Author: Leslie Stewart

At least 12 people were shot and killed Saturday when gunmen opened fire, possibly targeting each other, near a summer festival in Toledo, Ohio, officials said.Subscribe to read this story without ads Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.At least two gunmen were “probably shooting at each other” in the shooting near Toledo’s Old West End Festival just after 5:30 p.m., Toledo Deputy Police Chief Joseph Heffernan said.Heffernan said two of the victims were in critical condition and the gunmen were still at large Saturday night.Lt. Dan Gerken said the oldest victim was 61 years old, the youngest…

Three separate ceasefire agreements are currently in effect across the Middle East. In all three, deadly attacks continue to occur frequently.Subscribe to read this story without ads Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.This contradiction reveals growing questions about what a ceasefire without a complete cessation of fighting actually means.President Donald Trump on Wednesday cited the continuing gunfight with Iran in the Gulf and appeared to suggest that promises to stop fighting in the region are not necessarily reliable.”This is a different part of the world,” he told reporters. “In that part of the world, I think a…

BAR HARBOR, Maine — As Graham Platner returned to the campaign trail Friday, he took time to indirectly address new allegations of “harmful” and “disturbing” behavior directed toward him by three women from his past relationships.Subscribe to read this story without ads Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.At the same time, hundreds of supporters sent a signal that Platner is still with them despite all the negative attention. They gave him multiple standing ovations and at one point shouted his wife Amy Gartner’s name when he named her as his supporter. In his speech, the Democratic Senate…

A former IRS agent convicted of catfishing his wife and a stranger will be sentenced to life in prison on Friday.Subscribe to read this story without ads Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Brendan Banfield, 40, was convicted in February of two counts of aggravated murder, one count of use of a firearm in a felony and child endangerment in the 2023 killings of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan at the Banfields’ home in Herndon, Virginia.Because of his aggravated murder conviction, Banfield will spend the rest of his life in prison.The husband and wife pair involved in the…

For Democrats, the road to Maine’s Senate primary is paved with fear. Subscribe to read this story without ads Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Since Gov. Janet Mills abruptly halted her campaign in late April, all Graham Platner had to do was slip into Tuesday’s election to lock up the state’s Democratic Senate nomination. But some lawmakers and activists say they are increasingly alarmed by the breadth and depth of controversies and scandals facing veterans, and divisions within the party widen by the day. Some Democrats were nervous about what the next debate would be, worried that…

Job seekers visit the Generali Global Assistance recruiting booth during the Mega Job News USA South Florida Job Fair at Amerant Bank Arena on April 30, 2026 in Sunrise, Florida.Joe Radle | Getty ImagesThe better-than-expected start to job creation this year could get a reality check Friday when the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its May nonfarm payrolls report.Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expect the jobs report to show just 80,000 new jobs for the month, down from an average of 150,000 over the past two months, including 115,000 in April. Additionally, some prominent voices on Wall Street believe the…

In recent weeks, Parker Taylor has reached a difficult milestone in his professional career.The 29-year-old has been employed consistently since he was a teenager, first on a factory floor and more recently in pharmaceutical sales. But the St. Petersburg, Florida, resident hasn’t been able to start a new job since losing his job just before Thanksgiving in 2025.Taylor is one of the more than 1.8 million Americans who are classified as long-term unemployed (defined by the government as unemployed for at least 27 weeks) in any given month this year. That number is up about 45% from 2019 and 55%…

Japanese police trudged through waist-high mud to search for a missing Auburn University student on Thursday, but his parents said they remained optimistic about their son’s chances of being rescued.Subscribe to read this story without ads Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.In a statement late Thursday, his mother, Nancy Higginbotham, said Thursday’s “incredibly thorough” search by rescue workers for James “Weston” Higginbotham, 20, was conducted under “difficult conditions.””It’s been a long and stressful day,” she posted. “Today, dozens of Japanese police officers searched through waist-high mud to find Weston. Search dogs and helicopters were also deployed.” James…

President Donald Trump will nominate Acting Attorney General Todd Branch as the top permanent prosecutor on Thursday, he said at a private event at the White House on Wednesday night. Subscribe to read this story without ads Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.White House Chief of Staff Dan Scavino posted a video Wednesday night of Trump announcing Blanche’s nomination during a speech in the Rose Garden. “He’s the acting attorney general,” Trump said in the video, referring to Branch. “Tomorrow, I’m going to instruct Dunn and everyone else involved in that very complicated process to make him…

A man who held several people hostage at a California bank building has died, and after a standoff that lasted about 15 hours, police announced Wednesday that all the hostages were freed.Subscribe to read this story without ads Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.The suspect barricaded himself inside a building at Chester Street and 17th Avenue around 1 p.m. local time Tuesday, sparking a massive law enforcement response that involved crisis negotiators and the FBI. Bakersfield Police said in a statement that a man was pronounced dead at the scene after an officer-involved shooting with FBI agents.…