BOISE, Idaho — A Boise State University public policy survey found that the majority of Idaho residents prefer abortion policies that are more lax than the state’s current restrictions.

The university published the results of its annual public policy survey Friday. It came as state officials and stakeholders are unsure whether President-...Read more

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court said it will consider whether a Maryland school system is violating the Constitution by incorporating LGBTQ-friendly books into the elementary school curriculum without giving parents the right to opt out.

Plunging into a culturally divisive fight, the justices agreed to hear an appeal by parents who say ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Citing airborne contaminants and a lack of running water, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department shut down the Altadena sheriff’s station Thursday in the aftermath of the Eaton fire.

A day earlier, sheriff’s officials sent an urgent message out to patrol cars, saying the air had become so toxic after days of wildfires...Read more

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he didn’t discuss his federal corruption case with soon-to-be president Donald Trump during their meeting in Florida on Friday — and he chided a growing chorus of fellow Democrats back in New York who are blasting him for the sit-down.

Late Thursday, Adams’ office first announced the mayor would meet ...Read more

An extended run of bone-chilling cold is poised to send demand for power and natural gas surging across much of the United States this weekend, with snow expected in the Northeast by Sunday and a chance of snow or sleet along the Gulf Coast early next week.

Frigid weather has already begun to set in across the Central U.S. By Monday, daily ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — With fire containment improving and winds dying down, some residents are being allowed back into neighborhoods devastated by the Palisades and Eaton fires, though checkpoints still remained in other places.

One day earlier, when evacuation orders in the neighborhood were lifted after more than a week, a line of cars stretched ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The union that represents more than 3,000 Los Angeles city firefighters renewed its support for Fire Chief Kristin Crowley on Friday, denouncing an anonymous letter that accused her of mishandling the response to the massively destructive Palisades fire.

United Firefighters of Los Angeles City Local 112 condemned a letter ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump announced Monday’s inaugural ceremony will be held indoors, with temperatures in the teens to low 20s forecast for the region.

The move, which will spare visitors and workers from the frigid cold, also means many who had planned to come to the Capitol grounds will be left disappointed.

The Joint ...Read more

PASADENA, Calif. — The kitten’s paw pads were raw and red.

Her whiskers, mostly gone. Her ears, singed. Her eyelids, swollen.

As Vanessa Ortiz, a veterinary technician at the Pasadena Humane Society, picked up the kitten, she paused and reminded herself to move more gingerly.

“You have to be careful when you pet them,” she said, “...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Former Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners President Steve Soboroff will lead the city’s wildfire rebuilding effort, Mayor Karen Bass said Friday.

Soboroff, a real estate developer and longtime civic leader, will serve as chief recovery officer for the city.

He will work directly with the mayor and with the assistance ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced arson charges Friday against six men who set fires around L.A. County in the wake of the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires.

A man who impersonated a firefighter to sneak into a Malibu evacuation zone has also been arrested, Hochman said.

The arson defendants set ...Read more

The Supreme Court has paved the way for TikTok to be banned in the U.S. on Sunday.

The highest court on Friday upheld a new law that requires the social media app's Chinese owner to sell off TikTok's U.S. business or face a nationwide ban.

"Given just a handful of days after oral argument to issue an opinion, I cannot profess the kind of ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Former Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners President Steve Soboroff will lead the city’s wildfire rebuilding effort, Mayor Karen Bass said Friday afternoon.

Soboroff, a real estate developer and longtime civic leader, will serve as chief recovery officer for the city.

“Our absolute priority is to return Angelenos to ...Read more

Jimmy Donaldson has compiled quite the resume since he began making videos as a teenager in his Greenville, North Carolina, bedroom. The world’s most popular YouTube channel. A successful snack line. A new Amazon reality competition that (despite mixed critical reviews) has been watched more than 50 million times in the past month.

A content ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a law that calls for the shutdown of the U.S. operations of social media app TikTok because of privacy and security concerns related to its Chinese owner.

The justices in a unanimous opinion said the 2024 law does not violate the First Amendment or its protection for freedom of speech. The ...Read more

JERUSALEM — Israel’s full Cabinet approved a ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange deal with Hamas, clearing the way for a six-week pause starting Sunday to the 15 months of war in Gaza.

After the high-level security Cabinet accepted the deal earlier, it gained the approval of the full Cabinet despite opposition by some far-right members ...Read more

NEW YORK — An MTA bus driver lost control of an empty city bus Friday morning and broke through a retaining stone wall in the Spuyten Duyvil section of the Bronx, leaving the vehicle dangling over the street.

The incident occurred shortly after 8:30 a.m., when the unidentified driver crashed through a stone retaining wall over Kappock St. ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — State insurance regulators and county prosecutors are deploying teams to areas affected by the disastrous fires in Los Angeles County to prevent — and prosecute — insurance fraudsters targeting wildfire survivors.

Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman are partnering to ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — California Attorney General Rob Bonta has sent more than 200 letters to landlords and hotels warning them that they’ve been accused of wildfire-related price gouging, his office announced Friday.

“The price gouging that we’re seeing and hearing about needs to stop now,” Bonta said in a release. “These letters are just ...Read more