US

It is now significantly harder for non-U.S. citizens to obtain a commercial driver’s license under new rules the Transportation Department imposed Friday. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said an audit that was done after a deadly crash in Florida last month that was caused by a truck driver attempting an illegal U-turn showed that the previous … Read more

MAGNOLIA, Ky. — The leafy soybean plants reach Caleb Ragland’s thighs and are ripe for harvest, but the Kentucky farmer is deeply worried. He doesn’t know where he and others like him will sell their crop because China has stopped buying. Beijing, which traditionally has snapped up at least a quarter of all soybeans grown … Read more

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Golden lion tamarins and Hoffman’s two-toed sloths have become unlikely roommates in a brand new habitat at the Palm Beach Zoo and Conservation Society in Florida. Both species are native to the forests of South America, which is why the new habitat features a thick canopy of trees. The golden … Read more

CHICAGO — President Donald Trump’s transportation department has been pulling back grants already announced for recreational trails and bicycle lanes, telling local officials their projects fail to promote road capacity or are “hostile to motor vehicles.” The department recently sent letters to local governments in at least six states — Alabama, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts … Read more

Assata Shakur, a Black liberation activist who was given political asylum in Cuba after her 1979 escape from a U.S. prison where she had been serving a life sentence for killing a police officer, has died, her daughter and the Cuban government said. Shakur, who was born Joanne Deborah Chesimard, died Thursday in the capital … Read more

A portion of filmmaker Guillermo del Toro’s prized horror memorabilia collection was auctioned off Friday, with the highest-ticket item selling for $325,000. Del Toro, one of the industry’s most respected filmmakers and long-time horror buff, auctioned over 100 of the 5,000 items in his collection. The other two parts of the auction series, in partnership … Read more

NEW YORK — A retired Wall Street financier was arrested Friday on charges that he lured dozens of women, including former Playboy models, to be sexually and physically assaulted during encounters in his Central Park penthouse in a soundproofed room described in court papers as “The Dungeon.” Howard Rubin, 70, was arrested Friday at his … Read more

WASHINGTON — The Congressional Black Caucus kicked off its annual legislative conference this week, which has been upended by President Donald Trump’s second term and by the presence of National Guard patrols near the conference’s venue. The 62-member caucus, all of whom are Democrats, gathered with business leaders, activists, policy experts, local government officials, and … Read more

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — President Donald Trump deployed more than 2,000 National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., in a crime-centered mission, and now he wants a replica of that in Memphis, but the early blueprints show key differences. Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee has publicly said he would not expect more than 150 National Guard members … Read more

LOS ANGELES — A 79-year-old man in Southern California filed a claim against the federal government Thursday for $50 million in damages, saying federal agents violated his civil rights when they tackled him during a Sept. 9 immigration raid at a car wash business. Rafie Ollah Shouhed, the owner of a car wash in Los … Read more