May 14, 2026 5:25 pm
(AP) – The head of U.S. Border Patrol has announced his resignation. Michael Banks’ decision is the latest leadership shake-up of officials implementing President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. His move also and comes as the Trump administration appears to be recalibrating its approach. Banks tells Fox News that he feels he’s stabilized an agency that’s heavily involved in President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement. The White House hasn’t commented on the resignation. Banks’ departure coincides with leadership changes at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons is also leaving.
May 14, 2026 4:57 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is expanding its fraud-busting initiative in federal health programs. Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday announced a $1.3 billion deferral of Medicaid funding to California, which is said to be the largest-ever deferral. The press office of California’s governor is disputing the administration’s suspicions of fraud. The administration is also imposing a six-month freeze on some new Medicare enrollments and warning states to investigate Medicaid fraud or risk losing funding. The new efforts are part of Vance’s anti-fraud task force. Several alleged fraud schemes have been prosecuted in federal health programs, and states have acknowledged it’s a legitimate concern. But some have pushed back on the administration’s aggressive tactics.
May 13, 2026 4:54 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has confirmed Kevin Warsh as chairman of the Federal Reserve. The vote to confirm Warsh on Wednesday brings new leadership to the world’s most powerful central bank at a fraught moment for the global economy. Warsh’s nomination faced uncertainty after Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina threatened to block it while the Justice Department investigated Fed Chair Jerome Powell. The Powell probe was dropped in April, allowing the Warsh confirmation to move forward. Warsh will take over as the Fed confronts stubborn inflation, deep divisions over interest rates and renewed scrutiny from President Donald Trump over its independence.
May 14, 2026 4:55 am
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The British military says a ship anchored off the east coast of the United Arab Emirates has been seized and is heading toward Iranian territorial waters. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said it received reports that the vessel was taken by unauthorized personnel while anchored northeast of the UAE port of Fujairah, near the Strait of Hormuz. UKMTO did not name the ship and said it is investigating. Fujairah is an important oil export terminal and the UAE’s main port outside of the Persian Gulf. It has been repeatedly attacked during the war with Iran.
May 14, 2026 12:35 pm
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The U.S. Postal Service is releasing special edition stamps featuring the bald eagle for America’s 250th birthday. The stamps issued Thursday depict the eagle across five life stages, from hatchling to adult. The eagle has long symbolized American values like strength, freedom and independence, but the bird is also considered a major conservation success story. In the mid-1900s, eagles nearly vanished due to pesticide poisoning. A 1972 ban on the chemical helped their recovery. The artist behind the collection spent nearly a year on the illustrations and hopes the stamps inspire appreciation for the natural world. (Photo: AP)
May 14, 2026 4:48 am
ARDMORE, Pa. (AP) — Parents across the country who are worried about excessive screen time in schools are lobbying educators to go back to pencils and paper. In places like Pennsylvania’s Lower Merion School District, some families are taking it even further. Over 600 people have signed a petition asking to preserve parents’ ability to opt their children out of digital devices, setting off a clash with the school district. At a meeting Monday night, school board members said it’s not feasible to let hundreds of students opt out of technology that is essential to the curriculum.
May 13, 2026 4:17 pm
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Alex Murdaugh’s murder convictions and life sentence for the deaths of his wife and son have been overturned by the South Carolina Supreme Court because the court clerk at his trial suggested he was guilty. But the disgraced lawyer won’t be leaving prison anytime soon. Prosecutors say they plan to retry Murdaugh, which likely means there will be another lengthy trial for the case that because of the combination of money, power, Southern accents and treachery has become a true crime sensation with several streaming miniseries, best selling books and dozens of true crime podcasts. Murdaugh will remain in prison. He pleaded guilty to stealing around $12 million from his clients and currently is serving a 40-year federal sentence
May 13, 2026 2:16 pm
Police were called to Walmart in the Bethel Park Shopping Center at 5049 Library road just before nine Wednesday morning for a bomb threat. Police say they shut the mall down for more than two hours while they swept Walmart and the adjoining Giant Eagle. Everyone was evacuated out of an abundance of caution and no one was hurt. Authorities say Explosives Ordinance Device Dogs were brought in from other law enforcement agencies, but there were no explosives or suspicious devices found and the stores were allowed to reopen. Police say there is no threat to the community and their investigation continues.
May 13, 2026 5:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. wholesale inflation came in hot last month. Producer prices rose 6% from a year earlier, most since December 2022, as the 10-week Iran war pushed up energy prices and put pressure on companies to pass along higher costs to consumers. The Labor Department reported Wednesday that its producer price index — which tracks inflation before it hits consumers — shot up 1.4% in April, biggest monthly gain since March 2022. The numbers were much higher than economists had forecast.
May 13, 2026 5:00 am
BEIJING (AP) — The welcoming ceremony for U.S. President Donald Trump as he arrived in Beijing for a summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping has included a military honor guard, a military band and hundreds of Chinese youths waving flags and chanting, “Warm welcome!” The youth greeters Wednesday were decked out in white and robin’s egg blue outfits that matched the paint job of the iconic presidential plane. The meat of the summit doesn’t start until Thursday, when Trump and Xi hold bilateral talks, visit the Temple of Heaven and take part in a formal banquet. The talks are expected to focus on the Iran war, trade and U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.
