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Trump directs Bureau of Prisons to rebuild and reopen Alcatraz. Can he do that?

Current News / News & Features /

President Donald Trump said Sunday that he was ordering the FBI to reopen the Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, the historic prison on an island off of San Francisco that has been closed since 1963.

“REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ!” he wrote in a post on Truth Social. “When we were a more serious Nation, in times past, we did not hesitate to ...Read more

Chandan Khanna/AFP/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/TNS

Medicaid expansion group sues Florida over new ballot initiative restrictions

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A group behind a petition drive to expand Medicaid is suing the state over a law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis that erects even more barriers to getting citizen initiatives on the ballot.

Florida Decides HealthCare said in a press release that the new law is unconstitutional and “significantly undermines Florida’s ...Read more

Hector Amezcua/The Sacramento Bee/TNS

Grand jury in California's Yolo County finds Davis schools lack safety measures to prevent shootings

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Davis Joint Unified School District has not implemented safety procedures created three years ago to prevent a school shooting, though some progress has been made, according to a report released by the Yolo County Grand Jury.

The report, released last week, comes in the wake of a shooting during UC Davis’ annual ...Read more

Tyger Williams/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

'A hideous incident': Temple student suspended over antisemitic sign at Barstool Philadelphia

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PHILADELPHIA — A Temple student was placed on interim suspension over an antisemitic incident at a Barstool Sports bar in Philadelphia.

"In the strongest terms possible, let me be clear: antisemitism is abhorrent," Temple president John Fry said in a statement. "It has no place at Temple and acts of hatred and discrimination against any ...Read more

Kena Betancur/Getty Images North America/TNS

Sean 'Diddy' Combs federal sex trafficking trial to begin jury selection

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NEW YORK — Jury selection began Monday in the trial of hip hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, who is accused of using his stardom and his perch as the powerful co-founder of Bad Boy Records to run an empire of sexual horrors, forcing women into sex trafficking and abuse at drug-fueled parties.

Combs, 55, has been locked up in Brooklyn’s ...Read more

Menahem Kahana/Getty Images North America/TNS

Israel Vows to Step Up Gaza Fighting, Set to Hold More Territory

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Israel’s security Cabinet voted to intensify military operations in Gaza and call up of tens of thousands of extra reservists, while also deciding on a means of distributing aid in the Palestinian territory.

The vote in the early hours of Monday followed a long discussion and was unanimous regarding the expansion of armed activities in Gaza, ...Read more

Atta Kenare/Getty Images North America/TNS

Iran says still waiting to hear when next US talks will happen

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Iran said it’s waiting for Oman to confirm when there will be a new round of nuclear talks with the U.S., while also saying it had nothing to do with Houthi missile strikes on Israel.

Iranian and U.S. officials were set to meet in Rome for a fourth round of negotiations last weekend, with Oman continuing its intermediary role. But the ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

NYC closes child care voucher enrollment amid Adams-Hochul standoff over funding

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NEW YORK — New York City parents are getting cut off child care vouchers amid a standoff between Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul over who pays for the hundreds of million dollar program.

On Monday, First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro announced the city was closing enrollment to new applicants who qualify for the subsidies by income. ...Read more

E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson taps former City Hall official to lead Department of Aviation

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CHICAGO — Mayor Brandon Johnson tapped a former City Hall official and executive at a design and engineering firm to be the next leader of the Chicago Department of Aviation, the mayor’s office announced Monday.

Michael McMurray, president of transportation and infrastructure at Wight & Company, will be the Aviation commissioner, according ...Read more

Todd Maisel/New York Daily News/TNS

Citi Bike to expand e-bike charging dock locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn

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A year after the first Citi Bike e-bike charging docks were installed, New York City is expanding the number of bike-share charging hubs to keep pace with growing demand for electric cycles.

“Expanding our network of charging stations means riders will have better access to fully charged bikes, with fewer delays and faster service,” city ...Read more

Atta Kenare/Getty Images North America/TNS

Iran says still waiting to hear when next US talks will happen

Current News / News & Features /

Iran said it’s waiting for Oman to confirm when there will be a new round of nuclear talks with the U.S., while also saying it had nothing to do with Houthi missile strikes on Israel.

Iranian and U.S. officials were set to meet in Rome for a fourth round of negotiations last weekend, with Oman continuing its intermediary role. But the ...Read more

Menahem Kahana/Getty Images North America/TNS

Israel vows to step up Gaza fighting ahead of Trump's Gulf trip

Current News / News & Features /

Israel’s security Cabinet voted to intensify military operations in Gaza and call up of tens of thousands of extra reservists, while also deciding on a means of distributing aid in the Palestinian territory.

The vote in the early hours of Monday followed a long discussion and was unanimous regarding the expansion of armed activities in Gaza, ...Read more

Orlando's tourist tax pulled in $40 million in March. Will it continue?

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ORLANDO, Fla. — The tax on Orlando area hotel rooms just raked in the second-largest, one-month bonanza ever.

But optimism over Orange County’s near-record collection of $40.1 million in March, announced this morning, was tempered a bit by Comptroller Phil Diamond, whose office tracks the money generated by the 6% surcharge on hotel room ...Read more

Kena Betancur/Getty Images North America/TNS

Sean 'Diddy' Combs federal sex trafficking trial to begin jury selection

Current News / News & Features /

NEW YORK — Jury selection is set to begin Monday in the trial of hip hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, who is accused of using his stardom and his perch as the powerful co-founder of Bad Boy Records to run an empire of sexual horrors, forcing women into sex trafficking and abuse at drug-fueled parties.

Combs, 55, has been locked up in ...Read more

Orlando's tourist tax pulled in $40 million in March. Will it continue?

Current News / News & Features /

ORLANDO, Fla. — The tax on Orlando area hotel rooms just raked in the second-largest, one-month bonanza ever.

But optimism over Orange County’s near-record collection of $40.1 million in March, announced this morning, was tempered a bit by Comptroller Phil Diamond, whose office tracks the money generated by the 6% surcharge on hotel room ...Read more

AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post/TNS

Asylum-seeking Honduran mother is still sitting in a Colo. ICE center six months after being detained

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Carla Medina was delivering a DoorDash order to Buckley Space Force Base last year when she was detained by federal immigration officials. Six months later, the Honduran mother of two is still sitting in the detention facility in Aurora.

Her husband and children are on edge, and so is Medina. Although her entire family is moving through the ...Read more

Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post/TNS

Colorado police shot someone every 6 days in 2024, data shows

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The first call came from her nephew. Then, news stations started reaching out, asking how she felt that the Aurora police officer responsible for her son’s death had not been charged.

“Right there, I swore to myself at that moment that I would never stop fighting until we got justice,” LaRonda Jones, the mother of Kilyn Lewis, said. “I ...Read more

Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump restores Title X funding for two anti-abortion states -- while wiping it out elsewhere

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The Trump administration quietly restored federal family planning money to Tennessee and Oklahoma, despite court rulings that the states weren’t entitled to funds because they refused to provide women information about terminating pregnancies or abortion referrals on request.

The decision by the Department of Health and Human Services to ...Read more

Mario Tama/Getty Images North America/TNS

The number of new apartments is at a 50-year high, but states expect a slowdown

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More new apartments were built in 2024 than in any other year since 1974, but the Trump administration’s tariffs and deportations of potential construction workers, plus higher interest rates, could be a wet blanket on the boom.

A U.S. Census Bureau survey found almost 592,000 new apartments were finished last year, the most since the 1970s, ...Read more

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images North America/TNS

23andMe users' genetic data is at risk, state AGs warn

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The fate of more than 15 million customers’ genetic data remains in limbo after popular DNA testing company 23andMe filed for bankruptcy in March. The data is up for sale, stoking fears about how it might be used and prompting attorneys general from more than a dozen states to warn 23andMe users: Delete your data.

“Your genetic data is your...Read more