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Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times/TNS

LA County moves to carve out 'ICE-free' zones following immigration raid violence

Current News / News & Features /

After escalating incidents of violence involving federal agents taking part in the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, officials are looking to create "ICE-free" zones in L.A. County.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday to bar immigration enforcement officers from county-owned spaces.

Lindsay ...Read more

Becca Savransky/Idaho Statesman/TNS

How Idaho's transgender sports law was dissected at the U.S. Supreme Court

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The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday heard arguments in a case challenging an Idaho law that bars transgender women and girls from participating in sports that align with their gender identity.

The case began in 2020, when Idaho became the first state in the nation to pass such a sweeping law targeting trans athletes. Shortly after Gov. Brad ...Read more

Aizar Raldes/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Venezuela to send envoy for US talks on same day Machado visits

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Venezuela’s acting president plans to send an envoy to Washington to meet with senior U.S. officials on the same day that opposition leader Maria Corina Machado will be in town for her own talks in the wake of Nicolas Maduro’s ouster.

Ambassador Felix Plasencia, the chief of mission at Venezuela’s embassy in the U.K. and a former foreign ...Read more

US Department of Justice/US Department of Justice/TNS

Dark fleet seeking Russian protection as US seizes oil tankers

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The dark fleet of tankers shipping illicit oil around the world is rushing to seek the perceived protection of the Russian flag after the U.S. started seizing vessels involved in the Venezuelan trade.

At least 26 ships have switched registration to Russia since the beginning of last month, with the bulk of those happening after the U.S. ...Read more

Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald/TNS

Despite controversy and grand jury probe, DeSantis touts Hope Florida as success

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Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday went out of his way during his final State of the State speech to the Florida Legislature to tout his wife’s signature initiative, Hope Florida, despite a year of controversy about the program and its related charity.

In a speech that boasted of his last seven years of accomplishments, DeSantis singled out the ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Obamacare enrollment drops before deadline after subsidies expire

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WASHINGTON — About 1.4 million fewer people have signed up for Obamacare plans so far compared to last year as a federal tax credit expires and consumers confront significantly higher premiums.

While the dropoff is less severe than projections by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and others, experts warn more attrition is likely in...Read more

Ken Lambert/The Seattle Times/TNS

WA flooding left at least $40M in road damage, says early estimate

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The damage from December's storms and flooding will cost between $40 million and $50 million, Washington transportation officials say.

The estimate, which has yet to be finalized, came Monday, on day one of the legislative session, minutes into the first House Transportation Committee meeting.

The legislators heard from John Himmel, the ...Read more

Paramount+/Paramount+/TNS

Kiefer Sutherland arrested after allegedly assaulting ride-share driver in Hollywood

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LOS ANGELES — Actor Kiefer Sutherland was arrested early Monday after police said he assaulted a ride-share driver in Hollywood.

Sutherland was arrested on suspicion of criminal threats after officers responded to reports of an assault on a driver in Hollywood in the early hours of Monday.

The “24” and “Stand by Me” actor, 59, was ...Read more

Former Navy SEAL convicted of trying to bring explosives to San Diego 'No Kings' protests

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A former Navy SEAL was convicted Monday of leaving Texas with the intent of throwing explosives at law enforcement officers during the summer’s “No Kings Day” protests in San Diego, federal investigators said.

Gregory Vandenberg stopped at a New Mexico travel center on his way to the local protests and told the cashier he was buying ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

NC faces 'short runway' to fund Medicaid work requirements, health officials say

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The federal spending bill passed by Congress last July known as the One Big Beautiful Bill is set to reshape Medicaid, which provides health coverage to more than 3 million North Carolinians.

State Health and Human Services officials told state lawmakers Tuesday that one of the most urgent questions is how to pay for the new work requirements ...Read more

News briefs

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Trump says he’ll end sanctuary city payments by month’s end

WASHINGTON— President Donald Trump said he would cut off federal funding to so-called sanctuary cities at the end of the month in the latest escalation over immigration policy with Democratic jurisdictions.

Trump said his administration had also given “90-day notices” to ...Read more

Interpol Venezuela Instagram acc/Getty Images North America/TNS

Appeals court rules 'Fat Leonard' must serve full sentence in Navy corruption scandal

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SAN DIEGO — Leonard Glenn Francis, the Malaysian contractor known as “Fat Leonard” at the center of the worst bribery and corruption scheme in U.S. Navy history, must serve the remainder of his 15-year prison sentence, according to an appeals court ruling that became official Monday.

The 61-year-old Francis, who pleaded guilty in San ...Read more

Alex Kormann/Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

Immigrant corridors in both Minneapolis and St. Paul nearly shut down by intensifying ICE actions

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Roughly 80% of immigrant owned businesses along key corridors in Minneapolis and St. Paul have closed in the past week as employees and customers stay home in fear of ICE agents detaining them.

Both Latino Economic Development Center on the east side of St. Paul and the Lake Street Business Council both said businesses have lost at least half ...Read more

Jose Luis Villegas/The Sacramento Bee/TNS

New California proposal would make it easier to sue ICE agents

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California lawmakers Tuesday moved forward a bill that would allow residents to sue federal officials in state courts for constitutional violations.

Although it was first proposed in November, the bill came up for a hearing amid nationwide protests following the shooting death of an unarmed motorist in Minneapolis by an Immigration and Customs ...Read more

David Guralnick/The Detroit News/TNS

Trump says he'll end sanctuary city payments by month's end

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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he would cut off federal funding to so-called sanctuary cities at the end of the month in the latest escalation over immigration policy with Democratic jurisdictions.

Trump said his administration had also given “90-day notices” to states like California who would bill the federal government to ...Read more

Hector Amezcua/The Sacramento Bee/TNS

For now, Gov. Newsom's rosy budget proposal bodes well for state worker payroll costs

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The Newsom administration said Friday that it does not plan to use state employee compensation costs as a means to shore up the state’s budget as it did last year when California faced a larger-than-expected deficit.

When asked what actions California might take in the event positive revenue projections don’t hold in the coming months, ...Read more

Morteza Aminoroayayi/Getty Images North America/TNS

Denver judge censured for paying defendant's $1 bail

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DENVER — A Denver County Court judge violated ethics rules when he paid a defendant’s $1 bail during an August court hearing, an investigation by the Denver Judicial Discipline Commission found.

Mayor Mike Johnston publicly censured Judge Barry Schwartz on Friday and ordered that the judge serve a one-week suspension without pay.

The judge...Read more

Nathaniel Levine/The Sacramento Bee/TNS

Legislators vote on bill to tighten California rent cap as supporters flood Capitol

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — They rallied outside the state Capitol Monday yelling “Lower the rent!” They occupied the office of Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas for an hour later in the day, telling stories of rising prices.

And more supporters of a bill that would strengthen and expand a state rental protection law filed into the Capitol Tuesday ...Read more

Darin Oswald/Idaho Statesman/TNS

Idaho state employees' salaries are already low. Little proposes no raises

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BOISE, Idaho — The state’s Division of Human Resources warned lawmakers and Gov. Brad Little that things weren’t looking good for state employee pay.

In a December memo, the division told leaders that state salaries were well behind the market, and that the turnover and vacancy rates for state jobs, including teachers, were higher than ...Read more

Darren McGee/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul/TNS

NY Gov. Kathy Hochul, in State of State address, unveils agenda ahead of contested election

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ALBANY, N.Y. — Ahead of a tough reelection fight, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul unveiled an agenda aimed at bridging the divides in the Democratic Party — moving to fight President Donald Trump and capture progressive excitement surrounding Mayor Zohran Mamdani, while also tending to anxiety among moderates about public safety and protests ...Read more