The Washington Times AI News Desk

801 Chophouse parent company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy amid beef price crisis

The parent company of 801 Chophouse, a high-end steakhouse chain known for Wagyu beef and entrees priced well into the triple digits, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection -- though the individual restaurants remain open and are not part of the filing.

April 17, 2026

D4vd arrest may not be last in Celeste Rivas murder case

Law enforcement sources say the murder case against pop singer D4vd may not end with his arrest, as investigators believe others were involved in the death and disposal of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez -- whose remains were found in the trunk of the singer's abandoned Tesla last year.

April 17, 2026

Trump nominates ex-deputy surgeon general Erica Schwartz as CDC director

President Trump on Thursday announced on Truth Social the nomination of Dr. Erica Schwartz as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, calling her "a STAR" and saying she would help restore "the Gold Standard of Science" at the agency.

April 16, 2026

Cousins plead guilty in short-term rental double-booking fraud scheme

Two cousins from California and Colorado pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal charges stemming from a double-booking and bait-and-switch scheme carried out through online short-term rental platforms nationwide, the Justice Department announced.

April 16, 2026

Franklin Graham defends Trump’s deleted Jesus image, calls backlash ‘a lot to do about nothing’

Evangelist Franklin Graham on Thursday defended President Trump after the president deleted an AI-generated image from his Truth Social account that many critics said depicted him as a Jesus-like figure, dismissing the uproar as politically motivated overreach.

April 16, 2026

Former Baltimore school officer gets prison for $200K overtime fraud, tax evasion

A former Baltimore City school police officer and high school football coach has been sentenced to federal prison after authorities said he collected more than $200,000 in fraudulent overtime pay and evaded federal income taxes.

April 16, 2026

NASA, Voyager plan 2028 private astronaut mission to space station

NASA has signed an order with Voyager Technologies for the seventh private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, with a targeted launch date no earlier than 2028 from Florida.

April 16, 2026

Hegseth leads Pentagon prayer citing Ezekiel 25:17 — but text matches ‘Pulp Fiction,’ not the Bible

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth led a worship service at the Pentagon on Wednesday in which he recited what he described as a military prayer tied to the Old Testament book of Ezekiel -- but observers quickly noted the words bore far closer resemblance to a famous monologue from Quentin Tarantino's 1994 film "Pulp Fiction" than to any biblical text.

April 16, 2026

Two U.S. nationals sentenced to prison for aiding North Korean IT worker scheme

Two U.S. nationals have been sentenced to prison for helping North Korean IT workers infiltrate more than 100 American companies by stealing identities and setting up fraudulent remote work schemes, the Justice Department announced.

April 16, 2026

Rick Moranis returns to big screen in first ‘Spaceballs: The New One’ footage

Rick Moranis made his first live-action film appearance in nearly 30 years Wednesday when he took the stage at CinemaCon in Las Vegas to promote "Spaceballs: The New One," the long-awaited sequel to Mel Brooks' 1987 sci-fi parody.

April 16, 2026

Jury convicts Minneapolis man for illegal machine gun possession

A federal jury in Minnesota convicted a Minneapolis man of illegally possessing a machine gun, the Justice Department said.

April 16, 2026

Jimmy Kimmel: MAGA refusing to admit mistakes ‘the opposite of Christianity’

"Jimmy Kimmel Live!" host Jimmy Kimmel pushed back against critics who say he focuses too heavily on politics, telling former first lady Michelle Obama's podcast this week that he considers such commentary an unavoidable part of his job.

April 16, 2026

America is building a nuclear spaceship — and it launches in 2028

The U.S. has a nuclear-powered spacecraft in development and a 2028 launch date. The reason comes down to physics: solar panels are nearly useless past Jupiter.

April 16, 2026

Trader Joe’s settles $7.4M lawsuit; customers may be owed $102

Trader Joe's has agreed to a $7.4 million class action settlement over allegations that some of its stores printed too many digits of customers' payment card numbers on receipts -- and shoppers who made purchases during a narrow window in 2019 may be eligible for a payout.

April 16, 2026

Next-gen CT scanner yields new clues from 2,300-year-old Egyptian mummies

Researchers in Budapest have used a cutting-edge medical imaging system to peer inside Egyptian mummy remains estimated to be more than two millennia old, producing unprecedented detail that earlier technology could not capture.

April 16, 2026

Xanax recalled nationwide over dosage concerns

The widely prescribed anxiety medication Xanax XR is being pulled from the market nationwide after failing key quality control standards, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

April 15, 2026

Atlanta art museum’s ex-COO charged with stealing $600K from institution

The former chief operating officer of the High Museum of Art in Atlanta was arraigned Wednesday on a federal charge of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, accused of stealing more than $600,000 from the institution.

April 15, 2026

Things to do in Washington, D.C., this weekend: April 18-19

Spring has hit its stride in the nation's capital, and the city's calendar is making the most of it. This weekend brings 1776 at Ford's Theatre at Ford's Theatre, Florence + The Machine at Capital One Arena, Nationals vs. Giants Series at Nationals Park, Nick Cave: Mammoth at Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the DC Emancipation Day Festival.

April 15, 2026

Houston man gets 10 years for multistate ATM robbery ring targeting technicians

A 24-year-old Houston man was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison Tuesday for a violent string of bank robberies targeting ATM repair technicians across multiple states, prosecutors announced.

April 15, 2026

5 questions about 7-Eleven’s planned store closures

7-Eleven's North American operator plans to close 645 stores during its 2026 fiscal year, far exceeding the 205 locations it expects to open in that same period.

April 15, 2026