WASHINGTON — Iran is insisting on concrete steps from the United States rather than verbal assurances as talks continue over an emerging agreement to extend a ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported on Friday. Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said in a social media post that...
United States federal intelligence and cybersecurity agencies are investigating allegations that foreign actors linked to China are influencing a recent wave of protests against data centers across the country. The demonstrations have disrupted operations at facilities that host major artificial intelligence models, commercial cloud services, and government data processing, raising...
Rancho Cucamonga, California — On Thursday, 14-year-old Shrey Parikh won the Scripps National Spelling Bee after prevailing in a 90-second eliminatory spell-off, correctly spelling 32 words to claim the $50,000 prize. He defeated 12-year-old Ishaan Gupta of Jersey City, New Jersey, who correctly spelled 25 words from the same list...
BATON ROUGE, La. The Louisiana House passed an amended version of SB121 on Thursday that redraws the state's congressional map, reducing the number of majority-black districts from two to one; the plan passed the House floor with a 66-36 vote and now returns to the State Senate for concurrence. The change...
Horry County, South Carolina. Horry County deputies arrested a 16-year-old student Thursday afternoon after receiving a cyber tip from the gaming platform Discord that flagged potential school violence and led investigators to an online network identified as '764.' Authorities said the tip prompted a probe that connected the teenager to...
Reading, Pennsylvania — At a Thursday board of elections meeting, Berks County Commissioner Michael Rivera reported that 51,612 ballots were cast in the May 19 primary, producing a 23.22% turnout; Democrats cast 25,937 ballots and Republicans cast 25,675. Rivera also presented absentee and provisional ballot counts, and the board voted...
Washington, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday sued Maine, Washington, Oregon and Massachusetts, alleging each state enacted policies that unlawfully deny confidential license plates to federal law enforcement. The suits follow DOJ letters requesting rescission of the policies; Maine paused new plate issuance in January amid enforcement-operation...
Mackinac Island, Mich. — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a two-term governor from a key battleground state, said Thursday at the Mackinac Policy Conference that she will not run for president in 2028, speaking on the front porch of the Grand Hotel during an on-the-record interview with Detroit's WJBK-TV. Her comments on...
United States local governments approved multiple municipal budgets this week: New Haven's Board of Alders approved a $744.3 million 2026-27 budget in a 28-1 vote raising the property tax rate from 39.4 mills to 39.962 mills; Myrtle Beach moved to reduce a homeowner tax credit as part of a $384...
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 73 on Wednesday to restrict law enforcement and federal access to ballots, voter rolls, and certified voting technology, effective immediately; the law criminalizes unauthorized seizure of cast ballots and requires court orders for access to election materials as voting proceeds this week. The...
