TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday once again left the Middle East empty-handed as Israel’s prime minister rejected American appeals to call off a promised ground invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which is overflowing with displaced civilians. The tough message from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sets the stage for potentially …

Holi, widely known as the Hindu festival of colors, is a joyful annual celebration at the advent of spring with cultural and religious significance. Typically observed in March in India, Nepal, other South Asian countries and across the diaspora, the festival celebrates love and signifies a time of rebirth and rejuvenation — a time to embrace the positive and let …

An amendment named after slain Augusta University 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley from Georgia is at the center of a Senate showdown over the $1.2 trillion spending package that must pass before midnight to avoid a partial government shutdown. The Laken Riley Act has been introduced as an amendment to the six-bill appropriations package by Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., but …

A professor at Duquesne University is winning big with his students after canceling class this week following the Dukes’ thrilling upset over sixth-seeded BYU in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Robert Healy III is going viral on social media after he shared a message he sent to his students on Thursday in response to Duquesne’s 71-67 …

Authorities said a mother in Florida has been charged after day care staff found a handgun inside her 2-year-old son’s lunchbox. Shanae Davis, 39, faces several charges including allowing a minor to obtain a firearm and child neglect after a teacher at Jackson’s Daycare Center in Riviera Beach opened the lunch box with a 9mm Glock 43 handgun inside it. …

RILEY STRAIN FOUND: Nashville police locate missing college student’s body. ‘GRACE OF GOD’: ‘The devil’ who ended the tragic life of Shauna Harvey wasn’t BTK. ‘CORRUPTION AND COVER UPS’: Missing woman’s mom begs Biden for help on Caribbean island. Riley Strain disappeared after he went out with friends on Broadway in Nashville on the evening of March 8. (Family handout) …

NBC hired former Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel as an on-air contributor to all NBC News and MSNBC platforms, the company announced Friday. McDaniel, who formally resigned from her position at the RNC earlier this month after presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump asked her to step down, faced a vocal faction of conservative detractors who viewed her as too …

Virginia State Police have identified the five people who were killed when a small private jet crashed as it approached a rural airport earlier this month. The twin-engine IAI Astra 1125 left Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on March 10 and was scheduled to land at Ingalls Field Airport in Hot Springs, Virginia, but it crashed, killing all five people aboard, including …

A Reddit user who says she was given a “curfew” by her college roommate received reassurance from other people on Reddit that she should not have to abide by these rules because she’s an adult and can do what she wishes. “I’m a freshman in college living in a dorm and got a randomly assigned roommate. We live very different …

ISIS has claimed responsibility for an attack at a large concert hall in the Moscow, Russia, area that left more than 60 people dead and nearly 150 injured on Friday. The attack began when gunmen donning combat gear burst into Crocus City Hall, where concertgoers were gathering to hear the Russian band Picnic, and opened fire. The gunmen also threw …