Since 1983, when President Ronald Reagan signed Martin Luther King Jr. Day into law, many Americans have observed the federal holiday to commemorate the life and legacy of the civil rights leader, Baptist minister and theologian.

MLK Day volunteers typically perform community service that continues King’s fight to end racial ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Unable to sleep around 2 a.m. last Wednesday, Sean St. John got out of bed and drove from his Pasadena home to check on his Altadena pizzeria, Pizza of Venice. He'd just been at the restaurant around 9 p.m., when the Eaton Canyon flames were visible on the mountain but still seemed a fair distance away.

"I hike these ...Read more

NEW YORK — Amid mounting legal bills, Mayor Eric Adams’ defense trust is nearly $1 million in the red after raising just over $2,000 in the latest reporting period — most of it from a convicted businessman pardoned by former President Donald Trump during his first White House term, a new filing reveals.

The trust, which Adams uses to ...Read more

Southwest Airlines removed a pilot from duty after he was extracted from the cockpit of a Chicago-bound plane and arrested for DUI in Georgia.

“The Employee involved in the situation on Flight 3772 Wednesday morning from Savannah has been removed from duty,” the airline said in a statement emphasizing passenger safety. “Customers were ...Read more

Cuban authorities on Thursday released prominent opposition leader José Daniel Ferrer, who had been in prison since 2021, as part of a deal cut with the Biden administration and the Vatican.

Cuban activist Rosa María Payá confirmed his release to the Miami Herald. Payá said she spoke to Ferrer at his home in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba’s ...Read more

ATLANTA — Gov. Brian Kemp is determined to pass a measure to limit lawsuits and curb giant jury verdicts this year, even if it takes dragging Georgia lawmakers back to Atlanta for a special legislative session.

Kemp delivered that warning in unambiguous terms Thursday to hundreds of lawmakers during his annual State of the State address, ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody will become the second woman to represent the Sunshine State in the Senate, after Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday he would appoint her to succeed Republican Marco Rubio, who is expected to be confirmed as secretary of State.

“I will bring the same persistence and passion and tenacity as a ...Read more

ATLANTA — Outgoing U.S. Attorney Ryan Buchanan, whose tenure is defined by the high-profile federal investigations into Georgia’s prisons and the Fulton County Jail, is stepping down from the state’s most prominent federal law post on Sunday — a day before President-elect Donald Trump is sworn into office.

And while Buchanan won’t ...Read more

As investments in Bay Area fire departments have grown in the wake of catastrophic fires around the region, several have opted to rely less on volunteer ranks that were once common. For some fire stations, volunteers have gone away entirely.

The decline in volunteers is part of a long trend across Bay Area fire departments, officials said. ...Read more

As America anticipates the second inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump on Monday, Jan. 20, weather forecasters say this swearing-in ceremony will be one of the coldest on record.

Though the sun will be out, most Washington, D.C. forecasts expect an afternoon high temperature in the mid-20s. Sustained winds of around 15 mph and gusts of ...Read more

BALTIMORE — For Republican lawmakers in Maryland, finding compromises with Gov. Wes Moore’s proposed solutions to the state’s $3 billion budget deficit — while maintaining firm opposition to tax increases — is a top priority.

Though Moore, a Democrat, has pointed to increased spending under former Gov. Larry Hogan’s administration ...Read more

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Blue Origin managed something no commercial rocket company has ever done successfully by reaching orbit on the first try with its New Glenn rocket during an overnight launch early Thursday.

The heavy-lift rocket for Jeff Bezos’ company is trying to become a competitor for SpaceX and United Launch Alliance. Dubbed NG-1...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — A West Philadelphia charter school owes the Philadelphia School District roughly $30 million for the number of students it has overenrolled during the last 14 years.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education ruled recently that West Philadelphia Achievement Charter Elementary School, at 67th and Callowhill Streets, must repay ...Read more

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — As President-elect Donald Trump pledges to carry out mass deportations after taking office next week, local law enforcement officials are waiting to see how much the government will ask — or require — them to cooperate with federal immigration agents in Florida.

Gov. Ron DeSantis this week said he wants local ...Read more

On the eve of Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 47th president of the United States, some people who work for the federal government are concerned.

Trump and his allies have repeatedly promised to dismantle the administrative state and fire those they perceive as disloyal. Trump’s former – and likely future – director of the ...Read more

Think Donald Trump can’t be president after his second term is up in January 2029? Think again.

When President-elect Donald Trump met with congressional Republicans shortly after his November 2024 election victory, he floated the idea of another term: “I suspect I won’t be running again unless you say, ‘He’s so good we’ve ...Read more