Author: rpnadmin

Several performers have pulled out of a concert series for The Great American State Fair on the National Mall. Freedom 250, the public-private partnership group coordinating events in Washington, announced the musical lineup Wednesday. But Milli Vanilli singer Jodie Rocco told The Associated Press that neither she nor any other group members had been asked to perform, saying they were “shocked” to see their name on the lineup. Morris Day posted on Instagram that he and his R&B band, The Time, would not appear, and rapper Young MC said he would not perform, questioning whether the event was truly nonpartisan…

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told hunger-striking migrants to allow themselves to be deported back home if they don’t like the food they’re being served at an ICE detention facility in New Jersey. The hunger strike at Delaney Hall has become the latest flash point in the immigration debate, with protesters clashing with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel trying to come and go from the Newark facility. New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said state health inspectors tried to conduct an inspection Thursday but were only granted limited access. She said that raised “serious questions about what ICE is trying…

A former CIA official is accused of stealing more than $40 million in gold bars and stashing them inside his Virginia home, prosecutors said. Court records show that David J. Rush, who was a senior CIA official with a top-secret clearance, also hoarded $2 million in cash in a storage unit near his residence and had 35 luxury watches, mostly Rolexes, in his possession when the FBI conducted a raid on May 18. Mr. Rush faces charges of criminal theft of public money for a scheme that authorities said started in November. He is scheduled to appear Friday in federal…

More Americans sought unemployment benefits last week, but layoffs remain low despite economic uncertainty caused by the Iran war. The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims were up to 215,000, up from 210,000 the week before. The four-week moving average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week volatility, rose by nearly 6,300 to 209,000. “Initial claims are still impressively low, near historic lows,” Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, wrote in a commentary. “The uptick from last week to this week is trivial in a labor market of 159 million workers.″ The number of Americans signing up for…

GARDEN GROVE, Calif. — For many Southern California residents who were evacuated after a chemical tank overheated, the relief of finally being allowed to return home has been overshadowed by lingering fears of living near the aerospace plant that has faced problems. A valve on the tank’s cooling system failed and forced 50,000 people to evacuate in and around the Orange County city of Garden Grove last week as officials warned of the potential for a catastrophic explosion. The tank cracked by chance, relieving pressure and eventually allowing residents to return home after the temperature remained stable without intervention. Bobbi-Lee…

NEW YORK — A former truck and bus driver charged in an assassination plot against an Iranian American writer who authorities said was targeted for death by the Iranian government was given a 10-year prison sentence on Wednesday by a federal judge. The judge, Lewis J. Liman, sentenced Jonathan Loadholt, 37, of Staten Island, in Manhattan federal court after he pleaded guilty to conspiracies to commit stalking and launder money in an attack plot that targeted Masih Alinejad in Brooklyn in 2024. James Barnacle, head of New York’s FBI office, said in a release that Loadholt was tasked by the…

Fair housing organizations filed a lawsuit Wednesday over a federal rule change that they say would reverse decades of lending protections and open the door to discrimination against Black people, Latinos and other minorities. The federal lawsuit, filed in Washington, D.C., takes aim at a change made earlier this year by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which bars lenders from discriminating against credit applicants. Among the changes being challenged is that lenders will no longer have to consider “disparate impact” – policies that appear neutral but tend to cause disproportionate harm to certain groups.…

A South Carolina jury heard opening statements Wednesday in the trial of a store owner charged with murder in the 2023 fatal shooting of a Black 14-year-old, which a prosecutor called unprovoked and a defense lawyer insisted was an act of defense. Chikei Rick Chow, 61, who is Asian, shot Cyrus Carmack-Belton in the back during a foot chase in Columbia, believing – wrongly, prosecutors say – that he had stolen four bottles of water from the gas station convenience store. The killing sent waves of anguish and grief through the African American community in Richland County, where nearly half…

Planned Parenthood has begun prescribing abortion pills to women before they get pregnant, defying the Food and Drug Administration’s safety protocol and heightening concerns about the drugs being used by bad actors to induce non-consensual abortions. The Seattle-based Planned Parenthood affiliate launched the “Just in Case” program last week in Hawaii and Washington, saying the service is intended to “offer peace of mind for patients who are not currently pregnant and want to keep abortion medication on-hand.” “At Planned Parenthood, we are committed to getting patients the care they need, when — and before — they need it,” said Rebecca…

NEW YORK — Blocking someone from entering a house of worship, or acting in a way that makes worshippers entering the building fear for their safety, is now a crime in New York under a law approved after a series of raucous demonstrations outside synagogues. The law, signed Tuesday by Gov. Kathy Hochul, also expressly allows police to establish 50-foot security perimeters outside houses of worship where protests are not allowed. “Every New Yorker should be able to enter their house of worship and practice their religion without fear,” Hochul, a Democrat, said in a statement. Critics worry that the…