Author: Leslie Stewart

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…

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.…

On Tuesday night, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra conceded to businessman Zach Rahn in the Republican primary for governor in Iowa after voters in his party rejected President Donald Trump’s late endorsement in the race.Subscribe to read this story without ads Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.NBC News is not predicting the outcome of the primary. But Feenstra campaign spokesman Billy Furst confirmed the concession had been made to Rahn.So far, none of Mr. Trump’s endorsed candidates for governor, House of Representatives, or Senate has lost a primary in the midterm elections.In 2024, Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, walks…

President Donald Trump signed a landmark executive order Tuesday requiring AI companies to give the government early access to their most powerful models for review. Subscribe to read this story without ads Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.The order, signed in private, directs federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, the Treasury Department, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, to strengthen cybersecurity defenses of the nation’s critical infrastructure and lays the groundwork for the federal government to test and vet the most powerful AI systems for safety issues before deploying them. The test will rely on…

A Los Angeles County court on Monday granted a temporary restraining order to pop superstar Sabrina Carpenter against a man she claims stalked her and tried to break into her home.Subscribe to read this story without ads Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.According to Monday’s order, the court prohibited William Applegate, 31, from coming within 100 meters of Carpenter or her sister Sarah Carpenter and her partner, who also live in the Hollywood Hills home.Carpenter filed for a civil harassment restraining order against Applegate in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Friday. Applegate allegedly approached Carpenter’s front…

Oil prices soared on Monday after Iranian state media reported that the country was ending talks with the United States to end its ongoing war.Subscribe to read this story without ads Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.U.S. crude oil soared as much as 8.5% to nearly $95 a barrel, an increase of nearly $8. International Brent crude oil rose as much as 7.3%, jumping $6 to more than $97 a barrel.Heating oil, a substitute for jet fuel, also rose 7%, and wholesale gas prices rose 4%. As a result of the recent decline in oil prices, retail…

Colombia’s outgoing president on Sunday raised questions about the country’s elections, revealing that his favorite candidate, Iván Cepeda, will face a run-off next month against his right-wing opponent, Abelardo de la Espriela.Subscribe to read this story without ads Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.In the first round of voting on Sunday, neither candidate received more than 50% of the vote. With more than 99% of the votes counted, de la Espriela, who is running as a candidate for the party he founded, Defensor de la Patria, was leading with more than 43% of the votes. Cepeda, a…