SAN FRANCISCO — On a recent Sunday on the far edge of the Outer Sunset, a cozy oceanfront neighborhood with rows of pastel bungalows, hundreds of people enjoyed a stretch of the iconic coastal road known as the Great Highway.

A dad taught his kid how to ride a bike. A young couple strolled with their baby in a bassinet. Two surfers hauled ...Read more

BALTIMORE — All around the Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant, Mike Hallmen points to evidence that change is afoot.

Water-filled chambers that were once clogged with mucky brown sediment or choked by vegetation now run clear. Construction crews repair the concrete wall of a massive circular tank. Below the golden egg-shaped domes of the ...Read more

CHICAGO — A chilly Chicago winter doesn’t necessarily mean the African lions at the Lincoln Park Zoo have to go inside. In fact, as temperatures dip — even as cold as 10 degrees or in the snow — the pride may huddle up on heated rocks in their exhibit to spend more time relaxing outdoors.

“They also have access to indoor holding areas...Read more

Keith Poulsen’s jaw dropped when farmers showed him images on their cellphones at the World Dairy Expo in Wisconsin in October. A livestock veterinarian at the University of Wisconsin, Poulsen had seen sick cows before, with their noses dripping and udders slack.

But the scale of the farmers’ efforts to treat the sick cows stunned him. They...Read more

Just a year after he became chief executive officer of Philip Morris International Inc., Jacek Olczak swooped on rival nicotine pouch maker Swedish Match in a $16 billion deal.

Olczak wanted the company’s vast U.S. distribution network and popular Zyn nicotine pouches, which are about the size of a chiclet and meant to be placed between a ...Read more

The future of California's decades-long dream to one day connect Los Angeles and San Francisco via high-speed rail is again under threat as a Trump administration redux looms.

His selected Cabinet officials and a California congressman have vowed to pull federal funds from the ongoing rail project, which is budgeted at roughly $100 billion more...Read more

Jared Birchall, Elon Musk’s money manager and the head of his family office, is listed as the chief executive officer. Jehn Balajadia, a longtime Musk aide who has worked at SpaceX and the Boring Co., is named as an official contact.

But they’re not connected to Musk’s new technology venture, or the political operation that’s endeared ...Read more

The Biden administration is mulling exempting Mexico from tariffs on imported solar equipment, a last-minute change that would primarily benefit Maxeon Solar Technologies Ltd.

The exemption being weighed by senior officials in the waning weeks of Joe Biden’s presidency was described by people familiar with the matter who asked not to be ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The civil rights division of the Justice Department has for decades protected the rights of racial, ethnic and religious minorities, as well as women — the groups that have been the most common victims of illegal discrimination in the U.S.

President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead the office, Harmeet Dhillon, has a very ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that the Panama Canal is charging “exorbitant prices and rates of passage” on U.S. naval and merchant ships, and he demanded that fees be lowered or else Panama should return the canal to the U.S.

“The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, especially knowing the ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — A Jordanian citizen living in Orlando pleaded guilty Friday to vandalizing a solar energy facility and threatening to bomb businesses that support Israel, the Department of Justice disclosed in a high-profile announcement.

Hashem Younis Hashem Hnaihen, 44, pleaded to four counts of threatening to use explosives and one count ...Read more

CHICAGO — Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez was fired late Friday night, clearing the way for Mayor Brandon Johnson to install a new leader of the nation’s fourth-largest school district after a protracted power struggle.

His termination was the fallout of a long fight between leaders of the Chicago Teachers Union aligned with the ...Read more

President Joe Biden is giving federal employees a parting gift this holiday season, saying in an executive order that this year’s Christmas Eve would be considered a federal holiday.

In the order, signed Thursday, Biden — who is in the final weeks of his tenure in the White House — said the extra day off would be given to all federal ...Read more

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Tis the season to wash your hands and watch what you eat.

Norovirus, a vomit- and diarrhea-inducing stomach bug, is sickening Floridians through tainted surfaces and contaminated shellfish.

The Sunshine State is one of 12 in the U.S. with a high number of confirmed outbreaks of the virus. Anyone suffering from a bout ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A Sacramento County father has been arrested on suspicion of beheading his 1-year-old son, sheriff's officials said.

Andrey Demskiy, 28, was arrested and booked Friday on felony charges of murder, assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury, and corporal injury on a spouse in connection with the child's death...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson commuted the sentence of Patricia Prewitt, who had spent 40 years behind bars for her husband’s 1984 murder, among other reduced sentences and pardons announced Friday.

Prewitt, 75, has maintained her innocence while serving a life-sentence for the killing. For years, lawyers and advocates have ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Millions of Americans may see their Social Security benefits increase under a bill headed to President Joe Biden’s desk — though critics warn that the measure comes at the cost of pushing the fund further toward insolvency.

If signed by the president before the new Congress convenes on Jan. 3, the law would boost Social ...Read more

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A South Carolina man who is expected to be the next person scheduled for execution has filed an appeal with the South Carolina Supreme Court, alleging that prosecutors withheld crucial evidence about witnesses and his own lawyer, “infected by his own racism,” did not adequately defend him.

Marion Bowman Jr. was convicted ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Two 23-year-old Southern California men have been indicted for allegedly defrauding investors out of more than $22 million in cryptocurrency, according to authorities.

Gabriel Hay of Beverly Hills and Gavin Mayo of Thousand Oaks are accused of collecting investments for nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, and digital asset projects ...Read more