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NEW YORK — Donald Trump arrived at a New York court on Thursday for a hearing that could decide whether the former president's first criminal trial begins in just 39 days. The hearing to determine whether Trump's March 25 hush-money trial date holds will be held in the same Manhattan courtroom where he pleaded not guilty last April to 34 counts of falsifying Business records in an alleged scheme to bury stories about extramarital affairs that arose during his 2016 presidential campaign. Trump entered the courthouse shortly before 9 a.m. It was Trump's first return visit to court in the New York criminal case since that historic indictment made him the first ex-president charged with a crime. Since then, he has also been indicted in Florida, Georgia and Washington, D.C. In recent weeks, he's blended campaign events with court appearances, attending on Monday a closed hearing in a Florida case charging him with hoarding classified records. Judge Juan Manuel Merchan has t...

T he Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory parade ended in tragedy after a mass shooting killed at least one person and injured more than 20 others on Wednesday in Kansas City, Mo. Police detained three people as part of their investigation. Some NFL players who shared tributes to the victims also called for political action to reduce gun violence, with another mass shooting drawing attention again to local and federal gun laws. Missouri has one of the highest rates of gun deaths in the country, ranked 9th among states by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the most recent available data from 2021. The state was ranked 38th for gun law strength by Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun violence prevention nonprofit organization. Here’s what to know about gun laws in Kansas City and Missouri, as well as where political representatives stand on the issue.  What are the gun laws in Kansas City and Missouri? Missouri hasn’t required a permit to open or conceal carry a fi...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran is responsible for the “physical violence” that led to the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022 and sparked nationwide protests against the country's mandatory headscarf, or hijab, laws and its ruling theocracy, a U.N. fact-finding mission said Friday. The stark pronouncement came in a wide-ranging initial report submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Council by the Fact-Finding Mission on Iran that concluded Tehran has committed “crimes against humanity” through its actions. It also found that the Islamic Republic employed “unnecessary and disproportionate use of lethal force” to put down the demonstrations that erupted following Amini's death, and that Iranian security forces sexually assaulted detainees. The monthslong security crackdown killed more than 500 people and saw over 22,000 detained. Iranian officials did not respond to multiple requests for comment from The Associated Press on the mission’s findings. The release of the report is u...

S itting at her kitchen table in Alabama, Sen. Katie Britt called President Joe Biden a “dithering and diminished leader” and warned of a bleak American future under his presidency in the Republican rebuttal to his State of the Union address Thursday evening. The first-term Alabama Republican, the youngest woman in the Senate, delivered a stinging election-year critique of the president. She argued that “the country we know and love seems to be slipping away” and appealed directly to her fellow mothers, who she said are probably “disgusted” with Washington. Britt, a 42 year-old former congressional staffer and mother of two, was elected to the Senate in 2022 with former President Donald Trump’s endorsement. She promised to come to Washington as a “mo MMA on a mission” and has carved out a unique role in the GOP conference as an adviser to Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and an experienced former aide on the Senate Appropriations Committee. It’s the third year in a row that Re...

T he White House on Thursday confirmed reports that Russia is pursuing an “anti-satellite capability” that poses a serious national security concern but is not an immediate threat to Americans' safety. "We're not talking about a weapon that can be used to attack human beings or cause physical destruction here on Earth,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters. “It is not an active capability and it has not yet been deployed."  While Kirby would not say whether these capabilities would be considered nuclear or nuclear-capable weapons, he confirmed they were "space-based." He also said they would violate the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which bans the stationing of weapons of mass destruction in outer space, and to which Russia is a signatory. The briefing came a day after House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner, an Ohio Republican, sparked alarm with a cryptic statement to fellow lawmakers announcing "a destabiliz...

T aylor Swift donated $100,000 to the family of the woman who was fatally shot at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade on Wednesday, a representative for the pop singer told Variety . Friday morning, two $50,000 donations in the singer’s name appeared on a GoFundMe page set up for the family of Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a local radio host and mother of two. “Sending my deepest sympathies and condolences in the wake of your devastating loss. With love, Taylor Swift,” the donation reads. Swift was in attendance at the Super Bowl on Sunday, and watched her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, claim victory against the San Francisco 49ers. Following the parade shooting, Kelce was among the NFL players to lead tributes to the victims. Kelce made his own $100,000 donation, paid in two $50,000 instalments via his Eighty-Seven & Running organization, to a GoFundMe page set up for the Reyes family, whose two young daughters were shot in the legs at the parade. The aim of the...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Two juveniles were charged with crimes connected to the mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl rally, authorities said Friday, as the city tries to recover in the aftermath of the violence. A news release from the Jackson County Family Court said the juveniles were charged Thursday and are being detained in the county’s Juvenile Detention Center “on gun-related and resisting arrest charges.” The release said it is “anticipated that additional charges are expected in the future as the investigation by the Kansas City Police Department continues.” No further information was released. Juvenile court cases are largely kept private under Missouri law, and hearings are not open to the public. Police initially detained three juveniles but released one who they determined wasn’t involved in the shooting. Police are looking for others who may have been involved and are calling for witnesses, victims and people with cellphone video of the violence to call a dedica...

STERLING, Va. — When firefighters arrived at a home in a Washington, D.C., suburb to investigate a report about a gas smell Friday night, they discovered a 500-gallon underground propane tank with a leak on the side of the residence. Shortly after they arrived, the house exploded and burst into flames, with multiple mayday calls coming from the firefighters trapped inside. Crews rushed in to try to rescue them from the debris that covered them, but one firefighter was killed and 10 others were injured, Loudoun County Fire and Rescue officials said Saturday. Four of the firefighters hurt in the blast remained in hospitals Saturday morning, according Loudoun Fire and Rescue System Chief Keith Johnson. Johnson said all four are expected to survive. A total of 11 first responders were sent to hospitals with “varying degrees of injuries” Friday night, including the one who died. He was identified as 45-year-old Trevor Brown, a volunteer with Sterling Volunteer Fire Company. Brown w...

T he utility provider Xcel Energy said Thursday that its facilities appeared to have played a role in igniting a massive wildfire in the Texas Panhandle that grew to the largest blaze in state History . The Smokehouse Creek fire burned nearly 1,700 square miles (4,400 square kilometers) and destroyed hundreds of structures. The Minnesota-based company said in a statement that it disputes claims that “it acted negligently” in maintaining and operating infrastructure. “Based on currently available information, Xcel Energy acknowledges that its facilities appear to have been involved in an ignition of the Smokehouse Creek fire,” the company said in a statement. Also Thursday, The Texas A&M Forest Service said that its investigators have concluded that the Smokehouse Creek fire was ignited by power lines, as was the nearby Windy Deuce fire. Xcel Energy said it did not believe its facilities were responsible for the Windy Deuce fire. Electric utilities have taken responsibility for wild...

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday approved a rule that will require some public companies to report their greenhouse gas emissions and climate risks, after last-minute revisions that weakened the rule in the face of strong pushback from companies. The rule was one of the most anticipated in recent years from the nation’s top financial regulator, drawing more than 24,000 comments from companies, auditors, legislators and trade groups. It brings the U.S. closer to the European Union and California, which moved ahead earlier with corporate climate disclosure rules. The rule passed 3-2, with three Democratic commissioners supporting it and two Republicans opposed. Read More: Actually, Clean Tech Investment is Still Going Strong Publicly traded companies will be required to say more in their financial statements about the risks climate change poses to their operations and their own contributions to the problem. But the version approved Wednesday was weak...

N ew York Community Bancorp dropped as much as 32% on a report that the beleaguered regional bank is trying to raise equity capital to restore confidence. Bankers are gauging investors’ interest in buying stock, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Representatives for the company didn’t immediately respond to calls and messages seeking comment. The shares have lost more than three-quarters of their value this year after NYCB slashed its dividend and set aside more provisions than expected for loan losses. Last week, it announced it was replacing its chief executive officer and had identified “material weaknesses” in how it tracks loan risks.  Read More: Column: China’s Economic Slump Is Here to Stay NYCB is a major lender to owners of apartment buildings subject to tough New York rent laws, limiting the revenue units can generate. It also financed offices in a region beset by vacancies in the work-from-home era. Credit-rating firms ha...