LOS ANGELES — Strong winds helped push along a wildfire in Ventura County that quickly grew to 10,431 acres by Wednesday afternoon — causing injuries and prompting evacuations.

Multiple people have been injured in the Mountain fire and transported to hospitals, the Ventura County Fire Department said, with numerous structures threatened. ...Read more

If there is one thing Donald Trump is clear on, it’s winners and losers.

The transactional nature of his first presidency showed how he ranked leaders based on their perceived strengths and weaknesses — and his personal taste. That meant Germany was cut down to size but the likes of North Korea got an audience.

How everyone fits into his ...Read more

Less than three weeks after Cuba lost all electrical service for several days, Hurricane Rafael’s strong winds knocked out the country’s electrical grid again Wednesday afternoon, leaving the island without service, the state electricity company said.

The state-owned Electric Union said that the strong winds “caused the disconnection of ...Read more

JERUSALEM — Israel sees Donald Trump’s dramatic U.S. election victory as freeing its hand to press on with the wars against Hamas and Hezbollah and even contemplate strikes aimed at disabling Iran’s nuclear program.

“You do what you have to do,” Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last month when asked how to handle ...Read more

China extended its congratulations to Donald Trump for his victory in the U.S. election, while the president-elect reportedly spoke on the phone with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

A Foreign Ministry spokesperson commended the Republican on his win over Kamala Harris, according to a statement late Wednesday night. “We respect the choice of the ...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Protesters took to the streets Wednesday evening in San Jose and Berkeley, in a public outcry aimed at both major political parties one day after the reelection of President-elect Donald Trump to the White House in an election with margins that surprised many pundits.

Around 100 protesters gathered in San Jose near the ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Long-simmering tensions between Philadelphia's Democratic Party chair and Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign erupted in public after her loss on Wednesday.

As Democrats across the state were processing Harris' defeat by former President Donald Trump, former U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, the party chair since 1988, ...Read more

CANBERRA, Australia — Children in Australia under the age of 16 will be banned from social media as part of a push to protect young people’s mental health, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, with firms involved required to enforce the new regulations or face potential fines.

“Social media is doing harm to our kids and I’m calling ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The decisive election of Donald Trump on Tuesday sent a clear message to Aquilino Gonell and other officers who protected the Capitol from rioters on Jan. 6, 2021.

“It means that the American people have accepted Jan. 6 as something that could be condoned,” the former Capitol Police sergeant said the morning after Trump won ...Read more

HARTFORD, Conn. — A federal judge in Hartford has refused to dismiss a groundbreaking lawsuit by female track and field athletes who are challenging what they call an unfair and discriminatory state policy that required them to compete at a disadvantage against competitors born as biological males.

U.S. District Court Robert N. Chatigny ...Read more

The results of some congressional races may foreshadow who will have outsize health policy influence in Congress next year.

Congress will face decisions over whether to renew premium marketplace subsidies, how to pay for federal health policy programs and whether and how to address pharmacy benefit manager practices, drug pricing and other key ...Read more

NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s presidential election victory left immigrants in New York City on edge Wednesday as they fear what will come of his pledge to launch “mass deportations” once he takes office early next year.

In an afternoon briefing at City Hall, Mayor Eric Adams did little to allay those fears, as he pledged to work with Trump...Read more

The National Hurricane Center said Hurricane Rafael weakened into a Category 2 storm Wednesday evening after making landfall in Cuba as a Category 3 on its way into the Gulf of Mexico, while the Florida Keys remained under a tropical storm warning.

As of 7 p.m. EST, Rafael, which first gained hurricane status at 7:20 p.m. Tuesday, had 105 mph ...Read more

A Westland, Michigan, man was arrested after authorities said he tried to get into the U.S. Capitol on Election Day while carrying a flare gun, torch lighter, bottles of fuel and what appears to be a manifesto.

U.S. Capitol Police said they also found a letter to Congress when they searched Austin M. Olson, 27, on Tuesday. The letter was ...Read more

MIAMI — Broward County Public School students and parents have mixed reactions to the first few months of the district’s policy banning most cellphone use. The school board is split too, but declined to make any changes.

Board members discussed the data from a survey sent to parents, students and teachers in October about how effective the ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — In deep-blue L.A. County, the “godfather of progressive prosecutors” lost his reelection bid by more than 20 percentage points to a former Republican.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, voters appear to have recalled another reform-minded district attorney.

And statewide, a tough-on-crime ballot initiative passed with ...Read more

NEW YORK — Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan may soon be tasked with making the unenviable decision of whether to punish incoming President Donald Trump for crimes 12 New Yorkers determined he committed in a scheme to hide hush money payments to Stormy Daniels and others from voters.

Following Trump’s stunning election victory, ...Read more

The National Hurricane Center said Hurricane Rafael grew into a major Category 3 storm Wednesday and made landfall in Cuba on its way into the Gulf of Mexico, while the Florida Keys remained under a tropical storm warning.

As of 4:15 p.m. EST, Rafael, which first gained hurricane status at 7:20 p.m. Tuesday, remained a major hurricane with 115 ...Read more