US

WASHINGTON — The Senate has confirmed 48 of President Donald Trump’s nominees at once, voting for the first time under new rules to begin clearing a backlog of executive branch positions that had been delayed by Democrats. Frustrated by the stalling tactics, Senate Republicans moved last week to make it easier to confirm large groups … Read more

MANSFIELD, La. — The strip search lasted just six minutes, but when it ended, Jarius Brown had a broken nose, fractured eye socket and a badly swollen face. Never-before-published footage shows why: Two Louisiana sheriff’s deputies pummeled the naked 25-year-old, flinging him around the DeSoto Parish Detention Center laundry room while landing a flurry of … Read more

NEW YORK — Prosecutors have dropped assault charges against a protester who said he was dragged off a Manhattan street by Egyptian government officials, beaten and whipped with a metal chain and then wrongly arrested by New York City police. Yasin El Sammak, 22, and his 15-year-old brother had faced assault and strangulation charges following … Read more

PORTLAND, Ore. — Valerie Nagle spent decades wondering what happened to her older sister who was last seen in Oregon in 1974. She searched online databases of unidentified persons cases looking for her and sent DNA to a popular ancestry website in the hopes of finding a match. That all changed in June when authorities … Read more

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Conservationists have filed a lawsuit to halt Florida’s first black bear hunt in a decade, arguing that the hunt scheduled for December is unconstitutional and contradicts the state’s own policy protecting native species. State officials approved the hunt in August despite strong opposition. Bear Warriors United filed the complaint against the Florida … Read more

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Heavy rains forced the closure of schools, businesses and government agencies in the U.S. Virgin Islands on Thursday. A widespread power outage also was reported in St. John and St. Thomas. Forecasters warned of flooding, landslides and dangerous river surges across the U.S. Virgin Islands and in parts of neighboring … Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — Fourteen former N.C. State male athletes have filed a civil lawsuit in state court alleging sexual abuse under the guise of treatment and harassment by the Wolfpack’s former director of sports medicine, expanding a case that began with a federal lawsuit from a single athlete three years ago. The lawsuit filed Wednesday … Read more

WASHINGTON — D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on Thursday defended her policies to Congress as President Donald Trump’s law enforcement surge is in its second month and lawmakers act to further limit the city’s authority. She was invited to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to answer questions about crime in the nation’s capital. … Read more

INDIANAPOLIS — Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg rallied Democrats against redistricting in his home state of Indiana Thursday as pressure grows on Republican state lawmakers to redraw the state’s congressional districts. Buttigieg — a contender to represent Democrats aiming to win back the presidency in 2028 — was the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, before … Read more

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A South Florida judge on Thursday cleared a police officer of wrongdoing in the shooting death of a UPS driver who had been taken hostage during a 2019 robbery. Broward Circuit Judge Ernest Kollra ruled that Jose Mateo, who had been charged with manslaughter in the death of UPS driver Frank … Read more