National & World News

The average refund so far is $350 more than last year at this time, despite projections that it would be closer to $1,000 due to Republican-led tax changes as part of the Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Last year, Congress approved $75 billion for immigration enforcement. That money has allowed ICE to operate nearly unfettered during a record-long shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security.

In a letter sent last week, ICE's top official indicated to members of Congress that the agency is using a spyware tool to intercept encrypted messages of fentanyl traffickers.

It has been a year since President Trump announced double-digit tariffs on imports from around the world. So far, those levies have not produced the economic boom the president promised.

NASA's Artemis II crew has successfully launched on a mission that will take it around the moon and back to Earth. A key maneuver Thursday night sent them hurtling toward their lunar target.

FIFA has raised prices for over 40 games of the World Cup in its latest sale that kicked off Wednesday, according to an NPR count. The most expensive tickets to the final now cost $10,900.

As an energy crisis grows, some countries are more prepared because of renewable energy and electric vehicles. Pakistan reduced its reliance on imported natural gas because of the growth of solar.

Disaster costs fell in the U.S. in 2025. Still, it was the fourth time in five years that extreme weather inflicted more than $100 billion in annual losses. Industry experts say the growing financial toll will make insurers wary of rushing to cut rates.

Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., accuses the federal government of a "cover-up," and Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., warns White House against attempts to "shut down an investigation."

Dmitrii Georgiev was on vacation when he said his GPS led him to a U.S. port of entry in Vermont. By the time he realized that, it was too late. He'd spend months in a black hole of ICE custody and felt he was "not in America."