Federal agents have used pepper spray to disperse a crowd in a heavily Somali neighborhood in Minneapolis. This happened Tuesday during a identification checks amid the Trump administration's crackdown on the community. City Council Member Jamal Osman is a Somali American who witnessed the confrontation. The community has been on edge since President Trump announced the end of Temporary Protected Status for Somalis in the state. It's unclear how many have been detained or asked for documents. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials says no arrests were made Tuesday but provided no further details.

A Wisconsin judge on Tuesday refused to step aside as requested by President Donald Trump’s former attorney who faces felony forgery case related to the 2020 election  in the battleground state. The judge also refused to cancel a Monday preliminary hearing for Trump’s former attorney, who also previously worked as a judge in the same county where he is being prosecuted, and two other former Trump associates. The three former Trump aides face 11 felony charges each in relation to their roles in the 2020 fake elector scheme. They are: Jim Troupis, who was Trump’s attorney in Wisconsin in the 2020 election; Kenneth Chesebro, an attorney who advised the campaign; and Mike Roman, Trump’s director of Election Day operations in 2020.

The U.S. Justice Department has withdrawn from an agreement with Houston to curb illegal dumping in Black and Latino neighborhoods. The move is part of the Trump administration's dismantling of environmental justice initiatives around the country. Federal authorities quietly ended the monitoring this year along with a similar settlement in Alabama. The Houston agreement aimed to address illegal dumping of trash and waste in certain neighborhoods. It included federal monitoring and community outreach. Critics say the decision is short-sighted and neglects affected communities. Environmental justice advocates argue that President Donald Trump's administration doesn't understand the impact on these communities.

A.J. Hinch has mastered the art of smiling and sidestepping the one question he keeps hearing at the MLB winter meetings. The Detroit Tigers manager has no interest in discussing the possibility of losing his ace, Tarik Skubal, this winter. Instead, Hinch wants to talk about Skubal’s chance to chase another Cy Young Award. Skubal is entering his final season under team control, and the Tigers have not dismissed the possibility of a trade. The left-hander’s agent, Scott Boras, said he is open to listening to extension offers from Detroit, but also painted a bleak picture of the club without its ace.

The Justice Department has challenged a court order that complicated efforts to seek a new indictment against former FBI Director James Comey by making a trove of evidence off-limits to prosecutors. An order issued over the weekend by a federal judge in Washington barred the Justice Department at least temporarily from accessing computer files belonging to Daniel Richman, a close Comey friend and Columbia University law professor who prosecutors see as a central player in any potential case against the former FBI director. Prosecutors moved Tuesday to quash that order, calling Richman’s request for the return of his files a “strategic tool to obstruct the investigation and potential prosecution.”

Hundreds of Nicaraguans caroled the Virgin Mary at flower-and-light-filled altars set up in church parking lots as well as the back of vehicles on the streets of Miami to mark the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. The exuberant early December celebration called “gritería” is especially poignant this year during the ongoing crackdowns on religion groups in Nicaragua as well as on immigrant communities in the United States. Many of the people who set up altars, and those who visited, say they did so as a promise to the Virgin, to express gratitude or to ask for protection both in the United States and for their families in Nicaragua.

The author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott revealed $7.1 billion in donations to nonprofits in 2025 Tuesday, marking a significant increase in her annual giving from recent years. Scott acknowledged donating $2.6 billion in 2024 and $2.1 billion in 2023. The gifts this year bring her total giving since 2019 to $26.3 billion. Scott acknowledged the donations in an essay on her website. Scott’s donations have captured the attention of nonprofits and other charitable funders because they come with no strings attached and are often very large compared to the annual budgets of the recipient organizations

The U.S. Navy admiral who is retiring early from command of the campaign to destroy vessels allegedly carrying drugs near Venezuela is speaking to key lawmakers. Congress is seeking more answers on President Donald Trump’s mission, which, in one instance, killed two survivors clinging to the wreckage of a boat strike. Adm. Alvin Holsey spoke Tuesday about the military campaign with the GOP chairs and ranking Democrats of the Senate Armed Services Committee. It represents another step by lawmakers to demand an accounting from the Department of Defense on the threats against Venezuela and the legal basis for the boat strikes.

The Indianapolis Colts signed 44-year-old Philip Rivers to the practice, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the team had not yet made an official announcement. Rivers took his last NFL snap with the Colts in a playoff loss following the 2020 season. He announced his retirement in January 2021. The move comes less than 24 hours after Colts coach Shane Steichen confirmed Indy’s starting quarterback, Daniel Jones, would miss the rest of this season with a torn right Achilles tendon and that backup Riley Leonard injured his right knee.

The first of a series of powerful storms is slamming the Pacific Northwest, dumping heavy rain and swelling rivers. KOMO-TV reports that fire crews rescued two people trapped by floodwaters at a campsite in the Gold Bar area of Snohomish County on Monday night. The National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center expects several days of heavy rainfall in western Washington and northwestern Oregon with the trans-Pacific jet stream bringing heavy rain along the coast and more than a foot of new snow in northwestern Wyoming. Meanwhile, a clipper moving eastward across the Upper Midwest is forecast to bring a range of wintry weather to the region Tuesday.

An appeals court in the Dominican Republic has ordered a new trial for Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco,. He was convicted earlier this year of sexually abusing a minor and had received a two-year suspended sentence. Tuesday’s ruling comes after Franco’s attorneys had pushed to have his conviction suspended and sentencing overturned, while prosecutors had been seeking a five-year sentence. The appeals court ruled in favor of Franco. He was arrested last year after being accused of having a four-month relationship with a girl who was 14 at the time, and of transferring thousands of dollars to her mother to consent to the illegal relationship.

Raul Malo, the soulful tenor and frontman of The Mavericks, has died at age 60. He was battling colon cancer and later leptomeningeal disease, a rare complication when cancer spreads to membranes around the brain and spinal cord. Malo co-founded The Mavericks in 1989, blending genres like alt-country, Americana, and Latin. The band won a Grammy and multiple awards. Malo also released solo albums and collaborated with others. He urged fans to prioritize

It's time for the Geminid meteor shower, one of the strongest of the year. The Geminids peak this weekend and are visible through mid-December. The fireballs tend to be yellow in color and can be seen across the globe, but the best viewing happens in the Northern Hemisphere. Meteor showers appear when fast-moving space rocks enter Earth’s atmosphere and burn up, leaving behind fiery tails. To enjoy the show, venture away from city lights and avoid looking at your phone. The meteors will appear as tiny glows streaking across the sky.

An infant botulism outbreak has sickened at least 39 babies across the U.S. and underscored the crucial role of a medication that treats the rare disease. BabyBIG, an IV drug, is made from blood plasma donated by a small group of scientists and other volunteers. It was the brainchild of the late Dr. Stephen Arnon. He was a California scientist who first identified the form of botulism that affects babies under age 1 and then spent his 45-year career figuring out how to treat it. It took 15 years and $10.6 million to develop the treatment licensed in 2003.

Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman is running for governor of New York. Blakeman announced his candidacy on Tuesday. His entrance into the race kicks off what is expected to be a heated Republican primary contest against Rep. Elise Stefanik. Both count themselves as allies of President Donald Trump, who calls them “both great people.” Gov. Kathy Hochul, a moderate Democrat, faces a primary challenge from her own lieutenant governor, Antonio Delgado. Both Blakeman and Stefanik now frame themselves as candidates who could appeal to moderate Democrats as well as Republicans, even though both have adopted the brash political rhetoric of Trump, who remains unpopular in New York.