Trump administration releases Hudson tunnel funds it froze for months, allowing work to restart
The $205 million held since October by the Trump administration in a political spat over the region’s largest infrastructure project has been restored, the Gateway Development Commission said Wednesday in a statement. The money, part of nearly $15 billion earmarked by Congress for the construction of the $16 billion Hudson...
NIH’s Jay Bhattacharya will also run the CDC while Trump administration looks for permanent director
WASHINGTON — National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya will also temporarily become acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an administration official said Wednesday. The change was first reported by The New York Times and confirmed by the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because...
Transportation Department says more than 550 driving schools must close over safety failures
More than 550 commercial driving schools in the U.S. that train truckers and bus drivers must close after investigators found they employed unqualified instructors, failed to adequately test students and had other safety issues, the federal Transportation Department announced Wednesday. The move marks the Transportation Department’s latest effort to improve...
Billionaire Les Wexner says he was ‘duped’ by adviser Jeffrey Epstein, ‘a world-class con man’
NEW ALBANY, Ohio — The billionaire behind the retail empire that once blanketed shopping malls with names such as Victoria’s Secret and Abercrombie & Fitch told members of Congress on Wednesday that he was “duped by a world-class con man” — close financial adviser Jeffrey Epstein. Les Wexner also denied...
Moderna says the FDA will consider its new flu shot after resolving a public dispute
WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration will consider whether to approve Moderna’s new flu vaccine after all, resolving a dispute that had blocked the company’s application for the first-of-its-kind shot. Moderna announced the change Wednesday, about a week after revealing that the FDA’s vaccine chief was refusing to review...
Somalia renews its U.S.-backed fight against al-Shabab militant group. Here is why it matters
MOGADISHU, Somalia — U.S.-backed airstrikes and recently expanded ground operations have shifted momentum in Somalia’s long-running war against al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab militant group, the government says, touting successes in the fight such as efforts to reclaim territory from the extremists and the targeting of the group’s leadership and bomb-making network. The...
Mark Zuckerberg testifies at trial accusing social media firms of addicting kids to their platforms
LOS ANGELES — Mark Zuckerberg and opposing lawyers dueled in a Los Angeles courtroom on Wednesday, where the Meta CEO answered questions about young people’s use of Instagram, his congressional testimony and internal advice he’s received about being “authentic” and not “robotic.” Zuckerberg’s testimony is part of an unprecedented social...
U.K. police band together to assess Epstein revelations as scandal rocks royals and politics
LONDON — British police forces are working together to assess potential crimes revealed in documents from the U.S. Justice Department’s investigation into the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, including allegations of wrongdoing by the former Prince Andrew. The National Police Chiefs’ Council, which brings together police leaders from across the...
Following Trump’s lead, some GOP states seek to limit environmental regulations
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Some Republican legislators are looking to restrict their state’s ability to set environmental regulations, a move that comes as President Donald Trump ‘s administration pushes to roll back environmental rules on power plants, water and greenhouse gases. The Alabama Legislature on Tuesday approved legislation backed by business...
Police arrest 11 in the beating death of a far-right student in France
PARIS — French police investigating the beating of a far-right militant who died of brain injuries have arrested 11 people, prosecutors said Wednesday, in a case adding fuel to long-standing divides in French politics ahead of presidential elections in 2027. Quentin Deranque, a 23-year-old student described as a fervent nationalist,...
Envoys signal no breakthrough on bridging Russia and Ukraine’s political and military differences
GENEVA — The latest U.S.-brokered talks between envoys from Moscow and Kyiv over Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine ended Wednesday with no sign of a breakthrough and with both sides saying the talks were “difficult,” as the war’s fourth anniversary approaches next week. The negotiations in Switzerland were the third...
A robotic dog made in China gets an Indian university kicked out of an AI summit
NEW DELHI — A private Indian university was booted from a top artificial intelligence summit in New Delhi on Wednesday after one of its staffers displayed a commercially available robotic dog made in China, claiming it was the university’s own innovation. According to two government officials, Galgotias University was ordered...
8 backcountry skiers found dead and 1 still missing after California avalancheVideo
NEVADA CITY, Calif. — Crews found the bodies of eight backcountry skiers near California’s Lake Tahoe and were searching for one more after they were caught in an avalanche, the nation’s deadliest in nearly half a century, authorities said Wednesday. Authorities said the skiers had little time to react. “Someone...
Russia hosts Cuban foreign minister and urges U.S. not to blockade Cuba
MOSCOW — The Cuban foreign minister visited Moscow on Wednesday as the island faces blackouts and severe fuel shortages worsened by a U.S oil embargo. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez held talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and was set to meet later in the day with President Vladimir...
FBI, St. Paul police probing ICE arrest that resulted in skull fractures
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota and federal authorities are investigating the alleged beating of a Mexican citizen by immigration officers last month, seeking to identify what caused the eight skull fractures that landed the man in the intensive care unit of a Minneapolis hospital. Investigators from the St. Paul Police Department and...
4 dead in crashes involving over 30 vehicles in ‘brownout’ conditions on Colorado interstate
PUEBLO, Colo. — Four people died in crashes involving over 30 vehicles, including six semitrailers, on an interstate in Colorado on Tuesday after blowing dirt made it nearly impossible to see, authorities said. Dirt kicked up by heavy winds blew across Interstate 25 just south of Pueblo around 10 a.m....
Driver fleeing ICE officers crashes, killing a Georgia teacher, authorities say
SAVANNAH, Ga. — A Guatemalan driver fleeing a Georgia traffic stop by federal immigration officers crashed into another vehicle, killing a teacher who was headed to work, authorities and school officials said. Oscar Vasquez Lopez, the driver accused of causing the Monday crash just outside of Savannah, remained jailed Tuesday...
6 backcountry skiers found alive, 10 missing after Northern California avalancheVideo
SAN FRANCISCO — Six backcountry skiers were found alive and 10 others were still missing Tuesday after an avalanche in Northern California during a powerful winter storm moving through the state. Search and rescue crews were dispatched to the Castle Peak area, northwest of Lake Tahoe, after someone called 911...
Police in Nancy Guthrie investigation say glove DNA didn’t match anything in national database
DNA from gloves found a few miles from the Arizona home of Nancy Guthrie did not match any entries in a national database, authorities said Tuesday, the 17th day of her disappearance. “There were no DNA hits in CODIS,” the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said, referring to the national Combined...
Shooter killed ex-wife and a son in Rhode Island ice rink attack, police sayVideo
PAWTUCKET, R.I. — A person who opened fire Monday during a youth hockey game at an ice rink in Rhode Island killed their ex-wife and one son, authorities said Tuesday. Pawtucket Chief of Police Tina Goncalves said the victims were the shooter’s ex-wife Rhonda Dorgan and adult son Aidan Dorgan....
New Mexico legislators launch investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s secluded ranch
SANTA FE, N.M. — State legislators in New Mexico launched an investigation Tuesday into past activity at a secluded desert ranch where financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein once entertained guests and whether local authorities looked the other way. A bipartisan, four-member panel of state House representatives is investigating allegations...
What to know about the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran says it temporarily closed for a military drill
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran says it temporarily closed parts of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf. The move came as semiofficial Iranian news agencies reported live fire exercises in the vital waterway, through which 20% of the world’s oil passes. The move is...
Trump administration backs Kalshi, Polymarket as states move to ban prediction markets
NEW YORK — The Trump administration is throwing its support behind the prediction market operators Kalshi and Polymarket in a critical legal battle between the growing prediction market industry and states that wish to ban these platforms. The move by Michael Selig, the recently appointed chairman of the Commodity Futures...
Federal judge rules Kilmar Abrego Garcia can’t be re-detained by immigration authorities
GREENBELT, Md. — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement cannot re-detain Kilmar Abrego Garcia because a 90-day detention period has expired and the government has no viable plan for deporting him, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday. The Salvadoran national’s case has become a focal point in the immigration debate after...
Trump family business files for trademark rights on any airports using the president’s name
NEW YORK — The Trump family company has filed to trademark the use of the president’s name on airports but says it doesn’t plan on charging a fee — at least for a proposed renaming of one near his Florida home. Applications filed by the Trump Organization with the federal...
