed by President Donald Trump.

City Solicitor Renee Garcia on ...Read more

Oakland County/Oakland County/TNS

Court of Appeals denies resentencing appeal by Michigan school shooter

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DETROIT — A three-judge panel of the Michigan Court of Appeals on Tuesday denied the Oxford High School shooter's requests to withdraw his guilty plea or be resentenced after an Oakland County judge declined to do both.

In a brief order issued Tuesday, Court of Appeals Presiding Judge Randy Wallace wrote that the requests were denied for a "...Read more

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump says US will stop Houthi strikes after Oman-brokered deal

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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said the U.S. would stop its bombing campaign against Houthis in Yemen after a ceasefire was facilitated by Oman, even as the group pledged to keep targeting Israel over its Gaza campaign.

“They just don’t want to fight,” Trump said in an Oval Office Tuesday morning during a meeting with Canadian ...Read more

News briefs

Current News / News & Features /

Polls show Trump’s approval rating ‘stabilized’ but underwater

President Donald Trump’s international trade war may not be as popular as he might wish, but his approval rating hasn’t suffered as a consequence, new polling shows.

According to a Morning Consult survey of more than 2,200 registered voters, Trump’s approval rating has ...Read more

Andrey Popov/Dreamstime/TNS

Shake-up at EPA threatens Energy Star, climate offices

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WASHINGTON — A proposal by the Trump administration to reorganize the Environmental Protection Agency targets divisions that house its climate change offices as well as Energy Star, a widely popular program designed to help lower energy costs for American households.

A chart of the proposed reorganization reviewed by the Los Angeles Times on ...Read more

Karen Ducey/The Seattle Times/TNS

New Wash. state law requires priests to report child abuse. DOJ calls it 'anti-Catholic'

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A new Washington state law requires Catholic priests and other religious community leaders of different faiths to report potential child abuse to state authorities.

But does the law signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson on May 2 raise constitutional issues?

The question is central to a new federal civil rights probe launched under President Donald Trump...Read more

Matt Stone/Boston Herald/TNS

Karen Read retrial: Angry voicemails and sudden taillight pieces

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DEDHAM, Mass. — Jurors heard Karen Read’s furious and jealous voicemails left among 52 calls she made to her boyfriend John O’Keefe in the hours after she had allegedly killed him.

“John, I (expletive) hate you!” Read screamed in the first voicemail at 12:28 a.m. on Jan. 29, 2022.

In all there were eight voicemail messages over 52 ...Read more

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump's immigration policies will cost Massachusetts billions, experts say

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BOSTON — President Donald Trump’s campaign-promised plan to send millions of immigrant residents back to their home countries and his administration’s proposals to sharply curtail the number of immigrants legally allowed to enter the U.S. will have severe economic impacts on Massachusetts, according to a pair of experts.

Academic work ...Read more

Martin County Sheriff's Office/TNS/TNS

Russian man given US asylum caught with stolen $2.5 million yacht, Florida cops say

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A Russian man with a North Carolina address is at the center of a “bizarre” grand theft case involving two boats stolen within hours of each other in Florida, including a $2.5 million luxury yacht, according to investigators.

Nikolai Vilka was arrested Monday, May 5, during a dramatic boat chase that ended when multiple patrol boats ...Read more