Virginia Democrats have unveiled a new U.S. House map that aims to give the party four more seats in Congress. The boundaries were revealed even as an ongoing legal challenge makes use of that map for the midterm elections far from certain. The map released Thursday would dilute Republicans’ hold in Virginia’s conservative areas while giving Democrats a better footing in the districts they would like to flip. And it could give Democrats nationwide an edge in the redistricting battle with President Donald Trump that began when he pushed to redraw districts in Republican-controlled states such as Texas.

A division of the U.S. Agency for International Development eliminated by Trump administration cuts last year was reborn Thursday as an independent nonprofit.

Local leaders across the U.S. describe an increasingly hostile relationship with Washington, driven by President Donald Trump's immigration policies.

Canada and France are opening diplomatic consulates in the capital of Greenland.

Farmers in Louisiana are going toe-to-toe with some nasty enemies: apple snails that clog crawfish traps while laying millions of bubblegum-colored eggs and tiny bugs called delphacids that can wipe out half a rice field while spreading plant disease.

The U.S. stock market is roaring back as Wall Street recovers much of its losses from earlier in the week.

The U.S. military says it has carried out another deadly strike on a vessel accused of trafficking drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Pizza Hut plans to close 250 U.S. restaurants in the first half of this year as its parent company considers a sale of the chain.

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate barely budged this week, staying close to 6% as the spring home-buying season nears.

Residents of a small coastal Cuban town face severe hardships despite living near energy sources.

The detention of a Turkish couple who own a New Jersey kebab shop helped galvanize their community against immigration crackdowns last year.

Members of the gold-medal-winning 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team get recognized around the towns they now call home.

As Israeli strikes killed two dozen Palestinians on Wednesday, many in Gaza wondered what had become of the ceasefire reached between Israel and Hamas in October.

Sharp drops hit Wall Street as technology stocks sank and bitcoin plunged again to roughly half its record price set in the fall.

A judge says U.S. immigration agents in Oregon must stop arresting people without warrants unless they are likely to escape.

Minute Maid helped make orange juice a year-round morning staple in 1946, when it started shipping cans of frozen juice around the U.S. But 80 years later, the brand’s parent company is halting sales of frozen juice concentrates in the U.S. and Canada, saying it wants to focus on the fresh juices that customers now prefer.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem will announce a “major border wall update” alongside top officials from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison Holdings says its subsidiary has started arbitration proceedings against Panama after that country’s Supreme Court ruled a concession for the subsidiary to operate Panama Canal ports was unconstitutional.

Stephen Curry is teaming up with LeBron James and Kevin Durant at the NBA All-Star Game.

Two Utah Republican Congress members are asking a federal court to block new U.S. House districts that could help Democrats win a Salt Lake City seat.

A Florida congresswoman charged with conspiring to steal $5 million in federal COVID-19 disaster funds has formally pleaded not guilty nearly three months after her indictment.

Immigration officers with guns drawn arrested some activists who were trailing their vehicles Tuesday in Minneapolis.

The White House says talks between special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian officials are still planned after a Navy fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone that was approaching a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea.

Lindsey Vonn is “confident” she can compete at the upcoming Milan Cortina Winter Olympics despite the left knee injury she sustained in a crash four days ago.

The CEO of the Gates Foundation said it will not change course in the face of the collapse of the foreign aid system but instead continue focusing on its main priorities.

The secretary of Homeland Security is requiring that all officers on the ground in Minneapolis wear body cameras.

A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from ending temporary protections that have allowed roughly 350,000 Haitians to live and work in the United States.

Track and field’s international federation says it will only support future events held by the bankrupt Grand Slam Track league once its debts from the 2025 season are settled.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has announced two more arrests in the protest at a church in Minnesota against the immigration enforcement crackdown.

Thirty days after the U.S. captured then-President Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela remains in turmoil.

U.S. stocks rose following sharp swings that shook financial markets overnight, including tumbles for Asian stocks.

Forecasters warned that dangerous extra-cold conditions will persist for a huge swath of the U.S. from the Gulf Coast into New England.

A Russian drone strike on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro has killed at least 12 people, according to Ukrainian emergency services.

Save the Children warns that supplies are running out at al-Hol camp in northeast Syria.

Air travelers in the U.S. without a REAL ID or another acceptable form of identification are subject to a new fee starting Sunday.

Cubans are hustling to become more self-sufficient as the U.S. government tightens its economic noose over the communist-run island in a move experts say is meant to force a popular uprising and usher in a new government.

Beth de Araújo’s family drama “Josephine” has won the top prizes at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.

U.S. wholesale prices rose a hotter-than-expected 0.5% in December.

The European economy recorded modest growth at the end of last year, overcoming higher U.S. tariffs.

Stocks fell on Wall Street, while gold and silver prices plunged as investors tried to gauge what President Donald Trump’s new nominee to lead the Federal Reserve will mean for interest rates.

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that would impose a tariff on any goods from countries that sell or provide oil to Cuba, a move that puts pressure on Mexico.

The chief federal judge in Minnesota has added his voice to the weekslong confrontation between the public and the Trump administration's immigration enforcement.

Starbucks says it plans to open hundreds of new stores across the U.S. and add seating at thousands of existing locations.

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate edged up for the second week in a row, but remains just above its lowest level in more than three years.

A U.S. immigration judge has granted asylum to Guan Heng, who exposed human rights abuses in China and fears persecution if sent back.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has a warning for Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney: Your comments against U.S. trade policy could backfire, especially at a time when the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement is facing a formal review.

Few ripples washed through Wall Street after the Federal Reserve decided to keep its main interest rate steady, just like investors expected.

A Virginia judge has ruled that a proposed constitutional amendment allowing Democrats to redraw their Congressional maps is illegal. Tazewell Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley Jr. says Virginia lawmakers’ proposed constitutional amendment was not valid under a technicality under state laws that such proposals must be passed and published by the clerk’s office at least three months before a general election. In October, lawmakers advanced their mid-decade redistricting resolution less than a week before their statewide races. The order potentially foils Democrats’ efforts to pick up seats in the U.S. House this November.

A Virginia judge has ruled that a proposed constitutional amendment letting Democrats redraw the state’s Congressional maps was illegal.

Tourism in Cuba is plummeting at a time when the island desperately needs that revenue.

A science-oriented advocacy group moved its “Doomsday Clock” to 85 seconds to midnight, saying the Earth is closer than ever to destruction.

A Customs and Border Protection official told Congress in a notice that two federal officers fired shots during the encounter that killed ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

Coco Gauff has shattered her racket in frustration after losing to Elina Svitolina in the Australian Open quarterfinals.

Parts of Australia have sweltered in record temperatures close to 50 degrees Celsius or 122 Fahrenheit during a prolonged heat wave.

Three Texas siblings who died in an icy pond are among several dozen deaths in U.S. states gripped by frigid cold.

Wall Street ticked to a record as stocks zigzagged underneath the market’s surface following mixed profit reports from UnitedHealth, General Motors and other big companies.

The U.S. military says the death toll from strikes on alleged drug boats is up to 126 people, with the inclusion of those presumed dead after being lost at sea.

The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and three accompanying warships have arrived in the Middle East.

Many U.S. residents are facing another night of below-freezing temperatures and no electricity after a massive winter storm dumped more snow in Northeast and left parts of the South coated in ice.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a security agreement with the United States is “100% ready.”.

Top U.S. envoys have met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urging him to advance the ceasefire in Gaza.

Stan Wawrinka bids farewell to the Australian Open after losing to Taylor Fritz.

U.S. officials have granted an extension for housing assistance to survivors of the 2023 wildfires in Hawaii, according to Gov. Josh Green.

The U.S. military says it’s carried out a deadly strike on a vessel accused of trafficking drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, the first since the raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro earlier this month.

The incoming winter storm that is moving through the U.S. is expected to impact a majority of the Commonwealth, likely resulting in power outages across our region.

A member of Haiti’s transitional presidential council has announced that a majority of the panel has voted to fire the country’s embattled Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé as the country’s political chaos deepens.

Ukrainian, Russian and U.S. envoys are meeting in the United Arab Emirates, the first known instance that officials from the Trump administration have sat down with both countries as part of Washington’s push to end Moscow’s nearly 4-year-old invasion.

Syria's government forces have taken control of a prison housing Islamic State group members in the country's north.

The U.S. stock market finished its zigzag week full of tariff threats and cancellations with a quiet and tentative close.

The start of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy is days away.

Texas has become the top source of new residents for nine other states, despite its own population growth.

The former Des Moines superintendent has plead guilty in federal court to falsely claiming U.S. citizenship and illegally possessing firearms.

U.S. stocks rose and regained more of their losses for the week.

U.S. forces have boarded and taken control of a seventh oil tanker connected with Venezuela.

A federal judge in Miami has rescheduled a hearing for a Florida congresswoman charged with conspiring to steal $5 million in federal COVID-19 disaster funds.

International health officials plan to meet in a few months to reevaluate the United States’ measles-free status.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says the bid by U.S. President Donald Trump to take over Greenland poses a “deep crisis” for NATO and raises questions about the alliance’s preservation as a single military-political bloc.

A privately funded initiative called “Be The People” will try to connect hundreds of millions of Americans with efforts to solve local problems as part of a vision for the next 250 years of the United States.

With a very offbeat style of play and even more unique body art, Oleksandra Oliynykova stood out in her Australian Open loss to defending champion Madision Keys.

Latin American progressive leaders are increasingly being backed into a corner on organized crime by pressure from the Trump administration and their own voters, who point to the results from El Salvador's war on gangs.

Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Denver’s Nikola Jokic, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Luka Doncic, Golden State's Stephen Curry, New York’s Jalen Brunson, Detroit’s Cade Cunningham, Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey, Boston’s Jaylen Brown and San San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama were announced as NBA All-Star starters Monday.

China has reported its economy expanded at a 5% annual pace in 2025, buoyed by strong exports despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey says sending active duty soldiers to Minnesota for an immigration crackdown is ridiculous and unconstitutional.

A heckler yelled “leave Greenland alone!”.

President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” that was initially seen as a mechanism focused on ending the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza is taking shape with ambitions to have a far broader mandate of other global crises.

A U.S. judge has ruled federal officers in a Minneapolis-area immigration operation can’t detain or tear gas peaceful protesters who aren’t obstructing authorities, including when these people are observing the agents.

Virginia’s Democratic-led General Assembly is advancing a constitutional amendment to allow redistricting ahead of the midterm elections. This means Virginia voters will now be tasked with deciding whether lawmakers should redraw the state's congressional map ahead of the midterm elections. Officials say the legislature's proposed congressional map will be made public by the end of January, ahead of the referendum in April. The redistricting resolution has sparked raucous debate among lawmakers on the merits of gerrymandering a battleground state known to have moderate and independent voters. The state currently is represented in the U.S. House by six Democrats and five Republicans.

Reported measles cases in South Carolina surged by almost 30% in the last few days.

Health experts say the U.S. flu season appears to be waning with two straight weeks of decline in measures of flu activity.

The Justice Department is investigating whether Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have impeded federal immigration enforcement through public statements they have made, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Stocks edged a bit lower on Wall Street as the first week of corporate earnings season closes out with markets trading near record levels.

The Trump administration has identified a host of athletic competitions it classifies as “major sporting events” — aside from soccer's 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympic Games — that athletes and coaches will be allowed to travel to the U.S. to take part in despite a broad visa ban.

The U.S. is imposing new sanctions on Iranian officials accused of repressing protests against Iran’s theocratic government.

American skeleton athlete Katie Uhlaender's complaint about being denied a chance to qualify for the Milan Cortina Games has been dismissed by the sport's governing body.

President Donald Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act and deploy troops to quell persistent protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Minneapolis.

An Oval Office ceremony meant to celebrate milk was overshadowed by President Donald Trump making news on other fronts.

A new report says organ donations from the recently deceased dropped last year, resulting in fewer kidney transplants.

A new Congressional Budget Office analysis says renaming the Department of Defense the Department of War could cost taxpayers up to $125 million.

President Donald Trump says he’s been told “on good authority” that plans for executions in Iran have stopped, even as Tehran has signaled fast trials and executions ahead in its crackdown on protesters.

Verizon says it resolved an outage that disrupted many U.S. customers’ calling and other cellular services for more than 10 hours on Wednesday.