Secret Service agent assigned to Jill Biden accidentally shoots himself in leg at airport
A U.S. Secret Service agent assigned to protect former first lady Jill Biden accidentally shot himself in the leg at Philadelphia International Airport on Friday, authorities said. Biden was not in the area when the agent was injured during a “negligent discharge” of his firearm Friday morning, Secret Service spokesman...
Pro-Iranian group claims credit for hack of FBI Director Kash Patel’s personal account
WASHINGTON — A pro-Iranian hacking group claimed Friday to have hacked an account of FBI Director Kash Patel and posted online what appear to be years-old photographs of him, along with a work resume and other personal documents dating back more than a decade. “Kash Patel, the current head of...
Federal judge temporarily blocks Pentagon from branding AI firm Anthropic a supply chain risk
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge has ruled in favor of artificial intelligence company Anthropic in temporarily blocking the Pentagon from labeling the company as a supply chain risk. U.S. District Judge Rita Lin on Thursday said she was also blocking President Donald Trump’s directive ordering all federal agencies to...
Wall Street has its worst day since the war with Iran started and crude oil prices rise
NEW YORK — Stocks fell sharply Thursday, and oil prices rose as doubt took over again from hope on Wall Street about a possible end to the war with Iran. The S&P 500 slumped 1.7% for its worst day since January and is back on track for a fifth straight...
U.S. Postal Service to hike prices as war drives up fuel costs
The U.S. Postal Service plans to raise prices to offset rising transportation expenses including the cost of fuel, a sign that the beleaguered mail carrier is feeling the strain of higher oil prices as the war in Iran continues. The USPS will increase prices by 8% on some packages until...
The lines, the prices, the anxiety: Can air travel get any worse?
War is raging in the Middle East, passengers are waiting in four-hour security lines, airfares are spiking and, now, a deadly runway collision at LaGuardia Airport has renewed questions about the safety of U.S. air traffic control. All this comes at one of the busiest travel periods of the year....
Judge questions Pentagon’s motives for labeling Anthropic as a security threat in battle over AI
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge weighing the merits of the Pentagon’s designation of rising Silicon Valley star Anthropic as a security threat repeatedly questioned the government’s reasons for vilifying the company following a dispute over how its artificial intelligence technology can be used in war During a 90-minute hearing...
Chances of a Federal Reserve rate hike fade as inflation worsens
WASHINGTON — The jump in gas prices stemming from the war in Iran has had another impact that may also affect many Americans’ finances: Higher interest rates. Longer-term interest rates have risen quickly since the war began Feb. 28, pushing up the cost of mortgage loans, auto loans, and business...
Spring is here. Do you care?
For the past several years, autumn has been the star season, its popularity helped along by social media videos of influencers in cozy knitwear against backdrops of gaudy foliage. More than a calendric event, fall has become an aesthetic, a lifestyle, a vibe, complete with its own TV show (comforting...
Despite spiking oil prices, there’s no talk of a boom in Texas oil country
MIDLAND, Texas — Drill rigs towered in dormant clusters along the main highway through Odessa, Texas. The bartender at a popular oil country bar complained of a noticeable slowdown. Workers in stained shirts from the nearby oil fields winced at the high price of diesel. “I’m not feeling good about...
Trump touted bigger tax refunds this year, but Americans will likely spend them on gas
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy was supposed to start the year with a bang, fueled by an unusually large jump in tax refunds from President Donald Trump’s tax cut legislation. Yet spiking gas prices are on track to eat up those refunds, leaving most Americans with little extra to spend....
Democrats sharpen criticism of Vance as they look past Trump to the 2028 presidential campaign
FAIRFIELD, Ohio — Although President Donald Trump is the top Democratic nemesis, some of the party’s most ambitious leaders are increasingly looking past him and at Vice President JD Vance. In the latest example, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear traveled to Vance’s home county in Ohio, where on Saturday night he...
Running New York’s ‘toughest job’ shows challenges familiar to Pittsburgh leaders
NEW YORK — Erin Dalton, the new commissioner of the New York City Department of Social Services, comes into the role confronting a daunting list of challenges. There are 85,000 people in city shelters. Many thousands of New Yorkers are likely to lose their federal benefits, including health care and...
Bank of America agrees to settle claims it aided Epstein sex crimes
NEW YORK — Bank of America Corp. has agreed to settle a proposed class action lawsuit on behalf of Jeffrey Epstein victims who accused the bank of aiding in the deceased financier’s sex-trafficking, according to a court record. The agreement in principle was noted Monday in the court docket in...
Stocks climb to their best day since the Iran war began after oil prices ease
NEW YORK — A drop in oil prices on Monday helped send the U.S. stock market to its best day since the war in Iran began. The S&P 500 climbed 1% for its biggest gain in five weeks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 387 points, or 0.8%, and the...
‘It’s just crazy’: High car payments make ownership feel impossible
An $830-a-month car payment. Auto insurance for $280 each month. Thousands more for tire and maintenance repairs. For almost three years, those bills have followed Davine Greene, a nursing student who hasn’t missed or been late on a payment since buying her Kia K5 GT in November 2023. But keeping...
It’s good to be a billionaire, even at tax time
If you’ve been thinking about your tax bill, here’s something else to stew about. Scores of people with enormous wealth are paying relatively little, if anything, in taxes. Billionaires — and those with fortunes that are merely in the hundreds of millions — can avoid taxes legally, using loopholes that...
Consumer prices rose in January, before Iran War added price pressures
Economic growth was slower at the end of 2025 than data first showed and inflationary pressures persisted at the start of this year, a troubling snapshot of an economy on unsteady footing before war with Iran upended oil and financial markets. Consumer prices increased moderately in January, the Federal Reserve’s...
When DOGE unleashed ChatGPT on the humanities
When the Trump administration went looking last spring for National Endowment for the Humanities grants to cut, it turned to a familiar scourge of professors: ChatGPT. Last March, two employees from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency arrived at the agency with the mandate of canceling previously approved grants that...
What the Live Nation settlement would mean for concertgoers — and why some say it isn’t enough
NEW YORK — Live Nation and the U.S. government announced a deal this week that they say would give artists and venues more choice when it comes to selling concert tickets to music fans. But critics say meaningful changes are far from guaranteed. It’s no secret that buying concert tickets...
Oil jumps to $100 per barrel and stocks sink worldwide with no clear end in sight for the Iran war
NEW YORK — With no clear end in sight, the war with Iran sent oil prices back to $100 per barrel on Thursday, and stocks sank worldwide. The S&P 500 fell 1.5% and resumed its sharp swings following a couple days of relative calm. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped...
Mortgage rates rise as Iran war ripples through financial markets
Mortgage rates in the United States are rising again, ending — for the time being — a decline that had offered hope to homebuyers struggling to afford housing. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate in the United States rose to 6.11%, mortgage-financing giant Freddie Mac said Thursday, the second week...
Running on rage bait: Young conservatives in Florida are fascinated by James Fishback
The crowd on the back patio of the sports pub milled about anxiously. Some 200 or so Floridians, many in their teens and early 20s, had been drawn to this nondescript Miami ale house, on a weeknight in February, by the algorithm. From Instagram to X to TikTok, they had...
Rising fuel costs pressure airlines and truckersVideo
The surge in fuel prices because of the war in Iran is starting to put significant pressure on airlines, truckers and the public. The conflict has effectively frozen shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for about one-fifth of the world’s oil. President Donald Trump’s statement Monday that the...
Stocks hold steadier as Wall Street waits for the next signal on how long war with Iran might last
NEW YORK — The U.S. stock market held steadier Tuesday as Wall Street waited for the next signal on when the war with Iran may end. The S&P 500 dipped 0.2%, a day after its latest wild swings caused by extreme moves in the oil market. The Dow Jones Industrial...
