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Little remains of the historic Nottoway plantation home in Iberville Parish after a fire reduced the 160-year-old mansion to rubble on Thursday. Charred pieces framework had fallen to the slab, with soot surrounding the once grandiose property. The prominent white columns that supported the roof were mostly gone. White Castle officials are investigating what caused the fire and have begun combing through the remains.

The University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) has come under federal investigation for “inaccurate and incomplete disclosures” of foreign funding. The probe was launched by the U.S. Department of Education on May 8 after concerns that the school may be unduly influenced by foreign actors and follows a review of the school’s foreign reports, the department explained in a press release. According to Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, universities that receive federal funding are required to disclose foreign donations valuing more than $250,000. Acting General Counsel Tom Wheeler described UPenn’s compliance history with federal law as “troubling,” saying...

A Trump-appointed judge ruled Wednesday that employers are not obligated to provide workers with time off for abortion procedures, striking down a controversial Biden-era regulation. U.S. District Judge David Joseph of the Western District of Louisiana ruled that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)’s regulation — implemented during the Biden administration — exceeded its authority by including abortion among pregnancy-related conditions requiring job protections, The Associated Press reported. The EEOC’s rule implemented the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which was passed in December 2022 with bipartisan support. The law requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide “reasonable accommodations...

In April, there were 9 Republican mayors in America’s 50 biggest cities. In May, that number fell to 8. Democrats are celebrating Omaha’s mayoral election win as proof that Republicans are out of step with America, when it’s really evidence how the nation’s cities have fallen out of step with America. There was a time when America’s cities were symbols of progress, but they have long since become sinkholes of decline, clinging to a handful of industries that employ a tiny fraction of their population as evidence of their relevance. When Americans think of big cities, they think of tall...

During a revealing segment on Mark Halperin's show "2WAY Tonight," Senior Trump DOJ official Ed Martin dropped a political bombshell. Martin named names in the growing scandal surrounding President Joe Biden’s — or someone's — use of the autopen, the mechanical device used to sign official documents. According to Martin, the issue isn’t the use of the autopen itself, but who was really in charge of it while Biden’s cognitive state was in steep decline.

Russian forces are working to establish a buffer zone along the country's border with Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday, following his return from the Kursk region in southern Russia The decision to establish the zone had been taken, Putin said by video link during a government meeting. He did not stipulate where the buffer zone would lie or how large it would be. "Our forces are currently engaged in solving this task, hostile firing points are being actively suppressed, and the work is ongoing," he said.

The Israeli airstrike that targeted Hamas’s Gaza chief this month hit him as he attended a meeting of the group’s highest ranking militants, killing several important operatives and leaving a void in the top leadership of the U.S.-designated terrorist group, Hamas and Arab officials said. The airstrike killed Mohammed Sinwar, who was quietly buried days later, along with other top militants including Mohammad Shabana, the commander of the group’s Rafah brigade, the officials said. The Hamas leaders had gathered in a tunnel in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis to discuss matters including their approach to cease-fire talks with...

McALLEN, Texas (AP) — The Trump administration is seeking to end an immigration policy cornerstone that since the 1990s has offered protections to child migrants in federal custody, a move that will be challenged by advocates, according to a court filing Thursday.The protections in place, known as the Flores Settlement, largely limit to 72 hours the amount of time that child migrants traveling alone or with family and detained by the U.S. Border Patrol. They also ensure the children are kept in safe and sanitary conditions.President Donald Trump tried to end the protections during his first term and his allies...

U.S. Fire that destroyed historic Clayborn Temple in Memphis was intentionally set, investigators say By Updated on: May 21, 2025 / 6:11 PM EDT / CBS/AP The fire that destroyed the Clayborn Temple, a historic Black church in downtown Memphis that was the organizing point for Martin Luther King Jr.'s final campaign in 1968, was intentionally set, investigators said Wednesday. The Memphis Fire Department said the fire on April 28 was started on the interior of the church, and authorities are searching for a person of interest. Memphis Fire Chief Gina Sweat last month described the inside of the church...

Two young Israeli diplomats, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim were shot and killed outside a Jewish event in Washington, D.C., by a gunman shouting pro-Palestinian slogans. The attack is being investigated as an act of terrorism. Key Details: The shooting occurred outside the Capital Jewish Museum around 9 p.m. following a reception hosted by the American Jewish Committee. The suspect allegedly shouted “Free, free Palestine” before opening fire. Lischinsky had just purchased an engagement ring and planned to propose to Milgrim next week in Jerusalem. Diving Deeper: A senseless act of violence rocked the Israeli diplomatic community in Washington, D.C.,...

During the COVID pandemic, public health officials were obsessed with presenting a united front and a grossly oversimplified message regarding anything pandemic-related. Is masking up a good or bad idea? There was little to no data that it was a good idea, but once the idea was pushed out there, everybody fell in line. That 6-feet social distancing guidance? The idea came out of nowhere and had zero scientific evidence to back it up, but soon enough, we were all standing in lines outside in winter because we had to "follow the science." School closures? You will murder grandma if...

A California woman who threatened to kill a U.S. District judge presiding over an abortion pill case has pled guilty. KEY TAKEAWAYS: Dolly Kay Patterson of California sent threatening messages to the office of a Texas judge presiding over a case on abortion pill regulations, threatening both him and his children. Patterson took a plea deal, pleading guilty to one of the charges against her for Interstate Threatening Communications. A Florida woman also sent death threats to the judge during the same time frame and was sentenced to 10 months in prison last year. THE DETAILS: Court documents state that...

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is making record-breaking progress in processing a backlog of veteran disability claims that mounted under former President Joe Biden, the agency told the Daily Caller News Foundation. The VA brought unresolved claims down from 264,717 to 198,378 — or by approximately 25% — since President Donald Trump returned to office, the VA told the DCNF. Trump’s VA has also hit the highest daily and monthly processing rates in the agency’s history while reversing a 24% increase in the backlog that occurred under Biden, the VA said in a statement. [snip] The last time the...

Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued the order in March 2020 that ultimately killed at least 15,000 nursing home residents. Many senior living centers were flooded with COVID patients thanks to Cuomo’s reckless order putting them in senior living facilities instead of other locations that could have protected elderly people. Now, the Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into Cuomo, probing whether he lied to Congress about his role in a state policy that led to the deaths of thousands of nursing home residents. The investigation, initiated last month, centers on a controversial March 2020 directive that required...

In the days following missing camper Tiffany Slaton’s rescue from the Sierra National Forest, what began as a heartwarming tale of a woman surviving against all odds has been tinged by a chorus of online skeptics questioning the hiker and her family.While many have praised the tenacity of the 28-year-old Georgia woman, others have expressed doubts about the veracity of her shocking survival story and have criticized her family’s fundraising motives.Slaton had set out for a three-day camping trip in the Huntington Lake area on April 20 but wound up surviving three weeks in the wilderness — eating wild leeks...

Thursday’s Senate vote to block California’s ban on sales of gas cars is the latest GOP effort to stop state climate policies.The Senate voted Thursday to block California from enforcing a rule that would ban sales of new gasoline-powered cars in the state by 2035, a move that could have far-reaching implications for auto sales in a dozen states.The vote marks Republicans’ latest effort to curtail state-level efforts to tackle climate change, even as President Donald Trump and congressional leaders have empowered states to set their own education policies and abortion laws.This month, the Justice Department sued New York and...

The move was a major escalation in the administration’s efforts to pressure the college to fall in line with President Trump’s demands.The Trump administration on Thursday halted Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students, a major escalation in the administration’s efforts to pressure the college to fall in line with the president’s agenda.The administration notified Harvard about the decision after a back-and-forth in recent days over the legality of a sprawling records request as part of the Department of Homeland Security’s investigation, according to three people with knowledge of the negotiations.“I am writing to inform you that effective immediately, Harvard...

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order to dismantle the Education Department and ordered the agency to reinstate employees who were fired in mass layoffs. The administration said it would challenge the ruling.U.S. District Judge Myong Joun in Boston granted a preliminary injunction stopping the Trump administration from carrying out plans announced in March that sought to work toward Trump’s goal to shut down the department. It marks a setback to one of the Republican president’s campaign promises.The ruling came in two consolidated lawsuits that said Trump’s plan amounted to an illegal closure...

SummaryPasses in a knife-edge 215-214 vote, two Republicans vote no, one falls asleep Would add $3.8 trillion to the US debt, stirring investor concern Would cut green-energy incentives, fund Trump deportation push WASHINGTON, May 22 (Reuters) - The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a sweeping tax and spending bill by a single vote which would enact much of President Donald Trump's policy agenda and saddle the country with trillions of dollars more in debt. The bill would fulfill many of Trump's populist campaign pledges, delivering new tax breaks on tips and car loans and boosting spending on...

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