MANSFIELD, La. — When Desoto Regional Health System took out $36 million in loans last year to renovate a rural hospital that opened in 1952, officials were banking on its main funding source remaining stable: Medicaid, the joint federal-state health program for low-income people and the disabled.

But those dollars are now in jeopardy, as ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The woman who was shot by the Los Angeles Police Department in her Eagle Rock backyard during a manhunt for a hit-and-run suspect has been identified as Jillian Shriner, American author and the wife of Weezer bass player Scott Shriner.

Shriner, 51, was transported to the hospital after sustaining a non-life-threatening gunshot ...Read more

The self-deportation of a University of Florida student reveals the new reality for many immigrants — any brush with the law can set off a chain of unfortunate events.

Felipe Zapata-Velásquez, 27, a student at the University of Florida, self-deported to his home country of Colombia after Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained him ...Read more

While the number of remote workers has been shrinking locally and nationally, telework opportunities still exist. In Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and especially Delaware, conditions are favorable for those who work from home.

A new report by personal finance company WalletHub ranked all 50 states and Washington, D.C., from best to worst for remote...Read more

WASHINGTON - A bill that would permanently protect the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness from sulfide mining was introduced by Sen. Tina Smith in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump and his administration have signaled a willingness to open the area back up to mining.

“I think Minnesotans need to understand that ... the ...Read more

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said the city may be forced to make layoffs and implement a hiring freeze if anticipated federal funding doesn’t materialize for the $4.8 billion budget she has proposed for next fiscal year.

While blasting the “chaos” from the federal administration that she says is wreaking havoc on the city’s planning for the...Read more

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Senate President Don Harmon said Wednesday that he disagrees with Illinois election officials who said he collected millions of dollars more in campaign contributions last year than he was allowed to under a state law designed to curtail big-money influence in Illinois politics, but he maintained he is taking the issue “...Read more

Minnesota legislators are weighing a new tax on social media platforms that could raise $334 million in the next four years as the state faces a multibillion-dollar deficit later this decade and uncertainty surrounding federal funding.

Under a proposal introduced by Senate Taxes Committee Chair Ann Rest, DFL-New Hope, large social media ...Read more

What happened to Brittany Clardy a dozen years ago is not only painful to her family and her St. Paul community, it’s “reflective of a much larger crisis” in Minnesota and across the nation, her sister said Wednesday.

Clardy was 18 when she was murdered in 2013. Her sister, Lakeisha Lee, was co-chair of Minnesota’s Missing and Murdered ...Read more

Michelle Obama has finally shut down speculation that she and former President Barack Obama are headed for divorce, while admitting her newfound independence has fueled the rumors.

When asked what her life looks like these days, the 61-year-old former first lady told Sophia Bush’s “Work in Progress” podcast that “it’s whatever I want....Read more

WASHINGTON — The U.S. federal government’s central human resources office will begin deploying artificial intelligence to clean up its personnel records this year, marking the boldest public move yet into using the technology on sensitive records.

The Office of Personnel Management’s disclosure — in a privacy impact memo posted ...Read more

CHICAGO — The state’s top universities, including the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Northwestern University and the University of Chicago, confirmed Wednesday that visas of international students were revoked by the Trump administration, joining a growing number of international students across the country who have had their visas...Read more

The Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday it would begin screening the social media accounts of migrants applying for permanent resident status, as well as foreign students and aliens affiliated with academic institutions, for “antisemitic activity” to determine if those individuals qualify for benefit consideration.

“Today U.S. ...Read more

President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at relaxing rules that limit water flow for shower heads, targeting an issue he has long complained makes it harder for him to properly wash his hair.

The order ends water conservation standards that restrict the number of gallons per minute that are allowed to flow through shower heads, ...Read more

BOISE, Idaho — No transgender athlete ever asked Idaho’s high school sports governing body to play for a school’s athletic teams. But the Idaho High School Activities Association conformed with an executive order from President Donald Trump on Wednesday and banned transgender athletes from its girls sports.

During its April board meeting,...Read more

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to use military action against Iran if it were to try and acquire a nuclear weapon, as negotiators are set to meet Saturday to discuss the standoff over Tehran’s nuclear program.

Trump told reporters he would “absolutely” consider using military action “if necessary” during an event in the Oval ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate confirmed Paul Atkins as chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, ushering him into the role only a week after President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs unleashed market turmoil.

Atkins, approved Wednesday in a 52-44 vote, is expected to scale back regulation, reduce corporate disclosures and make ...Read more

Right-wing cable channel Newsmax defamed Dominion Voting Systems by falsely reporting that the company was involved in rigging the 2020 presidential election, a Delaware judge ruled Wednesday.

Damages will be decided by a jury in a trial that will begin April 28 unless a settlement is reached. Dominion is seeking $1.6 billion.

The ruling from ...Read more

Three Americans extradited from the Democratic Republic of the Congo were being held Wednesday in the U.S. on charges of participating in a failed coup.

Marcel Malanga, 22; Tyler Thompson, 22; and Benjamin Zalman-Polun, 37, had been sentenced to death in Congo for participating in the coup but were shipped back to the U.S. amid diplomatic ...Read more