President Donald Trump insisted Wednesday that his sweeping new tariffs on foreign goods will ultimately mean “lower prices for consumers.”

Most economists disagree, saying Californians will see higher prices very soon and endure what’s essentially a tax increase.

In a White House Rose Garden ceremony, talking to an audience of blue-...Read more

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City-area state senator is under fire after telling a transgender medical student that he won’t listen to doctors who disagree with God during testimony over anti-LGBTQ legislation.

The heated exchange from Sen. Joe Nicola, a Grain Valley Republican, occurred at the Missouri Capitol Wednesday, according to ...Read more

Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday he ignored the uproar within the Legislature over his recent comments about transgender student-athletes, a day after Assembly Republicans invoked him as an unlikely ally to press for two related bills that ultimately failed.

“I didn’t pay any attention to the committee yesterday,” he told reporters after ...Read more

Senate Budget Chairman Lindsey Graham unveiled the text of a compromise budget blueprint Wednesday that’s designed to pave the way for a major reconciliation package offering tax cuts, border security and defense funding and more.

The measure would punt, for now, on the overall size of offsetting spending cuts, but the text clearly states a ...Read more

Beau Baden describes his business, Sherman Street Beer Co., as a “mom and pop” operation. Like many small-business owners in the Lehigh Valley and beyond, he’s concerned about the potential fallout from tariffs being imposed by the Trump administration and retaliatory ones from trading partners such as Canada.

“Myself and my wife run it...Read more

NEW YORK — A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed sweeping public corruption charges against Mayor Eric Adams “with prejudice,” blasting the Trump administration’s bid to potentially revive them while leveraging the mayor’s help in hardline immigration enforcement as a “disturbing” bargain.

While the judgment caps a monthslong ...Read more

A New Jersey mother accused of killing her two young children at her Ocean County home last year has been found not guilty by reason of insanity, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Naomi Elkins was charged last year with two counts of murder in the killings of her 3-year-old and 1-year-old daughters. She admitted that on June 25 she drowned both kids in ...Read more

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida law enforcement officers who use deadly or harmful force could have their names shielded from the public under a proposed state law.

The proposal would prohibit law enforcement agencies from releasing any public record that identifies the officer for 72 hours after they shoot someone or use other force that causes ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — After intense scrutiny of Los Angeles County’s failures in coordinating evacuations during January’s deadly firestorm, officials will look into creating a registry for people with disabilities and other mobility challenges in case of future disasters.

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a motion by ...Read more

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday made what appear to be his first public comments on his recent order calling state workers back to offices four days a week and suggested that it was about more than just collaboration and government efficiency.

He said he was also thinking about the “mom and pop” businesses, like sandwich shops, that are ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced sweeping global tariffs Wednesday — a risky move that he vowed would lure manufacturing back to the United States, but which experts warned could upend the global economy.

In a Rose Garden speech, Trump said the U.S. would begin applying a universal baseline tariff of 10% on imported goods from ...Read more

Having the freedom to choose your own health care provider is something many Americans take for granted. But the Supreme Court is weighing whether people who rely on Medicaid for their health insurance have that right, and if they do – is it enforceable by law?

That’s the key question at the heart of a case, Medina v. Planned ...Read more

Both of Kentucky’s U.S. senators are drawing the intrigue of Washington and ire of President Donald Trump for their opposition to his push on tariffs.

Senators Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell could join Democrats and a few of their Republican colleagues to scuttle Trump’s efforts to place tariffs on goods coming from Canada, a longtime ally ...Read more

The attorney representing two Venezuelan siblings announced Wednesday that one of the brothers will be released from ICE custody under supervision in order to donate his kidney to his ailing younger brother, an asylum seeker in Cicero, Illinois.

The attorney, Peter Meinecke, and The Resurrection Project, a nonprofit advocacy group representing ...Read more

In the middle of the debate on a bill that would ban gender-affirming care for transgender people in Georgia prisons, House Democratic Leader Carolyn Hugley stood, turned down the chamber’s center aisle and led the majority of her caucus out into the hallway.

“This is day 39 — day 39 — we don’t have (an approved state) budget and many...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order for 10% baseline tariffs on imported goods starting Saturday and additional levies on worst-offender countries, but vehicles and their parts will be excluded.

The baseline tariff will go into effect starting 12:01 a.m. Saturday, and the additional duties will begin at ...Read more

​WASHINGTON — Though the case being heard inside was not centered on abortion, the scene outside the Supreme Court Wednesday morning seemed to focus squarely on the procedure.

Those gathering outside the court ahead of and during oral arguments for Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic said they see the case — which will determine ...Read more

Gas stations across Colorado would have to post a sticker warning drivers that their fuel use contributes to climate change under legislation that narrowly passed the state House on Wednesday.

House Bill 1277 squeaked out of the chamber with 33 votes, the minimum needed to clear the chamber; 30 representatives voted no, with some Democrats ...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — Two international students at NC State University have left the country after their visas were terminated by the administration of President Donald Trump, the university announced Tuesday.

The university learned that the visas — which international students are required to obtain in order to study and enroll at U.S. ...Read more