A federal judge ordered Gov. Ron DeSantis’ state Health Department to stop threatening television stations with criminal prosecution if they kept running ads in favor of an abortion amendment on the ballot next month.

In a sharply worded ruling on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Mark Walker rebuked the DeSantis administration for trying to ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The victim of Monday night’s shooting at Santa Monica College has died, authorities said Wednesday. She succumbed to her injuries in a hospital around 5 p.m.

Felicia Hudson, 54, of Newman, Georgia, was a custodial operations manager at the school. She was shot about 10 p.m. Monday at the college’s Center for Media and Design...Read more

MIAMI — A group of former presidents from Latin America and Spain who gathered at a forum in Miami on Thursday urged their countries’ governments to form a common front to prevent Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro from remaining in power after he stole the July presidential election.

The former presidents, who participated in the forum at ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said he’s sending Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Israel as part of efforts to end the war with Hamas following the death of its leader Yahya Sinwar.

Biden spoke to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to congratulate Israel a day after Sinwar was killed by Israeli forces. He said he wants to work on ...Read more

Over 30 Oklahoma residents — including public school parents, teachers, students and faith leaders — filed a lawsuit against the state superintendent, objecting to a Bible mandate.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday, Oct. 17, argues that Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters’ Bible Education Mandate violates the state ...Read more

Life without electricity is wearing on Ecuadorians, punishing their already frail economy and raising questions about the political future.

Daily blackouts stretch for 10 hours at a time, and they could get worse in the coming months as a dry spell further tests the country’s reliance on hydropower. Traffic lights are often out, internet ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A Reseda woman who became obsessed with QAnon conspiracies and unfounded notions of a sex-trafficking ring before drowning her three children was found to have been insane during the killings, a judge ruled Thursday.

Liliana Carrillo, 33, was charged in the killings of her children, 3-year-old Joanna, 2-year-old Terry and 5-...Read more

It was a career pivot to say the least.

Ryan James Wedding, 43, was once an aspiring snowboarder who competed in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. He came in 24th for Canada in the men's parallel giant slalom.

But federal prosecutors alleged Thursday that Ryan Wedding had chosen a different path following his snowboarding career. He ...Read more

Prosecutors have asked Massachusetts’ highest court to allow them to retry Karen Read for the murder of her Boston police officer boyfriend, arguing against a bid by the defense to have two of her three charges dropped.

Read is accused of deliberately running over her boyfriend, 45-year-old John O’Keefe, with her SUV and then leaving him to...Read more

Federal regulators violated environmental protection laws when they improperly issued permits allowing Denver Water to expand Gross Reservoir, a federal judge ruled this week.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers violated the Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Policy Act when approving permits for the construction of the dam, U.S. ...Read more

A U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs police officer who shot and killed a knife-wielding veteran at the Atlanta VA Medical Center’s emergency room in January will not face charges, officials said.

John Robert Smith Jr., 58, was shot and killed at the Decatur medical facility after he pulled a knife from his belongings, according to DeKalb ...Read more

A U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs police officer who shot and killed a knife-wielding veteran at the Atlanta VA Medical Center’s emergency room in January will not face charges, officials said.

John Robert Smith Jr., 58, was shot and killed at the Decatur medical facility after he pulled a knife from his belongings, according to DeKalb ...Read more

ATLANTA — A former detective who investigated Atlanta rapper Young Thug and others can no longer serve as a witness in the musician’s sprawling gang and racketeering trial, the judge said Thursday.

Former Atlanta police detective Ty Dennis had been on the stand for hours when he made a comment about one of the defendants, Deamonte Kendrick,...Read more

ATLANTA — All of the chemical product has been removed from the Conyers site of the BioLab chemical plant fire and the shelter-in-place advisory has been lifted, county officials said Thursday.

The announcement comes 19 days after the fire sent a massive plume of smoke into the sky, disrupting schools and businesses and forcing many to ...Read more

Vice President Kamala Harris' combative interview on Fox News delivered an average of 7.1 million viewers Wednesday, the Democratic presidential nominee's most-watched TV news appearance so far.

The Democratic presidential nominee's conversation with the conservative-leaning network's chief political anchor Bret Baier delivered the largest ...Read more

BEIRUT — Yahya Sinwar, the alleged mastermind of the Hamas-led onslaught of just over a year ago in southern Israel that triggered a devastating war, was killed by Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip, Israeli officials said Thursday.

Sinwar’s killing in an apparently surprise encounter with Israeli forces is the culmination of a yearlong hunt...Read more

Gov. Ron DeSantis is easing some elections rules this year after officials in several counties asked for emergency relief following back-to-back hurricanes.

The Florida Supervisor of Elections association on Tuesday sent a letter to DeSantis asking him to waive several state requirements in counties that were impacted by hurricanes Helene and ...Read more