US news

US news

PARIS French prosecutors raided the offices of social media platform X on Tuesday as part of a preliminary investigation into allegations including spreading child sexual abuse images and deepfakes. They have also summoned billionaire owner Elon Musk for questioning. X and Musk's artificial intelligence company xAI also face intensifying scrutiny from Britain's data privacy regulator, which opened formal investigations into how they handled personal data when they developed and deployed Musk's artificial intelligence chatbot Grok.

China has become the first nation to require a change to make it easier to rescue people from car crashes: Car doors must be able to open from either side mechanically, like by lifting a handle. The rules, which go into effect in 2027, follow international scrutiny of a futuristic design first popularized by Tesla, but adopted by many other automakers, in which door handles are electrically powered and hidden.

After a turbulent first year of President Trump's return to the White House, 2026 could bring something singularly disruptive in the housing and mortgage markets: a partial sale of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-controlled mortgage giants that underpin roughly 70% of U.S. home loans. The idea, promoted by Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte and Trump himself, has alarmed critics, who warn that unwinding the 17-year federal conservatorship of the two firms could rattle financial markets.

London's Metropolitan Police force said detectives had reviewed reports of misconduct and decided they met the threshold for a full investigation. Commander Ella Marriott said the force "has now launched an investigation into a 72-year-old man, a former government minister, for misconduct in public office offenses." Misconduct in public office carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. Opening an investigation does not mean Mandelson will be arrested, charged or convicted.

A state audit released Friday found a litany of issues at Utah State University, including "patterns of financial noncompliance" among university leaders and staff, and poor oversight by the Utah Board of Higher Education. The audit offered 26 recommendations for improvement.

The Portland Housing Bureau has found additional millions in its coffers, adding to the $21 million in unspent funding disclosed late last year. It is unclear exactly how much money is in the fund, but Council President Jamie Dunphy told the Mercury Monday that it is expected to be in the millions. The newly uncovered dollars will impact two pieces of legislation the City Council is considering this week.

PETA Foundation lawyers are seeking an exemption to the law so that we can continue conducting vital undercover investigations that protect both animals and consumers, hold perpetrators accountable, and keep the public informed about crimes committed out of sight,

VANDALISM 12:41 p.m. on Highland Avenue. A caller said their gardener drove over plants and sprinklers. The caller wanted to press charges. VANDALISM: 8:58 p.m. on Bachman Avenue. A caller came home and found that someone had broken a window by throwing lemons. Jan. 29 GRAND THEFT: 4:25 p.m.at The Terraces Of Los Gatos on Blossom Hill Road. Jewelry was missing from a resident's drawer, funds were missing from their bank account and someone tried to take out a loan in the resident's name.

According to court filings, Velez used social media to manipulate and threaten children into sending sexually explicit images. Prosecutors said that in 2022, when Velez was 26, he posed online as a 13-year-old boy and began communicating with an 11-year-old girl through Instagram. After convincing her to send explicit images, authorities said Velez threatened to kill her family if she did not continue complying.

The entire operation was a waste of federal resources, he told Kimmel, noting that if he had been allowed to turn himself in, law enforcement wouldn't have to have all these people following me around. But it was also more than that, he added. They want to embarrass you. They want to intimidate you. They want to instill fear. And so that's why they did it that way.

As has been widely reported, at least two email exchanges apparently between Musk and Epstein were among the over three million pages of documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice on Friday related to its criminal investigation of Epstein and his 2019 death. Both exchanges appear to show Musk arranging visits to Little Saint James, Epstein's private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

A criminal complaint filed Monday alleges that Junwei Guo flew the drone over Levi's Stadium on Nov. 9, 2025, when the San Francisco 49ers played the Los Angeles Rams. The temporary flight restriction, or TFR, bars all aircraft, including drones, from operating within a three-mile nautical radius of any stadium with a seating capacity of 30,000 or more people during, among other events, regular or post-season NFL games.

According to the Los Angeles Times, citing two law enforcement sources, there were signs of forced entry and blood found at the residence in the Catalina Foothills area where Nancy Guthrie was last seen at about 9.30pm Saturday. Chris Nanos, the Pima county sheriff, said in a press conference on Monday it was imperative she was found soon because she has limited physical mobility and requires regular life-saving medication.

One of the most recognizable clothing stores in Oakland's Montclair district is closing, with a slow roll-out of discounts until the merchandise is liquidated or someone offers to buy the shop. Andrea Faber is looking for a buyer for her popular Montclair Village shop Hula. In lieu of a buyer meanwhile, the shop is slowly discounting and liquidating its women's clothing and accessories. (Ginny Prior for Bay Area News Group) Andrea Faber opened Hula at 6136 La Salle Ave. in 1997 after previously serving customers in Berkeley with a business on College Avenue for 19 years.

The nation's oldest seaport marked a "very difficult benchmark" Monday as the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed the names of the seven people presumed dead in the sinking of the Lily Jean, a Gloucester-based fishing boat. State Sen. Bruce Tarr struggled to keep his composure as he recited the names of the fallen: Captain Accursio "Gus" Sanfilippo, crew members Paul Beal Sr., Paul Beal Jr., John Rousanidis, Freeman Short, and Sean Therrien, and NOAA fisheries observer Jada Samitt.

"Paul Weiss was retained by Leon Black, then the CEO of the firm's longtime client Apollo, to negotiate a series of fee disputes with Jeffrey Epstein that spanned several years," Paul Weiss said in a statement. "The firm was adverse to Epstein, and at no point did Paul Weiss or Brad Karp ever represent him." And yet... The most recent release of files from the Epstein case reveals something more.

The University of Missouri-Kansas City announced Monday that it is working on a lease for a new space for KCUR and Classical KC. UMKC previously announced Dec. 22 that KCUR's longtime home would close no later than Jan. 31 after "recent checks showed that the building's foundation was settling at an accelerated rate," Stacy Downs, director of strategic communications for UMKC, told Current in January.

JAMES FRANKLIN DIDN'T have any answers. Instead, minutes before Virginia Tech's Nov. 22 home game against Miami, he was asking for a considerable leap of faith. Roughly a dozen of them, actually. It had been just 38 days since Penn State made the decision to fire Franklin six games into his 12th season with the program. Now, sporting a maroon hoodie inside the Hokies' team room, he was pitching a collection of high school prospects on why they should join him in Blacksburg.

PALO ALTO - A jogger died Sunday from injuries she suffered just days earlier when she was hit by a driver in Palo Alto, police said. The collision happened just before 7:25 a.m. Friday at Oregon Avenue and St. Francis Drive, the Palo Alto Police Department said in a news release.

BROOKLYN, N.Y. - Police are searching for a suspect who shot a 27-year-old man during a street encounter late Wednesday night in the Gowanus section of Brooklyn, according to an NYPD Crime Stoppers alert. Authorities said the attack occurred around 9:54 p.m. at the intersection of Sackett Street and 3rd Avenue. The victim was reportedly approached by an unidentified man who began talking with him before pulling out a gun and firing, striking the victim in the right leg.

Candelario, 32, will enter camp looking to find a roster spot ahead of what would be his 11th big league season. Signed by the Cubs out of the Dominican Republic as an amateur, he made his pro debut back in 2011 and made it to the majors for a five-game cup of coffee during Chicago's World Series-winning 2016 campaign. He once again got into a smattering of games in an up-and-down bench role with the club in 2017.