The water systems of three Nevada tribes are getting a $5 million upgrade, the state’s two U.S. senators announced on Wednesday.

“Access to clean, safe drinking water is essential for every community, and that’s no different for Tribes across Nevada,” Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., said in a statement. “I’m proud to have ...Read more

The Justice Department has opened a disability rights investigation into whether Michigan unnecessarily keeps adults with serious mental illness in state psychiatric hospitals in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the department announced Wednesday.

The department said it will investigate whether Michigan provides adequate ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Four Los Angeles-area residents were arrested Wednesday on suspicion of insurance fraud and conspiracy after allegedly falsely claiming a bear got into their vehicles and damaged them.

There was no bear, rather, a person in a bear costume was seen in video footage provided with insurance claims.

Dubbed “Operation Bear Claw,�...Read more

A 14-year-old from New Jersey has been arrested and charged with arson for allegedly setting a fire that burned 52 acres of land and threatened homes in Evesham, police announced Wednesday.

Fire officials are also investigating a possible link between that fire, which occurred on Oct. 30 and took days to extinguish, and another much larger fire...Read more

President-elect Donald Trump’s pick of Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general sent a clear signal through Washington on Wednesday that Trump intends for his Justice Department to take a sharp-elbowed, hyper-partisan approach to law and order — one that is both unquestioningly loyal to Trump and openly antagonistic toward his political ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — Technology executive Bob Lee’s accused killer told a jury he acted in self defense after Lee tried to attack him with a knife on a San Francisco street a year and a half ago, saying “he went crazy on me” after losing his temper.

Nima Momeni, defending himself at his murder trial, testified Wednesday that during a late ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Republicans will maintain control of the House next year, a result made clear when The Associated Press called a 217th seat for Republicans, a Democrat conceded a key race loss and House Democratic leaders threw in the towel.

“House Democrats gave it our all, running aggressive, forward-looking and people-centered campaigns. ...Read more

In classic Trump fashion, the nation learned who is in line to lead the world’s largest military apparatus via social media.

Former mid-level Army officer and current Fox News host Pete Hegseth is the president-elect’s nominee for secretary of defense.

If you’ve never heard of Hegseth you aren’t alone, and President Donald Trump’s ...Read more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Gov. Roy Cooper has pardoned a Pitt County pastor who served eight years in prison for a robbery he did not commit, offering the falsely accused preacher a rare declaration of innocence and making him eligible for $400,000 in state compensation.

The Rev. Darron Carmon was a 19-year-old college student with a clean record in ...Read more

LANSING, Mich. — Michigan House lawmakers moved a series of economic development bills off the chamber floor Wednesday and on to the Senate, pushing forward a suite of legislation that would implement tax credits, tax exemptions and grants for businesses.

The bills would create a research and development tax credit, an innovation fund to ...Read more

House Republican factions agreed Wednesday night on a change to the chamber’s rules that would make it tougher to oust the speaker in the manner that ex-Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., lost his job last year, and after some threatened the current speaker, Mike Johnson, with the same fate earlier this year.

The deal struck between members of ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida to serve as U.S. attorney general, a surprising and highly controversial pick that could set up a confirmation battle in the Senate as the congressman continues to battle accusations of illicit drug use and sex trafficking.

At a Wednesday evening news ...Read more

HARTFORD, Conn. — A Ukrainian national accused of being part of a network that smuggled machinery with military and nuclear manufacturing applications to Russia was sentenced to 33 months in prison on a money laundering charge Wednesday in U.S. District Court.

Federal authorities said Stanislav Romanyuk, 39, was part of a conspiracy that ...Read more

The Bay State is again receiving positive news in its fight against the drug overdose crisis, as new data shows that OD deaths significantly dropped in a recent 12-month period.

Massachusetts had about 2,032 drug overdose deaths in the 12-month period that ended June 30, according to provisional CDC data. That was a major 23% decline from the 2...Read more

New Jersey declared a statewide drought warning Wednesday, as water levels dropped throughout the state and several wildfires continued burning.

According to weather officials, the state saw just 0.02 inches of rain in October and about a half-inch the first few days of November, while roughly four inches per month is normal.

“New Jersey is ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida to serve as U.S. attorney general, a surprising and highly controversial pick that could set up a confirmation battle in the Senate as the congressman continues to battle accusations of illicit drug use and sex trafficking.

A far-right firebrand, Gaetz spread ...Read more

Comptroller Brad Lander on Wednesday warned that a Donald Trump presidency would pose “grave risks” to New York City — including nearly $8 billion in federal funding thrown into jeopardy.

Lander gave the bleak assessment at a press conference announcing a report on the impacts of the 2024 elections — saying that if Trump cuts federal ...Read more

President-elect Donald Trump has given two wealthy entrepreneurs a mission that has eluded many other occupants of the White House: Make the U.S. government smaller and more efficient.

No one knows much about how Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy plan to accomplish that task, only that they and the president they will serve want big reforms not ...Read more