MINNEAPOLIS — Democrats won a pair of special elections for Minnesota House seats in St. Paul and the east metro on Jan. 27, restoring the chamber to an even partisan split before the Legislature returns for its 2026 session.

Labor lawyer Meg Luger-Nikolai easily defeated Republican and IT professional Dan Walsh for the safely blue seat left ...Read more

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that Venezuela has, for the first time in nearly a decade, a genuine opportunity for political change, marking a sharp shift from what he described as a long-frozen crisis under former strongman Nicolás Maduro.

“For the first time in literally a decade there is the opportunity that something ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The FBI has taken the lead in the criminal investigation into Rep. Ilhan Omar being sprayed with a liquid as she spoke Tuesday at a town hall meeting in Minneapolis, a police spokesman said.

Anthony James Kazmierczak, 55, of Minneapolis remained jailed one day after he allegedly targeted Omar during the public gathering at Urban...Read more

President Donald Trump warned Iran to make a nuclear deal with the U.S. or face military strikes far worse than the attack he ordered last June, increasing pressure on the regime and propelling oil prices higher.

In a social-media post on Wednesday, Trump said the fleet of U.S. ships he’d ordered to the region, led by the USS Abraham Lincoln ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A state task force this week issued wide-ranging recommendations aimed at tightening California’s fireworks laws and oversight in the wake of the deadly Esparto fireworks explosion July 1.

The panel presented its initial findings Tuesday in San Diego to Cal Fire’s General Fireworks Advisory Committee. Cal Fire formed ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Peco responded to the smell of gas at the Bristol Health & Rehab Center more than two hours before an explosion that killed three people and injured 20 others just days before Christmas. Yet in initial findings released Wednesday, federal investigators said the public utility company did not fully isolate gas flow to the ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The FBI has taken the lead in the criminal investigation into Rep. Ilhan Omar being sprayed with a liquid as she spoke Tuesday at a town hall meeting in Minneapolis, a police spokesman said.

Anthony James Kazmierczak, 55, of Minneapolis remained jailed one day after he allegedly targeted Omar during the public gathering at Urban...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A Long Beach man pleaded guilty Tuesday to sending payments to suspected members of ISIS and for illegally possessing a homemade bomb, according to authorities.

Mark Lorenzo Villanueva, 29, pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and being a felon in possession of a firearm, ...Read more

LANSING — Traci Kornak, an attorney who previously served as a treasurer for the Michigan Democratic Party, is being charged for allegedly embezzling thousands of dollars from a vulnerable adult, Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker announced Wednesday morning.

In a brief statement, Becker, a Republican, said his office was bringing three ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — When the National Park Service dismantled educational exhibits about slavery at the President’s House Site at Independence National Historical Park last week, it required wrenches, crowbars, and the drudgery of four men.

In the span of a roughly an hour and a half, years of hard work from a group of artists, architects, ...Read more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Immigration and Customs Enforcement is attributing the death of a 15-year-old girl to “sanctuary policies” under Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles and ascribing blame for judicial decisions she has no control over.

The federal agency criticized Lyles’ leadership in a Jan. 20 news release announcing the arrest of a Guatemalan ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The Trump administration dispatched thousands of federal agents to Minnesota under the stated goal of beefing up the response to the state’s fraud crisis following viral claims of wrongdoing by Somali immigrants.

Two months later, Trump administration officials have said little about what those newly arrived federal agents are...Read more

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem faced rising calls to step down or be fired Wednesday over her handling of President Donald Trump’s Minneapolis immigration crackdown and the killing of Alex Pretti by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

At least two Republican senators have joined many Democratic lawmakers in calling for the ...Read more

NEW YORK — The most recent person to die on New York City streets amid historic low temperatures refused offers for help from a concerned Queens supermarket manager who spotted him on a bench outside the store the night before he died.

When the manager returned to work the next morning, he was upset to find the man’s lifeless body sitting ...Read more

PONTIAC, Mich. — Oakland County has detected Legionella at two more of its buildings following a shrinking presence of bacteria inside two other buildings that initially had issues.

The county on Wednesday announced it detected two positive samples at the North Oakland Health Center and two at the county's Resource and Crisis Center from ...Read more

SEATTLE — Washington's escalating legal costs — with billions of dollars in lawsuit payouts slamming state and local governments — have led state lawmakers to consider legislation forcing anyone suing public agencies to go through arbitration before taking cases to a jury.

The proposal, Senate Bill 6239, is the first serious effort by ...Read more

President Donald Trump warned Iran to make a nuclear deal with the U.S. or face military strikes far worse than the attack he ordered last June, ratcheting up pressure on the regime even as regional leaders sought to spur fresh diplomacy between the adversaries.

In a social-media post, Trump said the fleet of U.S. ships he’d ordered to the ...Read more

As lawmakers convene for this year’s state legislative sessions, immigration has surged to the top of the agenda. Across the country, dozens of bills touching on immigration enforcement, civil rights and the role of federal agents have been introduced this month.

The proposals range from measures that would restrict where federal immigration ...Read more

President Donald Trump warned Iran to make a nuclear deal with the U.S. or face military strikes far worse than the attack he ordered last June, ratcheting up pressure on the regime even as regional leaders sought to spur fresh diplomacy between the adversaries.

In a social-media post, Trump said the fleet of U.S. ships he’d ordered to the ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — For months, Gregory Bovino has been the public face of President Donald Trump's sweeping immigration raids across U.S. cities.

When the brash Border Patrol commander charged into Los Angeles last summer with the stated mission of arresting thousands of immigrants, he was unapologetic as agents smashed car windows, concealed ...Read more