A U.S. appeals court on Friday struck down a California law that prohibited people from openly carrying guns in most public places.
The big picture: The San Francisco-based Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruling, citing a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision,said the ban violates Californians' Second Amendment rights and conflicts with "this Nation's history and tradition."
Protesters in Iran took to the streets for a sixth consecutive day Friday, as anger over the country's deepening economic crisis and violence against demonstrators spread nationwide.
Why it matters: President Trump signaled that the U.S. would intervene militarily if Iran's regime continues killing protesters — raising the risk of a broader regional escalation.
ICE is putting worksite enforcement on the front-burner amid viral uproar over fraud allegations at government-funded child care centers in Minnesota.
Why it matters: Throughout 2025, the administration downplayed the potential for broad worksite raids and labor enforcement. It received public pushback in instances when it did happen and the administration apologized after a major raid at a Hyundai plant in Georgia.
The U.S. is scaling back threatened tariffs on Italian pasta that could have pushed duties as high as 107%, easing pressure on grocery shoppers and stepping back from a trade dispute.
Why it matters: For U.S. consumers who feared that their favorite box of spaghetti would spike in price, the news will be a relief — and it comes as the Trump administration faces political pressure over affordability issues.
Why it matters: Though aspirin has been seen as a way to help prevent heart attacks and blood clots, medical experts have increasinglyquestioned how much older Americans should take due to severe bleeding and bruising risks.
President Trump warned that the U.S. could intervene militarily if the Iranian regime kills civilians that have been protesting against it over the last several days.
Why it matters: His threat — the first official U.S. statement on the issue — could give backwind to the protesters and deter Iran from using force against them. At the same time it could also be used by Tehran to claim the protests are fueled by Iran's external enemies.
Artificial intelligence is increasingly shaping who police stop, how reports are written, where officers patrol and how evidence is analyzed.
Why it matters: The tech promises speed and efficiency. But its rapid spread is outpacing public rules, and could embed errors and bias deep within the criminal justice system.
Retail investors had the chance in 2025 to put their money directly on Donald Trump, in a way unlike any American presidency in history.
A couple of those bets didn't work out so well.
The big picture: Trump's vast, burgeoning business empire includes multiple tradable assets linked to him and his family — but two of those assets underperformed peers and broader markets in 2025.
Venezuela's leader Nicolás Maduro said U.S. and Venezuelan officials should "start talking seriously" on drug trafficking and oil, per an interview published Thursday.
The big picture: Maduro acknowledged during the interview the months-long U.S. militarized pressure campaign targeting suspected "narco-terrorists" and was asked directly about President Trump's comments that the U.S. military had "knocked out" a dock that Venezuelan drug boats allegedly used.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani vowed during his inauguration speech Thursday to govern the biggest city in the U.S. as a Democratic socialist — "expansively and audaciously."
The big picture: Hours after being sworn in as NYC's first Muslim leader, taking the oath using a historic Quran, Mamdani signed several executive orders designed to combat the city's housing crisis and revoking EOs that former Mayor Eric Adams signed.
President Trump dismissed concerns about his health related to his age during a Wall Street Journal interview published Thursday, declaring: "My health is perfect."
Why it matters: The 79-year-old last year became the oldest president ever to be inaugurated and questions have been raised about his health similar to those faced by former President Biden, 83 — whom he mocked during the 2024 presidential campaign as feeble and confused before his predecessor dropped out of the race.
