ORLANDO, Fla. — With one month left in hurricane season, the National Hurricane Center said Friday said there was a high chance a Caribbean system will form into the season’s next tropical depression while tracking two more systems with potential to develop.

As of the NHC’s 8 a.m. tropical outlook, it said a broad area of low pressure is ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Sunshine State led the nation in school book bans for the 2023-24 academic year, according to a new report released Friday.

There were 4,561 instances of book banning in Florida public school districts last school year — accounting for about 45% of all book bans nationally, according to the report by PEN America, a free...Read more

CHICAGO — The governors of five states have signed a letter calling on PJM Interconnection — a company that operates part of the electric grid — to take “swift action” to address record-setting prices for electricity used in times of very high demand.

The letter comes after a recent PJM auction for such electricity resulted in a bill ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Joe Biden, in the week before he officially will become a lame-duck president, has had a rather awkward run of late — creating problems for Vice President Kamala Harris, his possible successor.

Forced to end his bid for a second term by party donors and lawmakers, the 81-year-old commander in chief has had a few vintage Biden ...Read more

CHICAGO — Mayor Brandon Johnson’s 2025 budget plan for Chicago police slashes several offices that are critical to the ongoing federal consent decree, sparking alarm from policing experts who say now is not the time to take the foot off the gas with reform.

Johnson’s $17.3 billion spending plan for the city carves out $2.1 billion for the...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — A 17-year-old faces murder charges after a pair of downtown Orlando shootings during crowded Halloween celebrations early Friday ended with two people dead and six others injured.

The suspect, who the Orlando Police Department identified as 17-year-old Jaylen Edgar, was tackled and handcuffed as he tried to follow the fleeing ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — In the wee hours of Sunday morning, Californians will gain an hour of sleep, and in return, they'll receive an entire winter season during which the sun sets before most people leave the office.

Yes, that's right, daylight saving is ending and darkness is coming. At 2 a.m. Sunday, most clocks on phones and devices will ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The incoming Los Angeles Police Department chief stands to get paid more than L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, the leaders of the police departments in New York and Chicago — the nation’s two largest — and even the president of the United States.

The Board of Police Commissioners, the LAPD’s civilian oversight body, has proposed ...Read more

SEATTLE — Two people were injured and one person was killed Thursday night at Vancouver Mall when someone began shooting in the food court, according to police.

Vancouver, Wash. police responded to the shooting around 7:30 p.m. Witnesses said a person in the food court shot someone and fired other rounds that struck two more people, according...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Just under half of California voters support Proposition 32, the measure to increase California's minimum wage to $18 an hour, a warning sign about its fate in next week's election, according to new polling results released Friday.

Forty-seven percent of likely voters and those who have already cast ballots backed the ...Read more

NEW YORK — The City Council is pitching its “comprehensive” plan to tackle the housing crisis Friday as part of ongoing negotiations over Mayor Eric Adams’s own “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity” zoning package ahead of its crucial final vote.

“City For All,” as the new plan is known, is billed as picking up where “Zoning ...Read more

ST. LOUIS — Voters in Missouri, Nebraska and Alaska will soon decide whether workers in those states should be entitled to paid sick leave.

If approved, the ballot measures would allow many workers to accrue paid time off, a benefit supporters say means workers — especially those with low-paying jobs — would no longer have to fear losing ...Read more

More than 225,000 Kentuckians cast ballots on the first day of early voting Thursday, signaling a stronger voter turnout than in the 2020 presidential election, Secretary of State Michael Adams’ office said Friday morning.

Adams said 225,696 Kentuckians voted on Halloween, the first day of a three-day, no-excuse early voting period.

That ...Read more

Spanish rescue teams are searching for dozens of missing people in the flood-hit city of Paiporta as the death toll from this week’s storms surpassed 200.

Paiporta, just inland from Valencia on Spain’s east coast, is still largely inaccessible, leaving many of its 27,000 residents trapped without water or electricity. The national ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — After all the ballots in this year's presidential contest are cast, the count will begin to be reported. But in the United States' unusual election system, there are in essence two counts —the popular vote and the results in the electoral college.

Here's how they work:

What is the popular vote?

The popular vote is your vote ...Read more

ST. CLAIR SHORES, Mich. — A 55-year-old man has been charged with multiple counts of felonious assault and hate crimes after Macomb County Prosecutors say he allegedly hurled homophobic slurs before driving his car toward volunteers passing out literature last month for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

Jason Lafond of St. ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Lawyers for Elon Musk have formally asked a federal judge to oversee the lawsuit filed against him by Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, the latest volley in the legal bout unfolding between Krasner and Musk ahead of Election Day.

The brief, filed Friday morning, said that because Krasner is seeking to bar Musk and ...Read more

A political float in a Halloween parade just outside Pittsburgh — featuring Vice President Kamala Harris chained to the back of a golf cart — has prompted an apology from the event coordinators.

Images from the parade in Mount Pleasant, sponsored by Mount Pleasant Volunteer Fire Department, almost immediately started making the rounds on ...Read more