Author: Wolf Blitzer

NEW YORK (AP) — Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty Friday to a federal murder charge in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson as prosecutors formally declared their intent to seek the death penalty and the judge warned the Justice Department to stop making public comments that could spoil the case.Mangione, 26, stood with his lawyers as he entered the plea, leaning forward toward a microphone on the defense table as U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett asked him if understood the indictment, which charges him with stalking and shooting Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel last December.Mangione said, “yes.” Asked how…

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The federal government is reversing the termination of legal status for international students around the U.S. after many filed court challenges against the Trump administration crackdown, a government lawyer said Friday.The records in a federal student database maintained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had been terminated in recent weeks, often without the students or their schools being notified. Judges around the country had already issued orders temporarily restoring the students’ records in dozens of lawsuits challenging the terminations.More than 1,200 students nationwide suddenly lost their legal status or had visas revoked, leaving them at risk…

Forecasters on Friday warned low humidity and gusty wind increased the risk that fire could develop across parts of New Jersey, Philadelphia and its suburbs and Delaware as firefighters continued to battle a vast wildfire in the Pine Barrens. The National Weather Service discouraged any outdoor burning with low humidity, temperatures reaching near 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius) and southerly winds that could gust up to 20 mph (32 kph) across a swath of the Mid-Atlantic. There’s a chance of rain over the weekend in the region. In its most recent update, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said…

PASSAIC, N.J. (AP) — Alleged gang members without criminal records wrongly sent to a notorious prison in El Salvador.International students detained by masked federal agents for writing opinion columns or attending campus demonstrations. American citizens, visa holders and visitors stopped at airports, detained for days or facing deportation for minor infractions.Since returning to the White House, President Donald Trump has launched an unprecedented campaign of immigration enforcement that has pushed the limits of executive power and clashed with federal judges trying to restrain him. But unlike in his first term, Trump’s efforts have not sparked the kind of widespread condemnation…

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Behind the remains of a town scorched by fire, the foothills are lush with new green and filled with birdsong.Wildlife is returning to the Eaton Fire burn area and scientists are closely tracking it four months after the Los Angeles area wildfires tore through the Angeles National Forest and destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses in Altadena. Trail cameras installed by a group of volunteers documented the first mountain lion back in the area March 26. It was seen again as recently as two nights ago.“My first inclination was to share that to people who have…

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Thousands of people are gathering in New Mexico for a celebration showcasing Native American and Indigenous dancers, musicians and artisans from around the world.Billed by organizers as the largest powwow in North America, the annual Gathering of Nations festival kicks off Friday with a colorful procession of dancers spiraling into the center of an arena at the New Mexico state fairgrounds. Participants wear elaborate regalia adorned with jingling bells and dance to the tempo of rhythmic drumming.The event also features the crowning of Miss Indian World, as well as horse parades in which riders are judged…

PHOENIX (AP) — The Trump administration’s plan to strictly require anyone illegally in the U.S. to register with the government and carry documentation is stirring up fears of heightened racial profiling even among legal residents, immigrants’ rights advocates say.For some, it’s a return to a climate from the recent past in which police departments and other law enforcement agencies’ insistence on documentation drove immigrants underground and increased public safety concerns.“It happens already to an extent. … I think this would make it even worse because how would you know somebody is undocumented?” said Jose Patiño, vice president of education and…

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) — Disgraced former U.S. Rep. George Santos, who lied about his life story and defrauded donors, faces sentencing in federal court on Friday.The New York Republican, who served in Congress for barely a year before being ousted in 2023 by his House colleagues, pleaded guilty last summer to federal wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.He admitted to deceiving donors and stealing the identities of nearly a dozen people, including his family members, to fund his winning campaign. As part of a plea deal, Santos has agreed to pay roughly $580,000 in penalties in addition to prison…

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Legendary attorney Fred Gray — once deemed the “chief counsel” of the Civil Rights Movement by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. — was honored with a statue outside the Alabama State Bar Association on Thursday.“Growing up in Montgomery on the west side, I never thought that one day my image would be in stone to honor my professional career,” the 94-year-old said in an impassioned speech at the statue unveiling in downtown Montgomery.Gray represented prominent civil rights leaders like King, Rosa Parks and John Lewis throughout the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama, allowing activists to…

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The largest union for federal employees is planning to lay off more than half of its staff nationwide after President Donald Trump’s executive actions have rapidly weakened the organization’s finances, the union said Thursday.The American Federation of Government Employees will move ahead with a reduction in force that could cut its 355 employees to approximately 150, eliminating organizers, national representatives, support staff and others. The layoffs will weaken a leading opponent to Trump’s dramatic reshaping of the federal government.AFGE has filed a flurry of lawsuits seeking to block everything from the mass firings of probationary…