Author: rpnadmin

As the U.S. prepares for an extravagant celebration of its founding principles, fewer Americans see their country as exceptional, a new poll finds. The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research highlights many Americans’ feeling of unease over the future of its representative government — particularly among young people. It presents a jarring contrast as communities around the country commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary. Only about one-quarter of Americans say the U.S. stands above all other countries in the world, the new poll found, while 44% say it’s one of the greatest countries in the world, along…

LOS ANGELES | A federal arson trial begins Monday for the man accused of sparking last year’s deadly Palisades Fire as the area struggles to rebuild and the aftermath reverberates through the Los Angeles mayor’s race. Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, has pleaded not guilty to starting what became one of the most destructive wildfires in California history. Prosecutors say Mr. Rinderknecht started a fire on Jan. 1, 2025, and it burned undetected deep in root systems before flaring back up on Jan. 7. The Palisades Fire ultimately killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes as it incinerated hillside neighborhoods in…

On Ash Wednesday this year, about a dozen people attended a noon service at Boston’s Old North Church, founded in 1723. Two days later, a handful of worshippers took part in a Shabbat service at Newport, Rhode Island’s Touro Synagogue, dedicated in 1763. Congregations participating in sacred rituals – it is something both houses of worship have been doing longer than the United States has existed. Such places of worship are rare. The Hartford Institute for Religion Research estimates that of the 370,000 religious congregations in the U.S. today, only about 1% existed at the country’s founding. When the country…

Police were searching for suspects on Sunday after at least a dozen people were shot near a busy street festival in Ohio. Some people at the event in Toledo scrambled for cover while others rushed to help the victims. Toledo Deputy Police Chief Joe Heffernan said it appeared that at least two people fired weapons on Saturday near the Old West End Festival and were “probably shooting at each other.” Hundreds of people were at the festival, an annual two-day celebration in Toledo’s historic district that includes live music, food vendors, home tours and shopping. The remainder of the festival…

Clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement outside a New Jersey immigration detention center since late May have become the latest flashpoint for protests against President Trump’s immigration crackdown. More than 80 people have been arrested following a series of protests outside Delaney Hall in Newark, where demonstrators say they are showing up in solidarity with detainees inside over accusations of poor living conditions. The Trump administration has defended the treatment given to detainees at the 1,000-bed facility. Here’s what to know: Accusations of neglect at Delaney Hall The facility is owned by Geo Group, a private prison contractor that runs…

Multiple people were shot Saturday near a community festival in Toledo, Ohio, and police said a search for the suspects was ongoing following an outbreak of gunfire that sent people scrambling for cover. The Toledo Police Department said the shooting happened near the Old West End Festival, an annual gathering of live music and home tours in a historic district of the city. Officers on the scene found multiple people shot and “many victims” were taken to hospitals, the department said in a statement. Authorities did not immediately say how many people were shot, the extent of the injuries or…

Web traffic from bots and AI agents is now higher in volume than traffic produced by people, according to an executive at tech company Cloudflare. Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince said on X Wednesday that traffic from AI agents increased faster than he anticipated, and that he had initially expected bot traffic to beat out human traffic sometime next year. A tracker on the Cloudflare website shows that bots, including AI agents, make up just over 57% of all Internet traffic, compared to almost 43% for human beings. Mr. Prince told NBC News that the change in what is causing the…

On March 6, 1971, a few thousand people marched down the Las Vegas Strip, clogging the glitzy artery through which the city’s money flowed, to protest cuts to public assistance for the poor. They were largely mothers on welfare and their children, but flanked by students, clergy people and celebrities like Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland—a kind of tactical human shield to deter police from beating them or retaliation from organized crime. The protesters, mostly Black, held placards that read “Don’t Gamble with Human Lives,” while counterprotesters, mostly white, held ones that read: “Do something Honest for a change.”When the march…

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Ethiopia heads to the polls on Monday in an election that the ruling party is predicted to win by a landslide due to a fragmented and weak opposition. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s Prosperity Party currently holds more than 500 seats in the House of Representatives and is expected to win a majority in this election, securing him another five-year term. Some 50 million people, out of a population of 130 million Ethiopians, are expected to vote for members of the House of Representatives, but insecurity in the most populous regions, including Amhara and Oromia, is expected…

NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani will not attend an annual parade honoring Israel on Sunday, breaking with a decades-long political custom because of his support of Palestinian rights. Though it has gone by different names over the years, the Israel Day parade has always been a must-attend event for mayors, governors and other political leaders eager to win over the throngs of flag-waving revelers who congregate on Fifth Avenue to celebrate the birth of the Jewish state in 1948. Not so for Mamdani. Two weeks ago the mayor’s office released a video commemorating the Nakba, an…