Author: rpnadmin

Sports commentator Stephen A. Smith is pushing back against those who continue to question the murder conviction of Karmelo Anthony, using his podcast to argue that supporters of the 19-year-old are fighting the wrong battle. On a recent episode of his “Straight Shooter” podcast titled “We’re Fighting the Wrong Battle!,” Mr. Smith maintained that the jury reached the correct conclusion. “When we sit up here and we think about the battles that need to be fought, we gotta be mindful of what’s worth fighting for and what’s not worth fighting for,” he said. Mr. Smith had previously stated on an…

Some Democratic governors have signaled plans to join President Trump’s federal school choice program, prompting teachers unions to launch a counterattack. Included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the Education Freedom Tax Credit will let people deduct up to $1,700 per year in donations to approved nonprofit scholarship programs on their income tax returns starting in January. The IRS estimated this month that 27 states have opted into the program, which directs scholarship recipients to spend the funds on tuition and fees at the campus of their choice. Republican governors lead most of those states, including Texas and Indiana,…

New York — The Kennedy dynasty won’t be returning to Congress next year. Kennedy family scion and political novice Jack Schlossberg lost Tuesday to New York state Assembly Member Micah Lasher, in a closely watched and crowded Democratic primary for an open congressional seat in the heart of Manhattan. Lasher has spent his career in politics, working for officeholders including the man whose seat he hopes to win in November, Democratic longtime Rep. Jerry Nadler. Flanked by another former boss, Gov. Kathy Hochul, and other politicians in New York City’s Democratic establishment, Lasher said in his victory speech that he…

RICHMOND, Va. — A coalition of 17 states and a trade association representing U.S. wholesalers and distributors have sued California to block the enforcement of a stringent recycling law that aims to reduce plastic packaging waste. The lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court, argues that California’s recently finalized regulations that will gradually require companies to scale back single-use plastics and ensure all packaging is recycling or compostable should be struck down. The plaintiffs called the regulations “onerous mandates” that will cause steep price increases in everyday necessities that will be passed on, at least in part, to consumers. “Once again,…

A cruise ship struck a pregnant fin whale in waters off the coast of Alaska, killing the endangered marine mammal. The National Marine Fisheries Service, also known as NOAA Fisheries, said on social media Sunday that the cruise ship docked in Seward, Alaska, 1,385 miles northwest of Seattle on Friday with the dead whale on its bow. A local company then towed the deceased pregnant whale to a beach so that a necropsy could be performed. The whale was 61 feet long and belonged to an endangered species, the fin whale. The only cruise ship due in Seward on Friday…

California intends to sue the Trump administration over its deal to end an offshore wind project proposed off the state’s central coast. State officials said they are combating the administration’s attacks on their offshore wind industry by sending a notice of their intention to sue to the Department of the Interior on Tuesday. Tuesday’s action is focused on the administration buying back the lease for Golden State Wind, a floating offshore wind project off California’s central coast. California has made a major commitment to offshore wind because of its potential to generate vast amounts of clean electricity from strong, consistent…

NEW YORK — A study on COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness has finally been published after being blocked from a government health journal. The vaccine was found to be about 55% effective against COVID-19-associated hospitalizations, and reduced COVID-19-related trips to emergency departments and urgent care clinics by 50%, according to the study published Tuesday by JAMA Network Open. The findings are not particularly surprising: Researchers have repeatedly found that COVID-19 vaccines work. But the paper drew public attention after Trump administration political appointees decided not to run it in a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention publication. They argued that the study’s…

GOLDEN, Colo. — A former forensic analyst with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation pleaded guilty Tuesday to four felony counts stemming from accusations that she manipulated and omitted data to speed up the DNA testing process, calling into question the validity of hundreds of criminal cases. Yvonne “Missy” Woods entered guilty pleas to committing a cybercrime, perjury, attempting to influence a public servant and forgery. Dozens of other counts were dismissed as part of a plea agreement. Woods was set to stand trial later this year. Instead, she’ll face between 8 and 16 years in prison when she’s sentenced in…

NEW YORK — Democratic incumbents are facing spirited challenges Tuesday in at least two of New York’s congressional primaries, the latest proving ground in the high-stakes fight between the progressive left and the party establishment over the Democratic Party’s future. U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman and U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat are both seeking to stave off candidates backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist who’s testing the limits of his growing political muscle in the state’s first batch of elections since he took office in January. Mamdani and his slate are promising to push the Democratic Party further left…

NEW YORK — A high school senior who admitted to setting a fire that severely burned a homeless man on the subway was sentenced Tuesday in Manhattan federal court to 5 1/2 years in prison. Judge Lewis J. Liman gave Hiram Carrero, 19, a sentence that was longer than the mandatory minimum required for arson, after the teen plead guilty in March to the charge. The early morning fire on Dec. 1, 2025, came among a series of attacks with people set on fire on public transit across the U.S. In a presentence submission, prosecutors requested he serve up to…