CHICAGO — If the life and times of Chicago Alderman Daniel Solis a decade ago were pitched as the plot of a daytime soap opera, it might be rejected as too fantastical.

Sexual trysts at massage parlors, procuring erectile dysfunction pills from friends, an affair with his Chinese translator, a bag of cash handed over at a hotel in Beijing, a ...Read more

In keeping with a long-standing Thanksgiving tradition, President Joe Biden recently pardoned a pair of turkeys. During a ceremony at the White House, the birds — named Peach and Blossom — were spared from the dinner table and given a new lease on life.

While it was an act of pure political pageantry, it highlights the president’s ...Read more

WASHINGTON — As Dillion and Ben, two Clydesdales, pulled an 18-and-a-half-foot Christmas tree in a green wagon up the driveway to the North Portico of the White House Monday afternoon, it was already clear something would be different about this 58-year-old tradition.

At the top of the driveway, first lady Jill Biden and an entourage of ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A Hawaii woman’s father who flew to Los Angeles looking for her after she was reported missing has been found dead near Los Angeles International Airport.

The body of Ryan Kobayashi, 58, was found in a parking lot on Sunday, according to the Los Angeles County medical examiner. Los Angeles Police Department officials said they...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — This is the season for California lawmakers to travel across the globe, some to lush beachside resorts with schmoozing lobbyists, at no cost of their own.

A hand-selected group of elected officials spent the last few weeks traveling — gratis — to Hawaii, Vietnam and Taiwan to discuss big-picture policy ideas.

But ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Missouri judge on Monday upheld the state’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors, allowing the state to continue prohibiting treatments such as hormone therapy and puberty blockers for people under 18.

Circuit Court Judge Robert Craig Carter from southern Douglas County wrote in a 74-page order on Monday that the ban...Read more

DETROIT — Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald has formally referred the 2021 Oxford High School shooting to the Michigan Attorney General's Office for investigation.

McDonald wrote a referral letter on Friday to Attorney General Dana Nessel and vowed to fully cooperate with any investigation Nessel's office conducts, as well as provide ...Read more

The parachute used by the hijacker known as D.B. Cooper to leap out of a Boeing plane with $200,000 in cash after taking the passengers and crew hostage more than 50 years ago may have been found.

Sunday marked the 53rd anniversary of the only unsolved hijacking in U.S. aviation history. Now, years after the FBI declared the case inactive, the ...Read more

BOSTON — Boston Mayor Michelle Wu caught a break Monday when the absence of a Republican lawmaker who blocked her plan to hike commercial tax rates on two occasions last week allowed the bill to pass the House and advance to the Senate.

The bill cleared the House quickly, representing a stark contrast to the drama seen last Thursday and ...Read more

DENVER — Colorado U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert broke new ground over the weekend when she became the first sitting member of Congress to offer personalized messages for sale — starting at $250 — through the video platform Cameo.

The Windsor Republican, who won election to a new congressional seat this month after moving across the state, ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — A Las Vegas judge set a $1 million bail on Monday for the suspect in an alleged home invasion that led to police shooting and killing the homeowner.

Alejandra Boudreaux, 31, is charged with home invasion, assault constituting domestic violence, child abuse and disregarding the safety of a person resulting in death or substantial ...Read more

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly on Monday called for no new tax cuts in 2025, setting the Democrat on a collision path with Republicans who have vowed to take action on property taxes after voters bolstered the party’s supermajority in the Legislature.

The conflict’s outcome will influence how much Kansas homeowners pay in future property taxes, ...Read more

ATLANTA — Georgia officials will begin the upcoming budget season with plenty of cash on hand and no shortage of ways to spend it.

The state closed the fiscal year that ended in July with nearly $16.5 billion in “rainy day” and undesignated reserves, according to a recent state report. That’s enough to pay for nearly half a year’s ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Justice Department has moved to end its pursuit of criminal charges against Donald Trump, signaling a conclusion to the extraordinary federal prosecution of a former president whose reelection ensured he’d be shielded from charges in the White House.

Special Counsel Jack Smith, who charged Trump with illegally ...Read more

WASHINGTON — For someone who has made winning a key part of his personal, professional and political brand, Donald Trump is set to rely on a large stable of losers in his second term. The president-elect has tapped more than a dozen people who previously lost elections to join his administration next year.

Even though both parties love to ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — State public health official are warning the public of raw milk — one particular batch, at least.

On Sunday, the Fresno County-based Raw Farm dairy voluntarily recalled a batch of its cream top, whole raw milk after a sample tested positive for the avian flu.

The affected product is tagged with the lot code 20241109 ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A Hawaii woman’s father who flew to Los Angeles looking for her after she was reported missing has been found dead near Los Angeles International Airport.

The body of Ryan Kobayashi, 58, was found in a parking lot on Sunday, according to the Los Angeles County medical examiner. Los Angeles Police Department officials said they...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — Another private company will soon try its hand at sticking a landing on the moon for NASA.

Cedar Park, Texas-based Firefly Aerospace was one of several companies that won contracts under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, which aims to pay companies to provide a ride to the moon for its experiments.

...Read more

Liam Payne allegedly was attempting to escape his hotel room at CasaSur Palermo in Argentina when he fell to his death.

New security footage from the Buenos Aires hotel shows Payne being carried by three hotel workers to his room shortly before his death. After hearing the One Direction artist had threatened to use the balcony as a way to ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Peach and Blossom, a pair of fluffy, white American turkeys, were “pardoned” Monday by President Joe Biden as he participated in the White House’s most offbeat tradition for the final time.

Any worries about the fowls’ collective fate were relieved late in the morning when Biden, in a tongue-in-cheek ceremony on a sun-...Read more