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Former Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco has died following a long battle with cancer, sources say. She was 76. In a statement, the family said, “Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco peacefully passed away on August 18, 2019 at St. Joseph’s Hospice Carpenter House in Lafayette, Louisiana, surrounded by her beloved husband Raymond, her children and family." The 54th governor of Louisiana was the first woman elected governor of the state. Born in New Iberia, Blanco spent 20 years in public office before becoming governor in 2004, including five years in the

SUMMERFIELD— Marion County sheriff’s officials say a homeowner armed with an AR-15 shot and killed two intruders and was injured himself during a home invasion robbery in Summerfield Wednesday night. Two other robbery suspects — Robert John Hamilton, 19, of Ocala, and Seth Adam Rodriguez, 22, of Belleview — were detained near the scene, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. Nigel Doyle, 22, of Summerfield, and Keith Jackson Jr., 21, Ocala, were killed. The homeowner, whose name was not released by the Sheriff’s Office, was in stable condition at a hospital Thursday afternoon. Rodriguez was arrested on charges of...

The body of MacKenzie Lueck, the University of Utah student who was killed sometime after she flew back to Salt Lake City on June 17, has been found. “We have retrieved MacKenzie Lueck from Logan Canyon,” Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown announced at a news conference Friday. Few details were given about how the body was found. Brown and Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said her remains were found sometime Wednesday. “Despite their grief,” Brown said of the Lueck family, “we hope this will help them find some closure and justice for MacKenzie.” Ayoola Ajayi, 31,...

President Donald Trump on Thursday told reporters, "you'll soon find out" whether the US will strike Iran as tensions between the two countries ratcheted up. This is breaking news please check back for updates.

Wow....my 20 year FR birthday is today (well, actually it was a few months before that while Eschoir was still giving me heartburn). Anyways, it has been a blast....beating the media to stories, helping out with longshoremen strike, sending flowers to FL SOS, protesting at Naval Observatory, protesting Hillary at Sam's, the Freeper Inaugural Balls, running around Hot Springs and Little Rock with Fatima, ClintonsaLiar, and other cute Freepettes, NOT getting banned since 1999, etc. You guys are great.

U.S. debt has climbed to an alarming level, according to DoubleLine Capital CEO Jeffrey Gundlach. “People are starting to realize that the deficit and debt are totally out of control,” Gundlach said on CNBC’s “Halftime Report” Tuesday. Guldach said the “main reason” the yield curve between 3-year Treasury bonds and 5-year bonds is steepening is a ballooning deficit. Gundlach — sometimes known as the “bond king” — runs the $50 billion DoubleLine Total Return Bond Fund. Its five-year performance is one of the best in its category, but lagged most of its peers in 2019 with a gain of just...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (News Release) – CZ-USA, the U.S.-based affiliate of Czech firearms manufacturer Česká zbrojovka a.s. Uherský Brod (CZUB), announced today plans to locate their North American Headquarters and build a new manufacturing facility on approximately 73 acres at the Port of Little Rock. CZ-USA plans to implement a two-phase approach with an investment of up to $90 million and create some 565 jobs over a six-year period. CZ products are considered some of the highest-quality firearms in defense, competition and sport shooting around the world. “As CZ looked to increase our presence in North America, it engaged in...

Jussie Smollett is in the clear after the District Attorney in Cook County dropped all charges against the “Empire” star over allegations he lied to police in faking an alleged hate crime against himself. According to reports, the state filed the motion to dismiss the case and the judge signed off. The judge also granted a motion to seal the case, according to Charlie De Mar of CBS Chicago. Jussie Smollett is expected to speak to the media once the hearing has concluded. Smollett’s attorneys released a statement saying, “Today, all criminal charges against Jussie Smollett were dropped and his...

President Donald Trump on Tuesday appeared to suggest that the White House may refuse to comply with a slew of requests for documents sent this week by House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry Nadler, N.Y. Speaking at a White House event, Trump cited what he said was the Obama administration's approach to handling document requests related to Congressional investigations: "They didn't give one letter. They didn't do anything. They didn't give one letter of the requests," Trump said. Trump's comment came one day after the president sounded a much more conciliatory note, telling reporters on Monday that he "cooperates with everybody."...

COLLEYVILLE, Texas On a Tuesday in January, pastor Katie Lewis was surprised to have even 26 members of the United Methodist Church of Colleyville attend her study group on human sexuality and same-sex marriage. In a group of mostly middle-aged white congregants, opinions ranged widely. One man said he felt pressure to accept LGBTQ clergy and same-sex marriage from "more liberal" members from the East and West coasts. Others quickly disputed that idea, saying the issue is a concern in Colleyville as well. "Whether you know it or not, someone in your life is struggling to be accepted for who...

Sen. Rand Paul was awarded over $580,000 in damages by a Kentucky jury on Wednesday after he was attacked by his neighbor in the fall of 2017. Paul, R-Ky., was awarded $375,000 in punitive damages and $200,000 for pain and suffering, plus $7,834 for medical expenses. SEN. RAND PAUL TO UNDERGO HERNIA SURGERY IN CANADA AFTER ATTACK BY NEIGHBOR The lawmaker was violently attacked by his neighbor, Rene Boucher, in November 2017 while he was mowing his lawn. Paul was tackled from behind and suffered six broken ribs, including three displaced fractures. His recovery was complicated by fluid and blood...

The Trump administration will sanction Venezuela's state-owned oil firm, Petroleos de Venezuela, a move the White House has long put off for fear that it would raise oil prices and hurt American refiners. The move comes after a turbulent week for Venezuela that has created a standoff over the country's leadership. Last week, the opposition leader of Venezuela's National Assembly, Juan Guaido, named himself interim president amid street protests. President Donald Trump soon recognized Guaido as the nation's leader and his administration has been marshaling international support for the opposition figure since then. However, socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro, having recently...

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is planning to propose a "wealth tax" on some of the richest Americans, an economist who advises her told CNBC on Thursday. The new tax from Warren, who recently announced her bid to challenge President Donald Trump in 2020, would only apply to Americans with more than $50 million in assets. The Washington Post first reported the development. Warren's proposal comes alongside other Democratic lawmakers' plans to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans to pay for ambitious policy goals, including a "green new deal."

SEBRING, Fla. (WFLA) - An incident inside a central Florida bank ended with "several people down" on Wednesday afternoon. Sebring police officials say a man called 911 around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday and reported that he had fired shots inside the SunTrust Bank on US-27 South in Sebring. Sebring police officers and Highlands County deputies responded to the scene and established a perimeter around the bank. Our news helicopter flying over the scene saw a massive law enforcement presence as police tried to negotiate with the man barricaded inside. Police were unsuccessful at first but say the man eventually surrendered after...

he world is going to end in 12 years unless the government takes action, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said Monday at a Martin Luther King forum in New York City. Here’s an excerpt from her interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates: “And I think the part of it that is generational is that millennials and people, in Gen Z, and all these folks that come after us are looking up and we’re like, the world is gonna end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change. You’re biggest issue, your biggest issue is how are going to pay for it? —...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday urged President Donald Trump in a letter to either reschedule his State of the Union address or deliver it in writing to Congress while the government continues to be partially shut down. This is breaking news story. Check back for updates.

The union representing the United States' air traffic controllers is suing the Trump administration over pay that's frozen as part of the partial government shutdown. The Federal Aviation Administration's air traffic controllers are among the 420,000 federal employees who have been deemed essential and have been ordered to work without pay during the shutdown, which began on Dec. 22 due to an impasse over funding for a wall along the U.S. southern border. This story developing. Check back for updates.

•President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen will testify at the House Oversight Committee on Feb. 7, he said. •Cohen is due to begin a three-year prison term in March for a range of crimes that include ones related to Trump. •Cohen admitted facilitating payments to two women, porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal, in exchange for their silence about alleged affairs with Trump. He also admitted lying to Congress about the extent of Trump's involvement in an aborted plan to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.

The country would face an economic hellscape if the government shutdown lasts "months or even years," as the president has suggested it might, experts tell NBC News. The doomsday scenario might be unlikely — the longest the federal government has ever shut down is 21 days, a record that will fall if the current closure lasts until Saturday — but it is chilling. "We'll be in no man's land," Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, told NBC News. If the worst were to happen, experts say the devastating impact would be widespread: •38 million low-income Americans lose food stamps...