The Washington Post - Breaking news and latest headlines, U.S. news, world news, and video

(The Washington Post)

U.S. downs suspected Chinese spy balloon over the Atlantic coast

U.S. fighter aircraft, acting on an order from President Biden, shot down the balloon off the South Carolina coast. China called the vessel’s downing “an excessive reaction” and said it “retains the right to respond further.”

By Ellen Nakashima, Alex Horton, Dan Lamothe and Rosalind S. Helderman1 hour ago

MORE COVERAGE

‘Historic Arctic outbreak’ crushes records in New England

The historic Arctic weather is kind of like a cold snap on steroids, coming and going with startling speed. Temperatures in parts of New England could reach 50 degrees Sunday.

By Matthew Cappucci, Joel Achenbach and Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff

MORE COVERAGE

People in Raleigh, N.C., protest the Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe. (Getty Images)

Republicans aim to decimate abortion access in post-Roe haven states

In Florida and Nebraska — where laws still allow the vast majority of abortions to continue — conservatives are pushing for six-week bans, which, together with the same kind of ban proposed in North Carolina, could dramatically reshape the national abortion landscape once again.

By Caroline Kitchener and Rachel Roubein

MORE COVERAGE

Analysis

House GOP embraces mainstream media after years of bashing ‘fake news’

By Paul Kane

Attacking Vuhledar, Russia previews new push to seize southeast Ukraine

By Steve Hendrix and Serhii Korolchuk

Only from The Post

Perel's story was dramatized in the 1990 film “Europa Europa.” (Getty Images)

Solomon Perel, Jew who posed as Hitler Youth to survive war, dies at 97

Only in retirement did he begin to publicly tell his story — one that even in the bottomless depths of Holocaust sagas stands out as remarkable. “To this day I have a tangle of two souls in one body,” he said in 1992.

By Emily Langer

L.A. says goodbye to P-22, its mountain lion turned celebrity crush

P-22, the 22nd puma tracked in a National Park Service study, was euthanized in December, the result of serious health concerns and injuries he probably received after being hit by a car.

By Reis Thebault1 hour ago