BOSTON — Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey commissioned an independent review of security at state-run shelters and signaled an openness to residency requirements for the emergency assistance program after facing blowback for a lack of widespread criminal background checks in the system.

Democrats on Beacon Hill have long expressed a resistance...Read more

Academy Award winner Mel Gibson was recording with podcaster Joe Rogan in Austin, Texas when he learned that his Malibu home was likely burning to the ground.

“I was kind of ill at ease while we were talking because I knew my neighborhood was on fire,” the polarizing filmmaker told NewsNation on Thursday.

When Gibson returned home, he ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — There is no timeline for when a massive cargo ship that got stuck in the Delaware River while hauling salt will be cleared from the waterway, the U.S. Coast Guard said Friday.

The 623-foot-long Algoma Verity cargo ship has been stranded in the Delaware River since 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, when it ran aground about a mile north of ...Read more

NEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump was sentenced Friday for falsifying business records in a years-old scheme to defraud voters, closing out the historic case that involved a hush money payment to a porn star and formalizing Trump as a convicted felon 10 days before his return to the White House.

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered an independent investigation into the causes behind water supply problems that left dry fire hydrants and hampered firefighting efforts during the devastating fires in Southern California.

Newsom’s demand for answers came amid criticism of city officials in Los Angeles over their handling of the ...Read more

Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro was sworn in for a third presidential term on Friday, despite overwhelming evidence that he lost July’s presidential election to opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez, who abandoned plans to travel back to his country to force the hand of the military into swearing him in instead.

Top opposition leader Maria ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — When L.A. Mayor Karen Bass unveiled her budget plan for 2024-25, she called for a 2.7% reduction in spending at the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Her proposal, unveiled in April, sought $23 million in cuts to the department, with much of it focused on reduced equipment purchases.

But while her citywide spending proposal was ...Read more

The wildfires in the Los Angeles area have destroyed more than 10,000 structures, many of them homes, and firefighters continue to battle the infernos. Parts of Pacific Palisades, Altadena, Pasadena and other California communities are now unrecognizable.

As evacuation orders are lifted, safe drinking water should be top of mind for ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A large reservoir in Pacific Palisades that is part of the Los Angeles water supply system was out of use when a ferocious wildfire destroyed thousands of homes and other structures nearby.

Officials told the Los Angeles Times that the Santa Ynez Reservoir had been closed for repairs to its cover, leaving a 117 million gallon ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Two U.S. intelligence agencies investigating a series of unexplained health incidents among U.S. government officials believe it is possible that foreign adversaries have developed advanced technology that could be responsible for the symptoms experienced in a small number of cases, known widely as “Havana syndrome,” the ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The unprecedented scale of the destruction in Pacific Palisades came into horrifying focus Thursday from a fire that flattened a large swath of the community, rendering it unrecognizable.

As the smoke began to clear after two days of intense fire, Pacific Palisades appeared more like a moonscape of destruction than an upscale ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — State budget officials unveiled more details Friday about Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed $322 billion budget. It funds Newsom’s signature educational initiatives — including universal pre-kindergarten —and starts to disburse billions of dollars from a voter-approved climate bond.

The budget plan maintains $100 ...Read more

ALTADENA, Calif. — William Harris left his childhood home in Altadena early Wednesday morning as the Santa Ana winds howled outside and a destructive firestorm headed for his community. Smoke filled his neighborhood, but he was still able to see the road.

The 63-year-old left with his wife and son after receiving an alert shortly before 3:30...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has extended for 18 months the temporary protected status to about 600,000 Venezuelans living under the program in the United States, 10 days before President Joe Biden is set to leave office, the Department of Homeland Security said Friday.

The extension of the TPS program for Venezuelan nationals is “...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles school officials will not make a decision about reopening campuses until late in the weekend, Supt. Alberto Carvalho said Friday morning.

Carvalho said that while weather conditions looked promising at the moment, there are too many uncertainties regarding wind conditions, air quality and the control of fires that ...Read more

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has issued a moratorium that bars insurers from canceling or non-renewing home policies in the Pacific Palisades and the San Gabriel Valley's Eaton fire zones.

The moratorium, issued Thursday, protects homeowners living within the perimeter of the fire and in adjoining ZIP codes from losing their ...Read more

The rapidly spreading wildfires that have transformed much of Los Angeles County into a raging hellscape are not only upending the lives of tens of thousands of residents and business owners, but also stressing the region’s hospitals, health clinics, first responders, and nursing homes.

At least one medical clinic burned down. Senior patients...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Even for those lucky enough to get out in time, or to live outside the evacuation zones, there has been no escape from the fires in the Los Angeles area this week.

There is hardly a vantage point in the city from which flames or plumes of smoke are not visible, nowhere the scent of burning memories can’t reach.

And on our ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Gov. Wes Moore will look to make a dent in the looming $3 billion state budget deficit through a new effort that aims to save $50 million by eliminating wasteful and inconsistent spending across government agencies.

Real estate owned by the state and technology contracts will be among the first areas investigated, the governor ...Read more