The State

American Bitcoin Corp. was built around a simple idea: that owning and mining Bitcoin would be enough to mint money. Instead, the company co-founded by Eric Trump is mired in a deep downturn. As Bitcoin sank into a bear market and demand for artificial intelligence surged, investors increasingly favored miners that could repurpose their infrastructure for AI-focused data centers. American Bitcoin, though, stuck with its crypto strategy and has seen its shares slump more than 95% from their peak.

BALTIMORE - A Hanover man received a 15-year sentence with lifetime supervised release Wednesday in the U.S. District Court of Maryland for attempting to join the terrorist group ISIS before police arrested him at BWI airport in October 2024. Michael Sam Teekaye, 22, pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization in January - a charge carrying a 20-year maximum sentence.

LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles Unified School District faces "severe" indications that it will be insolvent by November 2027 - falling $231 million into the red and unable to make payroll - county analysts have concluded, setting up a 45-day deadline for the school board to amend their budget or face losing significant future authority over spending decisions. The county has appointed a "fiscal expert" to work with the district to eliminate the projected deficit.

"Real Housewives of Orange County" star Jennifer Pedranti is confirming her son's involvement in a recent Southern California fire. The reality personality, 49, took to her Instagram story Thursday, July 9 to address speculation that her son, who she shares with ex-husband Will Pedranti, started a fire in the Ladera Ranch area of Orange County two days prior. "I would like to clear up the rumblings of my son having involvement in the Ladera Ranch fire," she wrote. "He and others were involved.

The lithium-ion batteries that supply much of today's clean energy come with some infamous drawbacks, from fire risk to reliance on foreign mining. Alternatives have been slow to get off the ground. But California start-up Peak Energy announced Wednesday it's building a factory in Sacramento that will be the first in the U.S. to make sodium-ion battery packs at commercial scale. Sodium-ion batteries have long held promise. They are made from cheap and abundant sodium ash deposits.

SEOUL - North Korea has decided on measures to strengthen its nuclear forces "quantitatively and qualitatively" as leader Kim Jong Un called for modernising its military, state media KCNA reported on Friday. The measures and Kim's remarks came during an enlarged meeting of the ruling Workers' Party's Central Military Commission on Thursday, KCNA said.

Students at Pennsylvania's 10 state-owned universities will see another tuition hike next year - unless state legislators pull through with an additional $31 million that school leaders say is necessary to offset rising costs. Board members with the state system approved a $344, or 4.3%, annual increase in tuition for in-state undergraduate students, bringing costs to $8,338. More funding from the state system could reverse this decision, though it isn't likely. Gov.

BALTIMORE - Maryland lawmakers will return to Annapolis next month to consider a constitutional amendment that could change how the state redraws its congressional districts, reviving a debate over whether the proposal is intended to protect voting rights and ensure fair representation, as Democrats argue, or primarily benefit the Democratic Party politically, as some political scientists contend.

BTS is serving up more than a tour – the K-pop supergroup's BT21 characters are coming to new Happy Meals. The new BT21 Happy Meals will become available starting July 14 at participating McDonald's restaurants. Each meal will have one of ten BT21 toys. A seven-member South Korean boy band, BTS made its debut in 2013.

The Hype is There General Motors is adjusting its sports-car assembly strategy as early production data for the 2027 Corvette reveal a clear shift in consumer preferences. The Bowling Green Assembly Plant is currently closed for its annual summer shutdown following the July 4th holiday. However, the first three weeks of assembly since the June 8th launch show that buyers are increasingly selecting higher-performance, premium variants over the entry-level model.