WASHINGTON — The U.S. attorney in South Florida has ordered a broad-ranging inquiry into Cuba’s leaders and Communist Party officials for drug, immigration, economic and violent crimes with a goal of bringing fast indictments, according to three people with knowledge of his actions. The move comes as President Donald Trump...
Iran Conflict Boosts US Gulf Oil Prices to Highest Since 2020
U.S. Gulf Coast heavy grades continued to surge on Friday as the Iran conflict spurred several Middle Eastern producers of heavy crude to curtail production and drove buyers to scoop up U.S. barrels. Prices of Mars sour crude, the flagship crude produced in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and favored by refiners...
Kalshi Sued Over Ouster of Iran Leader Prediction Market
The Kalshi prediction market was sued for failing to pay $54 million to people who bet that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would leave office before March 1, according to a class-action lawsuit filed on Thursday. Khamenei was killed on Saturday in U.S-Israeli strikes that left hundreds dead, including...
Former US Trade Chief Lighthizer Resigns From Trump Media Board
Former United States trade representative Robert Lighthizer resigned from Trump Media & Technology Group's board of directors, effective Friday, an SEC filing showed. During U.S. President Donald Trump's first term, Lighthizer played a crucial role as trade chief in the imposition of hefty tariffs on Chinese imports and the renegotiation...
US Could Lift Sanctions on More Russian Oil, Says Bessent
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday said the United States could remove sanctions from more Russian oil, a day after Washington issued a 30-day waiver allowing the sale of Russian crude currently stranded at sea to continue to India. "We may unsanction other Russian oil," Bessent told Fox Business' "Kudlow"...
Trump: Soaring College Football Costs Are Hitting Sports, Congress Must Act
President Donald Trump on Friday said the soaring cost of paying for football at colleges was harming school sports in general and the problem would need to be addressed by legislation, adding he might sign an executive order about it. Trump, said football name, image and likeness contracts for players...
FDA Vaccines Chief Vinay Prasad to Step Down in April
The head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's vaccines and biologics unit, Dr. Vinay Prasad, will leave the agency at the end of April, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said on Friday. Prasad, an oncologist and outspoken critic of U.S. drug and vaccine...
Former Cal State Bakersfield Coach Faces Human Trafficking, Child Porn Charges
A former California State University, Bakersfield assistant men's basketball coach is jailed without bail on 11 criminal charges, including human trafficking and possession of child pornography, ESPN reported. Kevin Mays, hired as a temporary assistant coach in June, was arrested after an anonymous tipster emailed then-head coach Rod Barnes in...
Top National Symphony Leader Quits in New Blow to Kennedy Center
The executive director of the National Symphony Orchestra announced Friday that she was stepping down, the latest blow to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as it struggles with declining audiences, artist cancellations and the departure of its opera company in the wake of President Donald Trump’s...
US Stocks Close Down as Oil Spikes 12%, Job Market Weakens
Wall Street's three main indexes closed down on Friday amid a sudden setback in the U.S. labor market and a 12% spike in U.S. oil prices due to the escalating conflict in the Middle East. A disappointing payrolls report intensified worries that the U.S. economy could be cooling just as...