Postal Service chief says work stopped on computer system key to Trump effort to limit mail voting
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Postal Service has stopped developing a controversial computer system tied to President Donald Trump’s effort to limit mail voting. The Supreme Court rejected Trump’s executive order this week. Postmaster General David Steiner confirmed the halt Thursday. He emphasized the agency’s independence and operational focus. Trump’s order aimed to create state citizenship lists for mail voting, but the system faced criticism that it was riddled with errors. A memo to postal employees stated the agency won’t enforce new rules for the 2026 election. Despite the halt, concerns remain about postmark delays affecting mail-in ballots. Steiner urged voters to submit ballots early.
Judge orders Kennedy Center to provide 30 days’ notice before making any major physical changes
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has ordered the Kennedy Center to provide 30 days’ notice before making any major physical changes to the building, including demolishing it as President Donald Trump has threatened. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper said Thursday his ruling would “avoid any confusion on that score given more recent events.” Earlier, Matt Floca, the Kennedy Center’s executive director and chief operating officer, said he closed the iconic performing arts center temporarily due to “acute risks to public safety resulting from continued structural deterioration” of the aging building.
Trump withdraws Lance Schroyer, a former Oklahoma state trooper, as his nominee to lead ICE
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says it is withdrawing its nomination of Lance Schroyer, a former Oklahoma state trooper, to lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ensuring that an agency at the forefront of President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda will remain without a Senate-confirmed leader for at least a while longer. Schroyer is close to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, a former U.S. senator from Oklahoma. He has little experience with immigration. The White House offered no comment in a brief statement. When he nominated Schroyer in June, Trump said on his Truth Social platform that his pick was “a PATRIOT with real operational experience” and a “proven leader with DECADES of experience locking up the worst of the worst.”
Russia votes in wartime parliamentary election set to secure the Kremlin's power
Voting has begun in Russia’s parliamentary election with the main Kremlin party poised to retain its overwhelming grip on the lower house. The political and economic environment, however, has visibly changed 4½ years after the start of Russia’s full-fledged invasion of Ukraine. Economic costs are increasing, Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries and logistical facilities have inflicted massive damage, and the public, which no longer sees the fighting as something distant, is increasingly nervous and fatigued by the war. The challenges have prompted the Kremlin to stifle even the slightest signs of dissent ahead of the election — the first since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Voting started Friday in Russia's Far East.
The driver who slammed into an LA bus before a news helicopter crash is charged with murder
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Prosecutors say an SUV driver was under the influence of drugs when she swerved into the wrong lane, blew a red light and slammed into a Los Angeles city bus, killing two riders. It was a tragedy compounded by the subsequent fatal crash of a TV news helicopter that had been covering the collision that killed the two people on board and one on the ground. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman says Bailee Lynn Rios was speeding and impaired. Rios faces two charges of second-degree murder in the deaths of the two people on the bus. Online court records did not list a lawyer who might speak on her behalf.
Former US Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, a 'workhorse' who shaped water policy, dies at 84
PHOENIX (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl, who represented Arizona in both chambers of Congress over nearly three decades, has died at 84. He had dementia. A family friend says Kyl died Wednesday night. Kyl remained a reliable Republican vote throughout his career, spanning a drastic transformation of his party from Ronald Reagan’s presidency to President Donald Trump’s first term. He shaped landmark water policy and guided the confirmation of Trump-nominated U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, both as a lobbyist and a senator. Kyl disclosed his dementia diagnosis to the public at the end of December 2025.
UN-backed experts cite possible US war crimes in Iran strikes
GENEVA (AP) — U.N.-commissioned human rights experts say they have found “reasonable grounds” to believe the United States committed war crimes in two strikes in Iran. The strikes reportedly killed at least 178 civilians, including women and children. The international fact-finding mission on Iran said its findings focused on airstrikes, including one on a school in the southern Iranian city of Minab. The team also reports that killings by state security forces in Iran occurred on a “staggering scale.” They say civilians are caught between “gross human rights violations and crimes against humanity” by their government and the nation’s conflict with the United States and Israel.
Bail set for ICE officer accused of lying and assault in non-fatal shooting in Minneapolis
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A federal immigration officer charged with shooting a Venezuelan man during the immigration crackdown that roiled Minneapolis early this year has made a brief first appearance before a Minnesota judge. Thursday's hearing followed months of legal and political battles over whether Christian Castro would be extradited from his home state of Texas. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer faces a separate hearing Friday in federal court for charges that he lied to investigators about the shooting. During Thursday's hearing, he stood quietly in a glass enclosure in a Minneapolis jail courtroom. He was handcuffed and dressed in an orange jumpsuit. Judge Paul Scoggin set bail at $400,000, or $200,000 if Castro agreed to a series of conditions.
Body found in Grand Canyon was missing hiker, wife says, bringing flood death toll to 3
GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. (AP) — Human remains found in the Grand Canyon this week have been identified as Timothy Allen Smith, the last person missing after the deadly flash flooding in late August. His wife confirmed the discovery Thursday. The flooding, which devastated the Phantom Ranch area, brought the death toll to three. Smith, a pilot from Wyoming, was on a hiking trip with two companions when the flooding hit. Their remains were found earlier. The flooding began Aug. 29 and damaged a crucial water pipeline. Many hiking trails and lodging areas remain closed as repairs continue.
Man who sprayed Minnesota Rep. Omar with vinegar sentenced to 14 months in prison
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The man who sprayed vinegar at Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar during a Minneapolis town hall has been sentenced to 14 months in prison. Anthony Kazmierczak was sentenced Thursday, nearly eight months after the Jan. 27 assault. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release, which includes no contact with Omar. At the time of the attack, Minneapolis-St. Paul was subject to a federal immigration crackdown that led to angry protests, arrests and the deaths of two U.S. citizens. Kazmierczak was unable to explain his actions during an earlier hearing. Omar was not hurt in the attack and Kazmierczak pleaded guilty to assaulting a U.S. officer.
