In a major victory for Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Democratic party, a federal court ruled Wednesday that California can use its newly configured boundaries for congressional districts for the 2026 midterm elections, increasing Democrats’ odds of winning five additional U.S. House seats in the state next year and seizing control of the chamber. ...Read more

DENVER — Municipal utilities and electric cooperatives would have more time to cut their carbon emissions under legislation advanced by Colorado Springs-area lawmakers, who say the local electric utility will struggle to meet the 80% reduction target by the 2030 deadline.

The bipartisan bill announced Monday during a call with reporters would...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — SpaceX is starting to get the ball rolling on its Florida launch card with its fourth mission of the year coming less than two days since the last launch, setting a record for its Cape Canaveral launch pad.

A Falcon 9 on the Starlink 6-98 mission with 29 Starlink satellites lifted off at 1:08 p.m. from Cape Canaveral Space ...Read more

CHICAGO — After a defeat at the U.S. Supreme Court, lawyers for the Department of Justice told a federal judge Wednesday they’re looking to settle litigation over President Donald Trump’s controversial efforts to deploy National Guard troops to the Chicago area to bolster immigration enforcement.

The development came as U.S. District ...Read more

BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey is slamming President Donald Trump’s threats to cut federal funding to sanctuary cities and states as ICE continues operations across the country amid a crackdown on illegal immigration.

“Well, I won’t give you the finger,” said Healey when asked by the Herald if she had any reaction to the president’s ...Read more

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that veteran downstate Republican Rep. Mike Bost has standing to pursue a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Illinois’ election law that allows mail-in ballots postmarked or certified by Election Day to be counted up to 14 days later.

The 7-2 ruling, in an opinion authored by Chief ...Read more

First, it was a series of strong atmospheric rivers in January 2023 that set off a troublesome landslide, again splitting up the world-famous drive along Big Sur's iconic coastline.

Then, a second winter of drenching storms triggered two more slides, including one that completely buried another section of California's Highway 1 under 300,000 ...Read more

Days after a federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to stop families of U.S. citizens and permanent residents from adjusting their legal status through a Biden-era program, the administration on Wednesday announced it would pause family-based green-card processing for 75 countries.

More than a dozen of the nations are in ...Read more

WASHINGTON — A panel of three federal judges in California declined to halt the state’s new congressional map Wednesday, rejecting claims the new lines were racial gerrymanders and allowing the map for this year’s midterm elections.

The 2-1 decision, written after the judges held a three-day evidentiary hearing, rejected claims that the ...Read more

At least three Americans have been released from detention in Venezuela, the latest in a slow-moving and contested process to free political prisoners following the nighttime raid earlier this month that captured strongman Nicolás Maduro.

U.S. officials confirmed that a small number of Americans were freed, though they did not provide ...Read more

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Former S.C. state Rep. RJ May III, once known for his hard-right conservative views, was sentenced Wednesday to 17.5 years in prison for distributing child pornography on the internet.

The sentence by U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie was announced at the end of a somber, unusually long two and a half hour hearing in...Read more

Denmark and Greenland held contentious talks Wednesday with Vice President JD Vance over President Donald Trump’s threats to take over the Arctic island, by force if necessary.

Although diplomats called the White House meeting “constructive and frank,” there was no sign of a breakthrough between the NATO allies over Trump’s ...Read more

President Donald Trump’s high testosterone levels and ability to survive a fast-food diet “full of poison” have left Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in awe.

Days after launching the Trump administration’s new dietary guidelines, RFK Jr. sat down for an interview on the “Katie Miller Podcast,” hosted by the ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Chris Madel, a Republican candidate for governor of Minnesota, is providing legal counsel to ICE agent Jonathan Ross as dual state and federal investigations into his shooting of Renee Good remain ongoing.

Madel told the Minnesota Star Tribune that he filed Ross’ application to have the U.S. Department of Justice provide legal...Read more

At a moment when Haiti’s tourism continues to grind to a halt, the country is facing another setback.

Royal Caribbean, which had suspended visits to its private destination of Labadee in northern Haiti until May of this year, says the service will now remain suspended through December 2026.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we have extended...Read more

DETROIT — After Ramiro Sanders said he was thrown to the ground and handcuffed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents outside the 35th District Court in Plymouth in April, he and his spouse want to ensure courthouses and surrounding areas are safe for immigrants there on court business.

Sanders, who was released by ICE agents when...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The Trump administration is suing two California cities over ordinances that ban the use of natural gas piping and appliances in new buildings, despite the fact that both cities said they have not enforced those bans in several years.

In a lawsuit filed Jan. 5 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Iran has become the foreign policy thorn President Donald Trump can’t seem to extract from his proverbial side as lawmakers and leaders from both parties express uncertainty over the president’s promised response to deadly protests there.

Trump flew to Detroit on Tuesday to deliver what he dubbed a “big speech” on the ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The family of Renee Good, the woman fatally shot on Jan. 7 by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, has hired the same law firm that won a record court settlement five years ago for the family of George Floyd.

Romanucci and Blandin in Chicago said in a statement issued Jan. 14 that the firm is representing Good’s parents, Tim and Donna...Read more

COLUMBIA, S.C. — From dawn until dusk, South Carolina State University will capture the attention of the capital city as its flag is hoisted atop the State House on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

It is the first time a historically Black college or university will be honored in this fashion.

The Bulldogs played against Prairie View A&M ...Read more